All right, folks, here's a call for help! If you all know of an Ugly Bathroom contest I can enter, please send me the website address ASAP!!! LOL.
(I'm Serious!!!)
We took a break from the kitchen renovation to concentrate on Christmas. Now it's time to get back to work. Today we ordered the tile for the backsplash.
Here's a sample board of what the tile will look like. We'll be using a slightly different design, however. I liked the way it matched the floor so much that we'll be using the tile instead of baseboard along the wall.
Meanwhile, our master bathroom was tired of waiting for it's turn. Our house is a standard South Florida ranch style home, built in 1970's in one of those mass subdivisions where the builders would go in with bulldozers, plow down all the orange groves and erect concrete block homes in its place. (It's a beautiful neighborhood and is in high demand in the local real estate market. I just can't resist the urge to shoot another jab at developers.)
Locals have told us that before the 1970's, you could walk through the orange groves right up to the intracoastal waterway and that there was a rickety bridge one had to cross over to get to the Gulf of Mexico. That bridge is now a 4 lane, divided bridge leading into Indian Rocks Beach.
2-2-2: In 1997 we bought this 2 bedroom, 2 bath home for 2 reasons. It had the biggest yard of all the houses we looked at that were for sale at the time and there were only a few other two bedroom houses on the block. The rest are all 3 and 4 bedrooms. Know what that means? Prime remodeling house!
A few years after we moved in, I was taking a shower one day when I happened to lean against the soap dish and it fell into the tub along with a handful of surrounding tiles. We pieced the tiles back together with duct tape because we had other projects going on at the time. Little did we know, that made the bathroom mad.
We added on 2 bedrooms, a bathroom and a larger family room. The builder did the "shell" and added a new roof onto the existing house, and then Rick and I took over, doing the entire interior, everything from the drywall to the electric, plumbing, tile, windows, doors, paint and framing. We ran our own exterior plumbing lines as well.
The master bathroom sat, waiting. I would never let anyone see it, it was so ugly.
I painted it, at least! Bought new towels and light fixtures for it! But still, it complained.
Then we did the laundry room and the kitchen. Priorities, priorities...
The bathroom began to groan. Its tiles sighed and heaved. The duct tape began to weaken.
Last week, it could take no more.
I came home one afternoon to find the cement board behind the tiles had crumbled and the tiles had fallen into the tub.
The room smelled damp and musky.
Friggin bathroom couldn't wait till we were done with the kitchen!&%#@%
This is the result:
For more photos, click "continued", below. But I warn you, these photos are not appetizing.
Notice the stick leaning against the wall near the shower. I use it on a daily basis in the bathroom. Can you figure out what it is used for?
Wow...that bathroom really needs some TLC!!
:-D
Posted by: Tammy~Kentucky Gal | January 13, 2007 at 07:27 PM
You use the stick for beating back the cats ...?
Wow ... lotsa work to be done ... but given your history, the room will be a showplace when you're done.
Pace yourself ... ;)
Posted by: Nils | January 13, 2007 at 07:35 PM
Yup, that's an ugly, ugly bathroom.
The stick could be to:
a) prop open a window since '70's era bathrooms might be lacking a fan.
b) to stop the drain.
c) to knock a few more tiles out until they are all gone.
Reading about the work you and Rick have done, I'm just in awe of your skills. It's really impressive, and like Nils, I know the results of this job will be amazing.
Your essay also helps me to place your location ... don't worry, just generally and I'm not an internet axe murderer.
Is Silas Dent still around?
Posted by: Florida Cracker | January 13, 2007 at 09:13 PM
FC, I had never heard of Silas Dent until you mentioned him. I just googled his name, and wow! What a history the ol' guy had. I'll have to take a look around and see if the restaurant is still up and running. How'd you know about him? LOL.
And thanks for your compliments, Nils and FC. Rick is the main contractor here, I do the design and the grunt work. It keeps me muscular. lol
Nils, pacing myself? where to start?! lol
Tammy, yep...it needs t-l-c and m-o-n-e-y... lol. so much for the timing.
Posted by: Laura | January 13, 2007 at 09:51 PM
Ouch, that is awful! There was a show on HGTV for ailing bathrooms, but I don't think it's a contest. Oprah had one once, so maybe you should email her.
Posted by: kenju | January 13, 2007 at 11:16 PM
I know that room! How'd it get to Florida? ;)
Posted by: Seamus | January 14, 2007 at 03:03 AM
You're making us wait on the stick answer, right?
I ate at Silas Dent's years ago when Mrs. FC was down there for a nursing conference. They had a mango sherbert that was pretty yummy.
Posted by: Florida Cracker | January 14, 2007 at 10:38 AM
Um, wow... those are some KILLER "BEFORE" pics you have there. I LOVE the tile you have picked out! I wouldn't even know where to start in that bathroom... good luck guys!
I think you use the stick to pry off more bathroom wall. :)
Posted by: CircusKelli | January 14, 2007 at 10:46 AM
It never fails that everytime I plan a nice spurge for the house it decides on it's own what I will and will not be doing next. This week my washer button just broke off.
Posted by: Deana | January 14, 2007 at 09:11 PM
Oh my gosh, we had exactly the same problem with the tiles and drywall in our bathroom... hubby repaired with caulk instead of duct tape, though. It's been like that for a couple of years and we FINALLY have some people coming to give estimates on the repair work tomorrow. Because we want to sell the house this year. But we can't, with that mess. Thanks for the glimpse of what we have to look forward to!!
Posted by: Monique | January 15, 2007 at 01:33 AM
who is Silas Dent?
Posted by: mom | January 15, 2007 at 10:35 AM
Yeek! That's almost as bad as mine. I'm going to have to put Nick up on that TLC show about the lazy remodelers. I can't get him to touch it. Grrr. I can't wait to see how gorgeous it will be when it's all done!
Posted by: InterstellarLass | January 15, 2007 at 10:50 AM
Mom, he was an ax murderer and Florida Cracker ate at his restaurant, once. ;)
Monique, good luck with your reno! We're about to knock out walls and enlarge the bathroom. ugh. Caulk wouldn't have held our tiles up because the cement board behind the wall was crumbling, Previous builders did shoddy worksmanship the first time around...way back in the 70's! lol.
Lass, I hear ya on that. We should go get a beer sometime and talk about it LOL
Deanna, that never fails. Just before we left for vacation last year, things began to break around here, too.
Kelli, thanks.. hoping the tile looks as good on the wall as it does in my mental picture of it. They don't often coincide.
Posted by: Laura | January 15, 2007 at 12:21 PM
You use the stick to fish toys out of the toliet huh?
Posted by: Ed | January 15, 2007 at 01:57 PM
one more thing. I have an uglier bathroom than that. 1 is a few yrs old, the other is original 1957, with 70's wall paper, far out!! but the tiles are still on the wall. The floor is missing a few, guess they got fed up and walked away.
Posted by: Ed | January 15, 2007 at 02:00 PM
Ed, Ed... I'll go into a photo battle with you to prove ours is uglier. The loser has to pay for remodeling... (g)
Posted by: Laura | January 15, 2007 at 04:43 PM