This past week has been filled with work on our bathroom and entry renovation project.
We took this week off of work to get some major progress on our last big renovation project: the bathroom and back entryway. These are both on one rectangle addition to our house. This ended up being a much bigger project than originally anticipated, which seems to be a theme with our projects. We thought that we had all the demo done prior to this week, but we ended up having to rip out the entire bathroom section including the floor joists, foundation, and outside walls.
Here is a photo of what the bathroom looked like when we bought our house:
You would never know the variety of issues under the surface by looking at this photo! That is one thing that has really surprised me about our house so far. Even though you can see issues at the surface, there is always so much to find hidden underneath that you could have never imagined.
this week
Even though we have to completely reconstruct the bathroom, the footprint will be the same. We spent this week doing demo and rebuilding the foundation and framing of this section. Here are some photos of our progress from this week:
We managed to rebuilt the first half of the addition, the back entry, fairly quickly. The bathroom half took most of our time this week and is still not finished.
Right now, we have the foundation reconstructed, all of the walls framed, and the plywood on. Our next goals are to put siding back on and get started on some of the work inside like plumbing or the plywood on the floor.
We are also working on ordering everything for the project. This has been by far the most fun part. Hopefully in the next week or two I will be able to share some of the fun details coming in!
what we learned
While this past week was very overwhelming, it allowed us to learn some new skills and know that in the end, our house will be in great condition and exactly how we want it. These are spaces that we will use every day for years to come so the hard work, money, and time is definitely worth it.
I have also learned that my surroundings do not dictate my happiness or quality of life. We used to be quite overwhelmed living in a renovation nightmare, but over time we are adjusting. Everything is a season. Right now, we just live in a must dustier and messier season. Even though it isn’t the most comfortable, I’m thankful for this lesson.
our goals
The plan for this bathroom is a neutral and clean vintage modern vibe. We want to incorporate some vintage elements that will tie a new bathroom into the rest of the house. We plan to keep the cast iron tub, but tile above the shower. The main feature of the room will be an old washstand converted into a vanity with a vessel sink on top. Check back next week for a look at some of these pieces in the works!
