Day 18

Jen has been given the task of mudding over the seams and imperfections in the sheetrock.

I think someone may have a second career...

In the meantime, Dad forges ahead on the wall build out for the new laundry closet.

The walkthrough from the master bedroom to the dressing room actually looks like a passageway instead of a hole in the wall! Just look at the spackle job! Wow!

Richard's second day of work brings us a bit closer to the finish line.

Day 17

You have no idea how good it feels to post these first pictures of the tile going up!

Yahoo!

The process is slow and requires a lot of patience on our part, but it is worth it to see the shower area finally start to take form!

Those of you who know my dad, Larry, also know of his crippling struggle with arachnophobia. You may also be aware of the crazed lunatic he becomes when he in fact does cross paths with a spider.

In light of these facts, you will be very pleased to hear that I removed and disposed of this specimen before he got out of bed this morning!

I shudder to think of the destruction he would have imposed had he found it first.

In case you can't get the scale from this pic, the width of this beauty was 4 inches!

Day 15

We are very excited to see the mud pan go down on the shower floor. After this dries, Richard will start laying the tile! Eeee!

Larry started framing out the doorway from the bedroom to the closet. This should be done by tomorrow. Light fixtures are sitting on go!

Day 13

Drywall is starting to go up and the room is actually starting to feel like a bathroom. A very dirty, floorless, styleless bathroom...but a bathroom nonetheless!

Jen's Achilles Heal was finally revealed as she attempted to cut out the hole for the window. The girls is angularly challenged!

Thank goodness Mason came to the rescue and helped measure out the correct window dimensions! Whew!

Day 12

Jen and I were able to help out some today so hopefully we actually DID help and not just get in the way!

We started off the day by gathering some materials that have come in this week, like our beautiful tile! SQUEAL! Isn't it wonderful?!

Underneath this logo sits a brand spankin' new Santa Rosa one-piece-low-profile toilet! We are very proud of ourselves for forcing Home Depot to price match Lowes so we saved $37.50!

Holla!

The shopping spree ended and it was time for Jen and I to get to work, so thus began the most beautiful installation of insulation I have ever witnessed. It was fast, smooth, and gorgeous! Just look at the craftsmanship! (she paid me 20 dollars to gush!) ;)

I took time to start cleaning up and sanding down my new laundry closet. It's 10pm and I am still finding dust in my ears and nose!

Even though the outside of the house has come to look like this

and a thin coat of drywall covers every surface inside,

great things are just around the corner

I know it has been a few days since my last post, but I decided to spare you the boring and tedious pictures of plumbing and electricity. There have been no ceiling mishaps to report either, so I took a few days for some real changes to begin to take place before filling you in!

So here goes:

Day 11

The plywood has gone up in the shower stall which has made it a bit easier to visualize now. Somehow looking at the wall studs makes it hard to imagine a rejuvenating shower!

The backer board for the tile and the shower liner gets us one step closer to the finish line!

Day 8

Lots more intricate progress being made in the plumbing and electricity department.

Plumbing is being run from the shower to the adjoining linen closet which will become the laundry closet. Yes, that means that we will no longer have to look forward to the days when we are seventy-five and climbing the stairs with laundry! It will all be upstairs where it belongs! Do I have the best Dad or what?!

Anyone know the number for Merry Maids?

Day 6

Still working on some demolition at this point. Larry is actually doing some finer more detailed work like reinforcing and wiring which is progress, but looks less impressive than the previous days! However, VERY IMPORTANT!

We have decided that a party of ten should be able to stand in this shower now that it has been reinforced! you can see where he put in the new timber to brace the old stuff. The old stuff is the rotty-moldy-water-stained wood!

One look at this pipe, which is 66% clogged, and you wonder how we could drain a cup of water much less a shower-full! Eeww!

Jen began working on the new passage to the next bedroom which will eventually end up being the closet/dressing room, accessible from the master bedroom. She looks to be having a bit more fun than she should!

DAY 5

Jen and I spent the majority of the day at Home Depot filling the shopping list Larry had for us. WOW! Everything from drywall to screws and a shower drain ended up on our two flatbed carts full of stuff! I'm pretty proud of us though. We got it done fast and we actually looked like we knew what we were doing! All the men in the lumber department kept looking at us like we were lost or had somehow wandered off from the garden area!

Little did I know at the start of the day that something as innocent as an exhaust fan was going to yield such horrific ramifications!

I mean, how can something that soothes a baby so well cause so much destruction?

Let me first clarify that THIS is not the hole for the fan! The hole for the fan is to the left of the picture. This is a hole which was made by our esteemed contractor's knee as he crawled back through the ceiling to retrieve the utmost valuable personal item:

cheap reading glasses

Yes folks, Larry risked life, limb, and ceiling for a $1.99 pair of spectacles!

So after lots of colorful language, (mainly toward me for asking for a fan) the hole was patched, and the fan is now installed! Yay! I asked Larry if we were even now since I, a vegetarian, had to stand in line for 15 minutes at the deli for his sliced turkey breast...I don't think he thought that was funny!

Here is a look at the bathroom after Day 5

Since I am a few days behind in the actual timeline of this project, I will be consolidating a couple of days into one post until I catch up!

DAY 1

What a surprise it was to come home for lunch on Day 1 and

already notice some changes in the bathroom!

Knowing our vision of the remodel, it was easy to see it start to take place as just one side of the wall was removed.

Okay, I know what everyone is thinking---geez! They could at least turn on the A/C for him!

Sadly, I have to say that not only is the A/C on, but there are two fans blowing! It's hot here!

Jen finally gets the chance to get her hands dirty! (I think Dad was trying out her skills on the non-powered tools first!) It was extremely hard to get her back to work after this!

DAY 2

Apparently Jen impressed Larry with her cunning wielding of the hammer and crowbar! She joyously graduated to power tools and proved her worth by taking down the wall!

DAY 3

Anyone in need of a "really pretty" vanity?

Now it is starting to look like a...like a...well a big mess! I guess that means progress! Larry is a madman!

As the Renovation Turns...

Well, I hope everyone is ready. It's time again for our favorite pastime since moving to this house! It's time for "Name That Renovation"!! The game where anything can happen, anything can be uncovered, but great results always happen!

Jen and I managed to woo my dad into coming down and helping us by breaking down a groovy, small 60's bathroom in to something more comfortable, modern and functional.

I will be posting frequently, just like I did with the floors, to allow everyone to share this experience. I figure it will be even more interesting since we all know and love the carpenter/electrician/dad!

So hang on to your hats!

Here's a glimpse at the hole that started it all:

Jen's foot went through the shower floor one day about 4 months ago and thus started the brainstorming for the bathroom renovation.

The downstairs guest bathroom is finally complete!

We are so pleased with the results too. There is a lot more room and the new fixtures update the space and still keep the modern look! Jen did a fantastic job on the drywall and plumbing!

The custom made heart pine vent cover came in as well. Very happy with how it blends right in and makes what could be an eyesore into another piece of art!

Until we venture into the world of kitchen counter top replacement, we are done! Now our focus has turned to some landscape issues in the yard, and some repairs on the actual outside of the house which involve water and possible damage to the facing. So that, unfortunately, isn't so pretty and probably won't warrant any photos, but who knows...