# Off work for the next week completely remodeling bathroom



## airborne82

good luck and what a good looking project its going to be! Your right to just demo everything especially if your on a time constraint working around old stuff is just too much of a pita. I am looking forward to seeing the progress of this so please post pics as you go!


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## Jackofall1

Hello and welcome Chuck, to the best darn DIY'r site on the web.

Is it 5' x 10' sure look familiar, did the same thing last year, I removed the tub altogether and went with a custom shower complete with concrete shower pan.

I also moved the toilet away from the tub, to allow for a larger inside dimension on the shower, I had to cross a floor joist, if yours is the same you will be facing the same thing, laced some 3/4" ply and glued and screwed a piece back in to patch the joist.

Looks like you have the same problem, if you put a level on the tub, it will be slanted toward the outside (toward the toilet) meaning you can never get a good enough seal and water ends up leaking out. As I was building a shower, I removed the tub and found the floor was out by 3/4" across 3'.

Anyway, post some pic's of your adventure and if you can enlist some help it will sure speed the process up, mine took somewhat longer than what you have allotted in your schedule. That may be due to the shower though.

Mark


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## Missouri Bound

Great project sure to increase the value of your home. I hope you have another bathroom.


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## Gary in WA

Welcome to the forum!

Looks like work for someone...
With that storage unit you could go to a pedestal sink, space would feel bigger.

Gary


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## oh'mike

Keep us posted! 9 day will be a hustle.

Get your supplies lined up so you don't have to waste a lot of time running off to the store.--

Good luck----Mike----


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## ChuckBlack

*update 1*

Jackofall1
-Yes it is a 5x10.

GBR in WA
-We're getting rid of the storage unit and are going with a 48" from Home Depot, (if they ever get around to fulfilling my order)

oh'mike
-We spent a pretty penny on the most obvious things already, I had to see what I was dealing with before I got some items tho...

Thanks for the words of encouragement guys, I'm happy to report the studs look great, vapor barrier is holding up good too. You can see in the following picts that it was obviously time to reno this puppy. All the drywall has been removed, except the ceiling, that will be torn down as well. You can see above the bathtub taps they had to cut the drywall and do some repairs at some point. That big window frame looking thing above that tho is a mystery. A window there would lead into a bedroom.

Anyway, gonna remove some drywall screws from the studs while I wait for help hauling out that bathtub.

Later!


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## oh'mike

That looks like a steel tub----Shouldn't weigh much at all!

What kind of tub and surround are you doing?


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## mikeylikesit580

Looking good, Id be curious to see what problems you run into. Im looking at doing mine too here soon. Best of luck!


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## ChuckBlack

oh'mike
-You're right, it didn't end up weighing that much at all. It was nice to have some help even tho I really didn't need it, those beers don't drink themselves!
I bought a drop in tub. I'm planning on tiling the front of it and the walls. I am also considering having the wall stick out to stop any further water from dripping down the sides of the wall/tub area. I also want it to hang low enough from the ceiling to hide the shower curtain bar from the outside.

mikeylikesit580
- Problems? Oh ya, I got em! The 1/2 of MDF above the floor is rotten, peeled that off. The sub-subfloor has to go too. You can tell by the dark spots in the following pict. Gotta cut that out. The toilet drain is right in the middle of the joist as I look to the future problems I face. (More on that soon) A tap under the sink was seized so i had to shut the cut-off valve it luckily had off. Need to replace all the taps (shut-off valves) while I'm at it, don't want other taps seizing. Supporting the new subfloor without a joist right under the edge of the wall and the floor is also a problem. Cutting the floor out right against the edge of the wall with my skillsaw seems tricky. The bathtub faucet would not come off without the help of my sawsall, etc etc etc I'm sure, I'll keep ya'll posted on this.

Here's my night ending pict. I left enough rotten MDF to install my new toilet, I was dying to try it out. WHOSH! Sweet...

Later...


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## oh'mike

I'm concerned with your choice of a deck mounted tub.

If you are going to have a shower head-----you will be creating a leak problem.

Any water that misses the tub and hits the deck instead will need a place to go---Where will that be?

----Mike-----


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## ChuckBlack

oh'mike
-This drop in tub by Maxx has a flange on 3 sides.


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## oh'mike

You are thinking! Keep us posted---Mike----


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## ChuckBlack

Well, it's been pretty slow going. Planning/drinking beer and more planning...
I managed to get most of the electrical done. I'm getting rid of the ceiling light, moving that power over the mirror on the wall. I'm adding 4 pot lights to the ceiling in the main area and 2 in the shower area. I have that electrical run up to the attic.

Since I'm putting in heated flooring I need to have a dedicated line to the thermostat in the bathroom. I got lucky and remembered I had a an old line from the breaker box to the add on. There used to be a baseboard heater in there. I salvaged that line and ran it up into the bathroom. I also purchased a 20 amp GFCI breaker to replace the breaker that is currently feeding that line.

Plumbing is going ok. Since the vanity isn't in yet it's hard to finish that. Home Depot was originally going to get it in for me by the end of March, that then changed to April 5th. I'm still waiting. I've called and they said they put out a request for tracking number, I still haven't heard back about that either. Not looking good.

I'll let the pictures do most of the talking on the plumbing. My problem was that the toilet is too close to the bathtub so I had to move both the toilet and vanity over. I have't started with the toilet yet, waiting till I get to the floor for that.

Cheers!


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## oh'mike

You are missing the air chambers on those water lines.--(Knockers)---Mike---


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## Jackofall1

Looking at the new plumbing you ran, appears the hot is on the wrong side now? Should aways be on the left.

Mark


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## ChuckBlack

oh'mike
-First I hear of this. I never really had a problem before, and all they had previously were shut off valves so I "kinda" just duplicated what they had there.

Jackofall1
-Good eye! I'll probably simply cross the braided lines to rectify this problem.


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## Jackofall1

If you were being inspected crossing the braided lines would not pass. You really should fix it while its open, what's a few more sweat joints.

Mark


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## rossfingal

You should probably space the water supply lines a little farther apart -
where they go through the wall.
Also, remember metal "nail guards" on the face of the studs where your
supply lines and drain line go through the studs - don't want screws/nails
penetrating them! 

rossfingal


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## rossfingal

Also, it looks like the supply lines for the tub/shower are inside the stud-wall.
Since it appears you have the room - consider "furring out" the wall -
(2 X 2's) and running the supply lines outside of the stud cavity.
Should probably be a minimum, 3 1/2 inches of insulation (uncompressed R-19) between the supply lines and the sheathing.
Don't forget "nail guards"! (Also, where your electric lines run through the studs)!

RF


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## rossfingal

Don't forget "Fire-Stop" foam/caulk where your electric/plumbing lines
run through the top/bottom plates of the walls!
Sure looks like fun!! 

RF


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## ChuckBlack

Jackofall1
-I'll see what I can do about it. It's just I have the hot crossing in front of the cold that complicates things.

rossfingal
-I agree, further apart and nail guards for sure!

I don't really have the room to build out the wall as I was planning on adding a shelf built into the the wall opposite the shower head, roughly 3-4 ft above the top edge of the tub.

I do want to add insulation behind that wall as it was slightly too noisy there before.

Fire Stop is also a new concept to me, thanks, I shall research it further.

I really appreciate all the help and input guys, thanks! I hope I'm good for supplies for a bit because today I have a new problem to face. I hope they get around to fixing this soon, my little trip the the hardware store this morning was pretty interesting. This is the only way in or out and there is only more of the wet stuff to come!


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## oh'mike

Forget the bathroom for a minute----Wow.Nice area----just for fun post another picture or two of your beautiful Provence!


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## ChuckBlack

oh'mike
-I'll take a picture or two saturday when my help isn't here.

-Well, as you'll be able to see in the following picts, the floor was cut out, toilet drain moved away from the tub. The joist was braced where they had previously notched it out for the toilet drain. The floor was then braced due to the next joist being under the floor plate. The hole was then covered with the flange later installed.

Jackofall1 would be happy to see that I fixed the hot water for the bathroom sink, it's back on the left now. I also spaced them further apart.

The water supply to the toilet was a b***h because it had no shut off valve beneath the floor. No matter what tap I shut under the house or opened to relieve pressure water still trickled out the line. I was waiting and waiting for it to stop coming up checking everywhere for another tap to open or close when I remembered that ol' trick I learnt off of the net. Stuff a piece of bread in the pipe, solder everything up then squirt the bread out the tap when done. Worked like a charm!

I've since capped off the shower and turned the water back on and woohoo, approx 49 solder joints and not a single leak! Safe to start putting the drywall etc up! I even picked up some nail guards today since I was at Home Depot finally picking up my vanity. Good day!


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## ChuckBlack

Forgot a pict!


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## rossfingal

Hi!
It's looking very good! 
Don't forget to "strap down"/secure your water and waste lines to the framing.
rossfingal


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## mikeylikesit580

that does look much better! cant wait to see the finish product. What kind of tub/shower are you using?


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## oh'mike

I suggest that you add temporary stub outs to your shower and tub flanges. This allows you to test the work and makes installing the tub surround/tile easier.---Mike----


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## Jim F

That short sister piest on the hacked up joist is a waste of time. It should be a longer piece, as long as you can make it. You may want to consider cross bracing of those joists to prep for tile to take some of the bounce out of the floor.


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## ChuckBlack

*Progress!*

rossfingal
-Done!

mikeylikesit580
-It's a Maxx Newtown RH Acrylic tub, the rest is tile.

Jim F
-It's all sealed up and that was the biggest piece of 2x10 scrap that I had laying around. I do agree and it will happen tomorrow before we lay down any tile, more bracing is needed. Especially where one sheet meets the next.

-Here's some picts of the progress...
We managed to install that shelf I wanted onto the back wall. I love it! It's even shimmed very slightly to the front to allow for drainage. The wall in front of the tub is centred for the tub. I had such an issue with water damage there in the past that I didn't want any more issues again.


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## rossfingal

I was wondering - are you going to install tile on the floor?
If so, underlayment (plywood, cementboard, etc.) over the subfloor?
Try to install any of the electric, in the bath, with GFCI protection.
Looking good! 

rossfingal


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## Mop in Hand

Keep in mind that "permabase" is moisture resistant not waterproof.


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## ChuckBlack

rossfingal
-Yes, tile on the floor. I went with Ditra underlayment, well worth the expense from what I hear. The plug that has been added to the bathroom is GFCI and the dedicated circuit to the floor has a GFCI breaker.

Mop in Hand
-Yes, I heard that as well. I made sure to install the permabase a 1/4 inch above the bathtub as to not allow any seepage. 



-Well, finished the drywall today, wired up and installed the heated floor. Having to glue down each loop is a pain in the butt. Put the first coat of mortar down with Ditra on top. Letting that all Dry before we move onto the mudding and tiling. Loving the progress!


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## rossfingal

Looks very good!
When you're done with it - we have to re-do a "nice" bathroom in a
120 year old house - want to take another "vacation" and come down
here and help!?! 
Ha, ha, ha!

Regards! 

rossfingal


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## ChuckBlack

Little update...

We did some tiling last night, looking good! Using that angle grinder seen below to cut the toilet flange hole worked like a charm! This tile is tough! Cutting the faucet and taps plus pot lights into that tile is going to be hell. I had an impossible time passing a masonry drill bit through there already. Got some research to do on that...


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## ChuckBlack

Quick update, grouted the floor today and cut 2 holes in 2 pieces of porcelain. Man oh man, we're talking 1 hour per hole with a diamond tipped hole saw on a drill press. About a bottle and a half of water in a spray bottle gets used. I still have to cut out the shower head and pot lights, dreading that immensely.


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## jasonstrent070

*good luck*

Well good luck to your project plans for your bathroom. I will guess that it will look so good after you are done with it cause of your one week off.







________________


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## rossfingal

"CB" ("Wife Pleaser" - I can see why!) 
We use a "Roto-Zip" with a diamond bit (lots of water!) - it's "pricey" -
around here the cost is $35 to $40.
We've used it on floor tile - marble, slate, porcelain/glass, etc. - with
very good success.
Practice on some scrap pieces, before you attempt "real" cuts - clamp
the pieces down.
(Caution! - don't try this at home! - he, he, he!) 
Make sure, when you go to set the toilet - use a wax ring that's thick
enough - you might want to stack 2 thin wax rings - (or a "No. 10" -
sometimes: it's "hit or miss").
When you go to caulk between the tub-surround walls and the tub -
fill the tub with warm water - let it sit for awhile - then caulk.

Looks Good!
Cordially yours: from the "wonderful world" of "Remodeling H*ll"! 
rossfingal


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## Mop in Hand

What is the distance from the wall to the center of the toilet flange? Looks a little short.


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## rossfingal

"ChuckBlack"

{Mop in Hand} has a point.
Your tile looks like 12" by 12" - make sure the "Center" of the toilet-flange
is, at least, 12 inches away from the "Finished" wall surface (behind the 
toilet).

rossfingal


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## Jim F

Making good progress. This should be moved to the project showcase board.


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## ChuckBlack

rossfingal
-I will check out other options for hole cutting on my next trip to the hardware store. I think I cheaped out on my hole saws after watching a few youtube videos of other hole saws in action. Thanks for the advice on the wax rings, I did indeed have to stack two rings together. And again, excellent advice on the filling of the tub, I checked that out and it seems like the thing to do.

Mop in Hand/rossfingal
-The distance is 11 1/4. Why? Because of the joist that was in the way and 'cocky' measurements. We measured the toilet, then the wall and figured we could squeeze it in without cutting the joist. A little close for comfort but it doesn't touch the wall. Close one.

Jim F
-Thanks! Being a new member I wasn't sure where to place this thread. I'd be fine with moving it if you think it'd be better suited for the project showcase board.


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## ChuckBlack

Bah! Forgot to hit upload, sorry...


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## ronnie77

looking ok so far keep us informed


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## DIYadam

For cutting smaller holes for the shower bits, a trick is to use an angle grinder and cut from the backside of the tile. 

Transfer your measurements onto the back of your tile. Then you starting "sinking" your grinder into each line, the trick here is to do it bit by bit, because the blade is a circle (obviously), the cut will actually be a lot longer than needed, but you stop once you break through the front of the tile for the required size. 

Let me see if I can find a picture to explain. Ah sweet, found one. If done right you shouldn't need the other tools in the picture, just a grinder. 










Good luck! :thumbsup:

Adam


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## rossfingal

CB!
It looks good!
When you tile the walls: don't let the wall tiles sit "dead" on the floor -
if possible.

Regards!

rossfingal


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## ChuckBlack

Some tile done tonight...


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## ChuckBlack

DIYadam
-Did just that, thanks! I used the nippers too and to finish it off I grinded it off with the side of a spinning hole saw on a drill press. Fits like a glove.

rossfingal
-Thanks again!

-Slow going since I've been back at work. Got the walls almost all tiled up. Got the holes cut. Made a stand for the bathtub when tiling the ceiling. Made supports for the tile over the archway. I'm hoping to finish the tile tonight. Gonna be a late one...

Cheers!


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## ChuckBlack

Progress report...

Got the tile in the shower all done and grouted. Just have the lip of the wall and the outer wall left to tile. Since grouting the corners was a b***h, I came up with the idea (maybe I saw it somewhere before) of sticking the grout in a ziplock bag and squeezing it out of a corner I had cut. It made applying the grout to the corners way easier.

I finally finished the drywall work and applied a coat or primer and my first coat of paint. Since we're going a darker red, I had the primer tinted to help speed things along a bit.

Cheers!


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## Ironlight

Looking good. What lighting fixtures did you use inside the shower?


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## ChuckBlack

Ironlight
-I picked up a 6 pack of pot lights from Home Depot, UL rated for damp locations.

FINALLY finished the major tile work, still have to grout but whatever. So happy! The ball is starting to roll!

Here's where I stand...


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## prolaj

It's nice but I've seen much better, your tile man must of been intoxicated.


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## Missouri Bound

prolaj said:


> It's nice but I've seen much better, your tile man must of been intoxicated.


 Guess there's a pr*** in every crowd.

I think you have done a fine job


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## Marqed97

I agree. Great job, man... I'll be undertaking a bathroom renovation in the near future myself. Ignore the negative folks...looks great!


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## ChuckBlack

HA!

It's all good guys, prolaj is my tile guy! He was intoxicated and it was all my doing


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## rossfingal

Yeah, I've seen "perfect" tile work!
I don't know who did it!
(I do know, it wasn't me!) 
I think it looks great!
I hope your "significant other" likes it!! 

rossfingal


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## Jim F

I've been curious as to why your tub is sort of framed in. Is that to help keep the water in?


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## mikeylikesit580

Chuck: looks great, Im getting ready to do mine still. Keeping this thread bookmarked


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## ChuckBlack

Jim F
-Yep, mainly to keep the water in. I think it looks cool too. Makes the shower feel more like a walk-in or something and plain isn't what we were going for.

-Thanks again for those compliments! It's been pretty slow going since I got the shower working, grouted and sealed. I took the weekend off and let my "significant other" clean and dust the rest of the house with the help of her mother and sister. Back at it today with some final painting of the ceiling. The painting took a bit longer because we changed our minds and decided to do the ceiling the same colour as the walls. Needed more paint also. Put a second coat of sealer on the grout in the shower today as well.

One problem I encountered was the fact that the shower arm is way too low, as I foolishly kept it the same height as it was before. The replacement is on the way.

Anyway, more trim to paint.


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## sanseven

wow , beautiful bathroom.


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## ChuckBlack

sanseven

-Thanks! It totally out-classes the rest of the house.


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## shumakerscott

It looks great. Your comment about grouting the corner's has me concerned. You should silicone the corners and grout the flat. If or when it starts to crack then dig it out and caulk it. I used a cake icing bag to grout hard areas around my stones. Keep up the good work. dorf dude...


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## Jim F

shumakerscott said:


> It looks great. Your comment about grouting the corner's has me concerned. You should silicone the corners and grout the flat. If or when it starts to crack then dig it out and caulk it. I used a cake icing bag to grout hard areas around my stones. Keep up the good work. dorf dude...


I think I'll try latex caulk in the corners next time. The silicone attracts a lot of dirt and is hard to clean. But grout is definately not a good idea.


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## rossfingal

ChuckBlack!

What did you say?!? - "...It totally out-classes the rest of the house.".
I know what you'll be doing with all your "vacations", for a long, long time!!
Bringing the "class" of the rest of the house - up to the class of the
bathroom!! 
(At least, you have a good target to shoot at!)
Nice!! 

rossfingal


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## ChuckBlack

shumakerscott

-Thanks, will do! The bathroom was one of the rooms without any cracks, I hope that keeps up.

rossfingal
-You know it!

-Well, the shower arm came in today. Thank god such a thing exists. My first though was that I was going to have to rip that tile out and build it all up. Wasn't looking forward to that. I also started on the pot lights. Man, time consuming. I got two in so far. I tested it all out after I had one pot light in, everything worked, sweet!


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## ChuckBlack

Little update here. It's coming along, the lights are all in. What a total pain crawling around in an insulated attic installing these things but well worth the effort. The lights add so much to the look of the room, highly recommended.

I'm also starting on the vanity, hope to have that done soon, need to make another quick trip to the hardware store...

Later!


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## Missouri Bound

Let's see.....off work for a week to remodel the bathroom.......a month later still not finished. Nice to see someone else works on the same timeline I do.
NIce job, by the way. The walls....is that paint or a prefinished panel? Amazing how smooth it looks.


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## ChuckBlack

Missouri Bound

-Hehe, yep! Crazy how that works eh? The walls are just drywall coated with glossy paint. I cheaped out on the rollers and have lint in my paint, not as smooth as the pictures show. Lesson learnt...

-Vanity is all screwed to the wall and the top is caulked! Tomorrow get that sink working I hope...

Later!


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## Marqed97

Looks great, man. I've been following along, really impressed. I've slowly been saving the money to do ours. Just finished a new storm door and two windows. My main helper looks to be about the same age as yours is


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## Missouri Bound

....you are much younger than I thought


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## Jim F

I was also curious at the beginning of this thread to see how far you'd get in a week. That is awfullly ambitious. Stiil you are making impressive progress for a DIY project. It took me almost a year to finish my bathroom and am still working on finishing my kitchen- haven't posted on that project thread in so long it's probably on page 3. 

I hope to get busy on the kitchen floor this week. I find the devil is in the details like the trim, finish mudding on the drywall and painting.


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## LeviDIY

This looks really really good... well done! You've gota good helper I see as well!

My Project Manager (wife) sets timelines and completion goals based on what she thinks is reasonable. I just smile and nod. Smile and nod...


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## prolaj

looks good man! Can't wait to check it out.


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## kitchendweller

Wow! I can't believe you did that! It looked so outdated (and yes your toilet was definitely too close to the tub before haha), but now it looks very modern! I could never do the remodel myself and had to hire a contractor to remodel my bathroom. I went for a country style feel with a light blue, but I like your red too!


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## ChrisDIY

Awesome Job!


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## CoconutPete

Looks faan-freaking tastic!


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## Adrenalinejunky

Wheres the finished updates?? :thumbsup:


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