I think I’ll just let the pictures speak for themselves.
Compare to the before photos posted yesterday. Details to follow.
House Tour: Upstairs Bathroom After
Tag: Bathroom
House Tour: Upstairs Bathroom Before
I can remember the first time mom and I walked through this house. The owners were showing it themselves, because it was up for auction. I stepped into this bathroom, turned and said to mom, “we’re going to have to factor a bathroom remodel right into the budget for this house.” She agreed. We both knew it couldn’t stay like that for long.
Once the paperwork was finalized and the P.O.s moved out (five weeks of me renting to them), I finally got the house all to myself. Little did I know then… But I always knew this bathroom had to go. I’ve even thought it could have made a good entry for American Standard’s Ugliest Bathroom Contest. But they don’t seem to do that anymore.
These photos were taken in September 2003.
Once upon a time, there was a claw foot tub in here, but it was long gone by the time I arrived. I’d guess 1970s?
Once upon a time, there was a claw foot tub in here, but it was long gone by the time I arrived. I’d guess 1970s?
The ceiling was low, the lighting was ugly, the floor was squishy, the tub was shorter than normal at 4-1/2′, its faucet leaky, any natural daylight was almost completely blocked by the weird shower wall addition, daddy couldn’t even get to the plumbing access panel…
…that’s about 10″ there, people.
If your eyes can get past the nasty, teal with gold veins …laminate?… wall panels, you can see they butchered the poor header on the medicine cabinet with that hideous 80s lighting.
The toilet also leaked. Alot. We woke up one morning to water dripping from the ceiling right onto the kitchen counter! I would have been a whole lot more disgusted if we had actually been using the kitchen at the time. Anyway, the downstairs bathroom wasn’t yet completed, so my dad’s solution was to turn the water off to the toilet (luckily it was the ingoing water that was leaking, not the, erm, outgoing). This did not render the bathroom unusable, however, because all we had to do was collect water dripping from the tub faucet into a bucket, and voila! Instant use of wasted water. The tub faucet was leaking about a gallon of water every two hours. Daddy intended to fix it, but he said the whole thing had to be replaced, he couldn’t reach the plumbing, and we were going to gut this room in less than a year, so…
Check out the gold vein on that counter surface. Not matching, but coordinating.
Just wait till you see all we did to this room. You may not recognise it. Once we realized how bad the water damage was, this room had to be torn down to the studs. And then some of those even had to be sistered. We bumped two walls out, raised the ceiling, leveled the floor, well, you’ll see…
House Tour to Resume
It occurred to me a few weeks back, when houseblogs.net was running the True Value show us your before and after contest, that I’ve never finished the house tour. I think we stopped on our way to the second floor. I thought of this because I think the upstairs bathroom has had the most dramatic before and after. But because I hadn’t shown it to you all yet, I decided to go with the kitchen instead. Besides, I think the point of that contest was what homeowners have done for themselves, and I can’t claim much responsibility for the bathroom. I don’t tile and I don’t plumb.
I think I’ll show you the bedrooms first, but don’t get too excited, they are kind of boring (and messy). Then I’ll save the best- the bathroom- for last. Just to keep you interested.
Seriously, though, It’ll be worth the wait. The old bathroom was pretty bad. I almost considered entering it in American Standard’s Ugliest Bathroom contest!
House Tour: Downstairs Bathroom After
This is the downstairs bath, adjacent to Oliver’s room. Now part of Oliver’s suite. I believe this room (as well as Oliver’s room) used to be part of the back porch. While two windows are definitely original to the house, and look like they have been in the same place since 1930, I’m not sure why they would have been on the porch.
Oliver spends hot days laying in the shower. Sometimes I run the cold water for a few seconds before I leave in the morning. The large shower head continues to drip water (not from a leak, just pressure) for a while, and I have seen Oli chase the drops, trying to bite them. So, fun and cool.
The shower pan, sink, toilet, and all faucets are from American Standard.
I love the taller toilet. I belive American Standard calls it right-height. They are between 17 and 18″ tall. I think most “standard” toilets are between 12 and 14″ tall. Trust me, those extra couple of inches in height make a big difference. I realize this might be a strange thing to talk about in some circles, but I want to let any housblogger out there know: if you are replacing your toilet, and going with something brand new, give the taller toilet a try. I’m not a tall person (5’4″), but many in my family are a bit on the tall side. My fibromyalgia causes pain in my hips, and I seriously appreciate not having to crouch so much. Okay, that’s enough about toilet preferences.
The counter and the shower walls are Swanstone. The cabinets are from KraftMaid. The floor is cork.
Oliver likes the cork floors because they do help to insulate a bit better. It can get very chilly in this bathroom during the winter since it is over an uninsulated part of the basement.
I’m very pleased with this bathroom. We had it completed before we gutted the upstairs bathroom, so we would have a place to bathe and other necessities. I know it isn’t very old looking, and I never intended it to be. We are fairly certain this bathroom was not part of the original floorplan, so it didn’t have to look original. Instead, we tried to keep with the overall feel of the house. Quality cabinets, fixtures, faucets. High ceilings, and original woodwork.
House Tour: Downstairs Bathroom Before
The downstairs bathroom in September 2003…
I was very glad to have a second bathroom in the house at all. And it served its purpose. But when we realized we were going to have to tear out the whole bathroom upstairs, I decided we needed to have a place to shower during the renovation of the upstairs bathroom.
This teeny-weenie sink and toilet would go, and they would be reversed in position before it was all said and done. This was the only way we could fit a sink, toilet and shower into this tiny space. Plus, it kept all the hot water lines along an interior wall.
Also, I’ll never understand why they would have gone out and purchased a cheap, hollow-core door for this room when there were two five-panel doors, original to the house, in perfect condition, stashed away in the attic. Duh.
This disgusting little pantry closet (part of the back hall) would become the spot for the shower. I really can’t believe they kept food there. It had no ceiling. It was just open at the top. Open to anything that might be living in those two feet above the drop ceiling. Ew.
Green Bungalow Craftworks 