I’ve been working on my rental house for a few years, but it wasn’t until this past December 9th that I really got into the “spirit” of renovating the house by renovating my bathroom. A complete cleaning and transportation for a major renovation job.

With my uncle moving in at the end of November, while recovering from major cancer treatments he received for 45 days straight, I found that my bathroom was not going to work. Not for a 72-year-old who couldn’t lift his leg high enough to get into the tub and not even enough room to turn around in the bathroom, let alone dry off, dress and comb his hair.

It was an old, smelly, old-fashioned bathroom in need of a major renovation. The colors there were originally lime green tile and white walls, cream colored tub (not because of paint but because of age) and sink. Oh, and of course we can’t forget that beautiful white with gold fleck linoleum on the floor that had more cracks than anything with cracked paint!

I’ve been wanting to renovate the bathroom for 5 years (that’s how long I’ve lived in this place). My husband would have nothing to do with the changes I wanted. Say the landlord wouldn’t allow it. I was wrong?

When my uncle started to feel more of his old contractor self (minus the strength and stamina) he agreed with me that it needed to be done. He just wanted to repair the walls around the tub and do something to the counter and sink area, that was gross. I talked him into the idea of ​​putting a shower stall in the corner instead. Not to mention it would be a lot easier for him to get in, but he said it would give us more space in the bathroom. After much deliberation and discussion, he began to remove the walls around the tub and realized how much rot there was. He realized that I knew what he was talking about when it came to what really needed to be done.

We completely gutted the bathroom. He and I did it in 2 days, with the help of my husband who came to help me pull out the old cast iron tub that was too heavy for me to lift.

As we began to disassemble the sink, tub shelves, cabinets, and flooring, we saw exactly what was causing the odor. The toilet had been leaking for years! Again, I love it when I’m right 🙂 My husband realized that I wasn’t trying to be difficult about what needed to be done, but for the sake of our health, my sanity, and the owner’s pocketbook, this room needed a fix. important. , correct and update.

We cut the walls around the tub to replace the rotted drywall from leaking tub pipes and found we had to replace the pipes, drains and drywall. We even had to replace the sink plumbing due to corrosion and rust on the pipes. Galvanized pipes are not the best thing to have in a house, that’s why we now have plastic ones. Modern is sometimes better.

However, my uncle and I did not replace the hardwood floors in the bathroom. We looked at everything that had been water damaged and felt that both floors (yes, two floors, one from the 1930s and one from the 1960s, all hardwood) were fine. We repaired around the toilet and I sealed the entire floor with a stopz sealant. It sealed the floor so well that when it was dry, the hardwood floor was hard again, not soft near the tub or sink. We then laid a beautiful foam backed dark gray and brown floating linoleum on the floor.

After the plumbing was replaced and new drywall was put in, I muddled and painted the bathroom. Then came the pedestal sink, corner shower, and toilet. What a difference it was just with those changes. The bathroom felt clean and when you took a shower in there, you didn’t feel like you needed another one!

I’ve added a freestanding white shelf to match everything on there. However, to make sure it wasn’t an “institutional” feeling, I put a dark brown framed oval mirror over the sink, a small handmade bench my uncle made that I stained dark. Some dark baskets of different sizes and some towels, bath mats, etc. light and dark brown.

Incorporating doorknobs to hang towels instead of a coat rack. I did this so that we could have more space to hang towels for everyone, but also because it brought back the nostalgia of the era in which the house had been built. The sink handles and faucets are also vintage in keeping with the feel I’ve been trying to carry throughout the house.

My family says that going to the bathroom now feels like they’re in a spa or a hotel bathroom. Heh heh, I had to laugh at that. But most of all they like that it smells better in there and more space! I like that when I clean the bathroom now, it really feels and smells clean in there.

We showed the landlord and his wife what we needed to do in the bathroom and they saw all the pictures of the water damage, the pipes that were corroded and rusted along with the severity of the pipes. They asked for receipts and when I showed them that I actually spent less than $1000 to renovate the bathroom, they were shocked. They paid for everything right away and said it was a great job!

My husband was very surprised that they paid for it, but he couldn’t argue with that!

Needless to say, my family is so thankful for the fact that after all my complaining and complaining about the horrible bathroom, they are now showering and dressing in a clean, sterile environment. As you can see in my before and after photo albums, there is a big improvement there.

So ladies, I want you to know that anyone can do these renovations and make changes to their homes. I have been learning a lot with the help of my uncle. He has been in the construction and renovation business for over 50 years. But there are plenty of people willing to help even if you don’t have an Uncle Ernie or a father like me. Check out your local hardware store, Rona, and Home Depot for instructions, directions, and even hands-on training.

Whether you just want to change the paint color in your home, add shelves, update a fireplace, change the flooring, or clean and update a bathroom, anything is possible for you.

By the way, I told the owner that I needed to work on the kitchen and make it more cooking friendly and improve the atmosphere there, they gave me their blessings. I will detail this renovation project when it is complete.