Help with a rebuild!

[rlablan]

I looked at ikea. They are cheap... but I want cheaper. I am looking intoa saw mill in Jerome, AZ. Apparently they have a lot of aged, rough cut lumber and it's cheap. we also have a wood workers source that sells rought cut and exotic. I'll go hunting.
Nice to see you small reef. Hope you follow along. Thanks for the input! I appreciate it.
nova- I am really interested in the reclaimed aspect too. I just hope I can find a big enough, solid piece. I need something with character, but it can't be too busy. We'll see.
Here is a pick of the flooring I laid today. I love they way they look so far. It was a breeze. Best of all, I can do all my cuts at once, because there are so few. I will need to rent the saw for like only 4 hours. There is like no waste with this tile. It's great.

 

[rlablan]

Not too much done but I wanted to make sure that every tile was completely straight and totally level. I don't ever want to do this again.

 

[smallreef]

I love the look, and good luck with the wood hunt! I know how much fun it can be to be hunting for something specific you have in mind, and to find it at a price you want to pay! I dont know about out here but back home we had a 'reclaimed' house parts store... you may want to look into solid wood doors especially out of older homes some are REALLY cool! (also try habitat for humanity stores)

 

[novahobbies]

Lookin' good!

 

[sweatervest13]

I like the change up from tank rebuild to master bath renovation. LOL..
I am dying to redo my master bath. It is a pretty large room but it has the WIC in there separated by a wall. Get this, there is also a ton of carpet, even right next to the sinks and the tub. Yikes. Who in their right mind builds a house and puts carpet in the bathroom???
Oh well I will have to live thru you on your redo. Keep up the good work.

 

[rlablan]

Smallreef- I am trying to achieve that feeling everyday with this remodel.
That wood door is a smart idea. You're a smart cookie. Thanks for that idea. I really never would have thought of that.
Thanks nova! I am really excited about the way it's looking.
Sweatervest- The carpet in the bathroom just baffles me as well. My Bf's parents do that but every house they have build has a dehumidifier in the bathroom and a ceiling fan, that is in the ceiling. They do all of this because his mother "Can't stand the feel of tile with hairspray or other products on it," on her feet. lol... if you can afford it, I guess go for it. It is YOUR house. But I still am like heck no. I think it looks stupid too. But you have to think, if the rest of the house is great, hiring someone to put tile in the bathroom can be deducted from the asking price and can be done quickly. Its a cheap, easy fix.
Nothing ever gets accomplished with that mentality! lol If my bathroom had carpet... I would have done this forever ago. Carpet is SUPER EASY to replace. Just rip that stuff up and get yourself some new flooring. DOWN WITH THE CARPET!!! But really... It's super easy. It'll take you 30 minutes to get the carpet out. Rip it out and then cut it into sections and dispose of it.

I still can't believe that this is gonna be MY bathroom. I am really hoping to spend no more than 1500 bucks, and get a return of around 5000/4000... give or take. Maybe even a little bit more. I am still toying around with the idea of putting in a jetted tub OR a claw foot tub. I have the perfect niche to put it in, where the existing soaker tub is. The BF will want a jetted tub for his back... He's been eyeing them at the DEPOT. I bet I can order one from costco or something. We shall see about that. It's probably a 30% chance that that will happen.
After flooring, I will be painting. I know, I know. It's a little backwards. BUT I wanted to see the effect that the floor would have. The color I have picked is a little bit dark. I know I love the floors but I am not 100% on the color. So I will finish the flooring and then I will do the paint. I can change that way easier, than I can a floor. lol
I am about to get started...here is to hoping that I get a lot done today!

 

[kiefers]

Hiya!
Reading these posts of yours are very unhealthy to the men in this forum. For if their ladies are reading over their shoulders....... it could be very bad news. Talk about one hell of a honey do list!
However, I find myself looking around my living room and thinking, dang, I need to paint, and Spackle.
Then I look at the stairway, "These foot boards need replaced , actually, they all do, and the walls need cleaned up and maybe painted over" As I think to myself.
Lets not even talk about the garage. Painted, power washed and painted/sealed floor. Already rather overwhelmed, and yet, full of ideas.
Dear HGTV,
Soon I will be turning to you for ideas and motivation. This will not be an easy task to complete as I am not so easily persuades or convinced. For this if you have a specific problem with my skepticism, please email riablan and share with her your appreciation.
Thanks in advance,
Kiefer

 

[rlablan]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kiefers http:///t/392624/help-with-a-rebuild/100#post_3492183
Hiya!
Reading these posts of yours are very unhealthy to the men in this forum. For if their ladies are reading over their shoulders....... it could be very bad news. Talk about one hell of a honey do list!
However, I find myself looking around my living room and thinking, dang, I need to paint, and Spackle.
Then I look at the stairway, "These foot boards need replaced , actually, they all do, and the walls need cleaned up and maybe painted over" As I think to myself.
Lets not even talk about the garage. Painted, power washed and painted/sealed floor. Already rather overwhelmed, and yet, full of ideas.
Dear HGTV,
Soon I will be turning to you for ideas and motivation. This will not be an easy task to complete as I am not so easily persuades or convinced. For this if you have a specific problem with my skepticism, please email riablan and share with her your appreciation.
Thanks in advance,
Kiefer
Hahahah this made me chuckle. I got through waves of watching HGTV and DIY. My BF gets really nervous when I start to watch all of that stuff. He can feel the storm brewing.
The nice thing is, I do a lot of it. He just has to "help." lol which sometimes means different things, depending on the project. hehe. It's nice to be a woman. When men like you... things get done. lmao.
It is also nice to be a woman who knows how to use her thumbs. Because then I get things done.
Here is a progress picture from today. Went pretty fast. The tiles aren't setting up as fast as I would have liked, so the ones from yesterday where moving just the slightest bit when I was leaning into the corner of the room there. That made me nervous so I stopped. I didn't want to walk on them too much or mess them up... slow and steady, I guess. I was hoping to get more done but I am getting there.
I think it's looking good. The only down side is that I am starting to tell that my room is not square at all. The center line that I started from is definitely completely straight, the center of the room was found by measuring from every wall and then using a chalk line... I know those are straight. I didn't think the room was as bad as it is. I am thinking that with moulding and the cabinets in place, it won't look so bad. I think I notice it more because I'm staring at it all day.
Does it look super crooked to you guys?

 

[smallreef]

I have found in EVERY house we have lived in that rooms are never straight... I have not figured out this myth because I know when they start out with rooms they should be straight, lol
SO i have decided when we build our final house I will be making sure ITS STRAIGHT! lol

 

[novahobbies]

I can see a very very slight skew in the second picture, but only close to the vanity area. Once you've got the vanity in place I don't think you'll notice it as badly.
Every house has its quirks, and like Smallreef here I don't think I've ever seen a straight room. Heck, when I was ripping up the baseboard in my den I discovered that (a) they had SCREWED the baseboard in, not nailed and caulked, and (b) they then tiled the room AFTER the molding, leading to (c) the screw heads were all underneath the tile grout. Further, they added a wall partition to make a closet in this room, but they didn't remove the baseboard on the main wall.....they just built the wall OVER it.

 

[rlablan]

Reef- I am not sure what the issue is. Our house is not exactly the best builder... They're pretty average. That is probably part of it but the BFs parents build with all rounded corners. They said they were just gonna bypass that whole headache. lmao. I don't really care for that look myself but if it helps with the headaches I guess.
Do you think that over the years it warps? Between slamming doors, wind and storms... bumping into walls... maybe the house just moved a millimeter each time and then after 1 years or so... It's noticeable? I dunno. Those are my theories.
Nova- I was thinking the same thing about the cabinets. I can't cheat them out just a little on one side to make them line up with the grout lines. It is completely straight through the middle of the room. I made painstakingly sure.
So I am gonna do the other side today by the shower. It should only take me about 3 hours or so... hopefully. I am hoping that that side is square. It's up against the bathtub skirt and the walk in shower pan. I REALLY don't want to have to rip these out but I refuse to lay the floor crooked. I am hoping that since those are manufactured, they will be straight. Pray that they are straight.
Random luck- last night, we went to Gordon Biersch for dindin and upon going out to the truck after, I found a 100 dollar bill by the passenger side door on the ground. That was cool. That will pay for the new light fixture and we'll have 22 dollars left over. I got some good luck goin' on. I guess the guy who lost it doesn't though.
After talking to the BF, he wants to put in a new tub if possible. Pricing looks okay but I don't really get how to install it. Do any of you have experience putting them in? Also, the area with the tub is a little weird. There is like a half wall thing and also this awful porcelain surround that I want GONE! It's so ugly. But I just dunno what all is involved. If I get rid of the half wall and all of that, I will have to replace one panel of glass on the walk in shower, since the existing one is a half panel and it's bottom in the 1/2 wall. I'll take some pictures for you all so you can see what I'm talking about and then hopefully you will have some words of wisdom for me. )

 

[rlablan]

Nova- I forgot to mention this. Apparently people think that it is okay to tile and grout over moulding. When did that become a thing? When we were shopping for this tile, I inquired of some of the flooring galleries about pricing and all. I asked If they did demo. I then asked if that included them removing moulding. They acted like I was asking for the moon. They were outraged! "Um, no. Look at any house these days. They are all grouted up to the moulding." My response- "Just because everything one is doing it, doesn't mean that it's the right way for it to be done. The GOOD stores and contractors don't do that." And then we left.
My friend recently built a home and as she was interviewing places to do here flooring, she straight asked "Do you remove and replace moulding." If they said no, or that they charged extra... she said to them (And I have no doubt that she did) "No- - hmm, well obviously you aren't qualified for this job, because you don't know how to properly lay flooring." She said she must have done ten interviews. and only like 8 said they removed the moulding and replaced them. That's just ridiculous, IMO.
Doing this demo was terrible because they grouted up to the moulding in my home too. It seriously just looks soooooo half assed. It's awful. I can't believe that they think that's okay. Whatever I guess. When I build my house... Those contractors better watch out. I am gonna hover like you wouldn't believe.

 

[2quills]

Quote:
Originally Posted by rlablan http:///t/392624/help-with-a-rebuild/100#post_3492264
Nova- I forgot to mention this. Apparently people think that it is okay to tile and grout over moulding. When did that become a thing? When we were shopping for this tile, I inquired of some of the flooring galleries about pricing and all. I asked If they did demo. I then asked if that included them removing moulding. They acted like I was asking for the moon. They were outraged! "Um, no. Look at any house these days. They are all grouted up to the moulding." My response- "Just because everything one is doing it, doesn't mean that it's the right way for it to be done. The GOOD stores and contractors don't do that." And then we left.
My friend recently built a home and as she was interviewing places to do here flooring, she straight asked "Do you remove and replace moulding." If they said no, or that they charged extra... she said to them (And I have no doubt that she did) "No- - hmm, well obviously you aren't qualified for this job, because you don't know how to properly lay flooring." She said she must have done ten interviews. and only like 8 said they removed the moulding and replaced them. That's just ridiculous, IMO.
Doing this demo was terrible because they grouted up to the moulding in my home too. It seriously just looks soooooo half assed. It's awful. I can't believe that they think that's okay. Whatever I guess. When I build my house... Those contractors better watch out. I am gonna hover like you wouldn't believe.
Yeah that's a pretty common thing to see in homes down here. It just creates some extra work as all. If guys are doing it for cheap then they're probably not going to take the time to take it off and re install or replace it. So most would charge more for that. I've done a boat load of tile jobs over the last several years and if it were up to me I would replace base molding every time a floor gets replaced. Perhaps not so much in rental situations. But for my own home, yes.

 

[novahobbies]

Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///t/392624/help-with-a-rebuild/100#post_3492319
Yeah that's a pretty common thing to see in homes down here. It just creates some extra work as all. If guys are doing it for cheap then they're probably not going to take the time to take it off and re install or replace it. So most would charge more for that. I've done a boat load of tile jobs over the last several years and if it were up to me I would replace base molding every time a floor gets replaced. Perhaps not so much in rental situations. But for my own home, yes.
In most situations, it's not too bad to remove after the fact -- my whole house had been tiled and grouted up to the baseboards, but most of the baseboards were simply nailed and lightly Liquid Nailed in place....as they should be.
My head was about to explode when I discovered that one room had b-boards that were screwed in, and as I say, all the screw heads were down low and under the tile and grout. LOL I was cussing the air blue that day.
My next project is going to be the wainscotting in the guest room. Guess I'll have to hijack my own 110g thread and post some pics of that project as I go along! SOMEbody started the trend....

 

[2quills]

Quote:
Originally Posted by novahobbies http:///t/392624/help-with-a-rebuild/100#post_3492323
In most situations, it's not too bad to remove after the fact -- my whole house had been tiled and grouted up to the baseboards, but most of the baseboards were simply nailed and lightly Liquid Nailed in place....as they should be.
My head was about to explode when I discovered that one room had b-boards that were screwed in, and as I say, all the screw heads were down low and under the tile and grout. LOL I was cussing the air blue that day.
My next project is going to be the wainscotting in the guest room. Guess I'll have to hijack my own 110g thread and post some pics of that project as I go along! SOMEbody started the trend....
Yeah it's a bear to remove it when it's been grouted up to. Technically, you're supposed to leave at least a 1/8" gap from either the tile or grout to the baseboard or wood framing to prevent issues with cracked grout and such from the expansion and contraction of the house. If you leave the baseboard you shouldn't gout to it but seal the edge between the tile and baseboard with silicone. It doesn't seem to be a huge problem grouting upto it in single story houses on slabs as long as the foundation isn't cracked/cracking. But that has always looked ugly to me. A common solution to this when leaving the baseboard in place would be to trim it out the edges with like some 3/4" quarter round to cover the gap. But I don't particularly fancy that look either. I prefer to just cover the gap with the base molding, it's cleaner that way and helps hide sloppy edges. Most guys are just going to come in and slap some tile on the floor for ya because sometimes moving baseboard can be like opening up a can of worms. Unless you pick somebody who is willing to do the specifics and work out a fair price for you. JMO
We may now continue with your regularly scheduled re-build thread.

 

[rlablan]

Quote:
Originally Posted by novahobbies http:///t/392624/help-with-a-rebuild/100#post_3492323
My next project is going to be the wainscotting in the guest room. Guess I'll have to hijack my own 110g thread and post some pics of that project as I go along! SOMEbody started the trend....
It's my thing. It's what I do.

 

[rlablan]

Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///t/392624/help-with-a-rebuild/100#post_3492325
Yeah it's a bear to remove it when it's been grouted up to. Technically, you're supposed to leave at least a 1/8" gap from either the tile or grout to the baseboard or wood framing to prevent issues with cracked grout and such from the expansion and contraction of the house. If you leave the baseboard you shouldn't gout to it but seal the edge between the tile and baseboard with silicone. It doesn't seem to be a huge problem grouting upto it in single story houses on slabs as long as the foundation isn't cracked/cracking. But that has always looked ugly to me. A common solution to this when leaving the baseboard in place would be to trim it out the edges with like some 3/4" quarter round to cover the gap. But I don't particularly fancy that look either. I prefer to just cover the gap with the base molding, it's cleaner that way and helps hide sloppy edges. Most guys are just going to come in and slap some tile on the floor for ya because sometimes moving baseboard can be like opening up a can of worms. Unless you pick somebody who is willing to do the specifics and work out a fair price for you. JMO
We may now continue with your regularly scheduled re-build thread.

Well see, I just believe in doing things correctly, AND that in itself is a whole different can of worms. I just think if you can't do it correctly, then why bother? Why are you in a business where you cut corners everyday and are possibly pulling one over on an unsuspecting consumer. I wouldn't be able to sleep at night. That's just me though. I would be having nightmares.
I would hardly call this the regularly scheduled build thread. It has definitely been derailed a little. But Im the OP so it's okay. I hijacked my own thread.
On a fish note- I do need to do water cahnges. I haven't done a test but I just feel like it's time. It's been about 2-3 weeks. I'll have to make some time within the next few days. Maybe even today because I can't do any more tile work right now without the saw.
About the remodel- Yesterday I got as far as I can go... I was next to the tub and it looks like that, sadly, is not square either. It looks fine, it's not very severe but I am still kinda mad about it.
I know my line was straight but what can you do... I think with the thicker moulding, it'll cover up a little of that. The grout won't help my much, because I am only doing 1/16in grout line. Whatever. I like my floors and I am gonna make this room amazing.
I think I am going to get paint today. I am going with the new Glidden DUO in eggshell. And I need to paint the ceiling, a nice clean white and then primer the doors with a nice clean white and then paint them as well. I will be using the same white, so that it's all clean white and the moulding matches the door, matching the ceiling, etc. I can't stand when people use different whites... ugh. It's so stupid looking, like the grouting to the moulding. Yes, people can tell.
DO IT RIGHT! DO IT ONCE!

Pictures to come later today.
In other news- I am goetting a new Iphone. I am 1 version behind. So that's cool. We get NO SIGNAL in our own home (We don't live in the boonies either. We're in the middle of a highly populated area, right next to a tower) from AT&T, so we are switching to Verizon. Their data is a WAY better option too. So that will be interesting. I will be able to make phone calls in my own home, for the 1st time in 3 years. Sweeeeettttt.

 

[2quills]

Lol, I hear that. Do it right the first time so you aint gotta worry about. I dont know if you know who mike holmes is on t.v. but he's like my hero. This area down here is loaded with shady contractors who do some really poor work. Sad but true, home owners get taken to the cleaners all the time. I aint complaining though cause people like that keep people like me working. Its been very easy to break into this market down here and build a descent reputation for myself when the majority of the competition sucks.
I dont like the mixing white paints either. But I prefer a satin finish for ceilings and at least a semi gloss for doors and trim since they get bumped into and scratched. I just like em to have something with a more durrable finish. Good luck on the remodle. I'll have to remember to come back and see the pics.

 

[rlablan]

Thanks 2 quills!
And thanks to everyone else for the encouragement so far.
I am feeling under the weather today and I want to nurse myself back to health with some vitamins and rest today. Tomorrow, we will grab 2 or 3 more boxes of tile and grab the wet saw. The flooring should be laid by tomorrow night and then grouted by the end of monday. ( I am making sure to give them enough time to set up, just incase.) So we should have flooring and then we move on from there. Once we figure out where the cabinets will be sitting and what height they are exactly, I will quickly lay the tile that goes up to the ceiling. BEFORE I actually adhere the tile, I will paint in the corners, so that the seams are all taken care of.
We will cut the tile to do that while we have the wet saw. That way we don't have to rent it twice.
As for today, I am going to try to force myself to take it easy. What I may get done is removal of all of the spacers and then scrub the floors and remove any blobs of random thin set that dripped. Then I'll take a nice clean picture for everything.
Happy Friday to you all!

 

[rlablan]

So- -
This simply remodel has turned into a full blown brand new bathroom.
Ugh.
The shower-
Our current shower is a shower pan with cultured marble slabs on the sides, and sliding glass panels. I figured I would save the glass doors since they will be reusable. I was going to save the metal pieces that connect the shower together, but I have decided that we will be buying new ones. These current pieces are starting to rust on the bottom where they are connected to the shower pan. Also, the smarties who put this shower together decided that they didn't need to use bathroom caulking and just used plain white caulking. So there is now mold growing underneath the current caulking in the shower. I scrub it, put bleach on it... but it's just underneath the caulking and it won't go away. Everyone has said you need to just remove the caulk, bleach it out, dry it out and redo the caulking.
The bathtub-
The bathtub that we currently have is the most useless piece of junk ever. It is a "garden" tub. The tub is shallow, so when you sit in it, it barely goes up to your belly button. Also, you can't straighten your legs in it, unless you are 4"8. Stupid.
The BF has a pretty bad back. His health issues are hereditary and it is only going to get worse. We talked about getting a spa but I just don't know about that. I'm not excited about it because It's something else to maintain and I don't think the BF will balance the chemicals and drain it and everything. I just don't see that happening. I know that if we had a jacuzzi tub, he would use that and it would not have the maintenance of all the sitting water.
This is where it all took a turn-
Somehow, we ended up with a 58'' tub. The standard is 60''.
I have no idea how that happened. But if we want a new tub, we will have to change a few things around.
My thoughts on that-
I like slate. As I showed you all earlier, I did some slate work in the living room. The new flooring looks great next to that. So I was thinking about ripping out the shower and just making all of it slate tile. While doing that I would change the dimensions of that shower around so that we can fit a 5 or a 6ft bathtub, whatever we like and what budget will allow.
As far as the new tub is concerned, I was thinking about doing a drop in tub, as opposed to an apron front tub. I think the drop in is a lot more custom looking and only adds around 200 dollars in price but that in due to more materials. The thought is an all slate shower with glass doors and then the front/side of the tub with slate as well and then the top with a cement poured top? The reason I say cement is we can make the molds ourselves and pour the cement. It can also be colored (I was thinking of a polished charcoal grey) to whatever we like, and it's inexpensive.
That is REALLY that last of the projects. REALLY!! So- I am getting a little over my head here now. I have not done a whole lot with the shower and bath area with the exception of cosmetic stuff. I don't think it will be too hard, but a lot of work.
I can't finish the flooring until I figure out what I'm doing over on that whole wall of tub/shower though.
Any of you guys ever install a bath tub or shower? Especially an all tile shower? Any info for me? I've been asking around and I'm not having a ton of luck. The guys at HD told me it was pretty much what I was already thinking but I don't trust them that much. They think they can do anything. lol