Bathroom Retrovation Update

Has it been 3 months already since we started this?
or
Are we done yet? Are we done yet? How 'bout now?

Yes, its been 3 months. Tile work for the new shower stall is complete! 80% of the walls and some rotted studs around the tub were ripped out and replaced. The plumbing was also a joy (after days of trying to find why replacement parts weren't fixing a leak). The old faucet knobs went back on for now while the hunt for a retro matching Hot/Cold/Shower set continues.

Just to give a moral boost to the project, the old lavender paint is now history as well (Thank Goodness). The tangerine color makes the north facing bathroom pop and sits well with the neutral gray tile and aqua furnishings. Not so much Moderne, but very 50's feeling.

New lighting has been installed. A fixture that Home Depot offers is just like those found in every one's bathroom when I was a kid. Thanks to Retro Renovation for putting me onto that.

I found a little white metal medicine cabinet that fit nicely into my tight budget, only $20. The side shelves allow for some display - which is always a good thing. Until a cabinet like the original bath had is found, this is it.

Up next - removal of another eyesore, a deteriorated 1980's sink & cabinet. Looking for its successor, I've found some pretty interesting vintage sinks, including an aqua-colored pair at salvage place. One of these had a built-in faucet molded right into the sink... hmmmm. As much as "going totally 50's" appeals to me, none I found would do. Menards has a simple white hang-on-the wall version that comes close to the bath's original, if a bit sleeker.

And then the rest of the tile work continues...

Rebath Alternative for Tired Tubs

Hmmm ... This might be a possible alternative to replacement or re-enameling that old tub. ReBath simply drives up to your front door, rings the bell and as quick as "zip-zip" installs a new liner custom molded to perfectly fit over your vintage tub (mine is "Arcadia").

According to their site, ReBath uses exact duplicates from an inventory of over 1,000 bathtub molds. Since they are using the same bathtub you have in your home to make your bathtub liner, they say they can guaranteed a perfect watertight fit for your tub or shower. They don't even need to remove your tiling. How cool is that?

*zip-zip quoted from the Chief of the Future, The Honeymooners, Episode 7 - "Better Living Through TV" ;)

Enter stage left - the Bath

Enter the Fun House
It's going to be a wild ride!

Up until now my primary efforts have been going into the kitchen. That came to an abrupt end just after Junior and I had been playing a rousing game of "Fun House" when the hot water valve exploded clean off the tub fixture and a beutiful new lake complete with roaring rapids and a breathtaking waterfall briefly made an appearance where a neglected yet quiet bathroom had once been.

Since then I've found been ripping out wallboard left and right, rotting studs, and pink fiberglass that had been home to a smug little rodent. True to form, the deeper you get into a home project, the more suprises you find. The 2x4's were badly rotted away, those I can replace. But I decided that the flooring under the tub will have to stay put for another time, for now its stable. Rule #1 - Don't make a problem worse by over-fixxing it!

Back in '58 when the house was built the walls around the tub had once been painted a very vivid shade of pink (gasp!).

If you look closley at the condemned photo at top you can see just how quickly - or maybe wrecklessly - these houses were erected. That white line running through the studs mere inches from the tub's edge are THE electric power mains!

The tub is original, and the plumbing used to have the chrome shower pipe on the outside rather than behind the wall. The original wall-hung sink, fixtures and toilet are gone. I'd really like to find a flush-mounted chrome steel medicine cabinet with sliding mirrors and glass shelves like the original. Ours even had a little slot in the side for disposing used razor blades into - they simply collected below the wall space.



The vintage bathroom next door can be a loose guide. Originally the baths in both homes had light colored plastic tile with black bullnose edging, no higher than just above the fixtures. Whats remarkable is that this original bath is still mostly intact - that old plastic tile is notorious for causing the drywall underneath to rot out, maybe worse than no tile at all! Because of the shower fixture on mine, new gray & black ceramic tile will be applied higher for the stall. I'll also expand the tiling along the lower half of the adjoining walls as was commonly done. No extravigence here. I just want a good old typical 50's bath.



Anyway, the place is going to be a real Fun House until everything gets put back in order =D

Mermaid Chalkware on eBay

Norcrest 50's Mermaids Wall Plaque Pair, for those oh so bare bathroom walls. I think this little bit of kitsch should help my bathroom undergo a completely new attitude change.