Let’s Install a Bath and Laundry Room

Now that the main level is all done except the bathroom which still needs new tub and toilet installed, it is time to start on the lower level.  I needed to get this done ASAP to get the Washer & Dryer hooked up and toilet installed, so I can finish the bathroom up stairs.  I knew I was going to have to cut the concrete floor because I was installing a washing machine that was not in the original plan for the Condo back when it was built.  What I did not know until I started measuring where the toilet was plumbed and the shower was plumbed that neither of these were the right distant from the wall.  So what I thought would be a rather simple project ended up being a major project with a large area of the floor needing to be torn up.

Picture of Dale cutting the floor with a special saw and Christi helped by pouring water on the blade as I cut.  Needless to say it was a very dirty and dusty job.  but the Dutch in me said I can do this as it cost us $47.00 to rent the saw and cut the floor or pay a professional $250.00 to do it.

Next I roughed in the 2X4 walls and that’s when I realized the plumbing issue and had to dig up a lot more of the floor.

                                                 Dale looking the situation over.  This is not going
                                                 to be as easy as I thought, but then plumbing never 
                                                 is.

 

Moving the shower plumbing was not too bad, other then having to use a sledge hammer and break out the concrete.  The real challenge was with the toilet plumbing.  For some reason they had the center of it only 8” from what would be the finished wall, and it needed to be 12”.  The other problem is I could not cut into the main drain line running under the floor as it connected to the other Condo’s and I would have a basement full of, let’s just say “a mess.” But with a little figuring I was able to make it work without having to do that.

Now to just fill it back in, and cement the floor shut again.

My father-in-law stopped by to inspect my work.  He would have loved to jump in and help but has had some recent health issue’s and a bad finger from when he helped us move in.

 

Now I could get back on schedule of finishing the copper water supply lines.

The plumbing is all done and when I turned on the water on I only had one leak which was easily fixed.  I figure not too bad when I had between 50 and 75 solder joints.  Now it was time to hang 4 sheets of drywall.  Our plan is to get these hung, and finished off and painted and then we can install the washer and dryer.

First coat of mud installed this morning.

Now just 2 more layers of mud to put on and then I can paint these walls, lay the flooring that we are getting from Christi’s cousin and then bring in the washer and dryer.  Not that Christi LOVES to do laundry, but it will be so much easier than bringing everything to her parents to wash.

 

Thanks for checking in with our progress

 

Dale & Christi

Yes, it’s starting to look like a home!

Before I get started with pictures of the new carpet and flooring and such going in, I had to show you an interesting thing we found in the washer & dryer closet.  This first picture looks innocent enough right? While if you take a closer look at the dryer vent you would not believe what we found in it, yes that’s right “Wooden Clothes Pins”.
There must have been at least 8 to 10 in there.  We could not figure how they got through the dryer vent and into the pipe.  Maybe they could not figure out either and that’s why they built this little trap door in the floor to remove them.  And they used a coffee can for part of their vent.

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Now, on to the new flooring… first we had to go pick it up.  That was a lot of laminate flooring to unload.  Christi was a great help (See what a great picture she took)  Sorry dear had to tease you.

Okay time to get to work laying this laminate flooring.  Christi was a big help getting us started and then she was off to convention in Utah.  We had friends of ours that let us use their tools to help lay the floor.  Let me just say you save a lot by doing it yourself, but you work your buns off doing it.  So now I know why they charge what they do to lay it.  The hardest thing is getting started, and as you can see I was going back and reading the instruction sheet a few times at first.  But we got the hang of it after a while.

 

Okay you have to take time to eat, need lots of energy to lay this floor.

Doing closet’s and around corners will test your patience.  I think to do this one corner going into the doorway on the left took us over 2hrs.  I am happy to say we never got angry at each other once, now the floor that is a different story, I had a few words for it.

We even got our grandson Tyler into helping us install the floor.  Start them when they are young and they will learn quickly.

Flooring was now all done and it was time for the guys to install the new countertop and backsplash.

 

Countertop is installed and now just the backsplash tile needs to be installed.

 

Now just need to add some appliances that were delivered by “Lowes”

The Kitchen is now complete and we can actually prepare our first meal in our new home.  We also had our kitchen table and leaves refinished and here they are shown delivering it.

And that same day we had our new bedroom furniture delivered.  Yes it was a very busy day of things being finished up and delivered.

The finished bed.  How am I going to be able to sleep with all those pillows!!

And the bedroom is now complete with nightstand and dresser.

Now it was time for Dale’s office to be completed with furniture.

 

Just a few more pictures and I will complete this blog.  They are of the completed main level.  It was a lot of fun working with Christi on this project and we completed it  in about one month.  My next blog will be of starting downstairs as I have to do a complete build of a bathroom/laundry room.  So thanks for sharing our fun with us.

 

See you soon,
Dale & Christi