We are finally at the point in our farmhouse rehab where the end is in sight. Our next major project is the basement bathroom. Once we get the basement bathroom done, we can take the main floor bathroom out of commission for the last rehab project. We will then just need to replace the exterior doors, paint a few closets, and be done!
The basement bathroom was about what one would expect. There was a shower stall, but the acrylic walls were starting to separate from the bathroom walls, and so was unusable. The vinyl tile floor was dirty, and the paint needed refreshing. There was no medicine cabinet, and no real outlet. The water for the shower came from pipes extending from the ceiling.
As usual, our bathroom project started with the demolition phase. The toilet came out easily, but the hot water valve for the sink did not completely shut off the water. We picked out a medicine cabinet, and I opened a hole in the wall to inset the cabinet. Of course, there was not only a stud in the way, but also a water pipes and an electric line. All needed to be moved. We also wanted to move the light from its awkward location off to the side to a location above the medicine cabinet.
I cut the water pipes for the shower, one at a time, and ran new pipes to the bathroom wall and not through the ceiling. I turned the water on to check for leaks after the new cold water line was installed, and suddenly heard running water. I ran to the bathroom to see water streaming from the cut pipe upward into the ceiling. I had opened the shower valve to drain water from the pipes. Water was flowing through the open valve and out through the cut pipe. The joy of DYI remodeling. I shut the water off, swore softly, and set up a couple of fans in the ceiling to dry things out.
I replaced the hot water line, made sure there were no open pipes, and turned the water back on - my solder joints all held. I re-routed the water line to make room for the medicine cabinet, and replaced the old sink valves with new ones. I then installed a new junction box for a light above the medicine cabinet and removed the old light, which also contained the only outlet in the room. I corrected that by switching out the single-gang junction box for the vent fan switch and replaced it with a two-gang box for a switch and GFCI outlet. The medicine cabinet was framed in, and that completed the first phase of demolition and reconstruction.
The new water valves for the sink allowed me to remove the old sink, as we would be installing a small vanity. The last things to remove were the old tile and the shower. I had been hoping the tiles would come up easily, but they instead came up in tiny, tiny pieces, with much hammering with a putty knife. The shower came out in larger pieces. The shower pan had been installed in a bed of thinset mortar. I rented a rotary hammer drill from Nelson's True Value, which made short work of the mortar.
I removed the old vent fan for replacement with one that has a light, pulled a few nails from the walls - for some reason, every wall in this house is peppered with nails - and the demolition was complete. The next phase is to take measurements and create a floorplan so we can see what will fit. We already bought a vanity, medicine cabinet, and light fixture, but need to figure out the toilet and shower. We also have to work on finishes, but we have some ideas for those. As always, one step at a time.
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