New Guest Bath Remodel Underway

After shaking our heads at it for years and then doing remodels in other spaces around the house, the front deck, the back deck, the kitchen, the downstairs washroom, etc., etc., our sights have now fallen on the room at the top of the stairs.

The toilet has been removed, the old cabinet and sink, the backing of the old linoleum is being removed and then we will essentially have a bare to the walls rectangle to work with.

Our old buddy, Dave Ivey, the mastermind of almost every other remodel project in our home, is back on the job and ready to do battle once again.

In a couple of weeks he will begin by retexturing the walls which had been smoothed out by the previous owners so wallpaper could be put up. We want to paint so back goes the texturing. Then we will lay down a base coat of paint, probably a coat of Kilz, which will resist mold and mildew, a big problem up here. Then we decide on the color and paint the room.

When that is finished, Dave will move back in to lay down new linoleum. We have spent quit a bit of time on this decision as one might expect. However, we have had our eye on Marmoleum for some time and finally settled on a color. It isn't tile but we decided that the house isn't worth the expense and then there is the upkeep and cleaning of tile. So, no to that.

When the Marmoleum is laid, Dave will install the new Toto toilet, a low flow toilet with E-Max flushing that reduces clogs. The salesperson told us she had seen it demonstrated with a tennis ball. Go figure!

We purchased a custom made cabinet from a local cabinet maker in a craftsman style. The counter will be granite with an undermount sink and an 8" faucet set. We also plan to replace the bath/shower hardware to match the new sink hardware. Otherwise the bath/shower will remain unchanged as it still looks and functions great.

Finally, new towel racks and the room's art back in place will complete the look.

As we got started on this project it occured to us that the master bathroom could stand a little help as well. And we do have Dave's attention. So we've decided to replace the counter top in there, install a new sink and faucet, new linoleum in the shower/toilet area and to replace the toilet with another Toto like the one in the guest bathroom. Finally, we'll replace the hardware in the shower as well and we'll have a minor remodel done in the master bath as well. The master bath really isn't in bad shape except for the items I mentioned so we should get off pretty easily on that project. No new cabinet as the old one is really nice and the sink area of the bathrrom has new carpet.

Ultimately, we wanted to get that guest bath done in time for a visit from our in-laws who are coming in July. They'll walk into a very nice new bathroom when they arrive and it will look great when other guests come by or stay the night.

With these rooms redone we will pretty much have our home remodeled. We have done so much to it, inside and out are pretty much fresh and new. Now to keep it that way! Ah, the joy of home ownership!