Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Bathroom Remodeling

Ages ago (like well over a year) we discovered that our bathroom sink was rusted. Not just a little bit rusted, but rusted clear through. In the sink's defense, it is probably the original sink installed in the house in 1973. We discovered the leak while replacing the faucet which also seemed to be the original from 1973 (it too was leaking). Not wanting to get in to anything too massive where bathroom renovations were concerned, Brad was able to just use some plumber's putty to "fix" the leak.
Fast forward a few months. I noticed one day that the bag I'd pulled from under the sink for the trash can was wet. This was slightly disturbing, but it wasn't like it was dripping... just a little damp.
Fast forward a few months (maybe it was even just a few weeks), and Brad realized he'd left some tools under that same sink from when he'd changed out the faucet. He went to fetch them and they were rusted. Further proof that the "fix" was not working.
Finally a couple of weekends back I was pulling yet another bag out from under the sink and noticed that it was wet. No, not damp, actually wet. Water had pooled on the bag, so that when I grabbed it and pulled a small puddle ended up on the floor. This was bad and needed some immediate attention.
I mentioned to Brad that the "fix" was shot and we needed to look in to replacing the vanity. We would probably have opted to replace the sink but previous attempts to disengage the sink from the vanity proved impossible. Plus, the vanity/sink combo was ancient (see part where it's undoubtedly the original from 1973). We'd looked at other vanity/sink combos at Home Depot and Lowe's and found a few that were inexpensive and good looking. Brad and his friend Nick met up, headed to Lowe's and picked up a new one to install. I was very excited, but of course it wasn't going to be easy.
I'd like to note that it has been two weeks now since this project first started and I still have no sink to use in my bathroom. There is an upside to this. While Nick was able to come in, remove the old installation, and begin the process of the new installation, there were more challenges to overcome. The vanity had been flush with the front and right side wall. The new vanity did not want to be flush with anything and when we made it flush it then exposed part of the floor that had never been finished. Everyone had a theory as to how to deal with the flooring issue, but the bigger issue is that the floor just needs to be replaced. It's spongy in places, has a slope in other places, and isn't installed very well regardless.
What was once a simple issue of replacing a sink has now become a bathroom renovation. Not to say that the bathroom doesn't need to be renovated, but frankly I'm short on time here and I'd like to see this done sooner rather than later. I like using the potty closest to me when at all possible, and even though it's only another 10 steps or so to our other bathroom it's a pain.... especially in the middle of the night (for 3 - 4 trips). Brad is now nearly halfway through the process of laying porcelain tile that I picked out. Hopefully he'll finish up the actual tile laying this evening and begin the process of grouting tomorrow. Perhaps when he's finished, and the new sink is in place, and the potty is put back I will post pictures.

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