We started our bathroom remodel on February 22, 2020 hoping to have it finished by the time the boys got back home from their Spring Break trip to Omaha. Well the boys didn’t go to Omaha, and we didn’t finish by March 21st. There was a lot about this project that took longer than anticipated. That is pretty typical of any home remodel project. Let alone to try to get one done in the middle of a pandemic.
I am very thankful that we have had a few friends who came over to help us along the way, before we were given our stay at home order. We couldn’t have done this without Caleb, JD, and Royce. Their help was greatly appreciated.
A big shout out to my husband, Scott, who has pushed through to see this project completed. Scott worked hard and did things he had never done before. He was scared about messing up and had to be encouraged that we are confident in his skills. Scott learned more about how he processes things and how to push through a difficult project. He was kind of forced to push through, but because of that is much more confident now.
We are still missing some things like the shower curtain, bath mat, hand towel holders, and toilet paper holder. Also, there is currently no door on the bathroom. The hardware for the new sliding barn door Scott is building will be here at some point (plus trim). We ordered these things on Amazon and right now, a toilet paper holder just doesn’t have the same priority as the actual toilet paper. Since we can’t have anyone over right now, I guess it doesn’t matter that there is no bathroom door. By the time we can have company again, we will have a door, so don’t worry about coming over and using the guest bathroom.
I tried to take pictures after every day of work, but that just didn’t happen throughout the project. I hope this gives a general idea of how the project went. I know some of these pictures may look familiar from a previous post. I wanted to have them in here so you could see the whole project from start to where “finish” is now.
Bathroom before picture, looking in from the hallway. Looking from the bathroom into the hallway. Wallpaper removed, flooring gone, bathtub/shower gone, and closet removed. Under the rotting sub-floor was another solid sub-floor. A big thanks to Royce for helping cut out the drywall for the new tub and shower walls. Toilet drain put back in correctly. Sub-floor repaired. Drain line moved to wall and set up for two vanities. Water lines also reworked for the two sinks. New sub-floor that has a water barrier in it. Waiting to install the tub. Scott was very worried about it, but did a great job installing it. Plumber one and his apprentice. They have some great memories from moving a drain line under the house. The new soaking tub installed. We have named this “tub week”, because the process took a week. Thank you You-tube.The shower water lines installed. Not shown, when this had to be completely redone this past week. Closet door installed and closet framed installed. Starting to put in the cement board for the shower walls. The shower nook and the install of more cement board. Caleb and JD came over to help install the drywall. They were both told that they needed to help me install it. Little did they know that they would both be doing the work. I was with JD’s wife Tiffany cooking and baking bread. With the drywall in, it is really starting to look more and more like a bathroom. Even though I didn’t take pictures of it, Caleb came out and put on three coats of drywall mud and then textured the walls. Now you can see where the toilet will go. Here is after I finished painting. My main skills are painting, problem solving, finding things, and encouraging.It is still the same paint color, just different lighting. The East wall is a light grey and the more blue grey is on the other walls. This was all leftover paint. I named the blue grey COVID-Cloud. Scott enjoyed laying our new tile. I got a great deal on this tile. It has a texture to it and looks really good in person. Scott is working in the corner and my oldest, Josiah is helping him. Here is the toilet installed. I also helped to paint on the waterproof sealer on the cement board for the shower walls. Vanities are installed. We will put up trim later. The boys can now use their own toilet and have their own vanities. Getting closer. When this is all over, I am going to buy a corner shelf for the far right corner. I know it looks a little bare right now, but those are non-essential items. Scott got the shower tile installed. It still took a couple more days for grout and sealant. The shower fully finished. Also, you can see many more shadow lines, because Scott also installed a new (super bright) LED puck light. It is great. If you notice the shower nook, you will see that the back of the nook is a floor tile. We wanted to tie in that feature in the shower. We also put in the floor tile on the wall around the toilet. If you have boys, you understand why I wanted this done. It looks neat too. Here is the look from the back corner. Yes, we have some final finish things to get done, but it is fully functional bathroom now. Yes, those are still tools in the hallway. Looking in from the hallway. It is a major change from what we had before. A picture from next to the vanities and the door.
It has been a long eight weeks, but I am very pleased at the whole project. There are still things to get done, but life is getting back to normal again. Well, as much as normal can get right now.
After 14 years in public education, I am starting a new direction in life. I am a skilled public speaker and educator who is now using those gifts for ministry.
View all posts by wagonersa
Growing Hope 