Bathroom Progress

Tons of fun in the bathroom in the past month. First up, after demo'ing all the rotting wall structure on the control wall, it was rebuilt and a new valve for a single lever shower/bath faucet was installed - correctly, by securing it to framing, so that it does not jiggle in the wall every time you touch it, unlike my thighs. Framing anything in the house is challenging, considering all the settling, which means the walls, floors, ceilings are all at different angles. Good thing someone loves geometry!

I went with the same wall tile and pattern as my bathroom upstairs. I liked the way it looked and there was no need to re-invent the wheel. Besides, then I knew exactly how much tile to buy. Also, I scored a box and a half of the subway tile from Albany Historic Warehouse for 50% off retail, saving $60. Moral of the story - check local places like there or Habitat for Humanity's ReStore before jetting to big box stores for everything.

Tiling over Schluter waterproofing system in the shower. No more rot!

 And then there was the floor. 

Large beige/brown tile applied with mastic to backer board made of paper fiber (perfect for *wet* bathroom floors). 

Removal Level 1

Then 2 layers of linoleum glued over the original tile floors, which were broken and crumbling to due a cracked and disintegrating mud base. Perfect! Actually, it was as I had expected, so I wasn't too upset/concerned about it. After removing all the original tile (we were able to save half a 5 gallon bucket of them, either to donate or get crafty with) we then chipped/vacuumed away the failing parts of the floor.

A floor made of dust

 

A level floor at last!

After much filling in of cracks and waiting for concrete to dry, there was finally floor that didn't make me frown. I wanted a small field tile for the floor because the space is so small. It would also be easier to camouflage any remaining tilt in the floor. I ended up with 3/4" matte glazed hex, because that was the size in the overstock room at Best Tile. The tile was a little thin, which made it installing it a *bit* of a challenge, but it got done. We used the Schluter system for the floor as well, to reduce future cracking if/when more settling occurs.

We've since added in all the cut-in tile and grouted the floor, but I'm too lazy to download that picture right now. You'll just have to trust me that it looks good. Also, doesn't it look so spacious without the toilet and sink? Maybe I can just leave those out?