Improper plumbing & trying to remodel bathroom/laundry

[havasu]

A few drops of Dawn in a pint of water works just as well. Consider a razor blade even. Just push it all the way into the cracks. Caulk, spray joint, then scrape smooth. Pull tape once scraping is done.

 

[zannej]

Thanks! I'll have to give that a try. I'll see if I can get my friend to help me with taping since I'm a total monkey at putting tape up. It always ends up crooked. LOL.
I realized I didn't have the right sized brad nails so I went to HD to pick some up. There was a guy who was looking for the exact same thing. We kept thinking the other was going to go the other direction and did a little dance of trying to step one way then the other and then laughed about it. But I got 1k brad nails. I was going to try to set up the air compressor but I could barely walk getting out of the truck bc my body is not cooperating.

 

[zannej]

I filled the seam with caulk-- used the tape and windex thing with mixed results. Then I primed and painted it. Just brought it up from the workshop.

It's a bit rough, but better than it was before and its sturdy. Good enough for govt work.

With the lighting in my bathroom, I can't see al the imperfections. They only show up in pictures bc the camera is good. I'm satisfied with it.
You can also see where I glued a small piece of vinyl sheet in to the gap where the mice chewed.

 

[zannej]

Too tired to post a description of the 5hrs of work on the bathroom (a big chunk consisted of putting tablesaw together). But here are some pics:

 

[Eddie_T]

If you want to add a bench seat

 

[zannej]

Nice, Eddie. I actually have two shower seats. One can be used in my bathroom & the other can be used in mom's. We need to swap them out as the one she likes better is in my bathroom with buckets and stuff on top of it.
I ate something that didn't agree with me yesterday and body was too stiff to work on anything. I need to find my nail punch to get some of the brad nails in flush before I do all the caulking. But right now I'm waiting for Pepto to kick in.

If the pepto works I'll get those nails pushed in more & do some cleaning and caulking.

 

[Ron Van]

It's been a long row to hoe but it looks like you're close to having a tub/shower!

 

[Eddie_T]

I may build one of those bench seats to sit on while I wash my feet. I'll be on the lookout for some teak or cedar wood. I think it would look better with four slats and smaller gaps.

 

[zannej]

I found that these work pretty well for scrubbing feet:

We had one in Mom's shower.

I mentioned in the What Are You Doing Today thread the progress I made today. Yesterday I was having digestive issues but I got up early to start working on the bathroom today. I noticed some of the brad nails were sticking out just a tiny bit-- enough to feel something sharp on the surface. So I took a pin punch (couldn't find a "nail punch" and started tapping them in a bit more with mixed results. Slipped and dinged the PVC, but hoping I can fill that in with caulk or something.

Cleared stuff out of the way, found my tools, and started working on the caulking. I suck at it. I dropped the caulk gun and had to go retrieve it from under the step stool. The hook on it kept snagging my shirt and the curtain rod. Dropped all of my tools at some point. Knocked the curtain rod down trying to move it. Tore the thumb off the glove when I put it on (I think it was defective), and generally made a mess of stuff. The caulk did not want to go where I wanted it to. When I used windex it made even more of a mess. I suck with tape so I didn't use it. The good thing is, the caulk is the same color as the trim and I was working on the areas that aren't visible unless you get on a ladder or step stool.

I'm taking a break because I started getting overheated and frustrated. I'll go back at it after a nap.

Thinking of getting this for my shower but I'm afraid my brother will knock it down and break it because he's an oaf:

 

[zannej]

I checked the box and its Moen Engage. As a fan of ST:TNG & Picard, that makes me happy.
It's a hot mess. I took the tape and plastic down but haven't taken pics of that just yet.

 

[zannej]

Current situation. Now I need to clean up. The rod is at its max extension so I might have to hide a plastic shim behind one of the ends to make it tight. I misplaced the block I was going to use to raise the right end up a bit more. I'm not really concerned with it though. The curtain slides great with those rings. Now to bring in a big garbage bag and fill it with all the trash.

 

[HandyOne]

You are doing really nicely there. I can see it without all the building stuff there.

 

[zannej]

Thanks, HandyOne. I cleared out the tub, put down anti-slip mat, put down bath mat outside, put some hooks on the back rod to hold back scrubber, etc.

My tub's drain needs to be replaced. Will probably replace the overflow thingy too. Won't need one with the lever sticking out like that.

 

[Ron Van]

Well done! You did it! Have you taken a shower in there yet?

 

[zannej]

Well done! You did it! Have you taken a shower in there yet?

I have to wait until all the caulk and paint cures. Giving it until tomorrow to be on the safe side.
I'm counting down the hours.
Plus I have to go grab my shampoo and body wash from my friend's house. I ran out at home.

 

[zannej]

My nonslip mat works very well. I didn't need a grab bar. There is enough room in the tub corners for me to put a foot on when washing my feet and legs (I still need to get the foot scrubbers).

The hot and cold water are reversed. I think my friend put the cartridge in wrong. But, the hot water came on right away for the first time ever in the history of living here. I can remember which way is hot and which is cold so switching is not urgent.

The tub drained fine.

A pox upon whoever decided to have flathead set screws for the tp holder and towel bar. There is tongue & groove behind tp holder but not behind towel bar. I had to use metal drywall anchors on one side of the towel bar and I got the bracket location a hair too far away the first couple of times.

The rainshower and handheld work well. I had a nice shower and feel so much better.

Need to find a good spot to hold my wrap (for wearing until I dry off more) and bath slippers (help dry my feet and keep them from touching dirty floor).
Some shelves might help but I'll need to locate studs.

 

[HandyOne]

I really like your idea of the shower curtain tension bar across the back to hang things from. You're a smart cookie.

 

[zannej]

I really like your idea of the shower curtain tension bar across the back to hang things from. You're a smart cookie.

Thanks. I'm not sure where I got the idea. I believe we did the same in my friend's bathroom. Figured we could re-use his old curtain rod to hang stuff.

I want to get some sort of robe hook or towel hook to hold my body wrap and head wrap thingies. Need to figure out the best placement for it. Possibly to the left of the towel bar if there is room..

Looking at this one bc its about $4. Matches the decor, even if it has the hated set screw.

 

[zannej]

I found a plastic bin thingy with holes in the bottom and suction cups on back to hide the repaired spot on the tub. It's holding my brother's bath gloves.

I'll have to do the vinegar/baking soda paste around the drain and cover with seran wrap after my next shower to try to get rid of the staining.

My foot scrubber came in. It has suction cups to hold it in place and can be put on the wall to dry off.

Body/back scrubbers. Mine are blue.

 

[zannej]

Full shot of the bathroom with the towel bar and tp holder up.

Still need to put up the robe hook. Haven't decided on a height for it yet. I also plan to get something lower down to hang my slippers on. Once I clear the junk out, I need to figure out where I want to put stuff. I know I want to bring in a tall laundry basket and I'm debating where to put the larger trash can. I'm thinking maybe over closer to the door. The shower seat-- which is hidden under buckets and stuff-- will get moved out to Mom's bathroom.

Meanwhile, I've moved on to another project. The front door is looking rough, wasps are trying to get in and keep congregating on the door and frame. Mom wants it painted blue (same color as back door) so I decided to prime it. Been having to go out early in the morning to avoid the heat and even then I'm sweating my a$$ off.
Door is pretty beat up-- has chips, holes, gouges, scrapes, etc. I've addressed some of them with primer, but will use paintable wood putty on the worst spots.
Before:

After 1st coat of primer:

After 2nd coat of primer:

Next step is cleaning up the siding and threshold better, taping up the spots I don't want painted, putting some white killz on the door frame. Pulling tape while still damp and then when it is dry I will tape the frame so I can paint the door & trim blue. Will be using rollers and foam brushes. Probably won't be able to fix the fat head nail in the lower part of the left side trim, but I don't care.

Need to address the problem with the door sticking- upper corner keeps catching. I'll aggressively sand the edge and the inner frame.

The black weather strip thing on the bottom of the door is in rough shape. I'm thinking of replacing it, but not sure exactly what type I need. Something that has good clearance and won't just fall off because the door drags on the carpet inside.

I'm going to leave some of the spiderwebs up higher (so they can catch bugs- but also bc they are harder to reach).