Trials and tribulations to going "old school" with a bathroom... A DIY story. [pre-completion from Dec 2011]
![Trials and tribulations to going "old school" with a bathroom... A DIY story. [pre-completion from Dec 2011]](https://thenewstalkers.com/discussion/image/discussion_image/15841/xxxlarge/_v=63f541444434282)
I have a home that was built in 1906. We have no idea of the original layout of this house. We can speculate by what weve done in our home thus far, but Im sure there are changes that we arent even aware. I purchased the home from an older [late 70s] Polish couple in 2007. My wonderful neighbor says theres two types of Polish ..A proud Polack and a cheap ass Polack. And Ol-Al was the cheap ass Polack. This neighbor is an 89yr old former Yankee ball player [Bob Kuzava left handed pitcher for the Yankees 1951, 52, 53] of POLISH decent himself. Hes the Proud Polack. He makes sure his yard and house is well manicured. But I digress We have found several things that only a cheap ass would do. i.e. tree branches from the yard, plugging holes in the floor. Scrap pieces of drywall used to create a wall. Plywood used everywhere. Paneling with smooth side out to make a ceiling. Random freebie nails and screws In an overabundance per board. All replaced boards were from something that someone else threw out. Pieced together trim from leftovers of other peoples DIY jobs. Sticky tiles over sticky tiles over sticky tiles over asbestos tiles over tongue in groove hardwood floors. I think you get the point. The list is long. Anywho My husband and I decided to gut our main floor bathroom. Yup You can laugh now. Throughout the summer and fall, I did some digging and found a ton of old school bathroom stuff. Clawfoot tub, high tank pull chain toilet, and it got my brain burning. My husband is somewhat of an antique collector so I ran the thought by him about going old school with our bathroom. He thought it was a good idea too. Now Keep in mind, this is BEFORE we began teardown and rebuild. We purchased things for our bathroom here and there and once we got all the main components, we decided wed begin the gutting. We knew [from previous experiences in this house] cheap ass aka, Murphy, would strike again. While we were prepared somewhat, we didnt expect some of the issues we ran into. To begin, the floor had enormous holes that we had to figure out how to fix. Also, the tub that was in there was a solid 5 cast iron, sea foam green, apron tub That was HEAVY and a bitch to get out!!! We ended up having to rip up the previously discussed 3 layers of sticky tile, 1 small patch of asbestos tile, AND the tongue in groove hardwood flooring [no, it couldnt be saved], patch the holes, and resubfloor. Then, tile, grout, and seal floor and walls in the tub area [man that was hard on my back and hands]. Im just stoked the original floor joists were in GREAT shape! There were 2 layers of dry wall in some spots. That was fun too. Especially with how many nails and screws that goofy Polack put in [and my daughter is Polish from her dad so no, I dont mean it in a derogatory manner]. Hmmm Some more examples would be, wanting to bring the copper plumbing out of the wall instead of the floor for our clawfoot tub. One would think someone out there sells a straight pipe with one end being IPS compression and the other to the faucet, tube [w/compression sleeve] with a FIPS non-pipe threaded compression nut. You know, some sort of adapter. I KNOW we cannot be the only people on the planet to want to do this. But no.. It couldnt be THAT easy. Im just glad you cannot see how we did have to go about this problem. The tub is close enough to the wall, youd have to contort yourself just to see it. Then The height of an old school ceiling is about a foot taller than what we have Had to cut the shower tube. Thank goodness that was a pretty easy fix. Ah yes The toilet aka the bastard to the new tubes was an interesting adventure to say the least. The spud is not your average 1 x1 or 2x2. Nope. Its got the threads for the 1 but the back half is a 2 and neither of the standard gaskets work 100% Aquarium Silicone fixed that problem. The gasket wasnt ripped apart. Just a tad dry rotted. So, we made it work.
Next will be installing the trim around the floor and a small crown molding. Shortly after that, the antique dresser as the vanity and Im sure well have fun trying to plumb the sink and drain.
I think my husband and I will be pros when all is said and done!
BEFORE PIX
PART OF THE GUTTING PROCESS
PARTIAL COMPLETION
***I will be posting the completed project in another article pulled from my NV acct.***
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I remember when we redid the bathroom on the second floor of my old house... We tore out the kitchen at the same time, and for awhile there, you could sit on the commode on the 2nd floor and look down into the basement. It was like living in a bombed out house...
The tub was a 1926 cast iron model, that had a 3" lip on the side, no pretty claw feet. I had to change it out, because sitting in it was like sitting in a coffin-- I couldn't see over the edge of the tub. We broke it up with sledge hammers to get it out of there... Ripped off the tile, and peeled 20+ layers of wallpaper off the plaster walls. It finally got done, but I thought I was going to lose my mind.
I've got vertigo, and ta ta-ing upstairs while looking downstairs, through the kitchen, andinto the basement made me ill...
Looking forward to more pictures! Much love!