the bathroom project rewind

here is where the bathroom project all started.

this is how our bath looked prior to the gut out.  over the years i did what i could with

minor cosmetic improvements; paint, window coverings, accessories and tried to ignore the not so pretty but retro sink, countertop and backsplash.

the before photos are going clockwise around the room
and the sink was straight ahead as you walked in.
this wall is now where the pottery barn hooks are hanging.

and here is that little medicine cabinet and vintage toilet (below) you saw here.

the wavy countertop was created that way because below was a radiator that

kicked out bucketloads of heat.  this is a high class joint, we had heated tp!

the barn door is now where the toilet once sat
and don't you love the tank top decor?

this room was SO ready for a renovation, especially since the shower hadn't been

used in several years due to the "vinyl" shower walls coming unglued from

the lovely plastic tile walls underneath.   

white, yellow or red..which color do you prefer?
you can see the old tub in the corner of pic
this was taken from outside the window opening

the shower walls were installed before we moved in 29 years ago.  the caulking wouldn't stay anymore and it was just a mess.  thus the reason for having two shower curtains to hide the ugliness.  we didn't want to put one dime into this bathroom until we could gut and make new.

the day finally arrived in june 2010 when mr.1829 pulled out his crowbar & sledge hammer and went to work.  first he removed the tiny window so he could throw the debris directly outside vs. hauling it through the house. smart man.

after he started removing the clapboard, we realized that once upon a time that window was larger, much larger.

alway wear your safety gear!

the door is where the tub is now.

(sorry about the house color being washed out)

 once the demolition started, we found SO many hidden problems. 

the tub wall was up against the livingroom wall which housed an outlet.

 a.bare.wire.outlet. 

thankfully, we had quit using the shower which probably saved us from having a fire or being electrocuted.  yikes! 

the toilet had been leaking for YEARS and left a big rotted mess underneath. 

but as with all things, you work with what you have and make the best of it.

much better don't you think?

see (below) those huge planks of wood on that wall?

those were used to make the sink vanity.

that doorway in the far left corner (below) goes to the kitchen and the area behind the shop vac

where the outlet is, we figured was once a doorway.  since the house was built 182 years ago,
this room was probably once a pantry prior to indoor plumbing.

and this is DURING reconstruction

you can see the porcelain light fixture where our mirror and vanity once sat.
and there is always interesting carpentry work that we uncover in our
renovations.  it amazes me.  diagonal pieces that do nothing. 
uneven cuts. miraculously, the house is sturdy as it is.
once the gutting was done, we moved onto the wiring, which we left to a professional. after that was the plumbing which included radiant heat since we removed the radiator (destined for the mudroom). next was sheetrock, wood paneling, painting , installing the flooring, vanity, tub and toilet, fixtures and finally the decor.  whew!
and yes, it took over one year to accomplish all of this.
is there an award for the longest renovation of a bathroom?!

and if you missed the farmhouse tour of the bathroom
you can see it  here    

until next time,

Kitchen Remodel Part 3

Here is Part 3 of The 1829 Farmhouse kitchen project.   This project was started in October 2008 and finished December 2009 (well almost).  Go here for Part 1 and Part 2

So on with the journey...

To recap, the water disaster was actually a cloud with a silver lining in that we HAD to remove the linoleum flooring (boo hoo).  It ONLY took 6 months to get to the ripping up of the floor, but for now I'm getting ahead of myself.  After the water mess was cleaned & dried up (took about 3 days with commercial dryers & fans), we were back on track.  

Our contractor, Ed, returned the next week and worked on installing the following: 

• Ikea countertop (drove 3 hrs and back in one day as it was cheaper than shipping)
• E-granite composition sink (ebay store)
• Price Pfister orb faucet/sprayer combo (ebay store:faucets.com) (a bargain at $28 and it was new!)
• wood beadboard (Home Depot)

He also removed part of an upper cupboard so that we could move the fridge over into the kitchen area to complete that wonderful item called the "work triangle".  This really opened up the dining area and the light from the french door to the deck.
   
The image below isn't exactly our layout but its fairly close.  There is a deck door to the immediate left of the stove, sink is centered under the window, fridge is directly across from stove and the countertop shown is how it use to be.  Now the countertop is a straight run with a rolling cabinet to the right of the stove.

Before and After  of the upper cabinets revamping:

Above you see where the Ikea counter is set to be cut to fit and below is the other end of counter.

Here is the kitchen as it was in December 2008.  Still lacking cupboard doors and paint but functional for the holidays. 

Around about April we had our carpenter, Darrin, step in to make the cupboard doors, two drawers and the trash/recycle bin (my fav).  He is an excellent finish carpenter and knows my likes & dislikes...which translates that he's great to work with.  He converted what was 3 deep drawers on each side of sink to a drawer and cupboard on left, and a drawer and trash bin on right.  To make it appealing to the eye, he also made a false drawer front for center cupboard (below sink) that tilts out to hold my scrubbers and sponge.

Below are the cupboard doors in the raw (before tung oil).  This first pic is a cupboard that was longer and we cut the divider out to make an area for the microwave.  You can see that the beadboard was not finished.  The back wall of the cupboard (you can see through the window) had beadboard applied later as well.  
The glass for the window portion of the door are reclaimed old bubble/wavy window glass.  I had ordered some online and then found I had some old windows in the shed.  Oh well, it worked out since 1 of the panes that I ordered didn't exactly suit the "old" look so I used my own for that opening.

In July 2009 we (my hubby & crew) removed the 2 layers of linoleum flooring.  He then spent two weeks (of vacation) trying to remove the mastic.  He basically used Goo Gone & Citrus Stripper in large quantities to cut through the yuk.  It did the trick.  We lived with the floor like this until November when we had it refinished.  You can see the Before & After here.

Below you can see that the old white multi-layered paint was finally removed from upper cupboards, base cupboards revamped, beadboard installed & walls painted.  The base cupboards still awaiting their topcoat of black paint..  This pic below was taken during the floor refinishing, thus the fan in window removing stinky smell from room...it was bad!

There was still much to do from the point we were at in the above pic, but we could see the end in sight.  If we learned anything from this remodel, it was how to be patient, steadfast and to not give up!