After I threw my anti-centipede super diva temper tantrum, Justyn agreed we needed to start the remodel. We only had a couple of weeks to get it done before company came into town, so we had to get started asap.
First, we had to cut and hang all the drywall. Now, I don't know if you recall, but about 3 months ago, when we were refinishing the hardwood floors in our house, Justyn and I had a conversation about hanging drywall. You can look back at it here, but I'll give you a recap. This is exactly what I told you about that conversation:
We were sitting around on one of the last days of this project and I said, "Honey, please tell me this is as hard as it gets." He was like, "Oh, yeah, this is definitely the hardest I've worked in a long time." And I was thinking, Whew, what a relief! Then he said, "I think hanging drywall might be harder, but luckily we don't have to do that." (Plaster, people. Our house was built in 1925.)
Clearly, I did not factor the unfinished basement into the equation at that point in time.
Let me tell you, cutting and hanging drywall is the worst. Luckily we only had a small bathroom to deal with (at least for now, until we refinish the rest of the basement.) The pieces of drywall are huge-mongous, and you have to cut holes for every little nook and cranny before you hang it up. Measurements must be precise. Well, guess whose job it was to measure and cut the drywall? Mine. Oh yes, my friends. I have another thing to add to my growing list of skills. So, you have to measure the drywall, score it with a utility knife, and then break it along the scored line. After you do that, all these little fiberglass-y type hairs stick out of the ends, and they get in your skin and they hurt. And it's heavy. So, after you've cut everything you have to get it into place on the ceiling or wherever, and then hold it while your mate/partner/whatever screws it in.
Then you have to get drywall tape and mud to cover all your seams, which also sucks. It's super hard to get it right, and even after we've finished we're not really happy with the job we did. But, hey. It's my first time, okay? I should cut myself some slack. After all, it is just a basement bathroom. Then we primed it, and painted it. That was the easy part (mostly because Justyn did it all... ha ha).
After that, it was time to tackle the floor. It's a bare concrete floor, and in basements you have to be really careful with your floor covering or you'll have moisture issues. So we went to Linoleum City to see what our options were. I don't know what that name cracks me up, but it does. I never thought I would step foot inside a place called Linoleum City, let alone give them some of my money. But, they had a pretty cool piece of linoleum that looked pretty good (like stone tiles), and it was cheap. Plus it was a super easy installation process. Some types of linoleum require you to etch the concrete floor and then put an adhesive down. The one we got doesn't need any of that. It's heavy enough that it just lays down flat. So, that 's what we got.
It comes in a big roll, though, and so again, you have to cut out all the little nooks and crannies for the sink, toilet, shower, notches in the wall, etc. We still had a whole bunch of packing paper leftover from the move, so we decided to tape some pieces together and make a pattern to use to cut the linoleum. But first, I had to iron it so it was flat (it had been all wadded up in a box).
Then we laid it on the concrete floor and traced the outline of what we needed.
The linoleum is easy to cut with a utility knife, so, we just laid the pattern right on top and cut it out.
Well, just when we were about to lay the floor down, I noticed a wet spot on the floor behind the toilet. I flushed it, and sure enough, more water came out. Greeeaaaat. We were really rushing by then, and the last thing we needed was a leaky toilet. Luckily Justyn has mad skills, and he figured out that it just needed a new wax ring. So we bought one and replaced it. It's totally gross, by the way. Nasty, gnarly business, dealing with toilets. Yuck yuck yuck. I made Justyn do that too. :)
After the toilet was fixed, we had just a few other small things to deal with. We had to spray foam fill an old fan in the wall, and I repainted the inside of the rusty medicine cabinet. (I know, right? What is it with me and medicine cabinets?) We hung some towel hooks and a new towel rack, put some art on the walls, installed an exhaust fan and some new light fixtures, and Ta Da! It was done.
Since we finished it, we have had Justyn's dad come visit for 2 weekends, my dad and stepmom, and some friends from Colorado. Justyn's mom is coming this weekend, and my mom is coming later in August. We bought basement shoes for everyone so they can wear them on the way to the bathroom, and so far no one has complained. (I know, some places give you a robe, we give out shower shoes.) We still have a few things to do later on, though (my previous observation that nothing is ever all the way done still stands). There's a weird gap between the shower and the wall on one side, so Justyn is going to build some shelves to put there. And, now the sink is leaking so we have to deal with that relatively soon. But, it's usable, bug-free (as far as I know), and much, much less creepy, so I can't really ask for anything else.
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