Tearing Down My Walls

Demolition day is over and my bathroom looks *TINY* without all the stuff in there. I had filled the last four feet of counter with a Kleenex box and a lot of artwork just to fill the blank space. Now looking at the room, it seems impossible that there was that much blank space.

The floors and framing are in good shape so we don’t have to replace anything. I had budgeted for repairs and now we don’t have to do them. I am sure something will come up that requires that money, so I am still considering it spent until the whole project is complete and paid for. But I have been delightfully surprised so far!

My contractor, Bill, suggested we add two down-can fixtures in the ceiling to add more light since we will be losing the two lights on the last light fixture on the far right where I am installing a tall storage cabinet. I insisted on separating the fan and lights to two switches (that constant fan drives me nuts!) and that requires an electrician. Since he’s coming, he might as well add recessed lights, too, so I can see in the shower.

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And don’t let that showerhead fool you. It only looks like it’s up high. In reality, it only came to my shoulder. And once the wall was opened up, we found it wasn’t attached to anything. The pipe goes up the wall and… just hangs there loose. That developed into a theme as Bill and his crew got further into the demolitions.

The lights were swung upward to get the full-length mirror out of the way which – surprisingly – came down all in one piece. And, like the showerhead, it wasn’t fixed to the wall either. The good news there is that we don’t have to replace large sections of sheetrock which we were expecting to be torn away due to the glue that should have been on the back of the mirror.

In the top-left picture, you can see in the mirror the shallow wall between the toilet and the shower (somewhat hidden by the gray towel), which made a small cave where the toilet sits. I had that wall removed and will replace it with rain glass or frosted glass to open up the room and make it lighter. This also gives that space an added 3-4 inches of space where the wall used to be.

I was a little nervous before this all started this morning but now I am excited to see where this all ends up. The funky smell from opening the walls and flooring that have been enclosed for so long is dissipating slowly. It was very strong this afternoon when I first got home from work and the house was all closed up. Phew! I threw open all the windows and doors and I am probably only smelling faintly now because I expect to, not because there’s actually anything there anymore.