After SEVERAL months we FINALLY finished the common bathroom.  Lee has put in some serious hours trying to wrap it up since we returned home from Christmas and we can't believe it is actually complete.  And although we only replaced vinyl with more vinyl, we think it's as good as paved gold.  After living with exposed floor boards, dry wall and cold drafts from the crawl space below  - ANYTHING is an improvement.

We started out thinking the common bathroom would be a piece of cake - after all, we weren't replacing the vanity OR the tub/shower.  We couldn't have been more naive.   The first steps towards renovating the bathroom required several trips to our local hardware store and Lee getting some plumbing tutorials. Good thing electrical doesn't slow him down at all....

• We replaced the rusted out tub and shower faucet fixtures
• Replaced both sink faucets
• Removed the old broken fan and replaced it with a new one that also has a light
• Installed new vanity light fixtures

The next step was to sand off the incredibly rough texture on the walls.  I kid you not, the texture was so abrasive it could actually cut your hand.  After 6 - 8 hours of sanding over the 4th of July weekend, we decided it was tolerable.  From there it was time for paint.

• Sanded and spackled the walls
• Painted the walls and ceiling
• Hung towel racks, TP holder and replaced the toilet flusher
• Removed the glass shower doors and hung a shower rod and curtain

The next step we weren't looking forward to.  We had a soggy and rotting spot in the bathroom floor near the shower that we were pretty sure would require some serious work.  So, we picked out the vinyl pattern we wanted, ordered it, and let it sit in our garage for three or four months.  I initially had hoped we could get the floor replaced by Thanksgiving - so in early November we tore out the old vinyl and the rotting particle board.  We only then discovered how bad the rot really was.  Unfortunately, between Stanford, the holidays, traveling and being super sick -- we didn't get a chance to even think about fixing it for two long months.  But when we did, boy did Lee have a lot to do:

• Removed old vinyl
• Removed rotting particle board
• Removed rotted sub-floor             
• Reinforced the rotting joist beneath the house
• Replaced the sub-floor with new tongue and groove 2 x 4
• Removed the toilet
• Replaced new plywood
• Cut and installed the vinyl (this was a miserable task for two rookies!)
• Reinstalled the toilet
• Caulked the open seams
• Painted bathroom trim
• Installed bathroom trim & more caulking
• Installed quarter-round oak trim in front of the cabinets
• Installed oak strip between vinyl and hardwood of the hallway

Everyday I thank my lucky stars that I married a man who can do anything!  He worked so hard on this bathroom and did a fabulous job.  Pictures from start to finish are in the gallery.  But,here are a couple before and after shots.

P.S. You can tell Lee took the before shots and I took the after shots. I don't quite know all the tricks of the SLR....