Bathroom Day 7: Reconstruction begins

So Mary decided that going a minimalist route may be too “fashion forward” for the Champaign area, so I guess I need to get started on rebuilding the bathroom again. I’ve decided a decent place to start is with the plumbing.

When it comes to plumbing, my motto is “Variety is the spice of life”. As you can see from the picture to the left, I could not decide which variety of pipe to use for the hot and cold water lines, so I thought I’d put in a little bit of everything. The copper supply lines are coming in from the main water line. I was originally planning on doing everything in copper but have quickly learned why soldering copper pipes together is called ‘sweating’…it’s pretty damn hard work. If you ever want to test your patience, try sweating pipe in a two and a half foot tall crawlspace sitting in a puddle of water that drenched you when your elbow accidentally switch the water back on while trying to reach around the furnace vent and cast iron drain line to get a blow torch on a half inch piece of copper pipe that is wedged up between two floor joists all while trying not to burn down your house. Mary was so confident in my abilities that she even carried the fire extinguisher into the bathroom for that ‘just in case’ moment. This only emboldened me to blow torch on as every true dieharder knows that if you plan for something that might happen, it invariably never does.

Side note: This being the case, my usual attitude is ‘why plan for something to happen if it won’t happen’. Remember, cutting corners saves time and money, time and money that can be well spent in other areas such as convenient care or the emergency room.

After I had worked with the copper for a little while, I quickly realized that my mood was deteriorating rapidly, as evidenced by my run on sentence above. I decided that it was time to switch routes and move on to CPVC. Why you ask? Partially because I didn’t think that the charred embers forming on the floor joists were necessarily a good thing, partially because copper is really expensive, but mostly because I was longing for the ‘glue sniffer’s high’ associated with the PVC cement used to bond CPVC together. (It was that or start sniffing the Sharpie in my pocket…but whenever I do that I always end up with an embarrassing Hitler mustache.) After a few minutes of that stuff in an enclosed space, I quickly forgot all about the copper sweating woes, (although the blue and white polka-dotted elephant that kept singing ‘The Underpants song’ to me in the crawlspace really started freaking me out, although Mary claimed that she could not see or hear it…) Seriously, you'd freak out too if you heard this elephant singing the song to you...check it out on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9mBOWOjxn4om/watch?v=A9mBOWOjxn4

At that point I decided to call it a day and get some fresh air.

That was probably a good idea.

Day 6 - Transition to a Minimalist Bathroom

Well, I've finally bitten the bullet and admitted that the bathroom project has not totally gone as planned to date. I have torn into a few walls that maybe should have been left alone. This gives me the perfect opportunity to show how to transition from one project to another though, so I can use this as a valuable teaching tool. For all of you true diehard DIYers out there, you understand that sometimes working on one project can ultimately start a chain reaction on a wide variety of new projects. If you need more proof of this beyond my bathroom, just watch an episode or 2 of 'Tool Time'. (btw: Tim Taylor definitely follows my rule of power tools first.) Although I was not anticipating this intense of a project when I first took on the leaky faucet, the inevitable chain reaction has occurred from drippy faucet to ripped apart walls to collapsed ceiling to no more toilet. (Yep, the toilet is just the latest in this projects casualties.) I might explain later what tragedy has befallen the toilet, but for now the wounds are too fresh...
Looking at the overall feel of the bathroom now, I am considering going with a very modern and 'minimalist' approach. All of you diehard campers and backpackers out there should be familiar with the term BIFF (Bathroom in Forest Floor). I've decided to recreate this experience with my BIBF (bathroom in bathroom floor). As you can see from the picture above, there really is no need for a toilet...it is just something that will need to be fixed/ declogged/ handle jiggled or replaced at some point in the far future. My newly adopted minimalist approach says "it won't need fixing if it's not there". The only real downside that I can see with my new BIBF (patent pending) is that you have to be pretty good with your aim, but nothing I need to be concerned with as this is just the guest bathroom.
The minimalist approach offers many other shortcuts too for the diehard DIYer. Something that may not be known except within the DIYer community is that DIYers suffer from severe project burnout. This burnout usually starts shortly after all the demo work has been completed, often leaving projects in a state of disarray for extended periods of time until some ultimatum from the spouse forces them to begrudgingly start back on finishing the project that was started 3 years ago. Mary, am I right?
However, by claiming the minimalist approach, I can bask in the sheer beauty of a stud framed room and ponder to myself, "why would anyone want to cover up this carpentry masterpiece with drywall?" and "Who needs a shower when our kitchen sink has a pull out spray handle?" This minimalist approach is also very eco-friendly as I am not wasting precious natural resources on frivolous 'cosmetic enhancements' to our bathroom. I'm not sure if Mary is going to buy into this minimalist approach...if only it had been in that damn 'gorgeously green' bible..er..I mean book, that she has taken too so fondly. It will be a hard pitch to her I'm sure, but the upsides are endless. Much cheaper, environmentally friendly, and of course, much less work for me to do beyond the adrenalin filled rush of demolition...I'll let you know how this conversation turns out in a later post.
On a quick side note, i wanted to point out some good sound fundamentals of Carpenter Pete's approach to construction work. As you can see from this light strip above (sidenote: see how amazing the fixture looks with the minimalist approach backdrop behind it?) Carpenter Pete's eyeball once and hang it turned out pretty dang good. True, if I hold a level to it, the bubble may be slightly off center, but it would still definitely be between the lines. Seriously, that man is a time saving genius, and this goes as proof once again that the saying 'don't cut corners' must have been created by union carpenters who need to drag out all the jobs for as much labor time as possible.

Bathroom Leak Day 5: The drip gets serious

Well, today was the day the bathroom decided to fight back...I was in there planning my next point of attack when the 'drip' turned into an all out Gyser! Yep, that's right, I've got the bathroom version of Old Faithful...I've definitly got to do something about this. As you can see from the picture, I was just about ready to re-install the vanity and sinks (as the leaky faucet has been fixed) when it blew for the first time. Needless to say, I was shocked. (Unfortunately, this also warrants a score update: Bathroom 3, me 1). The good news is that it died down after about 10 minutes once we ran out of hot water. Once this happened, I plugged up the pipe with one of Mary's tampons...seems to have done the trick for the moment. (Bathroom 3, me 2). Although I have to give Mary an assist on that one, I'd never have had the proper equipment without her.

On a positive note, as you can see, the toilet is still in working order. This is definitely a good thing, as I realize (as much as I hate to admit it) that I might need some help with this bathroom leak problem. On a side note: I REALLY need to get that fart fan fixed as soon as possible. Pause for an important notice:

Diehard DIYer Essential Skill:

It is always ok to seek assistance with a project, but NEVER, and I mean NEVER seek out assistance before you have exhausted all power tool options.

So after pondering things over for a few minutes, I remember a fortune cookie that I got recently..."Your present plans are going to succeed within the year." Good news, Confusious say's I'll be done with fixing the leak in about 3 months. At least now I know my timeframe.

The saga of the leak in the bathroom: Day 4

At this point, I've decided that I'm better off safe than sorry in this case and had better open up all of the walls in order to inspect for any other potential leaks or problems. This brings me to a question every diehard DIYer loves to ask: "what is the best way to demolish walls that are covered with ceramic tile/plaster/drywall?" Are you thinking what I was thinking? Chainsaw.

As you can see from the picture, the chainsaw make quick work of the wall coverings, but an unforseen problem arose. The fart fan in this bathroom does not work (Note to self: Make that high priority once leak problem is solved) thus creating a cloud of exhaust that was stifling to work in (you can see the exhaust filled haze in the photo). Thus, I had to stop working before I was able to get to the ceiling. I'll get that on another day.

On a side note today: Mary was a little shocked when she first took a look at the bathroom in it's current state. Apparently, to her, fixing the leaky faucet constitutes a 'minor' issue and should not have required tearing into any walls...I guess she just does not understand the nature and practice of a good, solid and thourough DIY plan. She backed off a little after I explained that "Good enough for who it's for" is fine when working one someone else's problems, but this is OUR house, and I want to make sure that I have done a thourough and complete job in soving this 'minor' issue.

In case any of you are wondering, here are the main points of said plan:

1. Pick a problem to solve

2. Pick the power tool(s) required. A few quick notes here: first, remember, a good sledge hammer can count as a power tool. Second, what power tools get picked should be based on the following 3 criteria: immediate proximity to your person, size of power tool, decibel level of power tool when in operation.

3. Use said power tools.

4. See if the problem is corrected.

5. If not, go back to step 2 and repeat.

6. If you run through the loop 3 times, just pick a new problem, you can always come back to this one after you have purchased new tools.

That Damn Faucet is still leaking... Day 3

Ok. I've had time to regroup and rethink for a few days while I work on some pro bono DIY work with a friend of mine, Carpenter Pete. You should check out his blog regarding the sunroom we are working on together. I've got a link to it in my favorite blogs listing.



So, I've narrowed down the cause of the leaky faucet to somewhere within the vanity itself, and what better way to get into a vanity than with your trusted DIYer essential tool, the sawzall. That definitely did the trick and within a matter of a few minutes, I had the vanity temporarily removed so I could get down to business. You'll notice in the picture that I have gently removed the sinks in question in order to replace them once the leak has been corrected. Now that the vanity is out of place, lo and behold, the faucet wasn't the problem at all. The moment I pulled the sink out of the vanity, the faucet stopped leaking. Ya!

Quick score update: Leaky faucet 2 and Diehard DIYer 1 (no longer a shutout!)

Unfortunately, the leaky faucet may be fixed, but now I have a drip coming from one of the pipes sticking out of the wall...so it's back to the drawing board.

Leaky Faucet Day 2

So, after a few days of reflection and meditating around the notion of "if I was a leaky faucet, where would my problem be?" I have come up with a few solid leads on where to look to fix the

faucet. The most logical solution to me is that the problem is stemming from the closet walls. Out comes my trusty sledge (in my mind, a good sledge hammer is often just as effective as a good power tool.). You can see the results in the photo to the left. I thought I was on to something with all those pipes, but I have since discovered that those pipes are for the bathtub and shower...Who would have thought it. So, in case you are keeping score, right now it is: Leaky Faucet 1, Diehard DIYer - 0. Still, I have a large arsenal of power tools at my disposal and will not get discouraged from a minor setback...besides, that hole in the wall is just a fiberglass patch and a little spackle away from being good as new.




The next most logical place to look would be along the back wall of the bathroom...but again I was met with frustration and confusion...Honestly, who puts insulation between inside walls of their own house? I'm going to have to re-think my whole leak-fixing strategy. I call it quits for the day:

Leaky Faucet: 2 Diehard DIYer:0

How to fix a dripping faucet - Day 1

So after a stay by my sister-in-law I realized that the faucet in our guest bathroom has a small drip to it. I quickly realized that this is going to be much more than a 'make sure the handle is all the way off' type of drip. This was the kind of drip that would continue until your conscience keeps you up at night thinking about all the water that is being wasted and how un-gorgeously green you are being. This being said, I have a feeling my next couple of postings will all be related to this issue. The picture to the right shows the faucet of concern (the back one).

*Note to self: Try to determine if those vertical dowel rods are structural or cosmetic before continuing...I may need to pull them out to be able to have the required 180 degree access to the sink.