A new bathroom part IV

It's been a busy past few days in the bathroom.

Thursday night we did the tile.














There were some funky cuts to be made and since I am not that good at the tile saw, Gene did the cutting and I did the tiling.














When we were done we had a few beers and a couple of Genes cigars..Nat Sherman's.


Friday night we couldn't do anything so the tile could set, so we went to the bar and had dinner and a few beers.


Saturday I did some sheet rock and spackling .

This is were the two medicine cabinets were.
















I am not a very good spackler.















I also did the grout.














Sunday was the worst part - sanding. I hate sanding and so does Beth. She had to dust the whole house. That dust gets everywhere. And I have to sand again and maybe a third time. I put on the second coat of spackle and since I am not good at it, it may need a third coat.

I can't wait until this bathroom is done.

A new bathroom part III

OK, so I lost track of what day it is working on the bathroom because I am doing something whenever I can. The shower is now working so at least we have been home. On Sunday my father-in-law and I ripped out the old sink and toilet. I was expecting all sorts of problems but Gene (my father-in-law) said "how hard can it be"? ......You NEVER EVER say that.


PROBLEM #1- The supply line shut off valve for the cold water to the sink would not work. So off to Home Depot we go......again. We get home and use the EXACT same valves as before. We decided to replace the hot and cold as well as the toilet valve. So we turned off the water, removed the sink, vanity and toilet. They were compression fitting valves and we put them on the same way. We turned the water back on and no leaks.


PROBLEM #2- After a while I noticed that all 3 valves were leaking. Since they were compression valves, we decided that they just needed to be tightened.


PROBLEM #3- We put two adjustable wrenches on the valves and started to tighten them when WHOOOOOSSSHH!!!! The valve gets blown off the pipe and HOT water starts gushing out at what seemed like 100,000,000 PSI. I think I hit to steps when I ran downstairs to turn off the water. Gene put his hand in front of the valve so the water did not hit the back wall. All I heard from upstairs was "Shit this is hot"!!!! The water went all over the laundry room downstairs...and I mean everywhere. Back to Home Depot to get solder valves. As of this writing we are still not sure why the valves came off the way they did. We finaly got the valves on and no leaks.


PROBLEM #4- After planning on getting the plywood for the tile down and doing the tile, we can't. The sub floor is soaked and now the tile is pushed back to the end of the week.


That is why you NEVER EVER say "How hard can it be". Stay tuned for more......

Driver's license

Well, it's that time again.....driver's license renewal in May. This is when I have to produce the "6 point ID" system. I have to make sure I get all my legal documents in order, a check for $60 (auto, boat and motorcycle) and waste my time standing in line at the MVC. Although I must admit that the last time I did it, it wasn't as bad as it was 15 years ago....knock on wood. All this to prevent illegals, terrorists and any other people the government does not want to get a licenses from obtaining one. Meanwhile, I hear all the time about people, illegals AND legal citizens, driving without a license and/or insurance.

Any time rules and regulations like this are enacted, the only people it affects are the law abiding citizens. It's just like all the gun laws that are put into place so only smart, safe, gun safety educated people can obtain guns. It works right.....NOT! No matter what kind or how many rules and/or procedures are put into place for anything, there will always be people that find a way around it or just ignore it completely. The old build a better mouse trap saying.

Baileigh's first hair cut

At 4 years-old Baileigh got her first hair cut last night. Well, just a trim but as far as she is concerned it was a hair cut. Here are a few pictures.

Here is a "before" picture.















Here are some action shots.





































Mommy and Baileigh after their hair cuts.

A new bathroom part II

Day 1- Friday, February 27th : I took down the old shower walls. They were fiberglass panels which is similar to what we bought to put back up. They came off very easy and except for some wet spots around the tub faucet, the walls were in good shape.

Day 2- Saturday, February 27^th : After reading the directions, we ripped out the Sheetrock so we can glue the new panels to the studs. Again, this was very easy. Dare I think this whole project will be easy? We took out the old tub, not very easy but not difficult either. After we got it out we noticed that part of the floor was rotted. I guess from years of the tub faucet leaking. Our first setback. After a trip to Home Depot and three hours later, the floor was fixed. We called it a night.

Day 3- Sunday, March 1^st : Easy job no more. It took us about 3 hours to get the tub installed. The first thing we discovered is if we had not ripped out the Sheetrock, the new tub would not fit.

We spent the rest of the day putting up the shower walls, which was not easy at all. It took a very long time and when we got done, we noticed that they would not stay glued onto the studs. Even with construction adhesive so we had to put in braces to hold the panels up against the studs.

The last thing we did for the day was re-connect the tub drain and and check for leaks. No leaks. We quit for the day and had a few well deserved beers. More to come.......

A new bathroom

I started the first major renovation in our house. We bought it back in 2005 and I haven’t done any major work yet. Of course I did little projects here and there. I mean what home owner isn’t always doing something?

Anyway, this will be the first big job. My old house in Sayreville had no date that it was built. It had been estimated around the early 1900s. Any project that I did, no matter how small, turned into at least a 2 day back breaking fiasco. Nothing was plumb, square or level. There was a problem around every corner. We managed to get through it all and do a lot of work. I am hoping that this house is not the same. Well, I at least know when it was built; 1968. Ahh, Sheetrock walls and no plaster….knock on wood.

I am going to be re-doing the main bathroom. New tub, toilet, sink and tile floor (the old one is linoleum). We have 3 bathrooms but only one shower, so we will be showering at the in-laws for a couple of days. And, since I do not have any time to take off, (just started a new job back in November) I can only do it little by little. My father-in-law is going to be helping me. Oh, and Baileigh too.

Here are some before pictures of the bathroom.