The hard part of the tub surround is complete - getting the old silicone caulk off the tub. That stuff was effective, but was very poorly applied and looked horrible. The new surround will be much better; pictures tomorrow.
Interesting tidbit: from the different colors of glue visible, I can tell you that this will be the third tub surround in this apartment; fourth if you count the original tiles. (The original tiles are cheap plastic, by the way. Slated for replacement sometime.)
Congrats on all your progress. As I was catching up, and read about your first night and first shower, I cheered. And I'm glad to hear the whole family is there now. Hopefully they'll acclimate quickly.
ReplyDeleteNext time you have caulk, etc., to remove, try a product called Goof-Off. It seems to take anything off of anything solid, without destroying the base surface. And you're right about the poison ivy. Using glyphosate on it just makes the contacted leaves fall on you. Now that you've cut it down, paint the open cuts with full- or half-strength glyphosate (Round-Up or whatever cheaper generic). The damn thing should die after 1-3 such applications.
You might think about cutting an even bigger hole in that closet wall, to allow you to access all the tub plumbing, before you create your access panel. After the first time I had a tub faucet leak, and could only get at it through the living room wall, I used screws to fasten the piece of paneling back into place. Cause I KNOW it'll need attention again some time. Good luck with the tub surround. I've always used ceramic tile, but some don't find that so easy to lay. I, OTOH, have trouble working with those fiberglass things. I've also seen them after they get old and worn--no so nice.
I couldn't find Goof-Off (which I've liked in the past, yes) but Goo-Gone does a refreshingly nice job cleaning the remaining generic grim off the tub. There wasn't much silicone left.
ReplyDeleteThere is already a nice big access for the plumbing itself; the new hole I got to knock out is just right up behind the shower head itself, so I could strap that down.
The tub surround is a plastic thingie that comes in three pieces, to be glued to the existing wall. The fiberglass one-piece surrounds (I assume that's what you're talking about) are made to be nailed directly to the studs, and I'm not doing that.
I would personally like to tile things properly, sure - but there's a significant time constraint here. This bathroom just needs to be superficially nice-ish, fast. If we keep the house (and I suspect we will) and if we have the money later, then I'll do real tiles in the big house. Once the carriage house is vacant again, then I may renovate with quality, or may not. It's not very high priority.