The Master and Guest Baths/Money Pits

What started the whole thing: wood rot. Oh, yeah... and black mold. It had to go. At least, that's what I keep reminding myself...









Here, what was the guest bathroom.










The view from the living room, nice and clean. And totally unexpected. Note to self: When you tear down one wall, be prepared to tear down lots of walls.







And this is where it all went...

The Call

The call from Rafael, my drywall subcontractor, went something like this:

"Hello?"
"Jacqui, it's Rafael."
"Oh, hi, Rafael. What's up?"
"Can you come to the house a minute?"
"Now? Can it wait? Is it important?"
(Pause)
"Yes... it's important. You need to see something."

The visit that followed is how I learned that while demoing the master bath, significant damage was uncovered that seriously affected, or more specifically "infected", the adjoining guest bath. Basically, 50-years-worth of showers and bubble baths (big in the 50s/60s) had taken its tole on the wood frame, the plaster, and drywall.

So... yeah. I guess we're doing a new guest bathroom, too. As I type, both baths are being ripped down to the studs.

*sigh*

P.S. If you know of anyone in need of a kidney, or other organ, let me know.

The Master Blah

Today, the guys got started demoing the not-so-master bath. We're getting rid of the shower stall and we're putting in a complete tub, as roomy as possible.



The master closet and hall closet will be demoed. That space will then be used to enlarge the master bath



The hall closet (below), which is next to the master bath, will become a much shallower linen closet. The extra room will be added to the bathroom.



Our new closet will be that of the adjoining bedroom's (seen right). We're closing off that closet and making an opening onto ours. Later, we'll build an entirely new closet in that room.



The results of the day... This is the view from the hall through what was the hall closet.



View from the master bedroom through what was the master bedroom's closet.

Tile Floor From Hell

We were going to wait to demo the tile floor of the guest bathroom, but we figured "What the hell! Might as well demo everything at once." Yeah... we're idiots.



First, we had to beat the hell outta the tile. (If you're a sado masachist, you might consider doing this as a career.) Notice the bits of yellow linoleum. Egads!







Here, Craig is scrapping up the ooooooold linoleum tiles. Very sticky and tough. TIP: A gardening ho works great for getting old linoleum off terrazzo, providing you work like a mother.












And, of course, always remember to wear protective eye gear.