h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

My cat is definitely not happy this week. Each day he gets relocated down stairs to my parents house while the builders are working on my apartment. I'm having my front door removed and replaced properly; my tub/shower surround (which was rotting away) replaced with tile; my toilet replaced with a nice dual flush, modern one and the thin polystyrene ceiling tiles on my 12 foot cathedral ceiling replaced with proper sheetrock. This has meant that I've had to clear as much space as I can from my main living area so they can get to ceiling with the sheetrock lift (unfortunately it only goes up 10' so they'll be manhandling it from there.) I've stuffed all I could into my neglected and already stuffed darkroom (next project is to remove the enlarger and make it a proper closet.) I've also gotten rid of one of my old computer desks. I decided to keep the one that was given to me about 10 years ago that I never actually used with a computer as it doesn't take up nearly as much space as the old corner unit and it makes a good storage space for my various camera bags and various other odds and ends. I still have to sanitize my old desktop 'puter and find some place to donate it... maybe Goodwill. (Goodwill is a good place as long as you don't think of it as a charity.)

OK... so with all that space cleared, I can get a good proper look at how horrid my living room carpet is. I was already well aware of this, but now I can see the patches that are nearly the original color after 35 years. It was cheap carpet to begin with and between it and the even cheaper padding under it, I'm sure it's cost me several thousand dollars in destroyed electronics via the abrasive dust emanating from it all these years. So, now I have decided that I have to completely clear the living room, including my main bookshelf and entertainment center. Once that's done I can lay new laminate flooring in.

I wasn't planning on doing this, but it's something that should have been done long ago and if I don't do it now, it will never get done.

I'll start the flooring right after the builders finish up sometime next week. It'll be a one person project so it will take a while.

I'll just have to get used to living in a bedroom full of boxes for a while. I hope I can get it done in 5 days. It's just 210 sq. ft. Definitely doable.



Maybe ten years from now I'll replace the even cheaper carpet 35 year old carpet in my bedroom.

Little steps, dear Baron

Hubby wants to bring in builders to turn our separate bathroom/toilet into a combined wet room. After having workmen inside and outside during April this year I'm not sure I can cope with more strangers!

But we really do need to get the bathroom sorted out soon.... Then the living room needs a thorough overhauling

Then hallway (which is rather large even for a bungalow) will be the last place to be done


lil x

Oh, BG, I am so glad I am not the only one. I am clearing 35 year old stuff out on the basis if I don't do it now I never will. Currently it is the kitchen which is unit and almost appliance less so there are crates and boxes everywhere, and it begins to get you down after a while doesn't it?

Oh, well onwards and upwards, it will get done eventually.

with yours.

Websailor

Ooooh, Lil, combined loo and bathroom, that could be a real inconvenience in the future Thankfully I have a second loo downstairs which was a godsend when my other half was ill.

Best of luck,

Websailor

It was 83°F/28.3°C in my apartment last night. With the ceiling tiles removed the thin R11 insulation doesn't provide much heat mitigation. This gives me a bit of hope that replacing those thin tiles with sheetrock will make a significant difference in insulating my ceiling.

Oh, also, good news on the flooring. It looks like the flooring will be easier to install than I suspected. I'd gotten some reports that some snap-together flooring was rather difficult to install as you'd have to snap to perpendicular edges at once or snap the long direction for an entire row at once. But a quick test with the planks I go show that the short joints simply overlap to lock without needing to be hammered in or such.

Now, I just have to hope my subfloor is nice and flat. I don't expect any major bumps or dips. We rather overbuilt the support for the upper level.

Websailor

UPDATE:

Bob, the builder is done and paid (just a bit under budget ). Two hours after he left the storm door broke.

That wasn't his fault. The storm door (the one I paid for twice because of a computer/register glitch at Home Depot... long story) was a bit tough to fit and the latch was hitting the jamb plate too close to the edge of the door at a spot where the latch was flat rather than curved so it wouldn't slide out of the way. It snapped off inside the door and the jamb plate locking me and my father in. We called my mom to come up to let us out but she couldn't open it either. Luckily we had a pry bar. Anyway, that's a warranty issue with the door manufacturer. 10 days from now new hardware will arrive.

Other than that, the ceiling looks great, as does my new ceiling fan (it has a nice modern style). The tile guy was the last to finish. Bob had to get an alternate to his usual tile guy because of unexpected conflicts. Otherwise I'd have had my shower back last week.

Now I'm going to work. I pulled the carpet up today. YUCK!

It was so foul. The stench of pets over three decades. There was also 1/8th inch of "sand" under the carpet... that used to be the carpet mostly, I suspect. That half filled the shop-vac.

Tomorrow I'll finish the floor prep, mostly by screwing down some high/squeaky soft spots. Also, I'll hang all the shelves and racks in the bathroom. I got the shower curtain rod installed.


.... did I not mention that the shower curtain rod is what started this mess? Yeah, last Crimbo/Robmas my parents gave me a curtain rod. It's one of those that bow out from the shower to give you more arm room. But to install it required actual screws. (My old one just pushed against the opposite walls.) I just couldn't bring myself to screw into rotting tub surround walls. Thus... this!

Anyway, two (sorry... I've been sitting at the bar composing this so now it's been three and a half) hours ago, I broke the shower in.

I have to admit it... my parents were right. That little bit of extra room is nice. Also, I love my new showerhead and controls. I had to order my shower fixtures online as the local stores didn't carry what I wanted. I can control the volume and temperature mix separately. That means that while I lather up, I can turn the shower off without messing up the temp mix when I turn it on again. The shower head itself was a bonus. It has a restricted flow, but the way it pushes the water out actually feels like a strong flow. The website had a complicated explanation of how it works, adding a pulsating flow without moving parts... whatever, it works.

Anyways, now that everything is moved around and disconnected, I have an opportunity to really get my home like I like it.


I'm looking forward to see how it all turns out.

Rude Awakening...

This morning my bathroom rug by my sink was damp. It was damp yesterday as well, but I just figured the dog slobbered or licked on it.

Nope. I had a leak. Then I started adding all the hints I've had over the last few weeks. I noticed a little puddling around the base of the faucet but just chalked it up to splashing or dripping from my hands or a miss-aimed spit while brushing my teeth. Before that I noticed one of the drawers was really hard to slide back in after I opened it to get a bandage. I never bothered to really check it out.

The cabinet is destroyed. It was built from particle board which has been acting as a sponge for weeks. The lower drawer was doing it's part by being half filled with water. I didn't see any damage from under the floor in the garage, but I suspect the plywood above the floor boards may be rather swollen. I've got a heater running to dry out the bathroom floor for now while I go to the store and find a new sink and cabinet. I hope the floor isn't too bad. I'm pretty confident I can install the cabinet and sink, but repairing the floor may be more than I'm qualified to do.

I really should have had my contractor redo my entire bathroom including that sinke and the tile when I had him here last fall. Now I'm taking an unexpected day off.

As long as you dry the floorboards and joists thoroughly with the heater (this might involve lifting a few floorboards - not a huge job if there's nothing else in the way) you shouldn't have any problems there with things like mould or rot of any kind, and no need to replace anything there other than the plywood. Is it a fan heater, btw?

Yeah, I pulled up the tiles and I'm hoping the plywood will dry out over the next several hours. It looked like it was drying out in places directly in front of the heater and close to the corner. The heater is a verticle fan heater I use in my bedroom. I tried to lean it over so it would blow directly down on the damp area, but it has an autoshutoff if it tilts too far. With the low humidity today, I think it will dry fairly quickly. I double checked from below and I still can find no evidence that any water leaked through the floor. I'm hoping that most of it was indeed trapped in that bottom drawer until I it started leaking more when I yanked the drawer out of from swollen cabinet. But from how soaked and deteriorated the particle board was, I think much of it just got soaked up by that wood. I have no idea how much seeped under the wall.

Ugh...

I started to install my new cabinet and sink and had to stop and pull up more tile. Pulling up the moist tiles was easy. But pulling up the two halves that were still dry was frustrating. I just had to chip slowly away at them. I'm also going to fix a couple of half tiles along the threshold that partially came up years ago leaving bare plywood patches.

I'm going to have mismatched tiles, but it's either that or retile everything and I'm just not doing that.

Right now I'm taking a break and waiting for the fresh damp areas to dry. I fear I may not finish this job until late tonight.

Well, 16 hours later I "think" I've got it sorted. I found a bit of a leak around the drain and P trap, but I think I just needed to tighten the joints. Tomorrow if I find no more leaks, I'll have to find room for every thing that was in my old cabinet. The new one doesn't have any drawers or shelves but it's a bit larger under so there's a bit more space under the sink. Maybe I can find some boxes in which to put all the small stuff. At least all the small stuff I have left that wasn't wet and covered in mold.

Fingers crossed.