Bathroom

As we battle major septic tank issues in the basement, the upstairs bath is slowly starting to progress. The septic system is draining very slowly and water frequently backs up into the basement. Usually it is minor and drains slowly but all goes down. We eventually reached Drain-con 4 when not so nice things began floating up from the drain. Plumber pending.

The bath upstairs was a total gut including replacing and sistering floor joists because they had been hacked away for past plumbing. About 2 ½ feet was gained by hijacking a closet adjacent to the bathroom in the third bedroom.

In all its mid-century (not so) splendor. I'm not sure what the original bathroom looked like but the faux marbled paneling has long overstayed its welcome.

Once gutted it takes on a completely different look.

In the second picture the line where the wall changes back to plaster is the old closet. This is where they ran the stack up which will have to be relocated into the wall.

There was some serious structural issues with the floor joists. Unsafe amounts of the of the floor joists were cut out to allow for plumbing. The one joist cracked completely through during demolition. 

Quite an open view from the kitchen to the bathroom.

A new window was installed and moved to the right a couple of feet to allow for a shower installation. Currently the entire wall into the hallway is removed as a new header will be installed and a pocket door added to save on space. Since there was only one pocket door remaining from the the downstairs pair I decided to reuse it here. 

 

After the joists were shored up, a new subfloor and overlay were installed. A new vent stack and drain/vent for the sink were also installed. 1/2" copper was replaced with 3/4" PEX throughout. Additional 2x4 framing was added 16" OC and to fill in where the closet door was into the bedroom. 

The old pocket door was given new life with a Stanley pocket door kit. This will be much more convenient than having a large door swinging into the bathroom. 

Shower pan was mortared in place and rough framing installed. Challenges would evolve due to the wall to the bottom left of the slanted exterior framing is solid block making it difficult to attach anything. Fortunately there was already a groove in the block that I was able to run a new vent line from the shower into the attic to join the main vent. 

I decided to use the Schluter system to get the best water proofing possible. I was really impressed with this product. 

I wanted to keep an older, classic feel so went with a simple subway tile and white grout. This was my first attempt at tiling so I figured the white on white would also hide any minor flaws. 

 

Shocking!

Every house I work on seems to have at least one crazy wiring scheme and the Bunkalow is no exception.  I give you exhibit A:

Not only is this a jumbled mess of wires shoved in what looks like an old fuse box, but it was hidden behind a board and a drop ceiling. Not really sure why there was a fuse box near the top of a wall thats over nine feet high. 

Apparently you can only use one side of the outlet and that block will make sure you don't. 

I was fortunate to receive some old pictures of my house, this one is most likely from the 1960s. It's not the best view, but it does show what the stairs looked like prior to the newels and spindles being torn out. It definitely gives me something to go on for replacing them.

The stairs were so closed in and dark and it made them and the hallways seem much smaller than they were. The only nice feature was that all the open space above the stairs was available for storage. Note the fiber board doors on the right side of the hallway to access this area. It appears that the doorway and wall at the far end were original but the layout didn't make a lot of sense and the second bedroom to the right did not have an additional doorway either. I think having this all open with railing will be a much better look. 

The ends of all the stair treads were cut flush to put in a fake paneled wall after the original railing and balusters were removed. I'm debating whether to try and salvage these somehow or replace them entirely.

Now it looks very open and much less claustrophobic. Albeit precarious with no railing. Still some paneling and carpet to be removed and I'll install a temporary railing to prevent missteps during any late night bathroom trips. Pun intended.

Below, the bulk head was removed revealing the original doorway into the kitchen. The doorway is leaving with the rest of the demo but something may return in it's place.

The lower portion of the stairs had a wall built where the railing used to be. In the above picture you can see how the stair treads were trimmed flush with the skirting to allow for this.

 

Another view at the bottom prior to panel and carpet removal on the stairs. The areas of the hardwood floors that weren't damaged still show a beautiful reddish hue common with Douglas Fir. Hoping to get it all back to that. Of note this was before I discovered the French doors hidden in the attic for this spot.  

Welcome to the Jungle

A few years of neglect have allowed the yard to get a little out of hand. It's not a priority now but there will definitely be some serious landscaping in the future.

You can't even tell in the picture below that there is a 4' chain link fence to the left and back of the yard due to all the overgrowth. Also hidden beneath the brush is a foundation for an old one-car garage.

The block wall around the patio is only standing because of lumber pieces holding it in place. This won't last long.

The wall on the side is in bad shape as well, half of it has been pushed back as the other portion is collapsing. Originally there was a much smaller closed in porch back here.

 

One of the previous owners was kind enough to share many old photos with me. Above you can see how much smaller the original porch was. Personally I would have kept it and added a patio behind but perhaps it wasn't salvageable. Would have been a great place to add a pantry and half bath. I did find two of those square blocks supporting the column which now support my birdbath.

 

 

Same spot, different dog. All of my dogs have loved to lie on the back patio like this. An homage to puppies past. 

Partial clean out of the brush (and some interior trash for good measure). You can actually see the somewhat dilapidated fence which will have to do for now since I have wondering pups. 

The lot next door used to belong to this house but was sold off a few years ago to the gas company. They clear cut the entire lot taking down some old trees and planted grass. If they were just going to let it get overgrown again I wonder why they didn't leave the established trees. 

A few more recent photos below:

All the old concrete pillars were broken up and buried and the open area filled in to create a nice slope for landscaping. Eventually I'll be building a new shed when I decide where to put it.

I was able to break up or bury most of the unneeded walk up to the old garage but this protruding step I decided to put to good use. Notice the two square blocks from the old back porch.

 

Before & After 

There was just so much concrete everywhere and I still want to remove some more. My biggest regret is moving those beautiful old roses which didn't survive the transplant. Overall the landscaping is looking much better though.

Previously it was a hosta party.
 

The gutting has begun, The front porch is stacked with rolls of old carpet and piles of paneling awaiting a dumpster. The wood floors are in fairly good shape sans some wear and stains. The Kitchen is the biggest transition so far. The dark cabinets and paneling are gone making the room seem a lot brighter already.