Sunday, December 09, 2007

Master Bathroom Remodel: What lurked under the vinyl flooring.

Arrgghhh. This is the part that is fun+horrifying. After removing the cabinet and toilet, and pulling up 2 layers of vinyl flooring, this is what we see. I'm not actually too surprised, the other bathroom also had some significant mold problems in the floor. Note to myself: don't even ever THINK about using particle board in bathroom or kitchen flooring. It composts in there! Actually, once this layer of particle board was removed, under it was another layer of linoleum flooring which appears undamaged. I will need to replace the drywall and subfloor anyway - as with the first bathroom, the entire subfloor down to the joist will be replaced with outdoor grade plywood then layers of polyethylene to seal, then backerboard, dryset, and tile. All of the drywall will be replaced as well, since the room will be reconfigured and only a fraction of the original walls will remain in place and that fraction will have to be pulled out for new wiring and plumbing.

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Master Bathroom Remodel. The Beginning.

View from master bedroom. The closet will be annexed to make more space in the bathroom, and the entrance will be at about the middle of the current closet door. Conveniently, this will free up solid oak flooring from the closet to used for a patch in the spare bedroom, where plywood was used for a prior patch and the whole mess covered with carpeting. A linen closet will be converted into a walk-in closet for the bedroom (later) so there will not be net loss of bedroom closet space.

The original shower doesn't look too bad, but the newer shower will be a little larger, have more glass for additional light, and will have a ceiling light.

The new toilet will be in the same location, but the sink location will be moved. In its place there will be a narrow linen closet and, at least in the current plan, a jetted tub will occupy the part of the counter space where the current sink is seen. Given the low profile of the tub and the replacement of the wall to the right of the toilet with a glass shower enclosure, the space won't be as claustrophobic.
View from the original shower. The tub will be under this window. In the current plan the new window will be wider and lower, possibly a green-house-type small bay window, and the tub will be under the window.

Today I had no ambition at all. After a few hours of "homework" from work, I didn't feel like working any longer, wasn't in the mood for a nap or reading, and didnt have the mental acuity to study. So I started demolition. Closet shelves were removed, sink, counter, and toilet are gone, shower door is gone. I didn't want to mess up the houise with drywall dust, so I stopped there. With the closet doors closed and bathroom door closed, you can't tell that anything was done.
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Friday, December 07, 2007

Elephant Ear vintage photo

I think this would be Colocasia esculenta. no details on the location of the photo, or the lady in it. Probably from 1920s, I'm guessing.
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Wednesday, November 21, 2007

ginkgos in fall

This big ginkgo tree is about 6 blocks away fro our house. She is female, leaving a few fruits to be picked up by the ginkgo enthusiast. No time for that this year. I still have a number of seedlings in need of homes.
This tree was waist high when planted here last year. It has had a slow start, groing in pots. Probably about 8 years old, planted from Quincy seed and grown in a flower pot. About 1/2 of the growth has occurred since planting in the ground last fall. Posted by Picasa

chicken headquarters

This is the inside of the egg house. The chickens like the end booths, and dont ust the middle one.
The house on the left is new. Ning and I built it 2 weeks ago. the siding and doors are from a single sheet of 4 X 8 siding. The chickens like going in and out, and they are protected from the rain.Posted by Picasa