The Rest of the Story

Now that I have the demo finished and cleaned up now it’s time to head to Home Depot to pick up some lumber for framing and other materials such as nails and screws.

The wife has been busy ordering the fixtures, sinks, the tub, toilet, flooring…tile of course. The paint color has been decided upon so now it’s time to put it all together.

First thing first though. I have to get some studs to frame the new walls and some treated lumber to repair the water damage that I cut out.

Finally got around to starting the master bathroom remodel. There are so many decisions to be made when it comes to taking on a project like this. I mean it’s just a bathroom! The list of decisions is long …. what type of flooring, vanities and tops, sinks, plumbing fixtures, lighting, bathtub/shower, paint colors, choosing a toilet, to tile or not, what type of tile and on and on.

If you decide to change the vanity from single to dual sink then the plumbing has to be changed. Along with that goes the number of electrical outlets, mirrors and double the sinks and fixtures.  For the new tub the plumbing all needs to be redone because the wife wants a jacuzzi tub. Now the jobs gets more complicated because the footprint of the bathroom is getting larger because of the separate tub and shower. Tile in the shower of course!

So let the demo begin. Pretty much have to gut the entire bathroom right down to the studs. Going to need to move a wall in order increase the bathroom footprint. Turns out there’s a utility closet accessed from outside that can be utilized for the expansion that backs up to the bathroom. Everything is being replaced so let the fun begin. A sledge hammer and sawzall are the tools of choice for this part of the project.

As we get the tub and vanity out of the bathroom and get the sheet rock off the walls we begin to see what years of abuse will do to the sub floor and framing. You guessed it water damage that has caused some rot and nasty looking black mold. I need to take extra care in removing this water damage material so as not to spread the mold around the rest of the house. So I put on the respirator and fired up the sawzall. I cut out all the fungus infested wood in preparation for the installation of new treated wood to make the repair. Using the treated wood should solve the problem of any future water damage should we get careless in our bathing activities. Nothing to difficult, just take your time and have a plan before going crazy with the sawzall.

The pile debris is huge. Time to load up the truck and head to dump with all this trash! It’s amazing how much junk can come out of one bathroom! All the sheet rock, the old toilet, vanity, bathtub and flooring. It all comes out in pieces which adds to the size of the pile. The refuse station now charges you by the pound so you have to weigh going in and out and then pay.

Man do I love tools. You name it, carpentry and woodworking to mechanics and welding tools. There’s just something about a good quality tool that feels right when you hold it.

Not to mention that having the right tool for the project just make the project go much easier. The finished product just always comes out nicer when you have the right tool. like when you have to work on your cars brake lines but you don’t have a the flare nut wrench that you need. Half the time you end stripping the nut. or when you have to put up crown molding in the house, nothing having a good quality chop saw for cutting precise angles that you need to make the job look like it was done by a professional.

You get what pay for too. you want to be cheap and spend as little as possible on tools made in China? They won’t last and they won’t allow you to do as fine a job as you would do with high quality tools.

I could spend hours walking the tool aisle at Lowes and Home Depot!

I have a piece of property that I have been recently thinking about building on. I have been looking into modular housing. Now I know what you are thinking, but these aren’t manufactured homes or mobile homes. These modular homes are built to the same standards as a site built home only stronger.

Modular homes of today are built using green materials, are super efficient and cost effective. The floor plans can be the biggest drawback if you can’t find one that meets your needs exactly. there is some flexibility to change the plans but it starts to get expensive because they have to be engineered. these homes aren’t built on a steel frame like manufactured homes are. Manufactured homes are built to the lesser HUD standards whereas modulars are built to higher IBC standards. They can be as green as you want, of course the greener the more expensive they will be.

The pluses of modular construction from what can see are many. Construction time is reduced dramatically because your home is delivered about 90% completed.

Lenders treat modulars the same as they do site built homes. Getting a loan for a modular is no different than any other home built with conventional methods.

There is a significant reduction in wasted materials and trash that gets dumped into the landfill.

Modular homes done right don’t look any different then your neighbors site built home. You can’t even tell that the modular home was brought in on a truck.

If I can find a suitable floor plan I may get serious about doing this.