One Lone Girl + One Ugly Bath = REMODEL

So what is a lone-ranger girl to do on a weekend when there is no hubby around? A surprise remodel of the guest bath, of course! I think the post title gave it away. Anyhoo, I remodeled the guest bath in one weekend, all by my lonesome and the hubby had no clue what was coming. Yes, you read that right. I remodeled the bath on a whim. Well, we were going to get around to remodeling it anyways, so why not just do it?!

But before I get to talking, here is the bath on move in day:

And this is what the bath was looking like when I started remodeling it:

Not much change from day one. I changed the curtain rod to a curved one and added a plant. So, about the remodel. I had already purchased the vanity on the last IKEA trip and it was sitting in the guest bedroom waiting to be put together. I had also found a great deal on porcelain 13x13 tile so I bought enough of it to do both baths and the laundry room - they even threw in a free tile saw! And we already had the tiling supplies from the fireplace surround project. See what I'm getting at....I had everything for the remodel just sitting around the house ready to go. It was a sign that I was supposed to remodel the guest bath.

Thursday night - Demo. The vanity, tile, mirror, light fixture and toilet had to come out. The tub/shower insert would stay since it is in good condition. First to go out the door was the vanity. And I got a pleasant surprise when I removed the vanity - the tile did not go under it. This made it much easier to rip up the old tile because I had a starting point. Then it was toilet time. I'm not a big girl, but I am determined. I man-handled the toilet into the hallway and set it on some old towels and cardboard. Finally I took down the mirror and gold fixtures. One large garbage can of torn out tile and a stiff back from toilet moving later, and the demo was done. Time for bed because I had to work Friday.

Friday night - Sheet rock and Tile. Since the new vanity isn't as large and won't touch the wall, I had to repair some of the sheet rock. I used mud and floated the wall a few times. Then it was tiling time. Using the same method as I did with the fireplace surround, I was able to lay the tile. I decided to lay the tile in a brick pattern instead of straight to help camouflage any errors, after all I'm not a professional. I marked the center of the room and started tiling from there. It was really quick going. The hardest part was cutting around the toilet. I am too picky and made the tile fit perfect around the toilet flange instead of just box cutting. All the other cuts were straight and the new free tile saw made the job much easier. I finished up laying the tile and hit the sack.

Saturday - Paint and Grout. I'm not the best sheet rocker, but after a few coats of mud and some sanding, the wall was ready to be painted. I already had the paint so I rolled on two coats of paint. Once the wall was painted, I was ready to grout the floor. Grouting is easy. Just work it into the grout lines with the float, kind of like spreading peanut butter. Then smooth the grout with a sponge and clean up the excess. I started in the back corner and worked my way out of the room. For the rest of the day, I didn't go into the bath. I wanted to make sure that the grout and tile would cure well and look good. But I was able to put the vanity together in the living room and do some shopping around town for a few accessories.

Sunday - Finish. Sunday was dedicated to cleaning up and getting the bathroom put back together. I moved the vanity in place and hooked up the faucet. Of course I didn't have all the parts, so I had to stop midway and make a trip to the hardware store. Then I installed the toilet. Guess what? It worked and didn't leak! I didn't know I was a plumber too. Then I installed the mirror and hung the shower curtain. And I had just barely finished when the hubby came home. This is what he saw:

It might not look like a big change, but it was a one weekend, one girl remodel. I am so happy with the bath, so was Russ. He was shocked that I had remodeled the entire bath by myself in a few days, but he also said he wasn't surprised. I am notorious for tackling projects while the hubby is away. I think he goes hunting on the weekends just so I'll finish the house projects and he won't have to.
I am going to apologize for the lack of during pictures. I was busy. I know, that is not an excuse but it all I can say. I didn't take any during pictures and regret that.