Bathroom Floor....CHECK!

We dreaded this next step in the build something awful.  We decided since the bathroom was so small, we didn't want a shower basin or pan to divide the floor.  We wanted to be able to open the shower curtain and have full use of the floor and room for other things.  The trick...leveling the whole floor to slope and drain down the shower drain.  Oh boy......

We watched numerous YouTube videos on how to do this.  We went and checked out products at various hardware stores. And we thought.... this is going to be a disaster!  Okay, okay, we thought we could do it and maybe it would turn out okay.  And we were right.  It wasn't easy and it took a long time to do...but we got it done!  Yay us!

Bathroom floor before we started work.  Just a nice clean slate to begin the monster project.

We had to build up around the bottom to hold the leveling compound and create our slope.We cut 2X4 studs to fit in between all the studs.

We cut our drain hole.  You can see the insulation under the flooring.  I wanted to cry just a bit cutting the hole in that nice floor.

We used some of that roof membrane we had left over to cover the floor as a barrier to keep the leveling compound from soaking into the wood. 

We then stapled down some wire mesh to help hold the leveling compound.

Next came the leveling compound.  We had to apply it slowly and build up the slant as we went.

We put down the shower liner and got it smoothed out.  We got the drain insert put in place.

And then...we applied MORE leveling compound!  Finally, the floor is to the right slant and ready for tile!

We used a tumbled blue river rock as the main part of the floor with a 2inch boarder of blue African slate tile. We then sealed the slate and stone with a porous stone sealer.  This is right before we grouted.

We grouted with a grey color to set off the tile.  This is before we cleaned all the haze off from the grout. After we got it clean, we applied a couple more coats of the sealer.

And ....VOILA! The finished product.  The flash kinda washed out the color a bit.  It's darker than in the picture.  We are very pleased with how it turned out.  The slate and stone went together perfectly!  And with the slate being flat, we can seal the walls really well with caulking. 









So there you have it.  Our bathroom floor.  Next step...PLUMBING!
Again, thank you for reading our post and please, as always, leave us comments!  We just love them!

Let There Be Light!

We have been busy, busy!  So much to do still and we are just trying to knock it all out, one step at a time.  This is a two part blog covering the paint on the inside and the electrical.  Woot, woot...we have LIGHT!! 

So, on to the painting. 

We originally planned to do a type of white wash effect so that the wood grain showed through.  You basically brush on white paint, then immediately wipe it off as much as you can.  It whitens the wood but doesn't completely cover it.  Test sample came out great.  The actual product....not so much.  :(

The pine didn't take the paint evenly.  And because it was drying so fast, you had to do small sections so you could wipe it off quickly.

It left lines and splotchy sections.  We just couldn't get it even.  AND....since we had already started, we had a good section of the walls looking like this...we were left with one real option...PAINT!

We painted the walls a flat true white.  The trim we painted a semi gloss light grey.  It's actually the same paint as the siding.  It just looks more grey against the white.  We painted the cross beams and supports the same grey.  It was a nice neutral color that would go well with any colors we used in furniture or accent pieces. 

The slight gaps in the wood where it was hand cut shows up nicely.  It gives the whole place the feel of a old farmhouse.  It really shows off that it was handmade and I love it. 

Bedroom area.  It was a pain to paint!  All the overhead wore my arms and shoulders out quickly. 

Bedroom window.  I like how the grey looks against the white.  It's so clean looking. 













And now...on to the electrical.  You can see the hint of pipe in some of the previous pictures.  We decided to run the electrical in 1/2 inch conduit on the outside of the walls in case we had to fix anything down the road.  I like the look of exposed pipe and my husband does a phenomenal job bending it. 

We mounted our small electrical panel in the hall back by the bedroom. 

Pipe running from panel to kitchen and branching off to the proper areas. 

And more pipe.  Running down the wall to where it will branch down for the fridge.

Area above the sink.  Outlets will be run on a GFCI circuit breaker.  The other box is a double switch for the kitchen ceiling fan and light.

Pulling wire.  What fun.  We ran our circuits and pulled all the wire for lights and fans.

Circuit panel before

Circuit panel after.  All connected and labeled up nice and pretty!

Track light in bedroom area with LED bulbs.

Ceiling fan & track lights in living room area.  LED bulbs, of course. It's hard to see but if you look into the loft area, there is a dark grey strip mounted on the peek.  That is a battery powered LED track light with pivoting heads.  We got them at Harbor Freight for $10.00.  Perfect for Storage loft light! 

Kitchen track lights with LED bulbs and fan.  It's a small 35inch fan but quite powerful. 

The fans are on a "quick disconnect" so we can take them down when we move.  We were worried about them swinging and banging into the walls when we hauled our home around.  We mounted a base plate that a threaded piece of heavy duty conduit could screw into.  We replaced the fan pipe with the conduit and attached a plug to the end instead of straight wiring the fan into the box.  Just unplug and unscrew the fan and it comes down easy peasy!

And to end...a picture of my gorgeous front door with the light switches wired in.  We will have a light mounted out front of the porch.

We now have light and can run a small heater to help keep the chill out of the house while we work this winter.  We are running off a temporary line to a powered barn right now.  It works and allows us to keep working when it gets dark or too cold.  

We are now moving on to the bathroom!  YAY!  One step at a time.  :)

Thanks for reading and as always..please leave us some comments!  We love to hear from you!