Week of May 6 – Having completed the framing, Paul tackled the copper supply lines and the waste lines. Nothing too tricky here but it's been awhile since Paul did any copper line installation.
This was the scary part…drilling the holes for the spout and shower head.
With the walls up. Paul checks for plumb. Right on the mark!
With the bathtub surround completed Paul set his sights on dry walling. Dry walling is NOT a fun job. It's tough, dirty, and exhausting. The walls went up fairly well. It was then time to tackle the ceiling. Now that is not a one man job.
It's impossible to hold a heavy 4X8 sheet of drywall over your head and screw it in place at the same time. Sooooo....he had to recruit a helper. Come on down......Marsha! What a trooper. She really is willing to help when Paul needs another set of hands.
Of course, she suffers a height disadvantage so it's pretty difficult to hold those dry wall sheets over her head for very long. So Paul loaned her his biking helmet so she could use her head. Now isn't that a cleaver idea?
She did awesome and we had the ceiling done in no time. Paul spent the rest of the day finishing up the dry walling, taping the joints, and cleaning things up. Thank goodness Marsha helped with the cleanup because Paul was about to keel over!
Why the two colors of drywall you ask? The green around the tub is water resistant drywall, the white is the normal type.
The next day, Paul applied joint compound to the drywall seams, installed some cement board on the floor and began the rough-in for the new toilet location. He has to cut the cast iron sewer pipe and convert it to 3” ABS plastic. That's a first for Paul. Never did the cast iron thing before.
Paul rented a cast iron pipe cutter from Home Depot tool rental department and almost died trying to cut that pipe. After two and a half hours of pushing and pulling that cutter ABOVE his head, he gave up and took the rental tool back.
He purchased a diamond tipped blade for his sawzall and that did the trick. Should of thought of that method in the first place...jeesh!
Once cut, Paul easily glued up the 3 inch ABS plastic pipe and made the connection for the new toilet location and installed the toilet. He then ran the necessary copper supply line, patched the holes in the floor left by the old toilet and glued and nailed cement board down to complete the preparation for tiling the floor.
On Saturday, Dave, Kelly's boyfriend, and Paul will lay the ceramic tile. Dave has done this many times before. He even has a tile cutter. This will be a first for Paul. Let you know how it goes. Everyone keep your fingers crossed.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day.
My sister and brother-in-law are doing the same thing. Their bathroom is from 1964 so they are running into all the problems with copper and brass also. Judy said their still talking to each other so that's a good thing. I'll have to tell her about the bicycle helmet. That's a great idea.
ReplyDeleteMake sure you keep Paul, he's handy to have around. It was also a pleasure to see Marsha using her head.
ReplyDeleteyou guys are moving right along. Paul will have no problems w/ tiling. It makes me want to go and buy another house and do some remodeling.................well, not so much. Have fun!
ReplyDeletei love how you held up the dry wall with that helmet! Great idea.
ReplyDeletelove, love, love the bicycle helmet. . .awesome!
ReplyDeleteWhen I first saw the dark green drywall I was thinking that was the color you were painting your bathroom. Whee! It's just drywall.
ReplyDeleteAll of Paul's work looks very, very professional - well done! I really have to admire him for tackling all that plumbing work. You sure have saved a ton of money in labour.
ReplyDeleteWay to use your head too, Marsha!
Converting from the cast iron pipe to abs is a chore but now so easy to work with.
ReplyDeleteThe project is coming along pretty good, soon be all done!
Looks like a great job Paul. I have remodeled all I care to remodel. Maybe I'll hire Paul if we ever buy another house.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to remember the bike hat tip for next time Mui wants me to hold things up for more than a minute or two. Looking good on that re-model.
ReplyDeleteOnce again you two have worn me out to where I need to go take a nap. Love the bike helmet trick, though.
ReplyDeleteSoon, you will be enjoying that new bathroom. THEN what do you have planned for Paul's next job?
ReplyDeletePaul makes it looks so easy! You two are just flying along with this reno. Everything is looking good so far.
ReplyDeleteRuth
www.travelwithkevinandruth.com
Dougie the master builder says -
ReplyDeleteGood job guys! Especially the cleaver idea. We laughed all the way out here.
Looks like it's coming right along. Can't wait to see the finished result!
ReplyDeleteLooks like you guys are doing the job right. Never heard of the bike helmet trick.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait for the completion of your bathroom renovation! Paul certainly knows his way around it. Plumbing and electrical wiring are the toughest part in renovating the bathroom, but I can see that everything is moving right along especially now that you're making a huge progress. Good luck and please update us soon! Roland Duffer
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