Tabula Rasa

I feel like it should be illegal to post a construction update without any photos but here we are. Sorry. In my defense there really isn't much to show...

After I removed the toilet, expecting to find a new tiny leak at the wax ring, I discovered that the leak was much bigger than I thought so I removed a small section of the floor. Then needed to remove a little more and a little more. I had a few of the floor tiles in the garage but not enough to fill in all the spots I would need to take out. So new floor it is.

Once the flooring tiles were removed I saw the repairs done to the subfloor 5 years ago when I renovated this bathroom after moving in. It was not good. In my defense I'm not the one who repaired the floor. I paid to have the toilet moved and the handyman repaired the floor before I put down tile. If I'm remembeing correctly it looked like normal subfloor. But it looks like the toilet had leaked before, in it's old spot and the floor joists were very damaged and poorly repaired years ago then someone just glued flooring on top of the damage.

While I was not prepared to renovate the bathroom at this time I'm so glad we found the mold and the previously "fixed" damage so I can actually do it right.

I was able to remove the mold and clean the entire subfloor and joists. I repaired the boards where the old leak was and removed a lot of the previous work. I added boards over all the gaps and holes and secured everything. And finally yesterday I was able to add cement board over the entire subfloor.

During demo I took out the shower curb but was able to leave the current shower intact. I looked as well as I could and made sure nothing in the shower was leaking. There are, thankfully, no signs of water damage anywhere near the shower. I really didn't want to redo the whole shower but I don't love the look anymore and it just didn't fit with the new design I was planning. Let the research begin....

In my search for a way to change the look of the shower without changing the tile I came across Microcement! and it quickly became the front runner of the ideas. I love the clean look, it seems easy to clean and maintain and will allow me to completely change the look of my shower with out completely starting from scrath. I think I'll do an entire post on my microcement findings but probably after I start the process.

Some of the pictures I've come across in my microcement inspo search have come across as a little sterile and some are straight giving off prison vibes. Which I prefer to avoid....I mean, I did model one of my rooms off the Alcatraz prison cells but that's a story for a different day. Anyway, to avoid the prison cell aesthetic I'm going to add a warm brown marble-look tile one the vanity and an accent in the shower that will hopefully keep the inmates away.

So here is the plan so far.... But is subject to change... let's be real it will change.

White microcement in the shower, floors and walls.

White microcement on the floor and covering the baseboards.

White microcement over the old bathroom sink

Wall mounted faucet

Marble-look tile on the vanity top, backsplash and in the shower niche

Narrow wood shelf above the backsplash tile

Wood door frame and trim

Wood bi-fold door

Pendant lights over the vanity

Move current light over the toilet

Remove current shower fan move and replace with new, working fan

Add new frame and mat to surf picture

Wood trim on window to match door

I think thats all that's in the plan so far, TBD is the toilet paper holder, shower hooks, wall paint color.

I'm going to need some work on the metal finishes too. I'm trying to go for the brushed gold/brass look but everything is a slightly different color or finish which is so annoying. I have a wall mounted faucet that I really like so I think I'll start there and coordinate everything to that? We'll see. It seems so much easier to go with black but I think the brass will look much more cohesive since the tile has a warm brown veining in it.

I'm off to actually get some of this accomplished. I'll post some pictures so soon!