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We are part way through the remodel of our bathrooms. There are three, a 1/2 bath on the first floor and two full upstairs, the master and a hall bath.
All counters have been removed, the tile pulled off two of the three, re-plastered, and that area painted. The counters are then put back without caulking for easy removal later. I changed the connectors for water under the sinks from the 1/4" "flexible copper" (yeah, right) to the braided truly flexible tube. Much better. All the sinks have removed and replaced without caulking for easy removal when the new counters come, and I've started removing wallpaper.
I have the water lines piped across the back of the master for the second sink that's being installed but I have yet to start on the drain pipes. I got lucky with those because the connecting pipe comes up the wall right behind where the new sink is going so my work consists of about 12 inches to connection instead of 3 feet.
In the basement I added shut off valves for each area of the house so I can turn off water to the kitchen (1), the half bath, laundry and hall bath upstairs (2), and the master bath (3). All separately. It has made this project so much easier. I used this type of connection for the valves and the connections upstairs. These really make plumbing easy - no soldering!
Paint colors are chosen, Knitting Needle for the hall bath, and Zircon for the 1/2 bath. Both are Sherwin Williams gray tones. The master is only going to get touch ups where needed with Hot Chowder, which is an older paint originally from Lowes.
We added a 24" base cabinet in the master for the second sink. Before there was an open area in the center for a vanity, which Mrs. Tek rarely used. Now it's 24" base, 12" drawer set, 24" base. I will need to stain the new one with a light coat of the stain a painter left for us after new windows were installed last year. Nice of him to do so.
We are looking at towels, new towel racks, shower curtains, and new accessories.
After the counters are in and painting is finished we'll get started on tile flooring, which I plan in installing. So far the only part of the project I'm not doing is counter tops. Installing the new and hauling away the old tops and sinks is someone else's joy.
Excellent thread topic. Thanks for sharing the details. I'm looking forward to see the end result.
We have remodeled a bathroom and a closet so far. With the current house, we had to consider resale. With the next house, we will be remodeling with a focus on things we'll need as we get older. An interesting challenge.
We are having to consider resale because we've not decided whether we are staying here or not. And I have found closets, although they sound easy to remodel, really aren't.
I've not taken many pictures. I get so engrossed in working on the project that I forget.
I will post some after pics. It's about a month from completion, which is the time frame for the counters to be fabricated, delivered, and set in place. They are going to install the sinks, and do the plumbing. There's not much to do there as I will have the sinks and counters off the cabinets when they show up and the connections will be easy. They will also haul away the sinks and counter tops.
Then we move on to all the other things we are changing in the bathrooms.
A breather and the kitchen will be on the agenda. There will be some serious discussion about that as I want to close off a doorway and add cabinets and counter top space or enlarge the pantry. I'm not sure Mrs. Tek agrees.
I didn't save the link to this, just saved it in Word for future reference. It was about 7 things buyers love.
1. Storage. When aiming to avoid undermarketing, keep this in mind: showcasing your home in its best light is not just about what you love about it. You might already have outgrown the place, and started to see its flaws more than its finer points: that’s why you’re moving. But the goal of good marketing is to highlight the things that will allow your home to shine in the eyes of your target buyers and against the competition.
So, it’s important to know what buyers care about and how your home offers a more comfortable lifestyle than the competition. First-time buyers, for example, are not simply comparing your home to other homes, they are also comparing it to the lifestyle of being a renter and to every bad rental property that inspired them to move forward with becoming a homeowner. One very common beef of renters is that rental homes lack storage, which leads to belonging overflow and a cluttered life. The vision of having a place for storing everything is a big motivator for many first-time home buyers. So, if your home has been tricked out with extra closets, pantries or other built-in storage amenities that you plan to leave, make sure your agent boasts about that in your home’s marketing materials.
2. Organizing systems. In the same vein, if you have made the investment in upgrading your home with customized or built-in closet, kitchen or garage organizer systems, desks or bookshelves make sure buyers see and know this from your home’s online listing. From the first-timer craving to have a clutter-free existence to buyers who are moving up into a family home and want each family member’s space to have at least the possibility of order, built-in organizers can represent value and appeal to a wide range of prospective buyers.
We went to Omaha yesterday and looked at the slabs they are using for the counter tops and liked both of them. We saved quite a bit because they had remnants that were of a size to work for our project. Nice.
Today Mrs. Tek started painting the hall bath and had the same reaction she did last time we painted it: The next time it gets painted by us we will pay someone else to do it. LMAO! She forgot how many edges and small areas there are in that room.
I stripped wallpaper in the 1/2 bath. I ended up completely ignoring the directions. I dumped the thingy that pokes holes in the paper and stripped off the top layer by just pulling it off. I did discover that getting an easier start requires spraying the loosening agent on the seams and letting it sit. Once I got the pull started I was able to remove the whole strip in anywhere from one to five pieces. After I had the top layer off I soaked the entire backing with the remover and let it sit. That made removal a breeze.
There's just a little wallpaper left around the stool and between the door and cabinet. I should have it all off tomorrow after the man comes to measure for counter tops. I'll be cleaning the 1/2 bath walls to remove all the residue and paste. If I get done early enough I'll start painting it. If not, I'll start Thursday. Mrs. Tek dhould be able to finish (or come close to finishing) her painting tommorrow.
I stripped wallpaper in the 1/2 bath. I ended up completely ignoring the directions. I dumped the thingy that pokes holes in the paper and stripped off the top layer by just pulling it off. I did discover that getting an easier start requires spraying the loosening agent on the seams and letting it sit. Once I got the pull started I was able to remove the whole strip in anywhere from one to five pieces. After I had the top layer off I soaked the entire backing with the remover and let it sit. That made removal a breeze.
There's just a little wallpaper left around the stool and between the door and cabinet. I should have it all off tomorrow after the man comes to measure for counter tops. I'll be cleaning the 1/2 bath walls to remove all the residue and paste.
Stripping paper - super soak it (on the wall) really well in hot water with a sponge and then apply heat, like an iron or blow dryer. You can also rent a wallpaper heat device. It should peel off easily.
I bet this is the last remodel you'll ever do, lol. I know it's true for us.
Stripping paper - super soak it (on the wall) really well in hot water with a sponge and then apply heat, like an iron or blow dryer. You can also rent a wallpaper heat device. It should peel off easily.
I bet this is the last remodel you'll ever do, lol. I know it's true for us.
We did that in our first house. Ugh! We had to redo the entire wall. The spray we found (DIY I think is the brand) at Sherwin Williams is a gel so it stays where you spray it. And it loosens the glue within 20 minutes. It really did make the removal easy. I highly recommend it.
The gentleman from our supplier came today and made measurements and took a ton of pictures. They have a program that takes all the info and converts it into AutoCAD and they use it to cut the slabs to fit exactly. He told us there is a slight bow in our 1/2 bath wall and I'm betting it's from me adding mud over the area where the tile came out. I can sand that flat.
We did that in our first house. Ugh! We had to redo the entire wall. The spray we found (DIY I think is the brand) at Sherwin Williams is a gel so it stays where you spray it. And it loosens the glue within 20 minutes. It really did make the removal easy. I highly recommend it.
DIF is the wallpaper removal gel. I'm a big fan of using the gel, too. Had a similar bad experience with hot water. You can also buy DIF at Home Depot and (I believe) Wal Mart.
BTW, here's a funny tip about remodeling closets: If you find yourself with a stretch of wall space that isn't needed for storage, use it to display artwork. We have very high ceilings, so after redoing the shelving we still had a few feet of space that was too high to put any additional storage. I also happened to have a set of canvasses, so I thought "why not" and painted them. Nothing that fancy, just to have something bright, colorful, and simple in an unused space. We get more compliments on this one little detail. Maybe I'll post a photo of it one of these days.
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