So we wanted a new toilet

And we got a new bathroom, well kind of. Now looking at the picture above, many of you may be saying, why do you want a new bathroom, the one you have is gorgeous. Well, the pink toilet cover and towel were just starting to make me feel a bit feminine. That and the bar of Zest was out so we figured why not. Ok, those came down a long time ago but this picture provides a nice contrast to what you will see below. A couple of weeks ago we decided that our upstairs toilet's inability to flush consistently was no longer acceptable. I mean, the American way says that each successive generation will have a higher standard of living that the one before it and my parents are old, but they had toilets that flushed. That and can you imagine the day it decides to not flush and we have a guest over, that is just embarrassing. So, despite its admirable efforts a few weekends ago while we had some family in town, the old toilet got the hook.

And now the fun begins. As those of you who regularly, well at least as often as I update this, read the 330 N. Humphrey improvement blog know this grand house was built in the early 1920s and has had only 3 owners (including us). The previous owners held on to this beaut for 56 years and as far as I can tell last did some updating of the place about 55 years ago. I digress. So as we ripped off the old toilet, you can see from the nasty picture it didn't come off easily, we brought some of the 2 layers of linoleum flooring with it. Well that gave Kelly all the excuse she needed to rip up the rest of the flooring. So as we are about to finish up she looks at me and says, "if we are going to rip up the floor we have to get it all and that means taking out the vanity to get what is under it." Now at the time, this seemed like a logical step to me. Hindsight being 20/20, this was quite possibly the worst idea we have had yet. Because, wait for it.....

As we had all but the back of the vanity removed from the bathroom, the drain pipe fell from the wall. It didn't get yanked or unscrewed, it FELL out. In fact I wasn't even in the room and Kelly was cleaning part of the floor. Knowing I would be o so happy about this, Kelly almost didn't let me back in the bathroom. Putting my best forensic scientist skills forward I concluded that the only thing that had been holding it on was the nasty build up in the pipes. I took pictures but for the children, have decided against posting them. Instead, I offer you a picture of the tile we found made up our floor.

O' Happy Day, this now meant we needed a plumber to fix this and he, I would include an "or she" here but I know the plumber who came over and he was a he, would need the wall down to get to the pipe he would need to in order to fix this. At this point, anyone working for or who has relatives working for the Village of Oak Park must stop reading. If you choose to continue you are agreeing not to turn us in for unpermited work. Well, there is nothing Kelly and I have more experience at than pulling down plaster walls. So we took the walls down, well mostly we were lucky enough to be able to stop about half way up due to an unexpected piece of wood allowing for a nice clean break in the plaster. Ok, not clean but close enough. If you don't remember what bare walls look like please refer to earlier postings of this blog, may I suggest the October 5 and 14 postings. They offer a wide variety of images and show the excellent 1924 vintage 2x4 studs that also made up the bathroom walls.

We put up some drywall and to avoid the dust that typically accompanies this put wainscoting over it. Now, this did get rid of the dust problem but it also provided its own set of issues. Like trying to cut the holes for the pipes and electrical boxes without proper tools. Like a saw. But hey we have a combine 30 plus years of schooling between us, so after much deliberation, few four letter words and more than a few Keeler snit fits, we were able to figure it out.

Unwilling to endure any more of my spazz/fits of rage, Kelly laid the law down and insisted we actually buy some of the tools necessary for the job. She says necessary, I say an affront to my manhood. Well most of my manhood was already down the hole in the floor in Kelly's eyes so I agreed to the purchases. Funny, but after we bought a mitre saw and brad nailer the project moved remarkably fast. Now all we have left is some caulking and painting and we will be all set. Have a look at where we are right now.