Bathroom DiY Done!

Before
After!

I got the bathroom all painted up this afternoon, and tomorrow the hardware and shower curtain will return. Yay!

Bathroom DiY Day Two

Day two means the finish coat over yesterday's work. The area is a little wider to make the feathering easier. It will now dry over night then it will be ready for paint. Paint!

I looked through my paint stash, and I don't have any kitchen/bathroom paint. Being that condensation was the issue, I don't want to skimp on this layer, so I'll be repainting the bathroom. It isn't big, so one gallon will do.

Since I'll be repainting, another project was added to the list tonight. One of my past renters felt it would be a good idea to fasten the towel bar to the wall by using contact cement. A lot of it. I tried to use a blade to cut through the outer edge, but in the end, I had to rip the fixture off the wall. Bummer. Another hole. (This was also the exact point Dan decided to check on my progress and caught me holding the mount. Awesome. He just shook his head and turned around. I laughed. )

So here is how you use a patch kit!


First, remove loose edges of paint an paper, along with any loose bits of dry wall. Sand around the hole to create a textured surface that the patch will go against.

You can find various sizes of patches in your hardware store. Choose one that will cover the hole comfortably with an overlap of at least an inch.

Peel off the back and place the patch over the hole.


Start covering the patch by applying mud half on the patch and half off the patch, working your way around the patch. Add more mud until the entire patch is covered and feather the edge.

This is the first layer. Let this dry over night. I'll sand the edges then apply a second layer of mud.
So here are both projects, side-by-side. I'm so proud of my little projects! More tomorrow!

Bathroom DiY Day One

After considering Dan's suggestion of hiring someone to fix the bathroom wall, I did some poking around on the magical internet. I have some experience with drywall (my 7th grade English teacher, the great Mr. Dormaier, was remodeling his old farm house, and he kindly taught me the ins and outs of drywall, mud, tape, sanding and finishing. Plus- have you caught on that my dad is a walking DiY manual for everything?) but I've never had to deal with water damage. It can be bad if I don't let the wall dry out, or if the water seeped further than where I replace - locking the moisture in the wall and causing more paint bubbling. The internet is full of wonderful sites and videos and after get a peptalk from John at Lowes I felt capable of handing this repair on my own.

*NOTE If Dan were here I would have been more reluctant, but I have the day off and he won't be around bugging me about being too proud to let someone else do it.
Which he has a point about and I'm working on that whole, asking for help thing.


So. Here I go:

I stared the project by scraping away as much of the damaged area that came freely. That meant to start it was the area where the paint bubbled and the mush where the curtain rod was tension-held.

It turns out the condensation followed the seam tape and the entire length from ceiling to floor came off easily, along with most of the strip next to the shower stall.
(If you're wondering why there is a blue/green color present, bathrooms typically use a different kind of dry wall that is treated to repel mold growth, and that is the coating you see, not actual mold.)

I removed the tape and the damaged bonding compound in the crack between wall and tub. I put a fan on the area to dry it out completely before moving forward.

To pass the time, I figured now would be a good time to remove the caulking in the tub, let it all air out properly, then redo it too at the end of this project. (Which I'm glad of - as I peeled it away there was moisture trapped and starting to discolor. )

Here is a close view of the worst spot near the ceiling. The ceiling seems to be fine, but I lost a corner of drywall. The spot isn't large enough to warrant a patch of new dry wall.

My tools and equipment:
6" Trowel,
2" Trowel (not shown)
Joint compound
Joint tape
Medium grit sanding sponge
Caulk to re seal the tub when the wall is done drying and painted. It won't be used for a few days.


I realize now I didn't take any in progress shots. Sorry.

The compound I used is premixed, so no messy spills and powder everywhere and inconstant texture. This huge tub was about 5 bucks and I figured I'd rather have more than enough than not enough.

Starting at the bottom of the crack by the floor, I slowly wedged the compound into the seam until I reached the line of the top of the shower. I then smeared a good deal of compound along the whole length, about 2.5 inches wide and smoothed it with the larger trowel. I cut a piece of drywall tape to fit, pressed it into the mud, then applied another coat of compound on top of it. I smoothed it as best I could and feathered it into the existing paint. The more feathering, the less sanding later.

I then did the area near the ceiling, adding compound, tape, then more compound. Last I did the section next to the shower - again with compound, tape, then more compound. Even though there was un damaged paint between the ceiling and the shower, I coved the entire area with mud to make the final result less obvious of a repair. It is easer to create the illusion of a square wall with a larger area.

To help the process along, I hung a light weight fan on the shower rod. It isn't necessary, but it makes me feel better to have the air circulating, especially since the initial problem came from condensation.


This is what it looks like right now. The mud is drying. It needs to set over night, especially the thick parts near the ceiling and near the floor.

After this is done drying, I'll sand any high points down, and feather the edges before applying another coat of mud to finish the wall. My walls also have a slight texture in them, and with the second mud, I'll try a few sponges to see it I can replicate it. It will then dry another night, then it will be ready for any final sanding and paint.


I'll post more for sure. I need proof to show Dan!

And this is where we differ...

As a property owner, I'm constantly on the defense. I feel like if I don't watch the walls, carpet, water heater, outlets, etc., the whole place will fall down around me. While in the shower this evening, I noticed just such a thing, as the paint close to the ceiling was bulging with a load of water behind it. I slit the bubble and out poured the water. I moved the curtain rod and the paint behind it mushed away too.

I start trouble shooting about what needs to be done (put a fan on it, dry it out, use a putty knife to peel/scrape away the damaged area, put the fan on it some more, make sure it is super dry, apply new mud (hopefully the drywall doesn't need to be replaced), sand it down, re paint, re caulk the seams, call it a day) and think that this won't be a bid deal (I am still enjoying my shower, mind you.) I go and let D know that the shower curtain will now be hanging about five inches lower so the steam can escape to the exhaust fan in a timely manner, and there will be a small DiY project on Wednesday (the day I'm off from my NEW JOB! more on that some other time) and he looks at me like I'm crazy. I tell him he can go look at the bathroom if he's confused.

He takes one look at it and says,"Why don't we hire someone?" In my head I start my rebuttal: "But this is so simple!", "I don't have money to hire someone!" ,"Hiring someone is such a waste of money!", "Don't you want to do this with me to learn for next time?", "Are you SERIOUS?"

My mom would be so proud of me. I didn't say any of those things. What I said was, "I just figured out what the problem is. I don't know what I want to do yet."

I forget sometimes that I enjoy the fixing process way more than D. Car head light is out? I buy the bulb, pop the hood and do the work. Plug on the dryer blows? I call my dad for the 411 on electrical DiY and go to Lowe's for the part, 10 minutes, and it's done. I want shelves. I put them up. I want a dimmer switch...(ok, my dad did that one, but he was here and he showed me, and I swear I'll do the next one!) Carpet cleaning, tile grouting, light fixture fixing...I like figuring it out. I shouldn't get exasperated or irritated when D helps by offering what any sane person would do - pay someone to make the problem disappear. I'm lucky that he isn't trying to rip it down himself, only to leave a huge hole and a broken pipe!

I will think this through, this hiring of a professional.

Even though I can do it myself, I have such a hard time admitting that someone else would probably be a better choice. Because I'm awesome. At a lot of stuff. Especially stuff in my house that I then get to look at all the time and feel proud that I fixed it. Myself.