"BEFORE" and "AFTER" ~ Bathroom Renovation #2

"Bathroom #2" is our second bathroom renovation for our ranch house fixer upper. We did some work on it back in February out of desperate necessity (see THIS POST) to replace a leaking toilet and rotten sub-floor. After the repairs, we lived with the out of date bathroom for just over 7 months before we got time to renovate it. That's what's hard about this house- everything needs attention, so it's a matter of prioritizing.

We officially started our Bathroom #2 renovation the first week of September while the kids were on a break from school. We had this vision that we'd start and finish in a couple weeks. HA HA! Just like ALL the other rooms in our home, we discovered there's much more to the updates than we realized once we started, and the length of time it would take would be much longer than we expected.

Bathroom #2 took 6 weeks of hardcore demo and reconstruction before we could install the toilet and sink to even begin using part of the space again; that means six people coordinating bathroom time and showers in one bathroom (we just got done doing that with the first bathroom renovation!). We've learned to persevere because time has not been our friend! Officially as of today- 10 weeks after we began this Bathroom project- I am able to take good "AFTER" pictures. With the exception of a few painting details, a small piece of molding to install, and several knobs on the built-in cabinet, we are done with Bathroom #2!

Check it out~ (forgive me for so many pictures; I'm a "visual" learner and communicator and believe they speak volumes).

BEFORE & AFTER

The kids picked out the "cool" shade of blue on the wall~ "Aqua Ice" by Kilz
The mirror has a recessed cabinet in the wall.

This is a close up of the corner of the floor by the bathtub that had rotted. What you can't tell by the photo is the corner space is stuffed with steel wool and is about 1" x 2" . When the steel wool is pulled out, you're able to look straight to the ground.

Repaired and pretty!

This original built-in cabinet had five layers of different colors of paint from over the many years of it's life (I sanded a small section to investigate). Since the layers of paint most likely contains some lead, we chose to repaint! The piece went from an antique cream color...

...to an "Ultra Pure White" semi gloss, just like the trim. What a difference a fresh coat of paint makes! New hinges and knobs (still needed to be installed), give this original built-in cabinet the face lift it needed.

...love all the storage space. The bottom cupboard space was originally a wood hamper (the smelled musty and not practical). We converted the old hamper to a storage for toilet paper and cleaner- salvaged the original front of the hamper and added a hinge.

Looking into the bathroom from the hall.

The bath tub had seen better days.

New and fresh!

EXTRAS WE ADDED~

...I love stained glass! This window adds some nice light to the bathroom.
...the molding around the ceiling dress up the space as well.
...the mosaic border is our personal touch to accent and compliment the window.

We saw the mosaic border idea at our Home Depot for $10.00 a 12" section. There was no way I wanted to spend that kind of money since we needed 22 sections, so we made our own for about $.50 a section using tile "left overs" from Bathroom #1 and this project. We saved over $200. as DIY'ers and got to make it more special with handpicked colors. Making the mosaic sections was a family project with the kids each doing at least one section piece (12" long)- Jessie did 3 or 4 sections!

Soap and razor niche.

No more arguing over where the shampoo belongs!

Jessie and Joe are the first to initiate the new bathtub. Both in swimsuits, they think it's a fun place to play!

THE PROCESS OF TRANSFORMATION

Joe was excited to help tear down the old tile...

This chunk of wall with tile on it came down in one big piece and scared Joe as it was falling. We were blessed he wasn't hurt.

We knew there would be water damage, just not sure how much! The smell was gross.

...the tile backer board that was used (many, many years ago) was 1/2" plywood. After years of leaking around the broken chalking seal, the plywood rotted and crumbled around the bathtub upon touch.

Joe having a grand time lifting the brittle laminate tile pieces off the floor...

When we lifted the old bathtub to get it out, we discovered previous evidence of "critters"-mice or rats?- under the tub!

..and a rat snake in the wall by the tub! FREAK OUT TIME! We never caught him since he was so fast to escape straight up the wall into a crack next to some plumbing that goes to the attic! YES, HE MAY STILL BE IN THE ATTIC SOMEWHERE! But, that's a good thing, since rat snakes are non-venomous and eat rodents!

A bathroom down to nothing... time to put it back together~


...notice the opening above the shower area? (an opening for a transom window to let light in this room with no other windows!)
... how about the new tub? (we went from a 14" depth to an 18 " soaker tub depth)
...notice the niches near where the shower nozzle goes? (a place for soaps and razors- another is on the opposite side for the kids' shampoos- photo below)
...notice the shelf along the back wall? (perfect for kids to line their toys up, or candles for a nice bubble bath)

...the opposite side- four separate "cubby niches" for the kids to put their shampoos; each child has their own space!

...the transom window arrives!
(ordered from eBay- an artist in Canada)

Getting it installed was a challenge, but well worth it! The other side of the window faces the laundry room; we changed out the laundry room back door to an exterior door that has a window on the top half to let natural light in the space (which also comes into the stained glass window in addition to the ceiling light from the laundry room).

Our fixer upper has been a labor of love. Kirk has become the expert in updating the electrical and plumbing, while I (Teri) have done everything else- carpentry, framing, sheet rocking, all the tile work, chalking, painting, trim work, - a jack of all trades, master of none. Our house has a total of 12 indoor spaces (halls included) and we have 6 completed. Master Bedroom Before and After coming soon.