Welcome to Week 2 of the Fall 2021 One Room Challenge. Where my goal is to take our girls hardworking bathroom that was stuck in the 90’s to a whimsical and feminine space with plenty of room for the three girls that share it. Let me start you off with a few before pictures of the room we’re remodeling.
Have you ever remodeled a bathroom from start to finish with your own hands?
If you have you probably believe this is where the saying, “blood, sweat and tears came from.” Demoing anything is no joke. I remember it was the beginning of July when Mike and I tore the roof off of our last house to add a second story (in Southern California you might as well be standing on the surface of the sun) and I could feel the soles of my shoes melting (yes, I actually was wearing shoes) into the asphalt shingles.
Demoing isn’t fun, sure you get some stress out but that stress is quickly replaced by new stress, the, “WTF did I just get myself into?” creeps in pretty quickly when you start tearing sh*t apart.
A good before and after always begins with
a little bit of demolition. Right?
In case you ever need to remove one of these things, be aware there is a flange that sits just behind the drywall and is attached to the wall studs with screws or nails.
Then Mike came home. He was surprised. I think he was happy he didn’t have to do the demo. Although I’m absolutely certain he would be happier if I hadn’t done the demo and the bathroom wasn’t touched at all.
Mike would love it if I were into some other hobby but I’m not. Projects/remodels/custom building makes me happy. I can’t help it. In the immortalizing words of Lady Gaga, “I was born this way.” He shrugs his shoulders and starts his part. Plumbing, electrical, rough framing, he’s in.
Rebuilding and Dealing with the Surprises
The two 2×4’s on the top of the new shower ledge aren’t absolutely necessary but Mike likes to frame walls with double top plates. So, if you frame your own shower ledge or pony wall and don’t do a double top plate it’s not really a bid deal, it’s not like the roof is sitting on it.
This all took place a couple of weeks before the challenge started. The last week Mike hasn’t been home and if you follow me on Instagram you probably have seen me installing the tile in the shower a little bit each day. Next week I’ll talk about the shower water proofing method we are using and reveal the tiled shower on the blog. In the meantime here’s some more photos of the last month of progress.
For anyone who is still trying to figure out what the One Room Challenge is, follow that link and check it out. Linda has done an amazing job creating this challenge and keeping it going through the years and I’d like to give her a shout out and a thank you for doing it. I’d also like to thank Better Homes and Gardens who consistently shows up every year as our media partner. Special shout out to all those who are Featured Designers for this round, as many of them have done several ORC’s throughout the years. And also a sweet salute to my fellow Guest Participants who are here to complete our rooms and support each other along the way.
And if you’ve made it this far and are still looking for more, click around to some of my past ORC’s.
Seeing a full bathroom remodel on the ORC is inspiring. It’s a huge undertaking. I’ve said it before, I’m loving that you’re making your house work for you. 3 girls sharing a bath and there’s 3 sinks and 3 cabinets.
Wow! Great progress! My husband also questions my renovation hobby lol I thought you were doing a makeover on your bathroom but your actually doing a full gut renovation! You go girl!