Ty Pennington Ain't Nothin' but a Bitch

[EL the Famous]

As briefly stated yesterday, going to have to remodel our upstairs bathrrom a little earlier than expected. It's not a huge job, but i'm looking for any tips on the following:

 

1. Wallpaper removal. Anybody found a really good method for this? Sprays? Steaming? Psionics?

 

2. We currently have carpet in there that i'll need to tear out and replace. The plumbers that ripped out the sink and toliet said we should do tile, but the wife wants to put down some berber. I'm with her, but does anybody have any rationale as to why this is a bad idea?

 

3. Old school built-into-the wall medicine cabinet. It seems easier not to fuck with this and leave it in. If, to appease the Mrs., I have to take this thing out...what kind of pain in the ass is it going to be to fix the wall? BTW, there is still an old bottle of some cologne called British Steel left by the previous owner in said medicine cabinet...we never use it and it just seems wrong to move it. What should I do with it?

 

That's pretty much it. I'm completely unhandy and usually pay someone or get my brother-in-law to do shit, a trait passed down by my father...but this time, i'm going to try and tackle most of this myself.

[cryptique]

In my completely inexpert opinion, bathrooms should not be carpeted. One bad toilet overflow and you're going to wish you hadn't.

[Duck-Billed Catechist]

Or toddlers who leave the water running after plugging the sink.

[Edie]

As briefly stated yesterday, going to have to remodel our upstairs bathrrom a little earlier than expected. It's not a huge job, but i'm looking for any tips on the following:

 

1. Wallpaper removal. Anybody found a really good method for this? Sprays? Steaming? Psionics?

 

2. We currently have carpet in there that i'll need to tear out and replace. The plumbers that ripped out the sink and toliet said we should do tile, but the wife wants to put down some berber. I'm with her, but does anybody have any rationale as to why this is a bad idea?

 

3. Old school built-into-the wall medicine cabinet. It seems easier not to fuck with this and leave it in. If, to appease the Mrs., I have to take this thing out...what kind of pain in the ass is it going to be to fix the wall? BTW, there is still an old bottle of some cologne called British Steel left by the previous owner in said medicine cabinet...we never use it and it just seems wrong to move it. What should I do with it?

 

That's pretty much it. I'm completely unhandy and usually pay someone or get my brother-in-law to do shit, a trait passed down by my father...but this time, i'm going to try and tackle most of this myself.

 

In order:

 

1. Home depot should be able to recommend the state of the art shit. It's been a long time and I can't remember what foul chemical we used.

 

2. No no no carpet in bathrooms. It stains/mildews. Much better is ceramic tile and throw rugs with rubber backing.

 

3. Dump the cabinet unless it is cool/antique-ey. Fixing the wall should just require spackle, but you might need marine board. Also not too hard.

 

Oh, and toss the cologne

[M. (hristine]

 

This was a total redo.

 

If your bathroom has a shower and or tub, carpet holds moisture, ie. mold. Tile is the best...easy to keep clean.

 

I removed three layers of wallpaper from my hall, using a spray bottle with hot water and a paint scraper. It was a nightmare, and I hope never to have to do it again.

 

My bathroom had plastic tile around the tub, a kitchen cabinet nailed to the back wall of the shower/tub with 100 spikes, a window where the mirror/glass block is, a closet where the tub is, and a 1/2 inch slope to the floor. This was a big job.

 

The vanity is an old Hoosier kitchen cabinet that I refinished, tiled the top and dropped the sink in.

 

I adore my bathroom now.

[EL the Famous]

As we live in a funhouse, the 1/2 bath is the one upstairs and our tub/shower is in the one downstairs (where it's tiled). Regardless, I see the point on not redoing w/ carpet, we'll see I guess.

 

The cabinet is recessed into the wall, it'll take a whole hell of a lot of spackle to fix that, Edie. I, personally, kind of like it. The wife, however, does not.

 

Yeah, my hope is that wallpaper removal technology has come a long way since the last time I helped someone do that as well. I'll just go and ask the helpful hardware man at Ace or Home Depot.

 

MChris, that bathroom looks great. Well done.

 

BTW, i'm thinking i'll hold a contest for the cologne. I don't know what yet, but you know the cardinal rule...skin to win.

[M. (hristine]

Oh yeah. My bathroom before...

 

[EL the Famous]

If you post the other pic of you laying tile, topless, in just the cowboy hat...the cologne is yours.

[M. (hristine]

BTW, i'm thinking i'll hold a contest for the cologne. I don't know what yet, but you know the cardinal rule...skin to win.

I'd leave the cologne, but I'm kind of funny that way.

[Spawn's dad]

I, personally, kind of like it. The wife, however, does not.

 

time for a new wife? no time like the present to assess compatibility

 

 

fourthed on the carpet.

[M. (hristine]

If you post the other pic of you laying tile, topless, in just the cowboy hat...the cologne is yours.

[Edie]

The cabinet is recessed into the wall, it'll take a whole hell of a lot of spackle to fix that, Edie. I, personally, kind of like it. The wife, however, does not.

 

That's where the marine board comes in. Cut the board to fit the hole closely, and the spackle over it -- hoping that the widths are the same

[EL the Famous]

Right on, missed the marine board part. Eh, we'll see...I don't want to pour too much time and $ into this. After having to go downstairs to take piss in the middle of the night, I just want my upstairs toliet back.

[Spawn's dad]

After having to go downstairs to take piss in the middle of the night, I just want my upstairs toliet back.

 

 

[Beltmann]

After having to go downstairs to take piss in the middle of the night, I just want my upstairs toliet back.

I don't like getting out of bed for urination. Typically I keep a cup bedside.

[a.miller]

Here is my advice on repairing a hole in a wall:

I just had to help my parents redo their basement, and I can tell you for repairing holes in the wall you will need a lot of small pieces of wood, spackle, drywall screws and a piece of drywall to fit the hole.

For the small pieces of wood, fence slats work really well and you can cut them into desired pieces that will act as supports for the drywall between the studs.

First off, you should make sure the hole is square or rectangular so you can easily cut a piece of drywall to fit it.

So, with the hole in the wall there should be some visible studs. Get a piece of wood and cut it so that it goes from one side of the hole to the other. Both ends should stick past both sides of the hole on the inside.

Take your drywall screws and screw through the good drywall and into the piece of wood you have inside the hole. Make sure you sink the screw head in the drywall so there's no lump when you spackle over it. Repeat adding "braces" as necessary for the size of the hole.

Once you have enough braces, cut a piece of drywall to fit the hole. Once the piece is in the hole, you need to screw it into the braces you made and to have drywall tape to go over the seams. This tape is yellow and webbed. Do not overlap the edges of the tape or you will have lumps when you spackle.

Now spackle over just the taped areas and let it dry. Sand the area with a sanding block (note: not just your hand and sandpaper). Once it's sanded repeat the process.

At this time you should get a wider spackle knife (10" or so) and get a good glob of spackle and go from one side of the tape to the other. You need enough of a glob of spackle to make sure you cover the new piece of drywall, as it will be slightly lower due to spackling over the tape. The less times over the middle the better.

Once the middle is covered, get more spackle and work it from the tape to away from the hole. Taper the spackle a lot so there is no obvious ridge where the tape starts. This requires a couple layers of spackle and sanding. I hope that helps or at least doesn't confuse!

[M. (hristine]

I would do the floor and the terlet toot sweet, and do the other stuff after, and as you have time.

 

You all aren't planning to be there forever right? Then less is more.

(Do install a good floor, though.)

[M. (hristine]

I don't like getting out of bed for urination. Typically I keep a cup bedside.

You made me laugh hard!

[Mrs. Peel]

I 47th the no carpet rule.

 

As for wallpaper, we used Dif in a spraybottle after scroring the hell out of it with one of these jobbies:

 

Worked very well with minimal elbow grease.

[Mr. Kinsley]

Does the wife not dig the fact that the med cab is built in or does she not like recessed cabinets. If it's the latter I suggest therapy. If it's the former, a new, updated looking cabinet is really quite easy - as long as you can figure out how to use a level.

 

Flooring: tile. Two words of advice here. 1- Make damn sure you get enough. Last summer I retiled our bathroom and, due to a couple of mishaps along the way where I screwed up some tiles and had to chuck them, I was one 3x3 tile short. After spending about 7 hours on my hands and knees and then come up that much short - I looked/sounded like Tom Hanks in the Money Pit when the tub falls through the floor. 2- Don't do white tile. It shows all dirt very quickly. There are all sorts of really cool tile options out there, so go do some snooping around first.

 

Cologne - I used to have British Steel high school!!! Despite that, give it to Wheelco.

[cryptique]

You made me laugh hard!

Did you pee?

[Spawn's dad]

pics?

[caliber66]

Flooring: tile. Two words of advice here. 1- Make damn sure you get enough. Last summer I retiled our bathroom and, due to a couple of mishaps along the way where I screwed up some tiles and had to chuck them, I was one 3x3 tile short.

 

Tile, tile tile. But get something bigger than 3X3 (12X12 worked for us), and rent a wet saw (and earplugs). The wet saw, though messy - use it outside - was remarkably easy to use.

[M. (hristine]

Did you pee?

Actually I have a pretty good pubococcygeus muscle.

[plasticeyeball]

the rule of thumb on tile is 10% over the actual square footage but all the tile i have ever bought came in certain sq ft /box and you couldn't get partial boxes so i always ended up more over. and it's actually not that hard to do.

 

if the hole in the wall doesn't go lower down the wall than any wall tile, (if any), then take the real easy way out and buy a mirror or cabinet that's bigger than the hole.

 

i've been renovating a 150 year old house for 11 years now and not one room is done so i should keep my mouth shut. (unless you start doing plumbing & electric, that stuff i know.)