August 14, 2009
Day Six: or Hmmm, didn’t anticipate that!
Today I worked on placing the cabinets so I could confirm all the details of the countertop and get that ordered. I’m using a custom countertop from Home Depot (made by Wood Crafters) that is cheaper than Corian but still a solid surface material. The color is “Rocky Road,” which means I will probably be hungry for ice cream every time I use the sinks! The countertop is 87 inches long, with two undermounted sinks. I went with the rectangular bowl for something a little different (no extra cost!). If it takes the 15 days they say it could, my19-day schedule is blown. But, I’ll cut myself some slack if the countertop is all that’s left to do on Day 19.
So, I went to place the cabinets (two 30-inch vanities with one door and two drawers, in java) and discovered that the supply and plumbing lines were possibly going to interfere with the drawers. Luckily, I discovered the drawers are a few inches shallower than the cabinet itself. And I dry-fitted the sink supply line and it looks like that will clear the drawers as well. So, all I had to do was drill a few holes and relocate one of the PVC waste lines, because that DID interfere with the drawers. But, PVC is infinitely easier to deal with than copper.
I also tried to get started on the plumbing for the shower, but ended up going out for pizza with my friend Steve, who is visiting from Bloomington. Hopefully I’ll have the energy to revisit that on Sunday after the triathlon.
August 12, 2009
Day Four: The tub is in!
I am hoping this is the hardest part of the job — actually getting the old tub out in and the new one in. My thanks to Will, who came down to help, since my usual partner in crime, his wife Marie, was teaching tonight. It took a couple of tries to get the tub in. After we placed it the first time, I discovered that the drain and overflow openings did not match up with the house plumbing. For once, though, I had thought ahead and bought a new drain/overflow assembly last night. It was just a matter of fitting it to the tub, cutting off the old plumbing and gluing on the threaded cap that came with the assembly. Then, another hole in the drywall, and we lowered the tub into place. Once my end was down, I jumped to the other side of the wall and lined up the drain line before Will lowered his end. It went surprisingly well. I guess I’m starting to figure all this out!
I contemplated installing the new supply plumbing, but decided that 9 p.m. was too late to embark on such a project. One, I’m not exactly at my sharpest at this hour. Two, it’s always best to do plumbing during hours that Home Depot is open so you can run out for the seventeenth time for whatever it is you need….
Tomorrow night, I’m going to a fundraising dinner for the Indianapolis Cultural Trail and IndyFringe, so I don’t expect to get much done. Depending on what time I get home, I will probably try to measure for countertops and figure out where the sink holes. I need to order the counter tops on Friday in order to keep the project on track. Hopefully Friday night will be very productive — I have two races this weekend, so my prime working hours are pretty much shot.
Lesson learned: Do not get a manicure the day before you are going to be using purple PVC primer. I swear, this is the last time I will do it!
August 11, 2009
Day Three: A Hiatus
Tonight, I got a manicure. Hey, that counts as home improvement, right?
I also had a Storytelling Arts endowment board meeting, and I did go to Home Depot to get channel locks to remove the tub drain as well as some other plumbing supplies. Tomorrow, the demo returns with a vengeance.
August 10, 2009
Day Two, or “The shop vac and reciprocating saw return to the second floor”
I didn’t get home until about 8 p.m. tonight, so I wasn’t sure how far I would get, but I had a quick dinner, grabbed the reciprocating saw and headed up stairs. I removed about a four-inch strip of drywall all the way around the tub/shower and pried all that off. Then, I was pleased to discover that the saw cut through the fiberglass tub like butter. It did result in a smell that made me fear for my unborn children, but other than that, it was pretty easy to cut out big chunks of the shower walls.
In new construction, they put the tubs and showers in first and build around them, because they don’t fit through the doorways. The new tub is in four pieces — tub, two side walls and one back wall. So, once the tub is out, the new tub will go in, then the walls go in. They are designed to snap together in a caulk-free joint. Then I’ll put new drywall up over the edges. Since the walls have a textured finish, I won’t have to spend weeks smoothing on joint compound and sanding. I figure a healthy layer of joint compound and a light sanding, then I’ll be able to prime it and put on the crumpled tissue paper finish (more on that when I get there.)
Now, how truthy to be? Today’s big, dumb mistake was that I discovered that while the reciprocating saw cuts through fiberglass like butter, it also cuts through copper pipe like butter. I was angling off to the side and just barely nicked the supply line. The bigger, dumber mistake was that I had not turned off the water. So, I got my cardio workout sprinting down the stairs to turn off the water. Then I checked my watch — 8:52. No way I was going to make it to Home Depot for any plumbing supplies. I figured I could shower at Marie’s tomorrow, but then I remembered I had some SharkBite no-solder fittings, and luckily I had two caps. So, I just cut the pipe and capped off the new ends. So, let’s hope that’s the last of the disasters. (Yeah, right.)
August 9, 2009
Day One: August 9
The clock started today! I spent about four hours on demolition. The toilet, countertop, sinks, cabinets and baseboards have all been removed. The doors are off the hinges, to make the openings just a little bigger, and the linen closet is emptied (It’s amazing how many sheets and towels I had jammed in there! I think there will be a trip to Goodwill before all is said and done.).
I also removed the various bits of the shower plumbing, but haven’t figured out how to get the tub stopper removed. It doesn’t seem to lift out, and it doesn’t seem to screw off. Will have to investigate further tomorrow, when I tackle removing the shower.
Today’s learning: You can remove the handle from the water shut-off valve (so you don’ t have to cut quite as large a hole in the back of the cabinet), but you better hold the valve shut with one hand while operating the screwdriver with the other.
Today’s tip: When you remove baseboard, number each baseboard and the spot from which it was removed. Makes it so much easier to put the jigsaw puzzle back together again!
August 7, 2009
Not nearly as dirty as it seems
So I was talking to a co-worker today when suddenly her voice trailed off and I realized she was staring at something on my desk. I turned around and realized she was looking at this:
Imagine sitting around on Christmas morning with your family, and pulling something this shape out of your Christmas stocking…
Mom was quick to point out that this is a brilliant little device that she bought at MoMA (as if that legitimized the gift). It’s a banana bunker, designed to protect your banana while in your purse, tote bag, gym bag, whatever.
But, I’ve found it’s a fabulous conversation starter. Actually, it’s more likely to start a fit of giggles. There was the company holiday dinner where it was discovered (empty) in my purse. And the colleague who wants to know if past-their-prime bananas are resuscitated after going into the bunker.
August 6, 2009
The 19-day plan
You know, give me just a little free time and I start thinking that perfectly good rooms in my house need to be torn apart and put back together. I decided I might as well renovate the guest bathroom. It’s the only room left in the house (except the laundry room, but there’s not much there to work with) for me to update, and I figured, what the heck!?! Mom and Dad were here over the weekend and will be back again August 29.
I should clarify that the room isn’t really “perfectly good.” The shower was sorely abused by the previous owners and is marred with cigarette burns and scratches. The shower is incredibly hard to get completely turned off — there’s a tiny sweet spot where there are no drips, and the countertops and sinks are just generally gross and ugly.
So, my challenge to myself is to do this project a little faster than the master bathroom project. That took me 19 months (you could argue it’s still not done, since I haven’t installed the trim moulding in the new closet — Dad and I will do that when he’s back, after I borrow an air compressor from Bill and Maria). So, my plan is to step it up a notch and complete the guest bathroom in 19 days. I think it’s do-able, though the countertops take two weeks from the date of ordering, and I can’t order until I get the cabinets installed. So, the challenge might be modified to “have everything but the countertops (and therefore the sink plumbing) complete in 19 days.” We’ll see.
I think I’m going to start demolition this weekend, but I have a 5K race to time, a date for the Indians game and plans to see the King Tut exhibit at the Children’s Museum on Sunday with the Lahertys and TallSteve. So, I might push it back a couple of days. I need to work out my plan, and I’ll let you all know when the clock has started!
In the meantime, here are some “before” photos:
Once again, my garage looks like a Home Depot warehouse.
