Before and After: Salem House main floor bath and hall.

So, one of the reasons Salem House was chosen is that is has two full bathrooms. This is an unusual occurrence in the little neighborhood of little houses from the 1940s.
The main floor has a bathroom, and the basement has a nice, big bathroom as well (we'll get to that one later...much later).
The main floor of Salem came to us in the (politically incorrect) color ; Dirty Flesh. My older readers will recall the crayon in the Crayola Big Box called "Flesh". This was abandoned in 1962, partly in response to the "Duh" moment that it was acknowledged that flesh is many different colors. Then again, so is "sky blue". But anyhow, "Flesh" was changed to "Peach". But, the color of Salem's walls didn't look like Peach at all. It looked like the dirty "Flesh" color crayon in my childhood crayon box. Now, as an aside, I should point out that if you are picturing the nifty gold and green box;  "64 Crayons! With Sharpener!" and the fold back lid with all those tidy rows of fantasy colors inside, you aren't picturing my childhood crayon box. Mine was a square wooden cookie jar, with a faded rooster on the side and rick-rack painted trim. The box was full of crayon bits of all lengths, none of them sharp. I wasn't even born for 6 years after "Flesh" was changed to "Peach". My Eldest Sister wasn't born until after "Flesh" was no longer. So, not just hand-me-down crayons, friends....Garage Sale crayons. Perhaps these early moments helped shape my can-do attitude. I, too, can color, but I can do it with garage sale, un-sharpened crayons. 40 years later, why can't I rip apart a bathroom? Well, to be fair, I tore up my first bathroom 15 years ago at Oklahome. 

So, here is the "dirty flesh/peach" color walls. Hereafter named "Fleach". The dirt was added after the original paint job, but accumulated nicely.

 And, this was the bathroom.

 It's not bad. Really. Just a cosmetic problem. It needs to be cleaned. Definitely some paint. And the fleach tile is awkward. For one, someone put it in in the last 25 years, and they didn't make it quite to the wall. Plus, there is no where to put "stuff" on the sink or near the sink, and girls need places to put "stuff" when they are getting ready of a morning.
So maybe I can live with the fleach tile if I paint the bathroom a truffle brown? Lots of white trim? (This is what I was thinking...) Then, maybe if I replace the stick on, vinyl baseboard with real base, it will do.
So, I ripped off the stick on vinyl base"board". This was my first mistake.
I then realized that behind the toilet was a large "hump". Uh oh. More investigation revealed the vinyl tiles on the floor weren't actually stuck down around the tub, but more or less held on by caulked edges. So, my cosmetic problem became a functional one. 

 So, must go.

 And, since it is Spring Break, why go to Key West when one can demolish a bathroom?
Youngest came to pitch in.

As you can see, the subfoor is rotting. And this is not new. No, this is pre-vinyl tile rot. The previous repairer of bathrooms replaced an 8" square around the toilet flange, and then just stuck vinyl tiles over the rotted bits. Thus the "Hump" behind the toilet. The subfloor next to the tub is likewise powdered into oblivion. Another note: the toilet flange opening does not appear to be blocked in this photo. Not sure why, as there is a large piece of newsprint balled up in there to block the smell from coming up and any debris from falling in. I recommend doing this.

 

To be fair, I staged these photos during "lunch break". He wore a mask and gloves when really demolishing. And I wore those plus goggles, not having glasses.

 One of the joys of working with Youngest- he always leaves little gifts around on any camera.



Bathrooms are projects that always dance one step forward, and another back. Youngest and I got the old subfloor ripped up, the fleach tile off the wall and the ceiling and walls painted.  Huz came to help one day and we got the walls covered with wainscot, and the trim done at the top of the wainscot. I then began to tile the floor and got the tile down with two days or so before I could come back so ample time to dry.
But there are many points at which I think "Yikes! What have I gotten myself into here?" And, I just take it bit by bit, and keep plugging away. It doesn't always look pretty.

 Like, how is this mess going to get fixed? I mixed the grout, and began the task, but it wasn't very smooth, and it took some real elbow grease to make the rubber float do its thing. This is after hours spent painstakingly pulling the tile adhesive out of the joints where I had been overzealous in application. I haven't done little tile on a floor since the Flutterby Farm bathroom in 1999. I forgot. And that time I had help! My friend Dee Dee and her husband John were driving through Oklahoma and stopped to tile my bathroom. I love friends! Evidently, I need to tile floors more often, and I wouldn't forget the details.


Then, when the floor was done, and the base boards were cut, painted and on, it was time to get something useful back in the bathroom. Like a toilet.
Which is something I can't do alone anymore. I prefer to not think of it as a strength issue, but more of a triumph of wisdom. So, I finagled a way to get Eldest and her friend Jordan to stop by after class, and they held up the toilet while I worked the wax ring and the toilet bolts into place.

 Full disclosure: the bathroom isn't done! I need to have three hands, and so I'm hoping for a bit more help to finish up the sink....hint hint hint. And, I should've taken a picture from inside the room. Maybe y'all will just have to come see it.


Oh, and one more B&A: The hallway. 

Before in dirty fleach. With the baseboards showing where the old pink shag ended, and unhappy floors- lots of paint splatters. Still- it has a cute linen closet with vintage knobs!

 After: walls are done in Martha Stewart "Enamelware" and bright white trim. Floors are sanded and oiled and waxed. It is bright and fresh. To the left on the hall is Spring Pond, and to the right is Essex. These are bedrooms, and they are likewise finished, but not yet furnished, so may wait for the reveal....