So we have a hole in our ceiling. It’s been there since last Thanksgiving.
Maybe you read our past post where we talked about water damage in our living room. The water was coming from somewhere in the bathroom, so we made a hole in our ceiling. Hold on – let me back up.
Why We Have a Hole in our Ceiling
Thanksgiving weekend 2017, we noticed the hallway ceiling was wet. Again. First we checked the attic and the roof – no issues there. Then Pat did what anyone else would do and made a giant hole in our ceiling to inspect things.
We thought through all the possibilities: the pipes? The sink? The shower? Please – not the toilet.
We couldn’t figure it out immediately. So we left the hole in the ceiling. We knew we would figure out the mystery eventually.
After I took a shower later that same day, water was dripping from our new ceiling hole. We had our answer. Pat ripped another hole – this time through the tile in our shower – and found the material behind it was crumbling, damp, and moldy.
In case you are not sure, let me clarify: this is not good. The material was (and is) so deteriorated that we aren’t sure if it’s cement board or drywall. But whatever is going on back there, the damage is certainly done.
Our Current Bathroom
With the damage assessed, we then debated our two options: fixing just the shower, or redoing the entire bathroom. We weren’t planning to tackle the bathroom for a few more years, and therefore we’re budgeting for it. But using our resources to fix a shower that we might overhaul again in a few years sounded like a waste.
In the end (clearly – because here we are!), we decided to move up our full bathroom renovation timeline. We start with the shower next weekend, but the whole project will probably take a while.
Before we start working, I thought I would show you where we’re starting. Some context: this is our only full bathroom. We have a half bathroom on the first floor. Almost everything you see here (with the exception of mats, towels, and soap dishes) is from when we moved in.
The current vanity. We need to refill our hand soap dispenser.
The shower curtain is from Urban Outfitters and badly sun-bleached. But check out that broken switch plate! And I think the placement of this switch is a code violation.
The view from the hallway, which is still painted yellow (GAHHH). We do love the marble threshold, though, and we are keeping it!
Our Renovation Plans
You can probably understand why we went for the full remodel. I don’t think this bathroom has been touched since the 1980s.
The teeny tiny vanity, the plain-jane white tile, the painted storage cabinet with rusted hinges that blocks all the light from the window. And you know what they say: when you can’t fit a whole switch plate on the wall … just break it in half! 🙃
That’s one of the major drawbacks of buying a house that’s had such high turnover in ownership. If you were only going to be in a house for a couple years, would you invest in a completely updated bathroom? I wouldn’t, so I don’t blame them. But we’re hoping to break that cycle. This house deserves better.
We are doing the remodel ourselves, along with our dads who were always bound to pitch in. We’re still putting together a list of products and doing some purchasing, but we start next week!
Anyway, that’s all for now. I have a mood board and inspiration list I’d like to share with you. We are also trying to stick to a budget and a plan, but we’ve already had to pivot a few times from our original ideas. I’ll get into that in another post.
In the meantime, I’m curious to know what you think! What bathroom designs, features, or trends are you loving at the moment? Or maybe you’ve been through a DIY bathroom remodel. Do you have any advice for us? Please share them with me in the comments, we would love to hear!
4 responses to “Say Hello (And Goodbye) To Our Bathroom! Full Bathroom Remodel, Part 1”
Hey Katie! Similar to us when we bought the house the bathroom was in HIGH needs the floor was pretty unsafe like you didn’t even want to walk on it for fear of falling through! So this was our first demo project. We also had broken switch plates to fit too! Lol. We went with white subway tile which wasn’t my first choice, however very in right now, classic, and affordable!!! We were lucky to have our dads be able to do all the Reno with the exception of we did hire a plumber and an electrician to just be sure (but later my dad had to redo their job, so that’s another story!) we also have a marble threshold to our shower and love it! We had a weird closet/ stairs to the attic from the bathroom— we turned that into a walk in shower and did a freestanding tub. Like you it is our only full bath (with our small airplane bathroom on the first floor)I wish I could add before and after pics of our bathroom here so you could see what I’m talking about! I wish you luck!!! But seeing everything else you guys have done to the house I am sure this will be another beautiful addition.
Hi Meghan! I saw your pictures you sent on Instagram and then my phone died 😅it looks great thought! We LOVE the look subway tile look, it’s exactly what you said: classic. You can’t really go wrong. And aren’t handy parents the best? And thank you, I’m hoping that it will all go smoothly and turn out like I imagine … fingers crossed!
Is the mirror on the wall, without a cabinet behind it? We had that. Took it down, cut it into three pieces, built a three section cabinet behind six inches deep, and used the three pieces of mirror on the cabinet doors. The two outside doors swing towards the center, so I have a three way mirror to do hair and makeup in!
Yep, it sure is! From pictures it seems like previous owners had a frame around the mirror, but they took it with them and so now there’s just a hole peeking out from behind 😂What a clever use of an existing mirror! I would have never thought of doing that 😓