The Master Bath Series, Parts I & II

In preparation for the possibility of getting a promotion and having to move (the application was forwarded to the selecting official in Lubbock), I decided it was a good idea to undertake renovating my master bath. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures before I started but the select few who have seen the master bath can attest to the VERY 80's look it had (wood paneling, a primarily green floral print wallpaper, and popcorn ceiling texture). Initially the plan was to pull the paneling and wallpaper, scrape and re-texture the ceiling flat, paint, replace the vanity top, fixtures, and toilet. But alas...even the best laid plans can be thrown asunder.

Part I (Demolition) went well initially; the popcorn ceiling came off without any problems and I had help in learning how to texture the ceiling. It looks good and will need a light sanding to make it totally flat. It wasn't until the wood paneling came off that Part I fell apart. For some unknown reason, the builders put the wood paneling, vanity, baseboards, and door frames in first and then stained them. After that they installed the tile. WELLLLL, when you install baseboards first and then the tile...that means that you have got about 1/2 of an inch of baseboards nearly permanently sealed in grout. I had to get a wedge in between the baseboards and paneling to pry them out of the grout. Crap. Now that means I've got to fill in grout where the baseboards once were. Oh, and did I mention that I managed to destroy a small piece of drywall while pulling that paneling off. Grrrrrrrr.

Part II (still Demolition) came today when I had to pull the wallpaper. I decided to try some nifty new spray that I saw on one of those home make-over shows to see how well it really worked. Besides a steamer would take too long and this spray made the wallpaper come off in sheets. So, I got the necessary materials , scored the wallpaper as instructed and gave it a shot fully expecting to pull sheets of the aged wallpaper off.

Nothing happened.

Well, in the fine print ONLY available on the manufacturers webpage, certain wallpapers must have the top layer peeled off in order to allow the solution to soak into the backing and glue. Did they decide to put that on the container? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. You had to go to their webpage (and I quote; "If you experience difficulties with this product, please refer to your local hardware store or visit our website at toocheaptoprinttheinstructionsonthebottle.com"). Upon realizing that I must have the aforementioned "special" wallpaper and spending an hour getting as much of the top layer off, I was finally able to give it a second go round. This went much better as the detritus of backing and glue littered my bathroom floor. Oh but the surprises that were in store...

As sheets of 25+ year old wallpaper fell away, a new and exciting (NOT!) discovery was revealed. The wallpaper hid all kinds of lovely scratches, dings, dents, and rips in the drywall. So much for painting the walls once the paper came off. Now I've got to texture the walls in order to have some resemblance of a flat surface as opposed to the surface of the moon I discovered. The second discovery: they decided to wallpaper first and THEN install the light fixture AND 4 foot x 4 foot mirror meaning they both have to come off before I can complete getting all the wallpaper off and start texturing.

So tomorrow will chronicle removing the mirror, light fixture, toilet, and vanity top as well as getting the last of the wallpaper off and hopefully getting the first layer of texture down. All I want is one day without any surprises....