Saturday, March 26, 2011

DIY Eco-Friendly Bath Remodeling Part 2


The good news is the bathroom is almost finished.


I think. I hope.


We’re on to mudding and sanding the drywall. Then we can paint. Then replace the sink, vanity and toilet and be done.


Finally.


I just wish we could have been more eco with the whole project.We couldn’t save much of anything. The tile on the wall was disgusting and slimy and the walls behind the tile were molded so we had to tear out everything and replace it all. The window went bye bye too.
The good news is that the bathroom will now be much warmer and more energy efficient because we sealed everything, added insulation, and caulked all the cracks and crevices.


Friday, March 25, 2011

Five Pitfalls of Going DIY for Large Renovation Projects


Soooo….my bathroom was supposed to be finished by this past Monday.


It’s not.


Nope, there’s still a toilet sitting in my living room. No seriously, there is. You laugh but I have pictures to prove it. My husband and I have gone DIY for many home improvement projects and each time we swear we’re never going to do it again. Yet somehow we get ourselves into these stressful situations over and over again. I think we tend to forget how awful things were while working on the renovations because once they’re finished things usually turn out pretty good.


I’m not sure about this bathroom though.We’ve run into five major pitfalls, drawbacks or whatever you want to call them, with this project. And as I recall from other projects these five things tend to happen every time.


DIY Eco-Friendly Bath Remodeling Part 1


This weekend my bathroom is being demolished to make way for all new, well mostly new, stuff. We are trying to be as eco as possible but have run into a few problems along the way.


First of all, the paint. I had my heart set on Freshaire paint. Home Depot no longer carries this brand or any other brand of paint that is considered eco-friendly. But after I contacted Freshaire they said Glidden Premium and Martha Stewart Living paints are low to no VOC paints. So we opted for Glidden.


Second, we were hoping to save the bathtub but have to move the tub to fix the rotted out floor underneath. Because the bathroom is so tiny and the tub is squeezed in so tight, it looks like we’re going to have to break it to get it out. So much for saving the tub.