We’re remodeling our front bathroom. This is an interesting task to say the least. One of my buddies and I demo’d it a few weeks ago to get it going and save some money. I could have sold the cast iron tub to recoup some of the costs, but I didn’t think that anybody would want it with the poor shape that it was in. Apparently I was wrong. It had been removed from my front curb in about 4 hours by some passer-by. I was shocked!
Since then we’ve been going through contractors quotes for some of the labor that we hired out. A new tub needed to be roughed in, and I did not want to cut through the foundation to move the drain. That was definitely better left to a professional. We bought the tub and it was installed last week. I installed the new valve body and remaining plumbing on Friday night. Today, I’ve been here at the house while new greenrock was installed.
I made my first rookie mistake with this one in that I didn’t get a written statement of work. This means that I’m going to have to put up the backer board for the tub surround my self. I guess that it actually works out better this way because I’m going to be able to make some adjustments and additions to the work done. But – lesson learned – get a written quote.
That being said, hopefully we’ll really get this project really moving now. It’s not like it is on HGTV or DIY! There’s nobody to make the vanity for us since we have an unusually small space to fit it in, and there’s nobody to help us budget the project. We surely weren’t going to spend the ‘average’ amount for a bathroom remodel. I don’t know who these people are that spend an average of 10k-15k on a small bathroom, but were aren’t them. We’re just relying on our thrifty habits to keep us in a reasonable price range.
Next up on the list:
- New backer board for the tub surround
- Find and install tub surround tile
- Find and install floor tile
- Buy new toilet (not one of those tiny round ones!)
- Buy new vanity and sink
Sounds easy doesn’t it. More to come as it happens.