Renovating the Downstairs Bathroom, July 2001

A year ago (July 2000) we experienced some problems with our downstairs bathroom. The tile around the tub started falling off, and then we discovered the wall behind it was rotten and falling down. We decided to replace the whole room.

It's not such a big loss, really -- the old tub, sink, and toilet were light blue, with an orange glitter countertop on the vanity. So I can't say we were heartbroken that we needed to replace all that. But we just hadn't planned to do it right then. That summer and fall we got involved in a bunch of other things and the bathroom went on hold for about a year. We just kept the door shut and got used to being a one-bathroom household.

Fast-forward to this summer: Marty has taken a week of vacation to work on the bathroom, and my brother Tom-Paul is visiting to help out. I'll post pictures of the project here as it goes along. Click on the pictures for a larger view.

July 7, 2001 - Day 1. When I got home from the grocery store, there was a new bathtub trying to get into my house, with the help of these three guys: Bill, Tom-Paul, and Marty (left to right).

This was a big job. The tub is porcelain on steel, and weighs around 380 pounds. I stood in the house and helped them get the end on a furniture dolly, and we wheeled it through the house. Now it's sitting in our living room, waiting to be installed.

July 8, 2001 - Day 2. Next they needed to make room in the bathroom to get the old tub out. Here's Tom-Paul thinking about moving that ugly orange vanity out (the sink was already outside by this time).

Here are the old fixtures in the backyard. The blue tub is broken into pieces on the left. The orange vanity from the previous picture is on the right. The sink is face down in the middle of the picture. (The toilet's not out yet.)

Here's a closer view of the old bathtub, broken into pieces. A heavy metal tub like this is much easier to move if it's not in one piece. A sledgehammer works great for this.

Yet another interesting wallpaper choice by the previous owners. The blue stuff is the old wallpaper, which was covered up by the mirror. And yes, it matched the bathtub too. The flowered paper on the left is the "new" wallpaper (which of course was hung right on top of the old stuff, about 20 years ago).

Here's the Shop Vac sitting where the sink used to be. But I bet you're wondering where the tub is going to go.

That would be here.

The old tub has been removed, as well as all the tile and the walls.

It's really not as scary as I expected it to be.

Another view of the tub alcove, looking back towards the bathroom door. Have I mentioned that this bathroom is really small?

Removing the toilet. The bathroom renovation book we are using suggested unfastening the toilet and then "laying it down on its side on the floor." Marty decided not to do that, since ours was full of water that we couldn't get rid of. Instead...

He laid it down on its side in the back yard. Or upside down, even.

End of Day 2. The tub, sink, vanity and toilet have all been removed. The leaky pipe for the sink has been repaired.

Tom-Paul informs me that as of the end of day 2, the guys have made 6 trips to the hardware store.

End of Day 2, continued. Note random holes in the walls -- we will be replacing all of the walls, and removing those inset overhead lights. Next up: removing the nasty carpet (yes, carpet in the bathroom) and deciding whether to replace the subfloor. But that's a story for tomorrow...

July 9, 2001 - Day 3. The first job today was pulling up the carpet. Here's Tom-Paul getting his hands dirty. He's wearing a safety mask too, so he won't breathe in too much dust.

The next order of business was taking down the walls...

...and the ceiling.

Day 3 ended with trips to Lowe's and Home Depot (bringing the total trips up to 8). We bought the light fixtures, exhaust fan, and the faucets for the sink and shower.

Tomorrow Marty will start the wiring. As Tom-Paul says, "Let's hope it's not a shocking experience."

Stay tuned for more.

July 10, 2001 - Day 4. Tuesday morning, Marty and Tom-Paul loaded up the truck with all the trash and took it to the dump. Here's the truck in the backyard, ready to go. That afternoon, they cleaned up the floor in the bathroom. Then they went out for ribs and watched the All-Star game.

July 11, 2001 - Day 5. Most of today was spent on the wiring.

July 12, 2001 - Day 6. Today Marty installed the fan over the shower alcove. He vented it through the ceiling and out through the roof over the bathroom.

Another picture of Marty on the roof, installing the vent for the exhaust fan.

Here's the fan from inside the house. You're looking up at the ceiling and into the crawlspace between the ceiling and roof. The fan is in the lower left corner. The white tube is the duct leading to the roof vent.

July 13 - Day 7. Today the bathtub was moved into place! It is so pretty! Even though nothing else in the room is complete, now it's easier to believe that this may actually be a bathroom someday...

Once again, Bill came over to help Marty and Tom-Paul move the bathtub. They removed the bathroom door from its hinges and slid it into place. They put a ledger behind it for support, and now it's in place. We'll build the rest of the bathroom around it.

Here's Tom-Paul putting the door back on the bathroom.

July 29. Time for some work on the plumbing. Marty got all his plumbing tools out and arranged them carefully on the floor.

The old nasty water control for the tub, which Marty just removed from the two pipes you see sticking up in the back, between two studs.

Here's the business end of the new water control. The pipe sticking out over the tub is where the faucet will be attached once the wall and tile are in place.

"And then, there's copper, which is the only pipe I use. It costs money. It costs money because it saves money." -- Cosmo Castorini

Here's a picture of the pipe from the other side. Marty soldered all these joints himself. And out of all these joints, only one of them leaked. But he's fixed that one now too.

The back steps double as a workbench these days.

And that's all for this weekend!

August 7, 2001. Here's our new sink. Marty had to put it together tonight to measure the height for the pipes. It won't really be installed in the middle of the downstairs.

Isn't it pretty?

Behold the construction area that is our downstairs. You can't see it, but on the floor in front of the fireplace is a 19-foot ladder, 2 lengths of copper pipe, and a hand saw.

The bathroom door is out of the picture to the right, behind the wooden rocker.

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