More Bathroom Demo

Demo in this room is so different from our past projects. Since this is our main bathroom, even though we are tearing it up right now, we still need to use the shower, sink, and toilet every day. It is a challenge to balance the demolition without impairing the function. After each workday, we have to restore the bathroom back to cleanliness and order. The bright side is that the job site stays exceptionally tidy.

Over the weekend, I took another crack at the pink paneling, and I found some surprises–good and bad.

The Good Surprise

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During a little trial and error, I figured out that restoring the wainscoting is going to be straightforward, and I daresay, simple? After we uncovered original wainscoting in our short Instagram video, I noticed that it was coated with thinned paint, perhaps to inhibit mold while the wall was covered with the paneling. Unfortunately, as I suspected, it tested positive for lead.  (We use 3M LeadCheck swabs if we have any doubts about the presence of lead.)

Of course, that is terrible news, but the paint is not flaking or dusty, so there is a low risk of airborne particulates.  A quick test revealed that wiping the wainscoting with professional strength Goof Off is all it will take to remove the thinned paint. The best news is that the finish underneath will stay mostly unharmed. I should be able to restore it with a little buffing and a coat of sealer of some kind, TBD. What a time saver! I expected a messy and terrible job. Now, I am excited to get started.

For the safety of myself, my family, and the environment, I will still follow basic lead safety protocol.

The Bad Surprise

Honestly, the bad surprise is not too bad. It could be far worse. When I removed the paneling behind the toilet, I uncovered wainscoting damaged from a previous plumbing repair.

After I carefully removed the broken pieces, I gave the area a closer inspection. To me, a plumbing neophyte, it looks like a simple and proper repair to the stack vent of the toilet in the downstairs bathroom. However, rather than rehab the wall now, I am leaving it open for the plumbers to inspect when they start their portion of this project.

When the contractor builds the shower, there will be leftover wainscoting available from that part of the wall. Once we have the thumb’s up from a plumber, I can repair the wall behind the toilet and replace the broken wainscoting with whole pieces.

In the meantime, I will start patching the upper walls to prep for painting. I expect to hear from the contractors this week. If we are lucky, perhaps we can even sign a contract to move forward. From that point, it will likely be the end of March or the first of April before they start. While I am enjoying the laid-back vibe of this project so far, it sure would be nice to have a new bathroom sooner rather than later. It looks pretty scary in here.

Are you working on any major projects in your house right now? Do you have any planned for later this year?