A Van Full Of 2x4's

I am building my bathroom in a space that was rough finished for a half bath.  The walls are framed, and the plumbing is in the floor.  But only for a half bath.  That means I could drop in a toilet, attach a sink and be mostly done!  But that is not good enough for me.  Since our overnight guests usually stay in the basement, we really want to have a full bath for them.  And when our kids hit the first birthday that ends in "teen" it would be nice to have an additional full bathroom.  (Last one out of bed has to shower in the basement???)

But in order to change the bathroom formerly planned as "half" to a "full" I will have to do 2 things.  The first part is easy.  I will have to move one wall, then fill in the empty spaces.  Oh, and I will probably have to build a support for the ceiling under the heating ducts.  We call this framing.  I have a little experience.  But hey, that is what the internet is for, right?  I will also need some lumber- several 2X4's.  They are called studs.  And guess what?  I found some...on Craiglist.  A family in Greenwood finished their basement remodeling project, which included removing a few walls.  The leftover studs?  In my van!

 

The second big challenge in this half-to-full conversion will be to install a drain for the shower, and to tie it in to the existing drain line of the toilet and.  And all of that takes place under the concrete floor.  Yes, I am sure that will take a few posts to describe (and maybe a few weeks to complete) whenever I get into the execution phase of this project.  So why am I talking about it now?  Because at this house I also scored a couple of bags of concrete to help me patch up my holes I will have to bust out of the existing floor.

Not nearly as cool as a pickup, but the minivan will have to do.

Floor Plan - version 1

Now that I have collected sufficient materials and supplies, it is time to formalize the design of the bathroom.

"Wait a second," you might object, "shouldn't you have designed the bathroom before you started collecting the materials?"  Good point.  I imagine you might raise this objection based on previous experiences where friends jumped into some project without a plan only to give up due to poor planning.  In reality, I have had a plan all along.  Said plan resided mostly in my imagination, but I seem to be capable of including many details in my imagined plans.  So now it is time for formalize the plan.  Here it is.  Really nothing special, and just the basics, but it is the starting point for the rest of the plans.

The entry door is on the right side, and is designed to shield the stool, in case of accidental entry.  The sink is just to the right of the door.  The shower is on the other side.  The door on the lower left opens to what we will call a closet, but is the space beneath the stairway that connects the basement to the main floor.

Our next major decision is what to do with the space between the shower and the sink.  Presently there is about eight inches, which is too big to leave open, but too small to do anything significant.  Luckily, we have as much space as we need to put the left wall wherever we want it.  We may either move the left wall to the right, with nothing between the sink and the shower, or move it farther, creating enough space for a cozy linen closet/shelves.  Any thoughts??????

By the way, if you are wondering, I designed this floor plan very quickly with a great piece of software. SmartDraw visual processor software allows you to quickly create any kind of visual drawings, from flowcharts, to PowerPoint presentations, to building floor plans and landscape design.  After I created the floor plan, I opened a new file and created an elevation plan for the wall at the top of the floor plan that includes the sink and shower.  For designing floor plans, the software included several pre-designed shapes for all rooms of the house.  The floor plan only took about 30 minutes to create.

The software is available for a free download and seven day trial period.  And you know me- I like things that are free!  Unfortunately, you only get to print your designs 3 times in the trial version, and it includes a huge watermark  (I had to manipulate it to get the drawing above to show without the watermark covering the toilet).  In the end, the price of the full version is just too expensive for an occasional or single-project user, like I would be.  It costs $197 for basic use, and $297 for business use, which includes PowerPoint integration.  It is a great way to get an initial design!

I sold the 6 panel door

Sometimes this project seems very tedious.  But whenever I feel that way, I remember that a project like this will often feel tedious.  This is more than just a home remodeling project.  It is a challenge to see if I can really complete it at no cost.  But that comes at a price, too, although maybe not of  a monetary nature.  Sometimes I drive a few more miles that is realistic to get something not all that great, but needed for this project, nonetheless.

So here is an example of tediousness.  Remember that white 6 panel door that I drove way to far to get, only to be stood up?  Well, I eventually received it.  A few more doors later, and I now have at least two others that will match the rest of the doors in my house.  So I listed the six panel door on Craigslist.  But really,  not for much less than you could buy a new one.  And a month or so later.... a call from someone who wanted to buy it.

So, the door is out of my basement, and I have a little more cash to buy the few items I can't find for free.

We are getting there....slowly but surely.

Finally....A Shower!

What is the most expensive item in a bathroom?  The shower.  Even a cheap vinyl shower stall will cost hundreds.  Homeowners know this, so when they tear out their showers, they realize they can recover some of the costs of their do-it-yourself bathroom remodel by selling their used shower on Craigslist.  For hundreds of dollars!  In my ideal world, I hoped for a one-piece fiberglass shower stall.  I even found one in a nearby suburb for only $10!  But it was 48" wide and the seller told me that he was selling it because he couldn't get it into his basement, where he had intended to install it.  Since I have a tight corner at the bottom of my basement stairs, though which I cannot pass a Queen sized box spring, I realized I would not be able to wrangle a four foot shower stall through it either.

My next option?  A shower pan.  You know, the base of the shower, above which I could put tile on the walls.  Also a very common option.  But again, most homeowners were selling used shower pans for over $50.  Still a huge savings compared to a new one, but a lot more than my goal of free.

The final option?  Build a shower pan with a 2x4 frame, concrete to slope the floor, a rubberized membrane, steel mesh, and finally, a surface of fine concrete.  AKA- expensive and hard work!

With a bit more cleaning and conditioning it will be as good as new!

And then it happened- My Craigslist auto-search program sent me an email describing a shower pan and matching shower doors in a nearby suburb!  FREE!  I quickly called the man, told him I could come that afternoon or evening, and sealed the deal.  Awesome!

So now I have the biggest items!  I am almost ready to start!