Grout is complete. Shower looks wonderful. Toilet works. Now if the sink and shower were functioning, life would be good.

I received a call from the handyman, Mr. King, today. He said he has to re-do the shower floor because the slope isn't right. The slope leaves water standing in the bottom of the shower. It will be another day. He also asked for money to pay his staff. I would've gladly obliged on more than 4 hours notice. I said I'd have money for him tomorrow, once I locate my cheque book.

There will have to be a champagne christening of this bathroom once the work is complete.
posted by Bj Price at 1:52 PM

The work was supposed to have been completed by the time I returned from NYC. Last night upon my arrival, I discovered that I would not be able to stay the night because the toilet was not yet hooked up. On a better note, the tile looks marvelous.

posted by Bj Price at 8:23 AM

More Photos:


This is what the bath looked like 24 hours after work commenced.



This is where the frogs were.



All the fixtures have been removed, plywood replaced, holes drilled. The reconstruction begins.


posted by Bj Price at 9:56 PM

What we have learned so far:
David took out the shower and discovered that the drain and the drain pipe were not connected. An unpleasant odor and an army of tree frogs greeted him when the shower pan was removed.

David removed the sink today and discovered that it didn't drain into a pipe, it just emptied below the house. Ewww !
posted by Bj Price at 10:07 AM

Purchased Tile and Grout from Home Depot today:
6 boxes of 6" white wall tile $23.50 each, $141.00 total
2 boxes of 12" Carrera gray floor tile $26.85 each, $53.70 total
1 box of 2" shower floor tiles in 12" mesh $21.90
2 corner shelves $19.95 each, $39.90 total
1 soap dish $11.97
1 25lb bag of light gray grout $9.90

Grand Total w/ tax $295.07

Upon meeting Mr. King and his assistant at the house, it was discovered that he will need to install shut off valves for the sink, and probably replace the shut off valve for the toilet.

I'm spending the money while I still have a job!!!
posted by Bj Price at 1:45 PM

Work starts on my bathroom tomorrow at noon. In honor of the occasion I have posted some "before" photos. Tomorrow, I'm purchasing tile and delivering it to my house at noon. How can one girl be so busy!!!

This one shows off the ugly linoleum, the tear in the linoleum, under which is water damage to the subfloor. The toilet and the flange need to associate with each other again.


Watch your head, gentlemen. This is not a bathroom in which tall men can hope to have decent aim. Perhaps I should have considered installing a urinal as well?


You get a better idea of just how tiny the bathroom is from this shot taken in the living room


The old, ugly vinyl shower says goodbye tomorrow. The shower will be tiled. This isn't the most economical choice for a purely rental property, but since I'll be living here awhile, I want to make myself as comfortable as possible.
posted by Bj Price at 11:35 PM

I never knew shopping for tile could be so difficult. I've settled on fast cheap and easy tiling available at Home Depot for less than modest costs. I'll be sending a fax to Mr. King to make sure my choices are ok.
posted by Bj Price at 8:42 AM

On Saturday, Mr King stopped by and went over his estimate with me. Its going to be an expensive bathroom, but he promised to have the work completed by Christmas. I gave him a check for supplies. He will be starting work on Wednesday.

On Saturday, a representative of Young's Chimney Service cleaned my chimney, installed a screen over the chimney to keep debris and critters from finding their way inside via the chimney. He added some cement like stuff to fill in the holes in the hearth. He'll be back later this week to install the most manual of dampers.
posted by Bj Price at 8:35 AM

Last night two of Mr. King's references called me back with glowing praise for Mr. King's work. They praised his craftsmanship, he fixed a roof that 3 others before him had not been able to fix. The also praised his prices which they thought were very reasonable. This makes 3 people including one contractor for whom he did shower / tile / bathroom work - giving extreme praise. I guess I can trust him to do a good job.

He'll be arriving tomorrow morning to go over the estimate with me in person. I have the chimney inspector / cleaner scheduled for tomorrow morning sometime as well. I plan on packing the car with my wall art and spending the part of the morning where I wait for the professionals to arrive decorating my walls with art and assembling my kitchen table. I'll also be putting felt on the feet of all my furniture to protect the wood floor beneath.

I have also scheduled another estimate for Monday at noon. I suspect I will cancel based on Mr. King's personal explanation of the estimate to be presented on Saturday.

I learned today that my mother is having her kitchen remodeled. My father is assisting the professional. Already he is complaining about the lack of food, the cause of which being the lack of kitchen appliances.
posted by Bj Price at 11:26 AM

My second bathroom estimate will not arrive. The guy that came out on monday to do the estimate has taken on 3 other jobs. Now he won't be able to do the job as soon as I need it done, nor will he be able to get me an estimate. He's sending his friend out on Monday to look at the job and give me an estimate.

My question is how long will this "Friend" take to supply an estimate? When could he start work? Should I just go with the one estimate I have?

I need to get into my house!
posted by Bj Price at 4:54 PM

My first bathroom estimate arrived this morning from Mr. King:
1. Remove shower stall (31" x 31" x 7') replace with tile walls approx 63 sqft, floor approx 9 sqft - $650
2. Remove vinyl flooring approx 28 sqft, Remove bad wood subfloor replace with 3/4" plywood - $200
Remove / reset toilet and replace flange pipe $125
Remove / reset sink $35
3. Floor Covering 28sqft tile $300
4. Replace / paint trim aprox 24 linear feet: $38

Grand Total - $1348
posted by Bj Price at 8:58 AM

Mr. King and I ripped up part of the vinyl flooring in the bathroom on Sunday. It turns out that the damage by the shower is old, dried damage. The real bad damage is from the toilet. The floor is wet. Really wet. It seems the flange on the toilet or the seal that connects the toilet and the flange is no longer doing its job of keeping all the water that goes through the toilet inside the plumbing.

So the vinyl needs to come up. The shower needs replacing, because there is still the hole in the shower pan, so if someone were to take a shower in it, then the other part of the floor would get wet.

Now is the time for decisions. Do I want to tile the shower and floor and have a beautiful tiny bathroom? Or do I want to put in another icky plastic shower and cover the floor with vinyl squares? I am awaiting an estimate.
posted by Bj Price at 10:47 AM

I may have found someone to fix the bathroom. If he does a good job, I may use him for the worke that needs done on the utility closet. David King is stopping by tomorrow to do an estimate of the work. He has a paint job scheduled for next week but is willing to do weekend work. If I could have the work done next weekend, I would be one happy clam!
posted by Bj Price at 12:01 PM

In August, I bought a 1928 colonial style home that had been turned into a duplex. Up until now, it had been rented out and I was unable to work on the house. I'm moving in this weekend. This is the story of my house.

The tenant handed over keys on Wednesday afternoon after I had the carpet in the bedroom cleaned $54. There was a lot of debis and dirt left in the apartment. It needed a good cleaning. The bathroom floor looked awful. Parts of the bathroom ceiling looked like they hadn't handled the moisture well. Steping close to the shower I felt the subfloor sag. Oh-no. Where did the leak come from?

On Thursday afternoon, the exterminator paid a visit, $157.94. While I waited for him, I started cleaning. I vacuumed dead bugs, swept away leaves off the porch. I discovered a hole in the floor of the utility room. A shelving unit had not exposed it when I explored the property prior to purchase.

On Thursday evening, I set to work on cleaning. I started in the bathroom where I learned that the bottom of the shower had pulled away from the walls leaving a hole where moisture found the subfloor. At least now I knew the culprit. The shower and subfloor and linoleum will all need to be replaced, pronto. Its a very tiny bathroom 3 1/2' by 6 1/2'. I hope I can do most of the work with the help of friends. I cleaned the refridgerator which had been left unplugged by the former tenant. I wiped down the cabinets as well. That took nearly 2 hours. It was late and I needed to go home.
posted by Bj Price at 10:57 AM