Remodeling Update

I posted back in June about our bathroom remodel, and our attempt to DIY. Well, it's about 99% done. It's been at about 90% for months I just haven't gotten around to posting pictures.
If you want to see the before pictures, click here. I also charted the progression, if you click on the Home Improvement tag you can see those.

Here are some pictures of the nearly finished project:

It hard to see, but the color on the walls is a dark navy blue. I like the blue and white MUCH better than the pink and cream. Huge improvement right there. All we have left is some trim work, crown moulding, hanging the valence, and some paint touch-ups.

Bathroom Day 5

By the end of the weekend, walls were up, the shower curtain was hung, the sink and cabinet were installed, there was a new floor, and the dry wall was being mudded. So this is the last installment on the bathroom until next weekend. Next weekend we paint, put up the trim, hang the light, and

We found some cheap labor to help clean up. He brought his own tools and transportation. All he asked for in return was a clean pull-up, some Cheerios, and a pack of fruit snacks.

Bathroom Remodel Days 3 and 4

Massive progress has been made. The dry wall and shower surround are up. The new floor has been installed, just the trim work and edging are left. A few people have been asking if we are doing this ourselves... the answer is yes, although my inclusion in that we is debateable. Craig and his dad are doing all the labor and heavy lifting. I'm heading up the design team. We've probably saved thousands of dollars in labor costs by doing it ourselves, even though it's probably taking a little longer.

I am hoping that we'll have a functioning tub by tonight. Many also commented that they liked the tub details... the shower has it too!! I wasn't sure about it at first, but I really like it now! I also LOVE the flooring. It's from Pergo.. called Bleached Beech.

In this next picture, you can see the navy blue color we selected for the paint. I think it will look GREAT with the floor.

I'm just going to be glad when it's done. I know Craig will be too. Alex has watched altogether too much TV this weekend, but I have housework to do, so we can't be outside all day. I think we're going to get out of the house for a little bit today and go swimming at the Y. Just for a change of scenery.

Bathroom Day 2

No walls, the cabinet under the sink is gone, some studs have been put in place (no, not those kind of studs you sassy ladies!). The pink tub is sitting in our back yard and a new white tub is safely in it's proper place. We're making progress!

We should have a functioning shower before the end of the weekend. Showering at the gym wasn't so bad this morning. It wasn't very crowded, and surprisingly, it wasn't the group shower situation I feared. All the showers are private. As you know, I have some rules that I feel people should abide by in the gym locker room. Fortunately, most of the others covered up as much as they could.

In non-home improvement news, I'm getting a haircut and highlight today. YAY! I'm way overdue for both. I'm toying with the idea of growing my hair out a little bit, so I think it will be just a trim on the sides and then shorter in the back... a modified wedge.

The Bathroom - Day 1

There's no turning back now. The vinyl tile floor is gone. The tile in the shower and the walls in the shower are gone. The medicine cabinet and the cabinet over the toilet are gone, as is the trim around the windows and the linen closet. The toilet is temporarily out of service. (Thank goodness we have a powder room in the basement.) It's a mess in there.

While I'm not a fan of the pink tub/sink/toilet combo, I actually kind of like the original tile... the grey and pink color scheme is actually kind of nice in a grade school public bathroom kind of way. Still not thrilled about having to shower at the gym tomorrow morning, but what else can I do? Stink it up all day? Alex's reaction to the bathroom? "Whoa! What happened?"
Stay tuned...

The Bathroom Before

Here are some shots of my bathroom before. Pink tub, pink sink, gold colored fixtures in the tub. Ivory colored square tile halfway up the walls, and 3/4 of the way up in the shower. The grout was rotting when we moved in, it's only gotten worse.

When we moved in, there were shower doors that leaked. We got rid of those shortly after we moved in a little more than 4 years ago.

We bid the pink toilet farewell earlier this year after Alex flushed a splash shield from his potty seat down. The shield got stuck and no amount of effort set it free.

Craig will take the walls down to the studs, get rid of all the tile, install new tub and shower surround, new floor, new cabinets, new light fixture, new wall color, new trim, paint the doors and window sill white. It's going to look great when it's done. I'll be taking pictures of the progress over the next few days. I'm going to have to shower at the gym for the next few days.

Time for a change

The great bathroom remodel of '08 starts tomorrow. Craig and his dad are doing it all themselves. I'm excited and nervous about this. I will post pictures of our lovely, slightly updated 1950's bathroom tomorrow. It's pink and cream. BLECH. Pink and cream alone are not bad, but when your tub, sink and toilet are pink, that's another story altogether. When it's finished, it will be navy and white. This is a major undertaking, they're taking the walls down to the studs in places, and fixing some of the plumbing. I'm sure they know what they are doing, but I will be doing much better once this is over.

As long as we've got one remodeling project underway, I'm going to start one of my own. I'm going to start playing with my blog layout today. So bear with me if it gets a little weird looking. I discovered LeeLou designs thanks to another blogger who shares my name (Thanks Sidney!) and I think I'm going to give it a shot. Wish me luck!