Adventures in Remuddling

We care about the environment and prefer not to fill up landfills. Having said that, tearing out two bathrooms creates a lot of trash. Tile over drywall over plaster over lathes! For the record, Tig did not want a dumpster. Our conversation went something like this:

Me “Did you call around some dumpster places?”

Tig “Yeah, I got some prices, but I don’t think we need it.”

Me, “I think we should get one. We’ve got two bathrooms to tear down.”

Tig, “Don’t worry. I’ll just take it out with the trash.”

Continue reading “Ode to Dumpster” »

…how much a home renovation ignites spirited discussions.

I had found a do-it-yourself article on OldHouseWeb.com about lightly sanding floors yourself and applying a few coats of polyurethane. Unfortunately, when the previous owners left, they also left behind a seriously scratched and discolored oak floors. I started to have doubts about our plan.

Continue reading “It floors me” »

Weather. I used to say I missed weather, like seasons, etc. Living in California, there was only 1.5 seasons (the 1/2 season being when it rains). Now I am reconsidering.

In construction, you run out of space to put supplies, wood, etc. So outdoors space becomes critical. When it rains, sensitive items need to be covered. The dumpster however …

Continue reading “Day 12″ »

How do you remove a bathtub?

Well if it’s a steel or acrylic tub, it should be relatively light (around 100 pounds), so that 2 people could lift it out.

And what if it’s cast-iron?

Continue reading “Day 13″ »

Darth Vader left me a voicemail message this morning at work. I couldn’t make out the whole message:
“hiuv, ish me, ay av sum good newf and sum bad newf…(muffled)…sum pieces of the tub ouh…(muffled) broh the sledgehammer.”

Continue reading “Voicemail message from Darth Vader” »

The carpenter came today. Woohoo! Less work for tig.

I cleared some of the plaster below the bathroom so the plumber and floor guy (carpenter) could work. Here’s what it looks like.

Continue reading “Day 14″ »

Tig had some help today blocking up the floors of the first unit bathroom. The carpenter that our GC consultant recommended was very skilled. He was able to make straight cuts with a circular saw (no guide necessary). He was also adept at using a reciprocating saw with a fair amount of precision. The result, we have a level subfloor for the bathroom, with reinforced joists below.

Speaking of floors, I am very excited to see the second unit floors being refinished.

Continue reading “Bathroom Unit #1 subfloor in” »

Can you believe it’s been 2 weeks already. So today has been another busy day, with most of the work being done by someone other than myself (plumber and floor guys). I’m glad, b/c I could use a break. Especially after tackling the cast-iron tub yesterday. Although I did defeat the tub, it felt more like a pyrrhic victory as I lost a sledge hammer and a few fingers (just kidding about the fingers). I am quite sore from all that smashing. It is definitely not as easy as it sounds (as noted by the lost sledge hammer and battle wounds).

Well here’s the last picture of the tub before I laid it in its final resting place (the dumpster).

And that last piece was dang heavy.

I thought this would be an easy restful weekend. All I needed to do was to organize, clean up and prepare for the plumber, electrician, and carpenter coming in the following week.

It started Saturday with a drizzle. But then came the rain, more rain, then buckets full of rain, until governor Mitt Romney declared a state of emergency (on Sunday). At first we noticed a couple of small leaks in the attic.

Continue reading “Weekend 3″ »

I asked my dad to research locks for our new home in preparation for my parent’s visit. He did his homework before mom and dad came on Saturday night, and picked a Grade 3 brand of locks from one of the big home improvement stores. On Monday, several contractors showed up to work on our home. Throughout the day I would pass by the first unit kitchen and hear:

Tap, Tap

pause, think

Continue reading “Slow-Li changing the locks” »