I should first note that I had made a huge mistake that I believed affected the repairing of the drywall in the half-bath, and perhaps made the bubbling problem worse. I thought I had previously bought mud, and I believe at some point I was using mud to repair holes in the various apartments I've moved out of. But, when I reached for nail-filler this time, I instead used a plaster compound, whose packaging is very similar to the mud package and label. My mother helped me buy a five gallon thing of mud (joint compound) from Lowe's on Friday.
Once the mud was bought, a lot of the bubbles or rough patches could be repatched and 90% of them looked good after a sanding. However, where the side and back splashes were the paper was so bad, most likely from the glue used to adhere the splashes to the wall, that my mother ended up pulling the paper entirely off and then using mud to fill in the areas.
After adjusting for how rough-looking the walls are, the color of the paint looks good and I think the yellow with the now pure white ceiling will really pop!
I then started chipping out the row of tiles that had run against the vanity. This row had been cut down from 12" to 11", so they needed to be replaced when we tiled the area under the vanity. I used a grout saw to sand away at the grout between the tiles to be removed and the tiles to remain. My mom explained to me that this allows gaps that will prevent good tiles from cracking when the bad ones are hammered out. After the grout was sufficiently removed I hit the bad tiles with a hammer. This job was fairly satisfying, as it was quick, involved hitting objects and breaking things apart, and kept me out of the way while my parents were framing the wall in the blue bedroom (see Project 4 Part II, or Project 5 Part II). I did not think to wear gloves, though, and ended up pricking my fingers with jagged pieces of broken up tile. I did remember to wear safety glasses and earplugs, both of which were extremely necessary. When I was 90% of the way done my mom came in to give me a break and once the tile and the mortar underneath were chipped away the floor was ready for tiling.
Next my mother removed the baseboard in the bathroom, and discovered a bit of mold underneath. It seems that at some point in time the toilet in the half-bath probably overflowed. The mold was sprayed with bleach with chlorine and then left to dry.
N and I traveled to an Ace Hardware store roughly 15 minutes away to rent a tile saw (or wet saw, depending on the store/employee). Rental for four hours was $29.50 plus tax, with a $50 deposit. The saw came with a stand and an extension cord.
While N and I were acquiring a saw, my parents mapped out the area in the half-bath that needed tiling, and then marked the tiles to be cut. When we cleaned out the garage three months ago we discovered two full boxes of the tile used in all the bathrooms, as well as a full bag of matching grout. N and I arrived at the house and set up the wet saw on the patio. We watched my dad cut a few tiles and then each took a turn ourselves. The tile saw was a really fun tool and I'd be happy to tile the kitchen someday.
Once all of the tile was cut, my dad tested it by laying out the pieces in the space, and then he spread out the mortar and set the tiles into place. We then had to let it dry for the next 48 hours.
My mom cut the pieces of baseboard for three of the four walls. The baseboard for the wall on which the vanity will rest will be cut on their next visit once the vanity is installed. I labeled the back of each piece with its location on the wall and the order in which to install them.
N cut through the drywall near the floor of the wall where the vanity will be. I noted before that the drywall seemed to bow outward, and my mother and father discovered that this was due to the pipe for the sink coming through the floor too close to the drywall. Once a small segment of the drywall was removed using a special Dremel bit (a bit of help remembering the name, Mom?), two drywall screws were fastened into the drywall on either side of the section that was cut out. The drywall no longer curves, which should make the installation of the vanity easier.
At this point N and I need to finish sanding the areas that my mom mudded, using spray primer on these patches, and then reapplying texture to all patched areas as well as cover the wall closer to the ceiling. Then we can paint the final coats of paint. Poor N had done a very nice job painting the walls, but enough of the bathroom needed to be repatched that his work was wasted in the end. Although, I will say that it was easier to see the bad patches and any uneven areas of texture only the walls were painted.
Since my father laid down the tile on Saturday afternoon, N and I will next we grouting the area with the grout found in the garage. We will need to paint the baseboard pieces with an extra-white alkyd found the in garage (thank you, McVicker!), and reassemble the toilet. We may attempt to install the vanity, but it will depend on how much time we have before my parents come visit us again with their super energy and know-how. We are looking forward to attempting to do as much as we can on our own. And I've learned my lesson: Always use the right materials.
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