Home improvement nightmare
Pandora's box
The story of our guest bed & bath rooms remodel
August 22, 2016
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The place is really starting to take shape now. The insulation has been installed in ceilings and walls. This is a step many builders skip because of cost, but it makes a huge difference in comfort and sound deadening.
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The photo to the left shows more of the electrical disasters we uncovered. This is in the kitchen ceiling. We had to remove most of the drywall from the kitchen to fix this mess. This was not part of my original plan, but since some of the electrical in the hallway and guest bedroom were effected by this, we might as well fix it correctly now.
The photo, right, is a close up of what not to do. First, all of these connections were buried behind drywall and not accessible as required by code. Some of the connections were not even in the metal box. I'm guessing because they connected so much stuff together, it would not all fit in the box as required. At point A in the photo you can see where the ground wire has been cut off. This is what causes electrocutions. At point B wires were connected using electrical tape and wire nuts. The wire is so old that the black exterior wrap is actualy made of cloth compared to the white plastic of newer wire. There were multiple circuits connected in this box and we had to figure out what went where because we could not just cut off electric to other rooms of the house. Modern houses have more outlets and lights than older houses. We like to keep outlets on a seperate circuit from lights and each room or area therefore needs 2 circuits minimum. Two for the bath. Two for the bedroom, 2 for the hallway and 2 at least for the kitchen. Of course all of this new stuff must connect to the existing outlets and switches. This requires lots of wholes in the walls but well worth it. After 22+ years in this house I can finally go from one end of the hallway to the other and have lights that go the whole way!! I have looked forward to this for so long. I can turn on a switch at one end and off at the other. Wow.
August 25,
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In order to add more circuits to the main breaker panel, a sub-panel may be added in a newer part of the house. This is easier and cheaper than taking out the main panel and making it bigger. The people we bought this house from, did a major addition, with permits, in 1990 and put in a sub-panel in the guest bedroom but it was not big enough for the circuits we wanted to add. So we put in a new box that would hold more circuits. This is again a time when it is really nice to have an engineer for a husband who's farther is an electricial engineer. This is all done with high voltage and very carefully. Ground wires are actually grounded, wires are really connected with wire nuts instead of just capped.
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A few years back drywall that was resistant to the growth of mold was green. Today it is lavender, why I have no idea. Our guest bathroom will not be lavender, the “mud” has not been applied over the joints. That will be next. Below the window is a folding table that holds all our tools and supplies. It was the easiest way to keep everything sort of organized. It also allowed us to just pick everything up and move it when necessary. To the right of the window is where the vanity with a mirror above will go. There will be lights on each side of the mirror.
This is the shower with concrete backerboard (the gray stuff) where there will be tile and just drywall in areas that are less likely to get wet. All the shower walls are lined with roofing paper under the concrete backerboard. Roofing paper is an oily coated stiff paper about 36 inches wide. Starting at the bottom each row was over lapped by about 1/3 and stapled on. This is the last defense against water leaks. In the ceiling is a water proof recessed light. This is your typical recessed light trimmed with a frosted glass lens in a sealed housing to prevent water contacting the light bulb. There is also an exhaust fan in the ceiling which vents to an outside wall. The end wall of the shower will have a fixed glass window to allow light in. A traditional sliding door will provide easy access. This design was less costly than a custom shower enclosure.
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Sept. 1
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Now it is really coming together. The drywall is up in the bathroom and the guest bedroom ceiling and the kitchen with 4 new recessed lights. Most of the hallway ceiling is finished too with the 4 new recessed lights mentioned earlier.
October 10,
The last of the sheet rock has been hung and the holes are patched.
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October 12,
All the corner beading is install and a new door is hung.