The Downstairs Bathroom Remodel is Complete

I have no idea how I pulled this off. I’m not a plumber or a carpenter or an electrician. I am, however, a Gaulard and this is what Gaulards do. They figure things out until there’s nothing left to figure out. About a month ago, I made up a saying. It goes like this: You know you’re a Gaulard when you go into the bathroom to get something and you end up spackling the ceiling. I mean, it’s the truth and my entire family knows it.

Anyway, I am proud to announce that I put the finishing touches on the downstairs bathroom. This has been a five year project that was long overdue to complete. I’ve actually been dreading it, but something stirred in me a few months ago that got me off my butt. I’ll need to find out and remember what that was because I must say, I was quite productive. Perhaps it was that basement project I got myself involved in. Who knows.

I’ll start this post off by telling you that this bathroom was a mess before I even touched it. The paint was terrible and it wasn’t insulated nearly to the degree in which it needed to be. It was allowing cold air to blow inside and because of that, many of the water lines were freezing during the very cold nights. It was also freezing the rest of the house out because it was like someone left a window open. Not cool.

The bathroom isn’t huge. It’s also got a seven foot ceiling, which is pretty low. The reason it’s only seven feet is because the house we live in is post and beam and those posts and beams tend to get in the way when installing drywall. Since I saw no other way to keep the height I would have liked, I simply imitated what the previous installer did. So what. It looks good.

Okay, let me start off with some “in process” photographs. These were pretty difficult to take, so please be forgiving.

As you can see, I was at the point of framing out the ceiling and walls. The tub was plumbed and installed and I had to place some lumber behind it, because it wasn’t long enough to reach the rear wall. I was a bit intimidated about that, but after thinking about things for a while, I did a very nice job. I also did a nice job framing out the ceiling. Trust me, I surprised myself in both of these areas. I had no idea how I was going to do either of these things for the longest time.

Also, since I insulated the outer walls with rigid foam and then sealed that foam with spray foam, I had lots of fiberglass insulation left over. I used some of that on the interior walls and then used up the rest in the ceiling. You can’t see any of that ceiling insulation, but I can tell you that it’s packed. Here are the photos.

This next group of photos shows my genius as it relates to hanging drywall. Again, I have no idea how I managed any of this. I guess my ruler, t-square and knife did most of the work. All I did was measure things and screw them to the walls and the ceiling. One thing I did learn was that the smoother you apply the joint compound, the easier it is to sand. This wasn’t a challenging project at all when it came to that.

My initial thoughts were to pull the sink out and replace it with a pedestal version. The problem with that was that the current sink was built in and after about an hour of removing screws, it didn’t even begin to budge. I couldn’t get the damn thing out, so I replaced the screws and embraced it with all my heart. Now I love it. By the way, the reason the drywall is purple is because this is the moisture resistant version of the regular stuff.

Are you ready for the final reveal? I really shouldn’t say it’s “final” because one day I’d like to paint the door white and install some blinds or a curtain, but at least I was able to put away all of my tools. There will be no more hammering or sawing. Just little odds and ends here and there.

Before I show you the photos, let me rattle off some prices. I’ll see what I can remember off the top of my head. I was so thrifty when it came to putting this bathroom together. Beyond all the plumbing and all that, I paid $45 for the entire vinyl sticky floor, $129 for the toilet, I had the paint leftover from another project, $30 for the ceiling lights, $30 for the wall light, $39 for the mirror and some other things I know I’m forgetting. Nothing was outrageous and I saved tons of money by doing this all myself. Oh yeah, the sheetrock was $16 per sheet and I think I used five or six of them. This, of course, is all beyond the sink faucet ($60), hoses ($8 each) and tub plumbing. If I can remember anything else, I’ll add it here.

Let’s get to some photos! These were taken with the lights off.

Here are some additional photos of the new bathroom with the lights on. Love lights? We’ve got plenty. I mean, plenty!

PS – Please check out my trim work. I am quite proud of that. Also, with all of these lights on, we’re only using 90 watts. That’s the power of LED bulbs.

Well, what do you think? Can you believe that something that once looked so ugly can turn into something that looks so…well…usable? What a transformation. I nipped away at this bathroom for five years and I am so happy it’s finished. I really don’t want to do something like this again, but I have a feeling more room remodels will be in my future. Thanks for reading!