March 6, 2011

  
Welcome to the Main Bathroom Project -- the first project in our new house. As you can see, the main
bathroom has an impressive 13-foot ceiling. But it also has a few problems, and needs some color.

The main house was built in 1930, but the main bathroom was added on in 2001. In general, it's in
really good shape. But the tub is main problem in this bathroom.

First, we weren't crazy about the odd slipper shape of the acrylic tub, or that it was almond colored.
But a closer inspection revealed a serious problem: cracks in the bottom.

The old homeowners apparently drilled through the base of the tub, injected epoxy (probably to stabilize
the tub floor), then filled the holes and painted the bottom of the tub. Phenomenally stupid idea, but
they hid the damage well with a bathmat. (The tape was a temporary fix I had to employ.)

They also hadn't done a good job with the wallboard or sealing around the tub. Their low standards
for protecting their home from water made this project the top priority.

The vinyl floor also was discolored in spots (that dark spot is a shadow from the flash). I plan to rip
out the vinyl and tile the floor. The cabinets are in great shape, so they're staying.

Work begins on the remodel. First, the sheetrock is cut away around the old tub. This required
removing some of the window casing.

  
The corner bead had to be removed, and the wallboard was cut higher on the showerhead wall.

With the sheetrock out of the way, the tub popped out pretty easily (except for the spot where it was
epoxied to the floor).

With the tub removed, you can see the sheathing on what used to be the exterior of the original house.
You can also see where a window once was, filled in with plywood.

We went with a Swan Veritek white tub and surround, which fit perfectly. The manufacturer called for
a bed of cement to set the honeycombed tub floor. This tub isn't going anywhere soon.

We opted for the resin tub and surround over tile because we needed the least amount of
downtime, since our toddler takes baths. We also wanted something easy to clean.

The one thing the previous owners did right was install nice brushed nickel hardware. I cleaned the
fixtures well and reinstalled them in the new tub.

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