Bathroom Remodel

It has nothing to do with gardening, or bike, or "green living" (or at least, not much), but it IS what's going on at this house right now, so here it is in my blog.

This house needs a new bathroom arrangement. The old master bath and guest bath are back-to-back. Both are small. The long term goal is to make the master bath larger by stealing some dead space from the guest bath, and to open up the guest bath by removing a separating wall & door between the toilet and sink.

A separate entry will describe the prosess up to now.

What is wrong with the old guest bath?
- Wall separating toilet/tub from sink; makes both spaces cramped and closet-like in feel. It leaves no natural light to counter and sink area.
- No fan, which leaves the room damp when used for the shower; the toilet area is aired out only if the window is open. "fumes" can be noted in the main hallway.
- Odd shaped counter, taking space without providing much useful function.
- Drawers bang into each other when opened.
- The current drop-in sink on counter with small tiles (so lots of grout) is a hassle to clean. Too many nooks an crannies for dirt and mildew.
- The toilet is damaged.

Goals for improved guest bath:
- Despite loss of some floor space, the room will seem larger and brighter after the dividing wall is removed.
- There will be a fan.
- Current plan is for a porcelain pedestal sink, avoiding the nooks and crannies in the current version.
- New toilet, hoepfully a high-functioning water saving model.

Photos below show the physical work to date, including original layout (so small I was unable to take photos showing the toilet/tub area), and the counter, sink, and diviging wall going / going / gone.


Original Counter and Sink. Toilet / tub area is too small to take a photo showing the area. The toliet is on the other side of the wall, behind the sink and mirror in this photo.

Going

Going

Sink, counter, doorway, and wall are gone. Still a lot of deconstruction remaining, however. Wow- it's much brighter now.

Thoughts about Xeriscaping

It's an odd time to think about it, given that we are heading into rainy season. I would lke to decrease water use as much as possible in the yard. Already, the lawn went brown for the summer (and now is greening up again). Sedums like this one didnt need ANY watering during the summer, so are an ideal Xeriscape plant.


I took cuttings from a few patches of sedum around the yard and added them to new areas. This was a simple matter of cutting off wayward pieces and sticking them into holes in the ground, made with a trowel.


They might grow, and might not. Not much is lost if they dont.



This as a very dark burgandy variety. Unfortunately I dont have the tag. There are thousands of varieties. Most grow slowly, although some are faster.






This year there were other attempts at a xeriscape approach. Ginkgo is listed as a dry tolerant tree - now there are 2 small ginkgos added as future shade trees. Trial patches of thyme and chamomile were grown (a bit messy but fragrant). Irises seem to like dry summer. Chinese and European chives did not requre additional water (although I did water the pots of Chinese chives that are used for dumplings). The grapes were not watered at all, and were very productive.

It's not over yet.

With news from the East and Midwest regarding snow and cold, I'm grateful to have continued color and fruitfulness here. The tomatoes provide a few fruits each day, as do the figs and apples. The canna leaves are bright and colorful. The clematis and fuschias continue to bloom. The sedums are also bright and colorful. The moss changed from brown to green.

Today I planted the remainder of the bulbs that were purchased last month. That's all for this fall (it SHOULD be enough - there were about 210 daffodil bulbs, 160 tulip bulbs, and 20 muscari). The daffodils usually start to sprout above the ground in late January and bloom in February, which helps cheer up the most depressing month.

Thinking about using more dry tolerant approach next year - there was news about increasing stress to the water supply system. I took cuttings from some low growing sedums to use as ground cover in some areas bordering the house. I also spent some nursery coupons on an upright sedum.








Tonight will be an over-night shift so trying not to stress now.

A few more shots of Puerto Vallarta.

 

FAll leaves on Tree Peony. Roses here and there.

The tree peony has been hinting at fall for a couple of weeks now. The grapes are done. The apples are picked. The tomatoes are winding down.


The roses were low maintenance this year. I almost never watered them. The only fertilizer was compost. They were mulched with bark chips. These roses have bloomed all summer - nothing dramatic, but some fragrance and color without hassle.

This is Tamara, an Astin rose. Very fragrant, minimal trouble.


This is Magic Carousel, a miniature rose. It's just doing its own thing, blooming off and on. Minimal effort on my part.

I decided that any rose that requires major effort and fails to produce, just isn't worth it. There is a Darwinian reduction in the number of roses in the yard. The ones that survive will be be the ones that continue to bloom, with minimal disease, under the conditions in this yard; organically. With preference given for the fragrant ones.