We began the bathroom renovation last weekend after getting a new toilet for the downstairs bathroom and installing that, ensuring that we have one bathroom that will work great during the process.
Installing a new toilet isn't as easy as you might think when you consider that the downstairs toilet did not sit level and the pipe that it hooks up to wasn't in great condition. This is what happens when you have a 60 year-old house. You have to deal with issues associated with older parts, out-dated parts and weird configurations from materials that nobody makes anymore (for good reason).
So the next part of the process is deconstruction (not demolition) of the upstairs bathroom. Deconstruction because its more of a process to discover what is behind walls and hiding. If you demolish, its messier and has more potential to hit a hidden pipe or touch a hidden electrical wire. There were several hidden wires from previous renovations for other rooms upstairs which was not done kosher. Usually wires are supposed to be tacked to a stud but almost all of the wires were just hanging, no care given in their placement.
This will all have to be rewired and redone. I am not happy with the configuration of the pipes and I am sure sold on using updated materials such as PVC instead of cast iron pipes which are extremely hard to work with. PVC I can work with and have before.
During the deconstruction, I had to remove the sink and plumbing, which means I learned real quick, under pressure, to cap the two lines that ran under the sink and cap them by soldering the caps on. I did it on the first try under an hour. No leaks.
I just finished ripping out all the wall board, cast iron tub, insulation (Kate took care of the tile but I did cleanup on that) and several layers of floor down to the wood slats. Lots of nails.
Should be interesting to see how fast this develops, I will be sure to document the process by taking pictures and keeping up to date on the latest progress.
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