Half-Bath Emergency Reno

​Sometimes, you get the call that a project needs to happen... right now.  When we found a wax ring leak in a toilet had resulted in saturation of... waste in a bathroom floor and up the nearby walls, a change needed to happen.  And fast.  

So, we renovated this half bath in just five days!  It looks completely different than it did when we first started working on this house, but we still saved the things that it made sense to save and found ways to make it an even better bathroom than it was previously. Including the cosmetic updating we'd already done, this was about a week of work.

What Stayed?

The starting conditions on this bathroom a year ago were... rough.  The toilet and the floors seemed fine: something that could get swapped out if needed, but the white square tile was a cute look!  The 70s wooden vanity had mismatched grain was chipped veneer, but not enough to justify removing it.  Instead, we filled any holes painted it out in black.  The counters, wallpaper, and dressing-room lights were a lot.  So, those were pulled out then.   The rest stayed until just a few days ago, when the toilet-disaster required some quick thinking.

One of my favorite things with this bathroom is the nooks and crannies packed in by the previous owner.  There is a wall nook for tissues, and another for toilet paper, and the brass towel bars are in great shape!  Another favorite is the lever door handles.  

If anyone has a lead on these handles... we're looking for more! Not even Google Image could find them!

Five Days

In just five days, we pulled out the old floor, base tile, toilet, and parts of the walls.  One thing I love about plaster walls is its lack of absorbency when plumbing leaks... but these were drywall.  So, the gypsum inside was damp and crumbling, but the paper around it was feeding mold.  Luckily, there was a manageable amount to contend with.  Pulling the toilet, demoing the drywall, and pulling half the tile was day 1.  We got the worst parts first, so there would be plenty of time to make sure everything remaining was completely dry. It was also really challenging to get the tile in the dry parts of the bathroom.  

Day two we got back to work finishing the demo of the tile, making sure the wall guts were dry and still in good shape -thankfully, these were all fine- and I started to put things back.  Since drywall mud takes time to dry between coats, we started with drywall.  

Pro Tip: Take off the tank, and use an Ikea bag to move a toilet. It'll catch any leftover water and give you handles!

Day three and four were all about the new tile.  I wrapped the mudding on the new drywall, then started in on setting the new tiles onto the floor.  The next day, drywall was primed and the tile was grouted.  

Day five was all the finishes.  Walls were painted.  New base boards and shoe molding were cut, installed, and painted.  The radiator was painted.  The vanity was cleaned, and we put a fresh coat on that too.  The new toilet was installed, and all the things that needed caulking were caulked.  We noticed on Day 1 that the outlet hadn't been updated to GFCI, so Day 5 included swapping the outlet and the switches to match.  

Overall, I needed this project!  Having something mentally challenging and still fast really pulled me out of a rut I didn't know how to get through.  I got to install my favorite toilet, and the tiles we used were mostly left over from my main bathroom.  We sealed the room well, so any future issues won't be so sneaky, and I wouldn't be surprised if we end up with black trim and radiators throughout the house.  Big thanks to my client/friend for letting me share this one!  

Before: Image Courtesy of the Homeowner

After