Tuesday, October 2, 2007

...and now I live in there (read: I am dying in here)

UPDATE, Friday night, midnight: PW and LP are living in a hotel. I visit every two days to shower and use the facilities. So far, I've managed to gut the room, tear out the floor, rebuild a rotten wall, sister in new floor joists, lay the sub-floor, frame in the enclosure for the tub/shower and put in all the missing nailers (it was built in the days of horsehair plaster and insulation-hence no nailers for drywall). Tonight (midnite to 6am) I'll plumb in the vent pipe, rough in and wire the exhaust fan, light, switches and outlets and insulate the walls. Tomorrow comes the hanging the vapor barrier, laying the finish floor and linoleum, building the final tub enclosure wall to be installed after the tub is laid, and getting the drywall purchased and started. Sunday is drywall, plumbing in tub, toilet, vanity and sink. HOLY FUCK am I screwed. I leave Monday morning if PW doesn't kill me for lack of a bathroom in the face of my imminent departure.

Promises are meant to be broken. I'm not posting pics of anything before I head for Alaska. I leave in 6 days. I have a bathroom that still has a floor, a few bits of lath on the walls and a working shower and toilet. I need to yank all that shit out, walls and floors included before I can even think about new floors (sub floor and even some joists-yay!), wall, plumbing, electrical, tub/shower, toilet, vanity/sink. I haven't done some of this shit in 20 years, I have 6 days and this is a 100 yr old house. PW and LP are leaving for a hotel in town and I'll be sleeping in the bathroom, at least once it has a new floor. Thank the gods mr. Bud has a cell phone and lots of patience.

12 comments:

Macoosh said...

life just gets in the way sometimes. luckily, i think you have pretty cool readers who understand. i've had some crazies in my past who get mad if i don't do what i promised. :)

anyway, i hope you get your bathroom fixed and it turns out lovely. sleeping on the bathroom floor...now that reminds me of some stories! haha

Anonymous said...

I think Tallman and I are going to have to deal with some of the same issues eventually. Not the bathrooms - they're done. But it sounds like maybe we have some of the same issues insofar as the walls and floors (in other rooms).

We have some definite weak spots in the floor in a couple rooms, and the walls seriously need to be redone. But we don't want to try and take the plaster off the walls(mostly because of Sunshine's allergy issues and the mess) so we're thinking of covering them with drywall.

I'll be closely monitoring any posts on this subject, and I hope it all goes well for you.

Anonymous said...

dude, i know i promised. some asshole made a 5:45 roll call tomorrow (ooh, that would be me) and after just leaving the site... i'm dead. past dead. rotting.

the break to see lp and pw was a refresher..

tomorrow..

don't stress.. yer good.

Anonymous said...

freddie, there are minimal ways...

walls can be resurfaced with 1/4" drywall and you save your trim. floors can be 'sistered' to regain 'soundness' without major surgery.

it's an art... not a cheap art, but still.. an art.

The Pirate said...

Given that my left hand has been rendered essentially useless and is pretty damn painful after about 14 hours of scraping and hacking plaster off the lath, I don't recommend that route. Drywall it or rip the lath and plaster off together with a reciprocating saw and flat bars. Better yet, hire someone else to deal with it..

Anonymous said...

Hey thanks Mr. Bud! All the trim's gonna have to go too. And it's too bad. I'll bet it was real nice, years and years ago, before all those layers of paint.

"Better yet, hire someone else to deal with it." Hmm... Mr. Bud? (j/k)

Maeve said...

OOOOOOOO Alaska???
Cool!
I want polar bear pictures. I love me some polar bears!

Anonymous said...

ah, yeah. send the cute polar bear pics your wife sent me....

Floor?

freddie, after this job i'm in, i'm retiring and moving to AK. or hawaii, or mexico (i don't think there are any mexicans there anymore.. they're all elsewhere..)

Blondie said...

You are BUSY. Just get a sledgehammer and beat down the bathroom. Yes?

Anonymous said...

lil wine.. mama forgot all about the bathroom.

yur good. i live here. been here done that before. just get as far as ya can. pieces.. i can pick up. it'll cost ya a miller or two. and a bowl of chicky soup.

even the roman bathhouse wasn't built in a day...

The Pirate said...

Still going at 8:30am...

Transfer station (I do NOT have any asbestos), shower at hotel(insulation itchys!!!!!!), last buying spree, drywall& accessories, extra 2" pvc, water supply & fittings, tequilla.

Doing the elect, vapor barrier, luan and linoleum when I get back.

I have 3 excellent bottles of wine sitting here, is 8:30 to early, or too late to drink??

mr. bud, I think I can get it functional-Justin said he would mud & sand the drywall.

Anonymous said...

Merlot does not go well with cheerios, it does however, add a pleasent accent to wheaties.