My bathroom repair project

[Zanne]

Closer looks at the filled gap on the right side:



I took a strip of scrap PVC and attached it to the lower left side of the left trim-- scabbing it on to the already scabbed on piece. Since it was only 5-1/2" long I had to place it strategically to support a tear-away strip. Glued & stapled it on, then glued on the tear away strip.

I need to thoroughly clean that floor before I glue anything else up. I'm still going to need caulk in the gap unless I use shoe or quarter round molding or something to cover the remaining gap. I've got some quarter that is small that I could use. Although, if I'm careful and wait for the adhesive to fully cure I can probably just use caulk, but we'll see. I might have to put something behind the tear away strip to offer a little more support.

 

[Zanne]

I cleaned the floor and glued in a scrap piece of vinyl sheet where the mouse chewed. It didn't want to go the way I wanted and I might have to tape it down or do something later-- maybe use clear caulk over the seam, but it looks better than it did before. No exposed wood. The trim is not in place. It looks rough in the photo but with the lighting in the room I can't see the roughness with my eyes- I only see it in the photo because my camera picks up details well. I don't care if its a bit rough, it is sealed up. Trim is obviously not in place fully.

 

[BlueSkyHigh]

I cleaned the floor and glued in a scrap piece of vinyl sheet where the mouse chewed.

Mice need love, and apparently, vinyl too! Looking nice Zanne!

 

[Zanne]

Thanks! It looks better with the baseboard in front of the tub. I'm hoping to get some stuff shimmed out today. Going to talk to my friend about when he's available to help. It's been so damn hot that I've been trying to hibernate. LOL.

I'm also trying to help him figure out how to get equal pressure to 2 rainshowerheads and I'm looking in to the loop thing I've seen done but am not quite sure how it is done and am looking up videos.

Still need to cut a side piece for the right side trim so it goes against the tub properly but the jigsaw wouldn't cut it. I was going to use the handheld circular saw attachment (aka trimsaw) from my Matrix but I don't have enough hand strength to hold the safety unlock button down to get the saw to turn on. That is really a bummer. Wish I could find the bandsaw that I think might be down in the workshop and figure out which outlets are still working. Roof leaked and a lot of the electrical died. Water got inside the north exterior wall of the workshop. I also noticed the electrical box on the exterior south wall of the workshop has char marks from something burning up. here's a hole in the roof above it and it rained on it. Will need to figure out how to patch that and get things fixed up.

 

[havasu]

The above video explains the loop system, and also talks about increasing pipe size. This should answer your questions Z.

 

[Zanne]

The above video explains the loop system, and also talks about increasing pipe size. This should answer your questions Z.

That was one of the first ones I found when googling. I forgot to mention in the thread I started that I was wondering if 3/4" would make a difference if the pipe coming into the house is only 1/2". Is it worth expanding to 3/4" if there are reductions to 1/2"?

I'm going to see if Mom wants food and then hit the hardware store to look at spade bits to see if they have something that could widen the hole for the shower arm just a little bit. I drilled 0.75" and the adapter is about 0.96".

 

[havasu]

A spade bit won't work. It will really mess it up. How about the step drill bit?

 

[Zanne]

Thanks, Havasu. I have another option. I found a rotozip. Looks like a plunge router possibly. I'm going to test it out and see how it works. Its going to be on the closet side so no worries if it makes ugly cuts. Ooh, I didn't think about a step bit. That's a good idea. I'll have to look for some.

 

[Zanne]

Five hours of work (including putting table saw together & taking breathers). Too tired to describe but will post the pics.


Needs caulk, touch-up paint, and major cleanup.

 

[Zanne]

Quarter round nails hidden

Covered the nails on the cove moulding and the top moulding as well.

Used a bag to cover the showerhead. Getting the tape off the shower arm was a royal pain.

Covered the nails on the side trim

And on the baseboard

Overall view of the cluttered mess

Next step is cleanup, but I'm waiting for the paint to fully dry. Will need to vacuum, scrub, etc. Then I need to go get my shampoo and body wash and my bath sheets from my friend's house. I'll take a nice shower and then I'll organize the bathroom more.

One of the hinges on my vanity broke when a cord got tangled on it (it was hanging partway off). I got white hinges but they yellowed over the years. I need to take the door to the store with me to look at hinges to make sure I get the right size for the thickness of the door.

 

[Zanne]

And now: Just need to clean up and wait for the caulk and paint to fully cure.

 

[Zanne]

Cats clawed the tp but I got some hooks up to hold back scrubber and washcloth.
anti-slip mat inside, bath mat outside. Once I move things around I can adjust it more. Other bath mat needs to be washed.

 

[Zanne]

Current view. Once I get the towel bar up I'm going to see how the water pressure is and take a shower--after I confirm that the tub drains ok.

 

[Zanne]

Water pressure works well, tub drains fine, but the hot & cold are reversed. Not a big deal for me. I think my friend put the cartridge in wrong.
Got the towel bar up and that was a bear. I hate the flathead set screws. No tongue and groove in the wall behind the towel bar and it didn't hit studs so I used metal drywall anchors. There was tongue & groove behind the wall for the tp holder. Still hate the set screws.

 

[havasu]

Beautiful job. Unfortunately, that extra crap all over the floor is really messing with my OCD.

 

[Zanne]

Beautiful job. Unfortunately, that extra crap all over the floor is really messing with my OCD.

Yeah. I really need to figure out where to put it. And Mom said "Hey, did you finish your bathroom? If its finished you can take the junk out of my bathroom and put it in yours". I told her I don't have the space. she said "Your bathroom is larger than mine". They are about the same size... And I need to get stuff out, not put more stuff in. I think maybe if I organize the stuff in her bathroom or find some place to put it then she will be happier. Maybe I can find some really big bins that I can stick in the front room and put stuff in. LOL.

I need to change the lightbulb in her overhead light so maybe it will look brighter in there. I might be able to take some stuff from both bathrooms down to the workshop.

As an aside, this image shows the sort of set screw I was talking about. I'm thinking of getting this hook for a robe/wrap bc it's under $4. Set screw is a pain, but I can deal with it.

If I do get it, I'm trying to figure out the best place to mount it.

 

[havasu]

Those are robe or towel hooks, and mounted either next to the bath, or I put them behind the door, where I put my jammies in the morning.

 

[Zanne]

Those are robe or towel hooks, and mounted either next to the bath, or I put them behind the door, where I put my jammies in the morning.

Yeah, I want to have one near the shower somewhere so I can grab the wrap or a robe off of the hook to put on shortly after getting out.

 

[Zanne]

I've located a stud about 14" from an obvious stud (nails in board & feels solid) by pressing on the walls and seeing where they flexed and tapping to hear hollow vs solid. I could actually feel the difference. I'm going to mount to that stud but need to figure out the height. I could do it the same height as the towel bar, or I could make it a little higher. It will only be for a short wrap. I have a wooden block with pegs already up that can hold robes, jackets, etc.

The hook arrived today and I assembled it. Had to put the white insert on-- it's painted/coated metal it seems. Now I need to mount it.

I got a bracket to mount to the wall somewhere to hold my broom and mop. I'm thinking of seeing if it can fit behind the door (might move the peg thingy as the door hits one of the pegs when it opens). I could also cut the peg it hits shorter. It's nailed on so it might not be easy to remove without damaging the wall-- looks like pretty large nails too.

I found a solution to hide the ugly spot that I patched on the tub: Little clear plastic bin with holes to let water drain. Suction cup mounted but I set it low. It's currently holding my brother's bath gloves.


I really need to clean around the drain better, it is still nasty looking. Some vinegar and baking soda covered in seran wrap might help.
My foot scrubber came in: These things are good at getting between the toes. Put soap (or in my case body wash) on the foot and run it through. It has suction cups to hold it in place and can be put on the wall to dry.

Body/back scrubbers. Mine are blue. The gray ones are for my brother. When he gets his own shower, his stuff will be moved out, obviously.

 

[Zanne]

I finally got around to putting up the robe hook. There was a box in the way but I emptied the box so I was able to move it out of the way. That was a royal PITA. The screws were designed to go into drywall anchors and were very soft metal. I pre-drilled into the stud but the screws didn't want to go in all the way. I got them most of the way and they got stuck & stripped. I had trouble getting my drill to grab them and ended up scraping the wall & slightly bending the mounting plate on the right side. I had to walk away for a bit and come back later to try again. Left arm was giving me grief. Finally got the opening on my drill to grab the heads of the screws and pull them out. I then swapped to using star head decking screws. Those went in much easier. I used a small magnetic level to make sure the bracket was level. Kept messing up at the end with the powered drill so I had to switch to my stubby ratcheting manual screwdriver. I need to find a way to make the scrape on the wall less obvious. I'll try a little white primer to see if that helps. Worst case maybe I can find a decorative sticker or something. Something symmetrical that would go on both sides around the hook.

I found an adjustable wrench to tighten the nut for the "hook" part more so it isn't wobbly. Hand-tightening wasn't cutting it.

Fortunately, the slight damage to the bracket was below a protrusion on the back of the hook thingy so it didn't interfere and it went on fine. I found a set of precision screwdrivers (that's what it says on the box) on Mom's desk and asked to borrow them. There was an itty bitty flathead in there. The nice thing about it was it managed to grab the slot on the set screw without me being able to see it. I just shoved it up against the set screw and turned it until it grabbed and kept turning it until the robe hook was tight on the wall. I then used it to tighten the set screws on the toilet paper holder. The posts kept sliding away from one another so I pushed them in more and tightened. I may see if the towel rod needs tightening later. Still really need to clear stuff out.

But here are the pics:

I still need to do major cleanup but I don't know where to put most of the clutter. My tool closet is just about full. I need to re-organize the tool closet. Might be able to fit some stuff in the linen closet but it's pretty stuffed as well.

I would eventually like to add shelves and/or cabinets to the wall above the laundry cart. I need more storage for stuff.