For those who have been following closely, a major upgrade to my home’s master bathroom was performed. The work took three weeks (excluding Saturdays and Sundays) to complete.
The reno (short for renovation) started with the vanity and countertop being ripped out, the shower tiles and curb (or what the new shower glass installer called a dam) were all removed, the lighting fixtures above the sinks pulled out, the decorating tiles, tub and wood framing around it removed, and the toilet unsecured and hauled away. That pungent smell escaping from the big hole in the floor that the toilet used to cover, took some getting used to. I’ll tell you. I decided to replace the toilet with one that cuts down on water use.
What I also requested was that two in-line or in-pipe valves be installed in the shower’s hot and cold water lines. (See main photo). The home, when originally built, lacked this feature, so I asked for and paid to have the valves installed. Of course, water to the house required being shut off so the installation work could be done.
You will notice in the photo the blackened wood in back of the referenced piping. This was a result of soldering that was done to insert the two in-line valves. Some kind of torch affair was used to enable the pipe solder to melt and flow into the pipes and create a seal. The whole house smelled of gas that was burned to enable the flame used to melt the solder that flowed into the pipes to make the proper seal, gas that was from the canister it was contained in. I’m not sure what the gas was that was used, but its ignition was powerful enough to trigger the smoke detectors which caused quite a stir. When the smoke finally cleared, the smoke detectors were hushed and work resumed.
Consistent with work to install a free-standing bathtub in place of the previous one (shower and bathtub are located in two different areas of the master bathroom), a gaping hole had to be made in the concrete floor to get the drain pipe from where it connected to the original tub to line up with and connect to where the drain in the freestanding tub was located. Drilling out the concrete put out a fine layer of dust that covered furniture in the house in rooms adjacent to the master bathroom. Not just that, but because the home central heating was on during the time the work was being done, quite a lot of said dust was sucked up and deposited to the home’s air conditioning/heating filter. As soon as all the work was completed, that filter was removed and replaced with a new, clean one.
And, since one good smell deserves another, the stain that was used to finish the bathroom vanity was super strong. If I remember correctly, it took a whole week before that smell was gone.
Lastly, the project was capped off with new lighting going in over the bathroom vanity, the shower (lighting of the Light-Emitting-Diode or LED variety) and a new ceiling fan installed in the latrine area with new toilet put in place, all on new vinyl flooring that’s made to look like wood.
Needless to say, the bathroom sees a lot of use.
The house now being 31 years old this year, the renovation was way past due.
Updated: Mar. 8, 2025 at 8:20 a.m. PST.
— Alan Kandel
Copyrighted material.
That is an extremely nice looking bathroom, my friend. It makes using the bathroom so much [more?] enjoyable.
Thanks. So glad it has the Dominador seal of approval!