So before we moved in we decided we would attack one room at a time and update it. This had kinda been put on the back-burner as we had to have the place livable in some fashion so the majority of our work up until this point had been getting the place to that point. Friday we decided the place was livable and it was time to attack the first room in our room by room updating strategy. Since all three bathrooms were usable and only two of us live in the place the most logical to attack was a bathroom, and when the pink wallpaper was falling on us in the hallway bathroom or "kids" bathroom it was pretty obvious we needed to fix the situation.
We surveyed the room and decided what the goals were. First up light, one tiny 45watt bulb and a fluorescent that is afraid to turn on are just not gonna cut it in a modern bathroom. Secondly wallpaper from 1982 needed to go the pink was invading our brain space. Third the stalagmites on the ceiling not only make it look like a cave but have scrape my hands a couple of times when I inadvertently stretch. Fourth the ceiling is dark smokers yellow, on purpose apparently. Fifth one sink in a room that was obviously designed for two sinks. Sixth the toilet is a short bowl.... Sufficed to say our work is cut out for us in this room. Not only by the fact that we want to make this an appealing room if we ever sell the place but we want it to also be functional and durable. So to start we took some pictures with a good camera to document the beginning of this attack.
We came to a happy compromise of style's and colors and after a trip to Lowe's we felt well equipped for such an seemingly simple project. After moving everything out of the room we decided to take out the fixtures and mirrors as well. With the ceiling fixture down we started taking out the old ballast fluorescent over the mirror, to discover that apparently in the 1980's lights didn't require electrical boxes or the person who did the wiring was a lazy bum.
So after discovering that we are lucky the house hadn't burnt down we left the circuit to the bathroom off and used only work lights. Amanda proceeded to attack the wallpaper and I grabbed a 6" putty knife and attacked the god awful ceiling texture, not terribly sure what I was doing. It seemed to work well.
While I was stirring up a plaster dust storm Amanda was taking off left over bits of paper and the towel bar. It was at this point she started using these wonderfully bizaar tools that we snagged at Lowe's and they were worth every penny.
More on these later. After the dust had settled and the majority of paper was off the walls we set about preparing to attack the wallpaper paste residue which was fairly significant.
After mixing up some awful noxious chemicals that were supposed to loosen the stuff up we realized that the paint below the paste was just as vile looking as the paste itself so knowing which was which was exceedingly difficult. Amanda seemed to possess the proper finesse to not totally bung up the wall. Apparently I press way too hard and just gouge the hell out of everything. After about three huge gouges and a 20 minutes of swearing as i patched them with sheet rock, Amanda decided it was probably best to cut her losses and set me about taping the bathroom so we could paint in the morning.
Sunday morning came and went as we woke up some time around 10:30 feeling the previous day's activity. We had bought a 5 gallon bucket of "ceiling paint" which I wasn't aware is completely different than primer. So I heckled Amanda to no end about the purchase. However I do have to admit now that the ceiling paint didn't drip or run once so apparently there is an added stickiness to ceiling paint and I apologize profusely for the heckling. After two coats of paint we made a trip to Lowe's to get electrical boxes and fixtures for our planned two sink setup. After a 25 minute discussion in front of the lighting area we decided on a two fixture setup each fixture with three drop down light bulbs. We also decided on a finish for the hardware and faucets and lighting fixtures that is a happy compromise between traditional and modern and with the planned color for the room I'm looking forward to seeing everything come together. We got back to the house to see our now dry paint.
We marvelled at how much better the room already looked. After realizing we bought the wrong electrical boxes for the application and discovering that where we want to hang the 2x3 lights there is no stud we decided to at least get the primary light for the room installed. I would like to just go on record and state my frustration with flat screws at this time. I'm not sure who's idea they were but I really hope they are happy with the non-standard and incredibly frustrating device's they allowed into existence. Yes the original light was held up by 3 6" long flat screws.... So after a stream of swear words that I never thought would end we were ready to put in the new light only to discover the old box was not mounted flush with the ceiling. So after some careful jerry rigging and finagling we got everything set flush and hung the new light with a pair of 14w CFL's (65watt equivalents).
As usual if you have any recommendations or suggestions of just want to call us crazy let us know. I guess the biggest question I have is electrical box's that our suspended by sheet rock only. Can you honestly hang a light on them like they say or is that asking for trouble....???
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