Archive for the ‘DIY’ Category

Bathroom Shower

Friday, April 25th, 2008

The pink bathroom got a shower and a new floor.

This is the cheapy external shower kit we installed. The best part of the whole thing was asking the guy at Home Depot if he had brass nipples. He did – and in lots of sizes.

We had to install a shorter nipple to attach the faucet and anchored the pipe to the wall. The whole project cost about $120 and took 4 hours. This external shower kit is a piece of crap. We had to take the whole thing apart to burrow out some holes and reinstall it about 4 or 5 times. It kind of works, but the shower head leaks when you just want the tub faucet on and when you turn the shower on it is SO LOUD. Painfully loud.

So we have yet to use the stupid thing, and continue to shower in the blue bathroom. Oh well…



But we did finish the VCT floor. I actually really like it, and love how durable it is. We had it sealed and waxed and now it looks great. Now that I finally bought a digital camera, there will be better pics to come!

Adding a shower

Monday, March 17th, 2008



The main pink bathroom has a tub – but no shower. I love the tile and want to keep the bathroom as authentically retro as possible, but we NEED to add a shower. I am not a bath taker. Sitting in a tub of tepid filthy water makes my stomach turn.

There is a closet located to the right, behind the faucet and plumbing. So hopefully we can access the plumbing from there – but that means we will have to tear the closet and drywall apart. The costs keep adding up…

So how to add a shower? I’m still not very sure but I found a few useful tips and links. The DIY network has a brief step by step instruction for adding a shower to a pink 50’s bathroom.

I wish the step by step was a little more in depth, as most of the terminology and equipment are pretty foreign to me – plus the list of materials is a bit overwhelming…

Materials:

pipe wrench
pipe cutter
safety glasses
blowtorch
solder
flux
screwdriver
shop vacuum
plumber’s putty
level
reciprocating saw
drill with a 1-1/2″ spade bit
utility knife
tile bit

I’m wondering if it may be more cost effective to buy on exterior shower unit. Yahoo answers had a similar question. One answer was the “Add-a-Shower”.


This one is made for built in tubs, and at only $92.28 plus $5.90 for the face bushing to customize with a different shower head, it may be the cost effective winner.

I hate to loose the old faucet and replace it with something so unattractive and utilitarian (I mean they can’t even post
a picture, just this dreary drawing?). I can always take it out later…(these will be my famous last words for every crappy compromise).

Does anyone have experience with these type of converters, or possibly a better solution?

Refinishing the Hardwood

Wednesday, March 12th, 2008


(The living room and dining room – I think they call that cupping)

I’ve been getting quotes for refinishing the hardwood floors and the consensus is :
Having a professional refinish floors is really expensive.


(Master bedroom and guest room. Wow. NICE paint job…)

The two bedroom floors are mysteriously painted off-white. The wood seems to be in good shape – so I think it was done for style. The awesome kind of style that also requires one bedroom to be painted red, blue, yellow, green, AND pink!

So stupidly I’m planing on refinishing the floors myself. Yes – with no experience and as my first home rehab project – I’m taking on the 1000 sq. ft. of hardwood that Lowes considers to be an “advanced” skill level DIY. I’m prepping as much as I can, reading numerous tutorials and went to the Home Depot to price out the rental tools and discuss the project with some of the team members (which was a total mistake – I think that guy was stoned – he was all slack jaw and blank stares)

It seems scary, and I will probably screw this up.
Plus – who knew that sandpaper was so freaking expensive.


(No stain – just sealed with urethane – via: Renovation Rants)

I found this great post at Renovation Rants outlining the process of refinishing hardwood floors and doing it yourself. I’m thinking more and more about not staining and just urethaning the floors to bring out the natural color…decisions decisions…

Below are hardwood inspiration pics via The Mid-Century Modernist. Yummers.