Best friend's house burned on Easter five years ago

[zannej]

We worked on the bathroom next. The small shower stall wasn't cutting it & they didn't like the toilet location & angle. Plan was to move the toilet over and add a shower-tub. Pulled the floor for plumbing and discovered a massive beam was running right where the toilet was supposed to go. If we put it to the right of the beam, it wouldn't be able to hook in to the plumbing since the beam is so large it almost touches the ground. If we put it to the left, people would be hitting their knees on the edge of the tub. So, he decided to leave the toilet in place and pivot it sideways so it's in a cubby. It's not quite to code (about 29-1/2") but it's better than nothing. New tub & shower look great. Still needs some framing out.

I got my friend some sch80 elbows for the pex bends so it wouldn't give him trouble & he said it worked great. Next part will be more reinforcement & painting.
This was the shower with the old showerhead (new one arrived today).


This is the new showerhead

 

[zannej]

So, I derped on the measurements for the height of the showerhead. I knew the shower arm went up about 8" and I did the measurement for the distance for where the edge of the shower was, but didn't consider the slope of the ceiling. It should have been 8" down from where the ceiling was higher-- It could move up a good 3" or 4" and not hit the ceiling. No hole was drilled for the lower part of the slide bar, but I had a sort of hairbrained idea... We could get this shower hook & replace the plastic threaded piece with the same size in a rust-proof bolt, add washers to the back, use the suction cup part as a gasket, cut the bolt to length, & use the knob to tighten it in place & then seal around it with silicone to cover the hole after moving the showerhead up. It would add some hooks to hang loofas on so it would be functional.

 

[havasu]

Just curious, but what is the height of the shower head to the floor? Looks like I would have to bend my knees for the entire shower on my visit there?

 

[zannej]

I'm not sure, but the ceiling is not very high. My friend & his fiance fit under it & I can fit under it. We are all under 6'. My brother is over 6' and has to bend his knees. My brother is around 6'2" or 6'3" and the top of the rainshowerhead is about the same height as the top of his head. But, I ended up looking at the situation & it can't go up anymore because of a curved detail on the shower wall. My friend said the showerhead has 5x the pressure as the old one though, so he's happy with it.
Got a new brighter light in the bathroom & will be painting the ceiling next. He's planning to move the washing machine & dryer back to the room they used to be in once the floor is fixed & have more storage space in the bathroom. He also wants to change the shower curtain out because the one his fiance picked is very dark & blocks all the light.

 

[zannej]

Light in my friend's bathroom: It has buttons on the side you can push to change the intensity and color. It can go from bright white, yellowish, dimmer yellow, and blue-ish. He likes it more daylight colored, but if he needs to see better he can set it to bright white.
We got him a double curved shower rod to match the curved tub. We ordered one that my brother liked better & it turned out he liked the design of one we'd already bought on clearance better (which was going to be in my brother's bathroom). The one we already had was a better fit for his bathroom. He put it lower than I would have, but it still works.

I think the room will look a lot better once I paint it. That pink wood look has to go! LOL.
His fiance picked the shower curtain but its too dark. Looks like a blackout curtain when it's shut & he said he can't see inside the shower.

 

[kjones1829]

II'm sorry to hear about what happen. But I am happy to know that everything was fixed already.

 

[zannej]

Oh it's far from fixed. The burned house is actually getting fixed up by another friend (who also had his house burn just before Christmas-- but that house burned down completely). There's still a lot more work that needs to be done on this one. House needs new windows, bathroom needs flooring, laundry room needs to be built, shelter for the water heater needs to be built, doors need to be replaced, kitchen needs new paint & some upper cabinets, eventually the other half of the roof should be paneled over with metal, porch needs some work, front steps need to be replaced, siding needs to be replaced, and the electrical needs upgrading.
Walk-in pantry which has now been turned in to an office also needs some kind of flooring.

 

[kjones1829]

Oh it's far from fixed. The burned house is actually getting fixed up by another friend (who also had his house burn just before Christmas-- but that house burned down completely). There's still a lot more work that needs to be done on this one. House needs new windows, bathroom needs flooring, laundry room needs to be built, shelter for the water heater needs to be built, doors need to be replaced, kitchen needs new paint & some upper cabinets, eventually the other half of the roof should be paneled over with metal, porch needs some work, front steps need to be replaced, siding needs to be replaced, and the electrical needs upgrading.
Walk-in pantry which has now been turned in to an office also needs some kind of flooring.

Oh I see. Well I guess, it is going in the right direction. It is really hard to start from scratch.

 

[zannej]

Oh I see. Well I guess, it is going in the right direction. It is really hard to start from scratch.

The upside is he bought flooring for his bathroom & he was asking me about the measurements I gave him for the cabinets so he knows what size he needs. I showed him my mockup in Sketchup & he liked it.. Gonna be fun seeing if it all fits right though bc nothing is square. I've told him to let me know when he's ready for painting. If he gets the upper cabinets in, I can stain them, do touch-ups on the older cabinets, & do a poly coat on top. We'll have to find a place for his fiance to go for a few hours so she's not breathing the stuff in though. Maybe she can go visit one of her siblings or her mother or something.

 

[kjones1829]

The upside is he bought flooring for his bathroom & he was asking me about the measurements I gave him for the cabinets so he knows what size he needs. I showed him my mockup in Sketchup & he liked it.. Gonna be fun seeing if it all fits right though bc nothing is square. I've told him to let me know when he's ready for painting. If he gets the upper cabinets in, I can stain them, do touch-ups on the older cabinets, & do a poly coat on top. We'll have to find a place for his fiance to go for a few hours so she's not breathing the stuff in though. Maybe she can go visit one of her siblings or her mother or something.

I could see that you were a very good friend zannej since you've been doing a lot for your friend. I can't wait to see the final product.

 

[zannej]

Thanks, Kjones. My power was out all day yesterday & it started to get too hot inside without air conditioning & we didn't have running water because we have a well system. Friend invited us over so we could have air conditioning & running water. One of the people in his household has already tested negative for Covid-19 so they are in the clear. I got more pictures (although they aren't great) of the bathroom with the new floor in. I had my friend put a level on his ceiling above his cabinets in the kitchen to find the lowest spot so we would know where to measure down from for the cabinets and see how much clearance would be underneath if we got the ones 30" tall. He's waiting for his next unemployment check to land to be able to buy the uppers. I've suggested painting the upper cabinets before they go up to make it easier & limit the chances of drips on the countertop. Once the uppers have their 2nd coat dried, I can do a coat of poly on all of them.
Another friend who has been staying with him has been helping him fix stuff up but is also working on the other burned house. I'm waiting for him to tell me when he wants painting done so I can go over and paint for him.

 

[ajaynejr]

... He's waiting for his next unemployment check to land to be able to buy the ...

OT: I would suggest holding off on purchase of materials for interior renovation until he gets back to work. No way of knowing how long the unemployment will last.

 

[zannej]

OT: I would suggest holding off on purchase of materials for interior renovation until he gets back to work. No way of knowing how long the unemployment will last.

He was told he can get it for 6 months, but he's going to be looking for a job once things open back up. Was hoping to get some stuff done today but his check hasn't arrived in the bank yet.

 

[kjones1829]

Thanks, Kjones. My power was out all day yesterday & it started to get too hot inside without air conditioning & we didn't have running water because we have a well system. Friend invited us over so we could have air conditioning & running water. One of the people in his household has already tested negative for Covid-19 so they are in the clear. I got more pictures (although they aren't great) of the bathroom with the new floor in. I had my friend put a level on his ceiling above his cabinets in the kitchen to find the lowest spot so we would know where to measure down from for the cabinets and see how much clearance would be underneath if we got the ones 30" tall. He's waiting for his next unemployment check to land to be able to buy the uppers. I've suggested painting the upper cabinets before they go up to make it easier & limit the chances of drips on the countertop. Once the uppers have their 2nd coat dried, I can do a coat of poly on all of them.
Another friend who has been staying with him has been helping him fix stuff up but is also working on the other burned house. I'm waiting for him to tell me when he wants painting done so I can go over and paint for him.
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Oh that's a lot of stuff there zannej. I wish that the painting activity will start soon so that you guys could move forward. By the way, I'm happy to hear that the person living in your friend's house tested negative for COVID-19. Stay safe always.

 

[zannej]

I went over to the other burned house and painted yesterday. The friend who is fixing it up was in the room painting with me- he was working on one wall and I worked on the other. He was injured awhile back & his shoulders give him a lot of pain. He mentioned something about how he forgot how bad his shoulders were. I told him that if he needed to take a break he should. I didn't want him to hurt himself on my account. So he went to work on something else that didn't hurt his shoulders. His girlfriend (the one who was tested) bought me some cold water and when she heard I was having kidney stones she brought over a container of cranberry gel capsules for me. She started helping me paint while the friend who owns the house helped move stuff & do measurements as they are figuring out where to put the kitchen. It got hot so we all took a break to cool off & we discussed the plans. The friend who owns the house was also having kidney stones so we were empathizing with each other. I get mine because of some medication I take for hypothyroid. I think he gets his from drinking sodas all the time & not drinking enough water.
There's no electricity on there yet so there were no lights & we had to stop when it was getting dark. Once more drywall goes up we can get more done. I'll probably go back over later today to do more painting.
No pics because I didn't want to get paint on my phone.

 

[kjones1829]

I went over to the other burned house and painted yesterday. The friend who is fixing it up was in the room painting with me- he was working on one wall and I worked on the other. He was injured awhile back & his shoulders give him a lot of pain. He mentioned something about how he forgot how bad his shoulders were. I told him that if he needed to take a break he should. I didn't want him to hurt himself on my account. So he went to work on something else that didn't hurt his shoulders. His girlfriend (the one who was tested) bought me some cold water and when she heard I was having kidney stones she brought over a container of cranberry gel capsules for me. She started helping me paint while the friend who owns the house helped move stuff & do measurements as they are figuring out where to put the kitchen. It got hot so we all took a break to cool off & we discussed the plans. The friend who owns the house was also having kidney stones so we were empathizing with each other. I get mine because of some medication I take for hypothyroid. I think he gets his from drinking sodas all the time & not drinking enough water.
There's no electricity on there yet so there were no lights & we had to stop when it was getting dark. Once more drywall goes up we can get more done. I'll probably go back over later today to do more painting.
No pics because I didn't want to get paint on my phone.

It's good to know that you are helping each other out. So I guess the work will be done fast since your group has been working hand-in-hand.

 

[zannej]

Got the wall cabinets for the kitchen. Derped & got 1 the wrong size because we saw a nice microwave cabinet. I was trying to get the dimensions of it to make sure it would fit but my friend started making jokes about women & being obsessed with inches & we sort of forgot about it-- turns out it was too large to fit. But, it will fit perfectly in the laundry room to the left of the washing machine. It will be able to hold the detergent bottles.
So, we still have to go back and get one more cabinet. The laundry cabinet will be painted later once they decide on a color (although, I'd like to hit it with some Killz primer to get a protective coating on it).
I got the 1st coat of stain finished around 8pm. Had to go home for a bit to feed Mom and then came back a few hours later to do touch-ups & 2nd coat. I stained them while they were standing upright but with the bottoms up so I could stain the bottoms in case they were visible when mounted. I stained around the edges a bit as well. After the 1st coat & some drying, we rolled them on their backs so I could get spots I missed & do a light 2nd coat. Still wasn't fully dried so I might need more touch-ups later as it started removing some stain instead of putting more on in some places. It didn't want to stick fully, so I may need to do a light sanding in some spots to get it to take the stain.
Once we go back & get the last cabinet & stain it, I can get the poly to put on.

I think it looks pretty nice thus far:

One of them has a spot where a knot came out during production & it looks like a cockroach on it in person so I'm going to get some stainable wood filler & hit that spot because it bugs me too much.

 

[zannej]

Went back with some screws (friend said he didn't have any-- turns out he went & bought some, but I got longer ones he ended up needing), wood filler, & other supplies. Friend wasn't home but his fiance was. I filled in the one big hole & asked her to look at the cabinets & see if she saw any other holes that bothered her. She pointed out a couple more-- said they looked like an ant & a spider. I filled them & left them to dry. Then I helped her clean off the countertop so my friend could adjust the lower cabinets & install the counter properly when he got home. She's tiny so she couldn't lift the microwave or the air fryer.
I came back a few hours later after the filler dried & covered it & did some touch-ups. Wiped down the cabinets to have them clean. Did measurements & discussed what size cabinet to get for the end one. Turns out there's a 30"x30" that is cheaper than the 27"x30" & it will fit. We'll pick it up Monday, I'll stain it, & when it dries he'll install it & I'll come back and put a coat of poly on all of the cabinets.
The edge trim on the countertop popped loose in a spot so we need to find the iron to iron it back on. If that fails we'll have to find another type of adhesive.

I'm waiting for him to cut the toekick trim to size so I can stain it & then he can attach it.
Meanwhile, the former walk-in-pantry has become the computer gaming room.

 

[zannej]

Got the last cabinet & stained it. Waited over an hour & did the 2nd coat.
My friend got a new ceiling fan from a Liquidation store but the fan part doesn't work, the light kept flashing (finally stopped after he took it apart & messed with it) and the light isn't as bright as advertised. Unfortunately, the store doesn't do refunds. The fan that was in the box wasn't the one that was supposed to be in the box though. So, he's going to see if they will do an exchange. I'm hoping he can at least get the fan to work, but he looked up reviews on the fan after purchase & it had 1 star across the board. Biggest complaint was fan not working at all.
Since the new light was up when I took pics, it didn't show the sides as well.
He still needs to cut the toekick trim & pick out some molding for the sides. There's about a 1" gap from the side of the cabinet to the flooring that was installed so I figure some 1/2" baseboard & 3/4" shoe or cove molding should cover it.
Waiting on him to give the go-ahead for me to do the poly coat. I think I still need to putty some spots & do touch-ups first though.

 

[zannej]

I went over to scrub the grime off the cabinets, do putty & touch-ups, and then put a coat of poly on. It's a one-coat deal so only needed to do it once. We had a few laughs because the stuff looked like ejaculate. It dried very quickly & the cabinets are all water-sealed now. They are much easier to clean & they are slightly shinier. Next step is toe-kick trim, ironing the edge trim back down (it popped up a bit), finding something for the small gap between the pantry & counter, picking a backsplash (or paint color) under the wall cabinets, installing some under-cabinet lights, getting & installing handles (need 26), installing a stainless steel splash guard behind the stove, getting magnetic metal shelf for above the stove, & replacing the stove. It started acting up- burner came on without being turned on and burned one of the house guests, oven started turning on by itself. If a burner was turned on the oven would come on with no way to shut it off. No idea what's wrong with it, but it's become a hazard so my friend is going to get an LG EasyClean range. The splash guard is a 24x30 Broan brand one. There's only one in stock at the local store but if another comes in he might get 2 so one can go on the side.
I noticed that the towel hangers in stainless steel tend to blend in with the cabinets & the fiance wants the handles to pop & she likes oil-rubbed bronze.
More pics: