September 25th, 2009
It's become something of a tradition for me to spend at least a part of my vacation time ... working. But of a different sort. That is, I'm all about home improvement projects during my time off.
Now, there's a reason for this: I spend my normal days in front of a computer either moving bytes around or, more usually these days, planning out how others are moving bytes around. There's not a whole lot of -er- tactile feedback and visual results from that.
So that's how this pastime evolved; it's good for my soul, as they say. And I love seeing (and using!) the results of my efforts. So, to that end, I spent my latest vacation, Summer 2009, fixing up our little 1/2 bathroom.
Remove stuff
First thing, of course, is to remove everything I want to replace. First I removed the door so it wouldn't be in my way, then I got rid of the mouldings around the floor.
Then it was time to rip out the old toilet. As promised to Carolyn, I include a picture of its temporary resting place in our back yard. (A bit white trash you think?)
Vanity trouble
Next, I wanted to clear the old laminate top off the vanity so that I could put down some tile squares. But when I got the top off (it came off in my fingers!) I realised that the 37-year old particle board was completely rotted away from prolonged exposure to water. I could pulverise it with my hands if I wanted.
So I had to remove it and get new wood for the top. After it was down I measured and cut the hole for the new sink.
Remove grout
Next step was a tedious task: Removing the grout from between the tiles on the floor. I probably would have wanted to just remove the old tiles too, grout and all, considering how much work it would have saved me. Or just try painting or staining the old grout. But chipping the old stuff took me forever and a day, and was a dreadful messy task. Oh well, live and learn.
Painting
Once I had everything out, and the new vanity top installed in place of the old one, it was time to paint. I sanded down the old paint first to leave a rough but clean surface for the new paint to stick to, then vacuumed it. Next I painted the walls (and ceiling) a nice cool grey colour.
Tiling
Next, it was time to start tiling the vanity. First step is to cut the sheets of tiles down to the right shape, apply the thinset, then press the tiles into the thinset.
Then came the worst part (for me) of tiling: Grouting. I just hate the mess it makes, and it always feels as though I've just destroyed all my good work by slathering all that stuff down onto the tiles. I did the countertop with unsanded grout, then did the floor with with sanded grout.
A grout job always looks a little better after running a sponge over it before it dries.
Sink
After the tile dried, and after I rubbed off whatever grout residue was left, it was time to install the sink.
Oh, that was easy. Well, no it wasn't quite ... the seal on the pipe underneath snapped in my hands as I was attaching the drain pipe. Ah, more 37-year-old hardware! So I had to replace the trap as well. It represented something like the 900th "quick trip" to the harware store. If you look, you can see 3-1/2 decades' worth of slime in the trap. Yeech!
Moulding
I cut up the moulding for around the corners between the floor and walls. I bought this little box that holds the moulding still and has little slots so that I can cut at whatever angle I need to. I've done moulding before, and boy did that little box make it a lot easier!
Toilet
Then I installed the new toilet. I described toilet installation elsewhere, so I won't bother here, but I do want to add that having a new toilet to replace a 37-year-old one is a little joy all on its own.
Done
... and that's it! Add a few little finishing touches like towels and the towel rack, mirror, dispenser, etc. and there's nothing left to do except put the tools away (and the toilet seat down!).
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