The downstairs bathroom of our house on Braidwood Drive in
Hilliard, Ohio, is located behind the octagon window at the front of the house.
By 2005 it was in pretty bad shape. The floor of the bathroom is a step above
the level of the garage, and the south wall of the room is against the raised
front porch slab.
The wall behind the toilet had suffered from the bad construction practices of the concrete contractor who replaced the front porch slab that is on the outside of this wall. When the wall was opened, loose gravel fill from below the porch slab started pouring into the room. The exterior sheathing had deteriorated, and the concrete contractor did not properly repair the wall before pouring new concrete.
In addition to the south wall problem, the valves for the shower
were outdated (they were original with the house, built in 1955).
The shower enclosure was in need of replacement, the ceiling had several small holes, the vanity top was covered with old broken mosaic tile, the cast iron sink was showing rust around the overflow, and the floor was past it’s normal life. Basically, what was needed was to tear out everything (down to the studs in some cases) and start over.
The project was begun by ripping out the old shower enclosure.
There was old ceramic tile under the plastic shower enclosure. This was removed
on two walls down to the studs. When the wall containing the shower plumbing was
opened, it was discovered that the metal box for the downstairs light switch
(also used as a junction box) had been installed in direct contact with the
copper pipes. The box was moved and a new switch box for the downstairs lights
was installed. The shower control valves were replaced by a pressure balancing
unit that reduces wide temperature changes if water is used elsewhere in the
house.
On the shower stall wall opposite the plumbing (the wall on the
right side of the sink), there was an electrical outlet that was located too
close to the back wall. This had to be replaced with a GFI type outlet, and it
was also moved away from the wall.
The old shower enclosure was 36 inches wide, but it had a 24
inch door installed. This caused the addition of partial framing across the
front of the enclosure. This framing was removed and a new fiberglass enclosure
and base were installed.
When the medicine cabinet above the sink was removed it was
discovered that someone had cut the copper vent pipe to make room for the
recessed cabinet. Whoever cut the vent had stuffed insulation into the
lower part of the pipe and the upper part was covered with duct tape.
Condensation had been dripping down the pipe and had damaged the old medicine
cabinet and the wall. The vent pipe was repaired with a section of CPCV pipe
connected with rubber couplings.
When the plaster board behind the toilet was removed, gravel
fill from beneath the front porch slab started pouring into the room. This was
because the contractor who did the porch slab replacement poured right against
the deteriorated celotex sheathing without making proper repairs to the exterior
wall. The gravel fill was finally stabilized by spraying expandable foam into
the cavity. The rotted studs were then repaired by using pieces of pressure
treated wood, and new dry wall was attached. This is less than an ideal fix, but
a proper fix would have to be done by working from the outside. This would
require considerable deconstruction of the exterior walls and replacing at least
part of the concrete porch slab. Not a reasonable option in February when this
project was under way.
The original towel bars and toilet paper holders were the ceramic type that are recessed into the wall. These were removed and the walls were patched.
The ceiling was replaced and a texture was applied using a stiff
brush on a pole.
After a couple of failed attempts at hanging new wallpaper on
the walls, the upper portion of the walls were covered with vinyl coated
wallboard, and the lower portion of the walls was covered with wainscot. A chair
rail was added to cover the seam between the two materials. A wall paper border
was added to the top corner of the room.
The floor was covered with glueless laminate floor planks.
A new ‘high-rise’ style toilet was installed.
A new vanity, sink, and medicine cabinet were installed.
A motion detector switch was used to replace the old light switch.
The new fiberglass shower enclosure includes a pressure
balancing control valve and a movable shower head.
The original slab door was finished with dark stained wood and
was in pretty bad shape. Molding was added to the door to simulate a panel door
and it was painted white. A set of hooks was mounted on a piece of MDF board
with an ogee curve routed edge.
The original octagonal window contained clear glass, not the
best for a ground level bathroom facing the street. A piece of distorted glass
was cut to fit the outside, and a stained glass window is planned for the
inside.
This remodeling was completed in February, 2005 by Len Nasman.
