Alright, so far I have
- vanquished the mold
- painted the walls and ceiling (and the hallway outside of the bathroom in a fit of annoyance)
- slightly improved the grout situation and replaced all of the disgusting caulk
- rigged up a fan
and then the very exciting part…
- put down new flooring!
If you’re freaking out, don’t, because that awful 70’s tile is hanging out happy as a clam underneath the new laminate. I’m not so nuts that I would tear out perfectly functional tile in a rental just because it’s ugly.
I’ve been having a really rough time the last few weeks. Not for any particular reason, really, but just one of those annoying random episodes where every crappy thing that happens seems like proof that everything about you is garbage, and walking across the room to get a glass of water feels like the most exhausting thing imaginable. So if it seems like this bathroom thing is taking forever, it is, and that’s why. BUT! I got the floor down over weekend, after tomorrow I think I’ll be totally done with that part.
I’ll do a more comprehensive post later, but here are some random flooring installation snapshots.
Do you live in a rental? Never move your toilet. This is what it looks like underneath. It’s horrifying.
A welcome sight after a really frantic Uber ride at 10 PM. Here’s another tip: make sure you know when your local hardware store closes, and account for that while you’re deciding how long to procrastinate re-installing your toilet. Especially if you’ve been chugging iced tea all day. Because sometimes your toilet flange will be rotted, and things will get tense.
(Note: let’s not talk about the tiling in the following pictures. It’s SO UPSETTING.)
But finally! Floors! And quarter round!
This is literally a waking nightmare for me. My brain simply cannot conceptualize how mitered cuts work on round pieces of wood. There’s about 15 linear feet of space that needs to have quarter round applied to it. I bought 32 feet. I went through almost all of it. I still have one little corner like this to go because my miter saw and I needed to have a little cooling off period.
So it still looks pretty awful now, but I am determined to caulk that quarter round into submission and then everything will look STUNNING and FLAWLESS and it will be the BEST BATHROOM EVER.
(Seriously, though, does anyone want to come over and cut the last few pieces of moulding?)
