The Bathroom Remodel

 Today, I'm going to start a variation on my series on our house remodeling; I'm going to focus on the individual rooms as they are completed, and I'm going to start with our family's most anticipated one--the 2nd bathroom! If you are currently or have ever lived in a house with more than two people and only one bathroom, then I am sure you can understand our excitement to have this room done! 😄

This was a project that we had planned and saved for ever since we moved into this house, so even though it wasn't a part of the storm damage from April, we decided to move ahead with it while the rest of the house was being worked on. Might as well get it all done at one time, right? We had already been stockpiling materials, like plywood for the subfloor, a vanity and toilet, and had money set aside for the rest, so it was easy to get going while the contractors worked on the rest of the house. 

We started by enclosing in our back porch--framing up the walls, removing the decking, strengthening the floor joists where necessary and laying a brand-new plywood subfloor. My dad and my father-in-law were a big help to Jimmy during this part of the process, and within a week and a half, the back porch was completely closed in and no longer resembling itself!

Next the shower stall went in and then the plumbing and electrical. We picked a shower with a bench seat and a low curb because it is important to us that this 2nd bathroom be handicap accessible. Jimmy has bad knees, and it's only a matter of time before he has to have knee surgery again. We wanted to make sure that even if he was in a wheelchair, he'd still be able to move around in there and use the room, so even the doorframe was framed up to be 36 in. wide to accommodate a wheelchair.

Next came the insulation and drywall. We put in the insulation ourselves, but there was enough money in the budget to pay the contractor, Van, and his crew to install the drywall which saved Jimmy a lot of labor! Money well spent!

Once the drywall was mudded, it was time for paint and flooring. This also was subcontracted out to Van, and his guys simply completed those jobs at the same time they painted and put in the flooring for the rest of the house. 

Next, Jimmy put in the vanity and toilet and hooked up the shower. It was an exciting day when we could actually use all three for the first time!

Finally, it was time for the finishing touches. Jimmy put up three shelves behind the door to hold towels and things, and hung towel rods and hooks on the walls. All the vintage hardware we picked up at yard sales or thrift stores for next to nothing, and I'll let you in on a secret: those two towel hooks are actually the two ends of a towel rod we didn't use. We liked the look of them and decided to try them by themselves as hooks; they work great!

The space behind the shower makes a convenient broom closet, and it is so nice to have a designated place for all my large cleaning supplies now!

Finally, I put up some pictures--postcards of Indian baskets and pottery that I had framed. Jimmy loves Native American art, so I chose to decorate the bathroom with that style.

So, there it is! The first finished room in our house, and we love it! I predict it will get a whole lot of use in the years to come! 😉

And if you're wondering about the other bathroom, it got a facelift too. The water damage in that end of the house had extended to that bathroom, so the old flooring and subfloor had to be replaced in there just like everywhere else.

Once the cracks in the doorframe were fixed, it also was repainted, and then I simply put new art in there--pictures that my great-aunt had painted in the 1970s. I love having pieces of family history hanging on the walls!