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Fair warning: My proofreader went to bed so this is probably riddled with typos.
That photo about sums up how I contemplate ending every day now but I don't have a clawfoot tub just an acrylic one full of navy dust powder, peeled paint, bits of subpar joint compound and despair. Has it really only been a week since I updated you all on our contractor version of the movie The Day After?
We are at the "good enough" stage. The stage where you slap on the third coat of ceiling paint in the hall and despite seeing things you still want to fix you say eff it and declare it 'good enough.' Where you are on your third paint color for the bathroom and still aren't crazy about it but you say it's 'good enough for now until I repaint it in three years after the trauma has worn off.' (The color is called Singing the Blues...accurate.) Actually, this paragraph would imply we're done with the bathroom. We are not.
(Clark Griswold voice) Ya see kids, the Mr came down after I applied a coat of the new paint and informed me there was a bubble by the towel bar about the size of a quarter. I hopped online and saw what could be causing this and it ranged from humidity, your wall sucks, water leak (not where this is), you used a crappy product and the like. Solutions ranged from tear the wall down and rebuild it to sand it, patch it, prime it, and repaint it making sure to wait a bazillion hours in between each step. Since rebuilding a wall wasn't in the wheelhouse, I went the other way. When I went up to do it, said bubble was nowhere to be found. Now I know from stuff I read that it's never really gone and if you don't address it, you will be dealing with it again in the future. I ignored that. The paint had dried longer than the required time before I put on the second coat and sure enough, the damn bubble reappeared. After I peeled the bubble back to reveal the spackle by a brand who ironically rhymes with CRAP, I saw two extra bubbles for company. Did I mention one formed on the wall across from it too? I was two seconds from whipping a putty knife into the wall ninja star style. (Did I also mention this is our only bathroom in the house?)
We have a fan running in there 24/7 and there is NO WAY it is humidity related so we assumed crappy products and the Mr got a different brand after I peeled back as much as I could and re-patched. (Not gonna lie, this stuff looks worse because there's a crack in the middle of one of the patches and this takes 24 hours to dry between coats.) I will be done with the bathroom in August at this rate. I feel like the Terminator skeleton rising back out of every obstacle this crap box is throwing at me.
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But I'll tell you this. If this stupid issue isn't resolved, I'm shiplapping the rest of the wall to match the bottom, changing my name to Joanna and I'm DONE.
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Anything you'd like to change in your bathroom or is my experience pushing that off another year?
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What a pain in the butt this has been for you from the beginning! These projects never go the way they should, but there always seem to be ten more things that pop as you get in the guts of a project. I can think of countless times that's happened with us and I still feel the frustration, even though it's been years. I'm sorry it's been such a cluster!! =o(
ReplyDeleteOur bathroom is in serious need of a repaint because the hubs used glossy, which wasn't the best way to go as there are weird drips along the way from condensation from the shower. And new baseboards are needed from paint smears. Need to re-caulk around the sink along one wall where it's separated after 20+ years. And definitely need a new light fixture because ours is the original builder one that is total crap, peeling "gold" flakes, and looks like a beat up version of dressing room lighting where none of the lightbulbs match. Oh, and need a new tub enclosure because this one is on its last legs and the design is not functional. So yeah...a whole new bathroom is needed. ROFL
If you had told me there was going to be all of this (and more that I'll update tomorrow), I don't think I would've done this. I'm sure future me will say it was worth it but I'm nowhere near that stage. Oh my, he used glossy?? My condolences! LOL With so much needing done, I would definitely suggest one thing at a time then give it a few months and the next thing. (I have to say caulk is the easiest and most satisfying result wise!)
DeleteI left the anchors in for a large towel rack which I decided not to use. I now need to dig them out and repair and repaint. I redid my spare bath from Feb until June! Trim still needs attached lol
ReplyDeleteAlways fun to dig out the anchors, isn't it? Since the trim is in the spare bathroom it's really easy for the out of sight, out of mind thing to set in!
DeleteTotally accurate with the terminator reference. You keep persevering and that is the key honestly. Just keep coming at it until it cooperates!
ReplyDeleteNow if issues with the ceiling wouldn't keep rearing their head.
DeleteI need to re-caulk the bathtub. I just did it and then it started to pull away from the tub less than a day later. I guess I need to buy better caulk next time.
ReplyDeleteI would love to replace the shower stall in the master bath, but to get a shower stall the size that I would want would require the entire bathroom to be reconfigured. Not going to happen any time soon.
With regards to your paint bubble issue. I had that problem before when I was painting in high humidity and over new drywall mud that was used to patch a hole/dents. My only solution that seemed to work consistently was to use a stand alone primer over the drywall mud before painting over it. The paint was supposed to be paint +primer and good quality, but the drywall mud was taking all the moisture out of the paint and not adhering to the wall in those locations. It wasn't a problem anywhere else except where there was new drywall mud that didn't have a separate primer on top, as I had run out of primer before covering all the spots.
I filled the bathtub with water before caulking last time and it gave a much better finish. The weight of the water pulls the tub down (if it's acrylic) so that it's at max spread when applied then shrinks underneath since it's pliable but doesn't pull away like it can if you don't fill it first. I saw that somewhere after the same problem you had and it totally worked!
DeleteSadly I did use an stand alone primer over the patch. :-( (Zinsser 123 which is like the uber primer but was no match for this crappy but popular compound. Thankfully the new brand seems to be giving me a better result but thank you for the tip!)
I've been putting off a complete bathroom reno for a while now. It's expensive, it's a pain, the contractors I've met with have been either too much or too little (one guy was offering just bare bones and the other was way over the top with his suggestions), I only have one shower... all kinds of reasons. And then your experiences on top of it makes me even more leery.
ReplyDeleteContractors are the worst; you're at their mercy and they know it. I thoroughly research before I allow people in our home as well as get their 'vibe' when getting estimates. It is frightening that this dude's business gets 4 1/2 stars out of 25 reviews. If we didn't have that awkward spot over the stairs that needed scaffolding (that ruined our first floor ceiling thanks to them), I would've done it ourselves. My biggest advice is to see what you're able to DIY. (Lots of home improvement stores offer classes too!) I'm currently pinning how to repaint shower door frames. Don't tell! HA!)
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