Our reno reality: Day 2

Apparently the key to sound sleep that leaves you so quiet that your husband has to make sure you're not dead is taking on a major DIY project!  Sunday morning, we woke up so broken that we were sad we only owned one heating pad to share between the two of us.   We had a working toilet by the time we went to bed Saturday and honestly, that was our only concern.  

I had painted the vanity, which I didn't know looked so friggin' dingy until it was out of the bathroom.  The only thing is I took a shortcut by using a chalk paint that was not Annie Sloan and I paid for it.  It looked like absolute crap even after using Annie Sloan white wax.  At that point, I considered it a base coat for when I got it back into the bathroom because it just looked like hell cakes.  It was faux shiplap day.  We'd already done the wall behind the toilet but still had to do the small side wall where the vanity would butt up but still be seen in bits and pieces.

We put those up and I did a paint job on them and caulked seams on the chair rail which funnily enough was the old baseboard.  I mean we didn't use the old baseboard but it was the same model we bought at Home Depot and it looked nice used in that capacity.

We decided to get the vanity back in place since this was the second thing we'd be holding our breath on...reconnecting the plumbing.  That meant my baggies had to come down.  We had a slow drip from the hot water side which left the Mr concerned but we'd just dump it every few hours so it didn't get too heavy and put a big bucket under it when we were sleeping.

We got the vanity in place and there was a Renovation Realities moment where it seemed like the right water pipe made a loud thud and the Mr thought the pipe snapped.  He listened for water then ran down and shut off the water to be safe.  We inspected further and there was no water, it was just the cut rate company who installed our plumbing when this place was built didn't properly secure it behind the wall.  That was why there was a notch in the back of the vanity to hold it in place.  So we were good.  He cut a bigger notch with his new Ryobi tool.   (affiliate link) (Man those people really reel you in.  "Look at all of the tools this battery will fit!  Weee hoooooooooo!")  It did come in handy though for notching that and undercutting the door jamb (ooh, I sounded like I knew what I was talking about!  Thanks YouTube!)

Everything got reconnected then it was time to put the old counter top/sink back on and really pray.  I guided him down right on top of the P-trap and while it didn't sit where it did before (thank God, that was a whole other cluster) it was stable and will do for the next few weeks until the new counter top is ordered and comes in.  He reconnected everything and while there was a slight moment of terror with the cold water with a high pitched sound and very little water pressure, it thankfully turned out to be a kink in the water line and just needed to be readjusted.

Running water is a beautiful thing!

Then it was time to work on the main wall which is the one you'd be staring at when doing your business so it had to look good.  I don't like the look of straight boards going all the way across.  I like seams for a bit of interest so I planned on originally doing one long board then one seam with the board split in two and alternate.  But the more I thought about it, the more I thought that could look uniform as well.  So I drew out what I thought would look good which was dividing the boards into thirds.  I must say I liked how it looked when it went up...like actual thought was put into it!  HA!

Then we had to figure out how we were going to get the rail on top with the proper amount of planking under it to get it even.  While we had certain kinds of saws, we do not have circular or table saw which makes those long cuts easier.  The Mr did his best with the jigsaw but yeah...well.  Luckily a few boards that HD ripped were about 5 1/2" instead of 6" and that board made it fit perfectly, no wonky long cut needed.  There was a little filling that needed to go on with wood filler but nothing I didn't feel confident handling.  It's about 1 plank higher than the toilet side and I'm good with that because I was actually going to plank the whole wall but didn't so I like that it's slightly different but not so different you're like "what happened there?"  So all of the hard labor with cutting and such was now done. But since we were putting planking over beadboard, despite it only being a nickel width gap, you can still see it if you look.  Given you'd be sitting on the toilet with possible time to spare, I had to take an extra step...

I caulked after nailing up a plank to fill in the ridges in the bead board so you couldn't see them through the gaps and thankfully that hasn't been an issue.

We reused a piece of trim from the bead board to fill in the small little wall space to the left of the door frame.  While it looked fine on it's own, we saw that there was a 3/4" attachment we could add and make it look like we carried the planking over to that side.  So we got to fake it on that little piece but I think it gives a good finishing touch.

Then it was time to get into the grooves...

...and caulk like it was my job because right now it kind of was.

Holy hell, we DID it!!!!!!!  Screw you contractor!  The Mr told me a story a week prior about how when he was a kid, his friend's step dad was replacing the roof and he promised the boys a steak dinner if they helped.  They hauled away the roof shingles and at the end of the day, they grilled up some steaks and the Mr felt like a big shot. Since my big shot put in a commendable amount of work, I told him to get ready, we were going out for a steak dinner.

Sadly my work was just beginning because then it was time to paint...and paint...and paint.  I stayed on the floor in the squatty area and spent two hours painting the planking before waving the white flag.  My back and legs where not pleased.  I begged for a massage and he was kind enough to do my back since I was griping about it all day.  We were in bed by midnight and I hoped a day to ourselves after suggesting he call off.  That didn't happen because caulking took way longer and I had to put on a thinned out final coat on the planks.

What's the scariest DIY you've tackled?


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