Bathroom Remodel 2012

Tried to replace the plastic tile floor that was peeling up in the bathroom only to find that the sub-floor was rotten. I needed to redo the walls anyway. 

Plus, I couldn't do it anymore. Wash my kids in this disgusting bathtub. It couldn't be cleaned no matter how hard I tried. So, It's coming out.

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No ventilation + moisture = mold. 

Hard to breath, but not for long.

Most of the plastic surround is out, notice the exposed window behind me. This is about to become a window box!

Behind the plastic tiles...

Taking the tub out was a pain in the neck! I even cut my leg open on one of the corners.

Success, the yucky tub is gone!! 

Beginning of the window box

Finding the windows at $40 each was incredible. Especially considering the two on the sides open for extra ventilation. We were expecting each of the three windows to be $120 a piece but on our way to order them, I mentioned it to a customer at the hardware store. He knew someone who was selling windows for cheap and gave us his information. We checked them out the next day and they were the perfect size for our project. Another piece of magic sprinkles all over us. 

Window box is complete and the durock is up. Waiting to place one more durock panel but have to stop there because the fan has to be installed first. It should be delivered any day now. 

Once the durock was up I thought I could get this tiled in less than a week. I was wrong...

Because of our very limited budget we decided to collect river rock from the Colorado River only a few miles from our house. This is what we collected in five trips to several locations to gather the stones. They sell this in the store for around $20 per square foot. I laugh in their general direction.

My most favorite part has begun. I really want to get started on the floor so that we can get our bathtub back in but I know that patience is a virtue. This has so far been the funnest project Shanon and I have worked on together. On the North wall, directly under the window box, he worked on the right side of the wall, I was on the left. He kept looking over to make sure he was beating me in height. But I was right there by him the whole time. hehehe.

Once we tiled up to the window box we came to a cross roads. We figured we could cut an L shape out of the rocks with the tile saw we borrowed from Ted (thank you so much Ted!!) and then cement them around the window. Alex cut most of these himself. 

The corners around the window box look like this. 

Almost there!! Okay no I'm not but I think I am. I still have the West wall and the floor. 

Starting on the floor!!

Four days after I started on the floor, I am done and sooo happy about it! Next step is plastering with American Clay. I am worried about how the color Mauna Loa is going to look with our river rock though. 

So proud of the feet that are sitting in front of the toilet when you are sitting on the pot. Yes, they are off center, and yes, I am totally blaming Shanon. I asked him to bring them to me but by the time he did, rocks were already set where they should have been. My sister says, just tell people they are riding side saddle. I'm  okay with that. Besides, fuck em if they can't take a joke.

Window box....Check.

This branch was found by Colton on one of our many rafting trips down our wonderful Colorado River. We sealed it with Tung oil, our favorite sealer of all time. It will be a perfect towel rack. 

The rocks are sealed, plastic is up, and the primer with the sand is on the wall. Getting ready for the last step. PLASTER!! This was done on New Years eve which per Shanon means, We are getting plastered today!! 

YES! Plastering was a lot funner than painting has ever been. We will be plastering the rest of the house. 

This was a problem. On the ceiling, near the edges, the plaster started to peel :( so i stripped it, wiped it, re-primed it, and replastered it. Seemed to work alright the second time around although it's not 100 %. I may have to strip it again, and reseal the original ceiling since it was not replaced with the rest of the material.

Finished Bathroom! The clawfoot tub was a steal at $200. It came out of a farm house in Grand junction. They had found it in a field rusting away and redid everything on it. Absolutely gorgeous replacement to our old one. 

Notice the goldfish looking rock above the tub and to the right of the picture. I strategically placed this by measuring and marking the wall during the tiling process.

Alex found this one on the second trip of our rock hunting outings. What a nice find!

The color turned out great especially next to the turquoise tub.

Finally a welcome reward after two months of not having a bath for my babies. 

Thank you again to the universe for aligning us with all of the magic that fell into place at the exact moment that it needed to happen for this project to be successful. For anyone that has not done a remodel while living in the home, it will test and stretch every aspect of your relationship but in the end, will be worth it.