The state of my bathroom
I'm very glad this is the last phase of remodeling for this house.
I don't think I could take another one.
This one has pretty much done me in- I teeter on the edge of completely loosing my sh** every single day.
We are 8+ weeks into a double bathroom remodel what was supposed to take 3-4 weeks AND be done before the baby arrived.
Ha!
Newsflash, the baby is over a month old.
This whole project has been a comedy of errors from the get go- everything that could go wrong has gone wrong.
We should really rename this whole thing "Project Backorder."
With all of our projects we have maintained the integrity of the 1918 craftsman- doing modern updates that stay true to the character of the house. That style of remodeling is not cheap- but anything worth doing is worth doing right.
Which brings me to the problems with this remodel.
Guess what you can't get at Home Depot? Parts for old bathrooms. Or even new parts that look old.
Even after scouring the city for specialty fixtures and tubs at boutique plumbing stores, we ended up on the internet sourcing everything we needed online at, the very aptly named, VintageTub.com.
Here is a breakdown of all the things we bit off (that clearly we couldn't chew):
Main floor Bathroom-
While the new tile was going down, they started demo on the upstairs bathroom.
This is where things started to go wrong.
All of a sudden we had 2 non-useable bathrooms- no shower and no bathtub. Luckily we had the toilet in the basement that was still in working order.
This is when I started showering in the kitchen sink and at other people's homes.
The tile took a few days to be done, but once it was done, I couldn't stop looking at it.
The marble is so gorgeous- and the hex tiles are perfect. I LOVE it.
When they got all the fixtures back in the main floor bathroom, we had to wait 7 days for the grout to cure. It couldn't get wet, so even though we had a bathtub back in the room, it wasn't useable- because there is no way that we can use the tub without getting any water on the floor (we have a 2 year old).
The shower and round shower ring took nearly 4 weeks to arrive- of course it got put on back order AFTER I found the perfect one and had ordered it.
Once it arrived, I made our contractor put it up immediately and I took a shower as soon as he left.
Showering in my own house is so wonderful.
The main floor bathroom still needs new paint and a shower curtain, but those are on the bottom of the list at the moment- we are just enjoying a useable shower right now.
The upstairs bath is decidedly less useable, and has been stuck in the same spot for weeks.
Unfortunately we hadn't ordered enough floor tile, so when we ordered more it showed up and didn't match what we had. So we have been in the midst of a back and forth with the tile company trying to get more tile that matches.
In the mean time, we have been doing what we can to keep the project moving.
We have framed out a nook for the new bathtub that will sit under the window and each side will now have matching vanities.
In the new false wall that was built, we created a large shelf on either side, which will be used for storage for the bathtub.
We were able to tile the shower, behind the bathtub and paint the walls.
So, we have some very slow progress happening, but I think we have finally found matching tile and we should be moving forward this week.
I cannot wait for this to be wrapped up and in the past. With luck, we will be done in the next few weeks!
I don't think I could take another one.
This one has pretty much done me in- I teeter on the edge of completely loosing my sh** every single day.
We are 8+ weeks into a double bathroom remodel what was supposed to take 3-4 weeks AND be done before the baby arrived.
Ha!
Newsflash, the baby is over a month old.
This whole project has been a comedy of errors from the get go- everything that could go wrong has gone wrong.
We should really rename this whole thing "Project Backorder."
With all of our projects we have maintained the integrity of the 1918 craftsman- doing modern updates that stay true to the character of the house. That style of remodeling is not cheap- but anything worth doing is worth doing right.
Which brings me to the problems with this remodel.
Guess what you can't get at Home Depot? Parts for old bathrooms. Or even new parts that look old.
Even after scouring the city for specialty fixtures and tubs at boutique plumbing stores, we ended up on the internet sourcing everything we needed online at, the very aptly named, VintageTub.com.
Here is a breakdown of all the things we bit off (that clearly we couldn't chew):
Main floor Bathroom-
- New tile floor
- Add a shower/ring on the claw foot tub
- Paint
Upstairs Bathroom-
- Heated floor with new tile
- Enlarge shower, add tile and frameless glass door
- Add bathtub under window
- Paint
- Add new vanity with kid step
Since we were on a hurry up time frame our contractor got to work right away demoing the main floor bath first.
He pulled everything out of the room, demoed the old tile and filled our living room with the toilet and bathtub.
This happened when I was about 8 months pregnant.
This is where things started to go wrong.
All of a sudden we had 2 non-useable bathrooms- no shower and no bathtub. Luckily we had the toilet in the basement that was still in working order.
This is when I started showering in the kitchen sink and at other people's homes.
The tile took a few days to be done, but once it was done, I couldn't stop looking at it.
The marble is so gorgeous- and the hex tiles are perfect. I LOVE it.
When they got all the fixtures back in the main floor bathroom, we had to wait 7 days for the grout to cure. It couldn't get wet, so even though we had a bathtub back in the room, it wasn't useable- because there is no way that we can use the tub without getting any water on the floor (we have a 2 year old).
Once it arrived, I made our contractor put it up immediately and I took a shower as soon as he left.
Showering in my own house is so wonderful.
The main floor bathroom still needs new paint and a shower curtain, but those are on the bottom of the list at the moment- we are just enjoying a useable shower right now.
The upstairs bath is decidedly less useable, and has been stuck in the same spot for weeks.
Unfortunately we hadn't ordered enough floor tile, so when we ordered more it showed up and didn't match what we had. So we have been in the midst of a back and forth with the tile company trying to get more tile that matches.
In the mean time, we have been doing what we can to keep the project moving.
We have framed out a nook for the new bathtub that will sit under the window and each side will now have matching vanities.
In the new false wall that was built, we created a large shelf on either side, which will be used for storage for the bathtub.
We were able to tile the shower, behind the bathtub and paint the walls.
So, we have some very slow progress happening, but I think we have finally found matching tile and we should be moving forward this week.
I cannot wait for this to be wrapped up and in the past. With luck, we will be done in the next few weeks!
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