Progress is Being Made

We got the downstairs bath floor in! Yipee!

Happy Anniversary!

Today is our 20th wedding anniversary. We have had many adventures and with Hardy House, the adventures continue!

Tonight we are cutting out the linoleum for the downstairs bath. What better thing to do on your anniversary, right?

What Dave's Up To

While I was priming the plywood walls, Dave was busy trying to get the toilet base fixed for the downstairs bathroom. The floor where the toilet goes rises 2.25 inches from the opposite end! Yup!

One picture shows Dave cutting some trim for the toilet base. Another picture shows the toilet base with a plastic wedge at the bottom. Dave cut the wedge from some vinyl trim stock that we had leftover from installing new windows in our garage at our last home.

I'm sure this will make more sense when it's been installed.

Isn't This Exciting?

Well kind of...

This is a cut piece of plywood (1 of 2) that I have primed (each side and edges) with one coat of primer. They are the end walls for the shower surround in the upstairs bath. Once these are up the surround can go up (I think) and then we also install backer board above for the tile work we plan on doing.

The Fun Part

We decided that the top of the dresser needed a little waterproofing so yesterday we went to Lowe's and purchased a brush and some polyurethane and it was my job to put a coat on. I put one coat on this morning and another one this evening after sanding very lightly with 220 grit sandpaper. I plan to add another coat tomorrow morning. Then we let it sit for 24 hours and voila! The top is done. I also added a coat to the backsplash and will also do another one tomorrow.

Pretty, eh? Love the grain.

Here's another picture, pre poly, that shows the grain.

Placement

We brought the dresser into the bathroom and placed it where it is to go. We also brought the toilet in to see how much room we had between drawers and the toilet. We did okay. Dave is going to modify the bottom two drawers around the plumbing so we don't loose the valuable storage space they offer.

I can't wait!

A Vanity Mock Up

Here's an idea of what we hope to accomplish in the downstairs bath as far as the vanity is concerned. As stated, the dresser came from the Brick House Antique Center, we made the backsplash out of a piece of oak we bought at Lowe's, and the mirror is an antique we bought at an auction. The mirror is incredibly heavy and has its original mirror.

What do you think?

Downstairs Bath Vanity

Quite a long time ago we purchased an antique oak dresser from Brick House Antique Center here in Palmyra. We decided we would like to make a vanity out of it for our downstairs bath. So, like most things for this project, we bought it and it sat in the barn forever. Now that the plumbing was nearing, we needed to get that dresser out and get it in shape for a sink and plumbing.

Here are the drawers, removed.

Here is the sticker I found on the back of the dresser for the Atlas Furniture Co. and that this particular model was in Golden Oak. I did a quick look online and found an ad for this manufacturer in 1906 and that the company was from Jamestown, NY. So this piece did not really travel very far. Jamestown is south of Buffalo. Palmyra, where we are, is about two hours east of Buffalo.

Dave used the template that came with the sink (an American Standard) to draw a circle on the top of the dresser so he could cut out the top. He used a jig saw and then brought out the big gun - the sawsall. The grain in this dresser is really pretty. I'm thinking that maybe we can make some sort of shelf out of the piece we removed from the top.

Shop Dog

Shop dog, Emma extraordinaire, is still with us and she's diggin' life. The picture with her licking her lips is just after we took a piece of wood out of her mouth that she was chewing on. She loves hanging out with us.

Downstairs Bath Floor #2

This is the plywood we laid down over the old floor and leveling shims. Each itty, bitty x on that floor was supposed to have a screw. I think that's crazy but what do I know. Now this should have been a simple job, right?

Wrong.

Way back when we found out we had powder post beetles. They're nasty little things, like termites that can destroy your home. We got rid of them but quite a bit of damage was done to the joists in the basement. All of that had been repaired.

A week or two ago, when Dave began to screw down this plywood, I heard a whole lot of cussin' happen' from that bathroom. What was happening?

Every time he tried to screw in a screw, the screw turned into nothing. What had happened is that the wood he was trying to screw into, was too powdery to take the screw. Dave had to place additional boards in the basement rafters to have something for the screws to screw into. Needless to say, this job took way longer than it should have.

Note: the hole in the floor is for the toilet.

Downstairs Bath Floor

In this picture you can see the old floor that has been primed. In the front you can see diagonal strips or shims to level out the floor. Kind of a pain to do, but it worked.

Rub a Dub Dub, Three Times a Tub!

As a follower of Hardy House, you have come to know that nothing is ever easy or cheap. This holds true for our downstairs tub.

Originally, we purchased a four-foot tub as we thought that was as large a tub that could fit in the space. Then our contractor said he could create the space to accommodate a normal size tub. Great! (So now we have a never used four-foot tub in the barn - available for sale if anyone would like it.)

Next, we purchased a cast-iron tub like the one in the picture, to fit the space. Then it sat in the barn for 2-3 years, waiting for us to get to a point where we could set it in the bathroom. That day arrived about a month ago.

The ground was wet and we built an elaborate system of plywood and ramps to get the darn tub in the house. But Dave and I and my son did it! Yay!

Except...

After a lot of effort setting the tub in place, Dave went to clean the interior. What we found were spider web-like cracks throughout the porcelain. We were upset to say the very least. I felt so bad for Dave, too.

So once we got over being upset, we ordered another tub just like the one that was cracked. Note: when you save a tub for a couple years in a barn, no one is going to take it back. The old tub will now be recycled.

We bit our lips and spent another $300 for another tub which we had delivered into the house. Dave and I then lifted it to a dolly to get it into the bathroom.

But there's more to the story...

I have to take my mom to the doctor so I'll get back to this as soon as I can.

Thanks for reading!

Hardy House Blog is BACK!

Yup. It's been a long while. What can I say? Dave, I think, burned out. It happens when you take on a project like this, I suppose.

We've been living in Hardy House in an unfinished state for quite a while and we are slowly getting to a better spot. Over the last two years we have seen the kids get married, and two new grandchildren enter life. My parents have been unwell and that is still a priority with us. I have had job retraining and switched jobs. Yes, dear followers, life does go on.

But, Dave is back. Yipee! he said he's sick of having house stuff to look forward to every weekend and now just wants it done.

Good news came this past Saturday. Our plumber called and said he can fit us in in less than two weeks. Now the bathrooms are going to get finished.

YAY!

Be back with some pics in a bit.