Yes, the renovation of the 2nd-floor bathroom is still going on, sort of. We kind of wound up taking this past week off from thinking about it, because last Friday our plumber came to assess the situation now that we’ve ripped up the floor, and the news was depressing. In essence:
1. We basically have to replace all of the plumbling, including the waste pipe. ($$$$)
That’s about it. Oh, and:
2. Because the waste pipe runs from the bathroom down through a chase in our kitchen pantry, we’re going to have to demo the entire pantry. All of the shelving was built in to surround the chase, and the chase itself appears to have been constructed out of scrap wood. There’s also a false ceiling in the pantry, which makes me nervous. Plus, we have to find a place to put all of the stuff that’s in our pantry while the renovation is going on, which could realistically stretch out past the new year.
3. Then we have to rebuild the pantry.
I’ve been feeling rather down since we got the news, but the upside is that I was able to let go of the beadboard. We’ll keep it in the attic, but I’m not going to continue killing myself trying to strip it. It’s costing a fortune, and the results are not good. So we’ll buy pine planks and put those up instead, since I don’t like the look of new beadboard. And it will look great. And maybe we’ll do white penny rounds on the floor, since we have to rip all of the boards up, anyway. We’ll also be able to reverse the direction of the tub so the plumbing is by the wall instead of cramping itself against the sink. So that’s good.
I’m trying to put aside the sadness I feel over losing the floor and walls, and focus on having a salvagable clawfoot tub, corner sink, and woodwork around the window and door. Plus, the plumbing will all be new, leak-free, and lead-free!
5 Comments
WOW! I thought I had a project. keep the faith honey…one day it will be super cute and you can just spend your days redecorating.
Don’t you hate it when a job turns out to be way more complex than you thought? I was going to have a hump taken out of my hallway floor so I could put in flooring to match my dining room, until I found out that to get rid of the hump I would need to take a block out of my 200 year old foundation. So now I am looking for a flexible flooring that looks like wood.
OUCH!
It’ll all be worth it when it’s done, and good for you for looking on the bright side. But…
OUCH!
You can still get 3/4″ tongue & groove beadboard with the same profile as the old stuff that you’re going to have to remove. I agree that the beadboard sheet products just don’t cut it, but the real stuff will give you the look you want.
Good luck with your project!
Hi Anna,
Isn’t it depressing to look upon a room in shambles? Even when you did it yourself? We are in that situation right now too (renovating the main floor of our house with the floors ripped up throughout). We are doing a lot of the work ourselves, too, and although I try to think positively about what it will look like when it’s all done, sometimes it’s a challenge.
I remind myself, as you are doing here, that we are doing things properly (we found out that our old kitchen sink was not vented properly and could thus have been leaking sewer gas into our house. Lovely) and when it’s all done you will have the satisfaction of being in a solid structure.