Bathroom Facelift project

If you truly knew me, you'd know that the chances of me starting a thread with that title were mostly slim to none. :-D

But guess what??!!...the slim chance happened and I started today.

So, yes I am starting with the basics and working my way up. I've been watching tons of youtube videos and have found this awesome blog.

Today I started with cleaning the floor. Yeah, yeah...simple, but I had to start somewhere. While the tile floor has been cleaned, it hasn't really been cleaned in the 14 years we've been here. I'm talking about cleaning the grout really well with a grout cleaner and then sealing it again.

So off to Lowe's I went.

DuPont Heavy Duty Grout and Tile Cleaner and Project Source Poly Fiber Stiff Tile and Grout Brush for a total of $9, and home I went to scrub.

I tried it in a corner just to make sure it was okay to use. Omg...I was so excited by the results I didn't even mind continue to scrub on my hands and knees. Luckily I didn't have to scrub too hard.

I'm attaching a pic of the floor half done. That is not a shadow in the middle!

Tomorrow I am going to start removing the old caulk in the tub and replacing it with new.

Last step hopefully for me will be the biggest one....refinishing the cabinet. I found this awesome blog with extremely detailed instructions: http://www.monicawantsit.com/2012/02/staining-oak-cabinets-espresso-color.html

I am hoping if I do all this, my husband will paint the walls. :-D

 

Everytime I walk upstairs, I look at the floor. :-D

Today, I'm going to start taking old caulk out.

Its not bleach, so I'd think it would work just as well. They recommend you try it in a corner somewhere to make sure it's okay on your floor.

Well, I don't know what an ensuite is, but that what we decided...just rejuvenate this bathroom. We have redone both our master bath and the downstairs powder room completely...pretty much gutted it. It just gets really expensive. We decided for the hall bath that the kids use, we just didn't want to buy all new stuff. I'm the type that once I start redoing a room like that, I want new everything. We will hopefully only be here for another 5 years, so I really don't want to put more money into it. This bathroom being redone should look like we redid it....or at least that's the plan. LOL

I'm not sure on the fumes of the cleaner. I had the door open. It didn't seem to have any more fumes than a normal household cleaner. I'm sure it's not great to be breathing it in, but I'm thinking using it for an hour isn't too horrible.

Ha! I figure he will too! That is if he ever has any time off work to do it. He does a great job painting and it saves a lot of money for him to do it. He just hates it....and I am horrid at it. lol

I like your wife's idea of change.

 

Honestly, kat, I can't say. This is the original from when we moved in and the house was built. Its whatever the builder was using. I've since replaced all other tile in my house, but not this stuff.

I'd look on the info on the bottle for you, but for whatever reason the ink transferred to the other side leaving it unreadable.

 

So, this morning, I started trying to get the old caulk off. :cry It is so old and hard, I couldn't get it out. I went to the hardware store and bought some solution that needs to sit on it for up to 7 hours. Why did I think this was going to be easy?

Oh, and as I was admiring my clean floor and thinking about sealing it, I noticed there is caulk going all the way around the room at the base that should really be taken up and replaced as well if I'm going to do this right.

This is turning into more work than I had anticipated.

 

I should be embarrassed by how dirty it was to start with, but instead I'm going with proud I scrubbed it and made it white again.:-D

Thanks for the definition of ensuite. I've never heard that term before.


I'm on Day 2 1/2 of removing caulk. I have to go out and buy more remover solution. Jeez, the old stuff is stubborn. Plus, my arms and shoulder are now sore from scraping.

 

That is for sure!

I have to say, he did offer to finish up getting it out tonight after work. But at this point its a matter of pride for me to finish. LOL

If none of my most recent purchases work, I may try that. I'm not sure if this is silicone or acrylic grout since we didn't put it in. I think also it was put on top of grout, which may be part of the issue with the removal. I got a sharp metal scrapy tool thing. lol

 

I know your pain in grouting, luckily our tiles are huge so less grouting is needed. the pic I sent you may show the tiles

 

One thing I won't be doing is grouting! :-D I have a tile guy for that. He's done a ton of work in my house, so is very good about coming right out when I need him...which I have this week (see below). :cry

Your parents' bath looks awesome, Dave! I love that big tile.

Hey LS! Good to see you! Its been a long time. I hope all is well with you.

This project has turned into a much more expansive AND expensive one than originally intended. I did get all the old gross moldy caulk and grout removed around the tub and corner and did all new caulk. I was very proud of myself for that. Then I sealed just the grout on the floor. Last weekend, my husband and I decided to remove the old faucet and tub fixtures and replace them. In trying to get the tub knob off, he twisted the pipes a bit which caused cracking in the old pipes.

Without back access, I had to have my tile guy come and remove the front tiles. The plumber is here right at this moment, doing repair work and changing out fixtures.

SO...its gone from a cheap cleanup to an expensive fix and cleanup very quickly.

 

Hey BOOM

The two products where the ones I mentioned: DuPont Heavy Duty Grout and Tile Cleaner and Project Source Poly Fiber Stiff Tile and Grout Brush

I think it's specifically for grout and tile. I'm not sure I'd use it on linoleum. Honestly, I think it was getting on my hands and knees and scrubbing that did most of the cleaning. LOL