Bathroom reno apparently includes the kitchen?

We were surprised a couple of days ago with this in our kitchen ceiling and down the cupboards:

Our bathroom on the second floor, right above this section of the kitchen, apparently leaks now when one takes a shower. This is due to the DIY reno job the previous owner did in a hurry and with only the sale of the house in mind, I can only assume, since the drywall wasn't sanded before it was painted, among other clues. The bathroom is on our list of projects to tackle (enlarging it into a four-piece, using some of the square footage from the office beside it), but we were looking at a couple of years from now.

We have yet to have a plumber in to look at the situation, but we can't see any way around pulling up the tiles and or the shower itself to get to the problem. We aren't sure either if the bulkhead in the kitchen, where this leak is coming through, will have to be opened up as well. So, our conundrum: do we pay for a fix and putting things back together, only to rip it apart again in a couple of years? Or do we bite the financial bullet and tackle the bathroom while it is already pulled apart?

As it stands, we have cut off use of the shower and are now using the shower in the basement for the time being. An inspection by a plumber will give us an indication of problem, time, and cost and we will have to make a decision from there. Stay tuned.

Eco-Gem

D discovered this amazing gem that has made salvaging these reclaimed doors quite easy and toxin-free.

(I should mention here that we are not representing or endorsing any product on the blog for money, products, or anything at all. These companies have no idea we, our house, or our blog exist, and we like it that way).

That out of the way, we have purchased this product called Soy Gel (not a terribly creative name, but I like to think the creativity went into the thinking behind the product). It is exactly as the name suggests: a gel-like matter made of soy that is intended to strip paint and stains from wood, concrete, metals, etc. We needed to strip the hardware on our doors in order to cut them to size and refinish the brass, and we didn't want to use toxic substances with heavy fumes. Soy Gel really came through, even surpassing our expectations.

You apply it to a surface 1/8 inch thick and let sit. The wait time depends on the amount of paint you have on the surface. Enamel takes longer than regular paint, we found.

Then you simply wipe it off. D used a scraper just to remove the goo quickly and easily, but there was no scraping required. You apparently don't even need gloves for this stuff, but we'd suggest it since it does get all over your hands and can be slippery. Once it is wiped away, you are left with this everywhere the gel touched:

Right down to the raw wood and of course the brass. Easy as pie! Now, if only hanging these doors would be so simple...

In Toronto, we purchased Soy Gel at a shop in the west end called Homestead House Paint Company, but it can be found across Canada if you look up their distributers list on their website (see link in first paragraph). And speaking of Homestead House Paint Company, I think this is where we will be shopping for our paints when it comes time. They have a very interesting product based on an old tradition in painting that is completely non-toxic. Milk paints have a beautiful finish, I've been told, and we may grab a pint to test out on the wall. More about that when the time comes!

Don't get too comfortable in this mess

We've successfully moved in, and though two weeks have officially passed, we are still living amongst more boxes than I would like. It's a matter of not getting too set up knowing we will be taking it down again to paint/wallpaper/cut holes/refinish/etc/etc/etc. The baby's room is the least unpacked, since we are in the middle of refinishing the trim and baseboards for painting.

Yesterday a roofing contractor came by to examine our roof and quote on repairing it, replacing it, and refinishing our front with cedar shingles and trim. This is how the second storey with dormer currently looks:

What the roofer discovered after peeling away the vinyl siding is that there is still the original wood trim underneath a second wood trim treatment around the top edge. We won't know for sure until we remove the siding entirely, but perhaps we can refinish and restore it, which would be ideal. Also, behind the siding covering the entire front was a layer of asphalt shingles, and under that the original (I am guessing) cedar shingles painted a turquoise green. These are not salvageable, but it is nice to know that our idea for redoing the front is in line with how the house was originally finished in 1900. The roofer would remove all three layers and install the cedar over the entire front, estimated at $3400. To repair the roof itself would only cost us a few hundred, but to replace it, which we intend to do in the next couple of years, would cost an estimated $4500.

Also, we were looking at getting crown moulding and new heavier trim for the bedroom which currently has your simple trim. Instead, we discovered "backband", which most renovators and builders will already know about. Tomorrow we go to get a couple pieces to bring home and try out on our trim to get the desired look. I will post photos as soon as we give it a whirl.

This just in...

After all the effort and about 1k in tools and materials, our soundproofing was completed. This is how it looked the morning before we moved in:

That afternoon/evening, we threw on a coat of low-odour primer so that the next day when we arrived with the truckload of stuff, we wouldn't be greeted with a strong paint smell. Normally, I love the smell of a newly painted room, but in fact what I am smelling isn't really good for me (formaldehyde? No thanks).

We did a clean up that evening with the help of family, trying to rid the house of the thick layer of dust. The clumping drywall compound didn't prove any less messy than regular compound as you can see here:

We didn't have time to take a photo of the bare, completed and primed wall before we started hauling boxes into the space. However, two miraculous (or at the very least, stupendous) results of our labours: one, we did a pretty decent job of drywalling, if I may say so. This was our first time doing this, and I'm pleased to report the wall looks mighty fine (photos will come). Two, we haven't heard a PEEP from the neighbours! Not a thing. We tested the noise levels on an evening we knew the neighbours would be having visitors, and we couldn't hear a single voice until we opened the windows and heard them. And upon asking, they reported not having heard the baby cry, which we assured them she has done in spades since soundproofing.

Our conclusion: SUCCESS!