Below is what the area over the master shower USED to look like (well, actually this is the other bathroom. I forgot to take a before picture). I heard that building what is essentially a box over the shower was all the rage in the early 80s. I always thought it was stupid.
This is what it looks like as of this morning!
The original bathroom also had this fluorescent light 'box' above the toilet and vanity.
Well, it got the same treatment.
In the upper edge of the picture you'll see a cutout in the ceiling. That WAS the ceiling vent fan that I took particularly great joy in ripping out. It was the noisiest fan in existence. I tried numerous times over the years to get it quieter and it just refused. So I finally got the last laugh on it. Turns out the builder cheated and used dryer vent hose (That's the silver tube you can see. That particular one goes to the hall bathroom) and duct taped, yes duct taped, it to the fan housing. Only the finest of craftsmanship here folks!
Speaking of fine craftsmanship, take a look at the door framing. I removed the old casing on this side to replace it. Good thing I didn't take off the casing on the bedroom side, because if I had the door would have fallen out. That's right, the entire door and frame was held in by the casings.
Notice also that this wall is stripped back to the bare drywall. When I took out the light box, medicine cabinet, etc. a few edges pulled up along the paint line. I figured I would simply scrape them off and feather the edges. Well, they didn't feather out, the edges just kept coming loose. I was able to pull off almost the entire wall of paint in a couple of sheets. I guess all those coats of paint over the years never actually stuck to the wall. I'll probably be able to strip the entire bathroom this way.
I'll finish out this episode with something I've seen all over the house and it really chafes my backside every time I see it.
But first a short explanation. Years ago when Camille(?) hit Miami, it was discovered afterwards that the vast majority of the housing damage was caused by the roofs actually lifting off the houses and then the rain would wreck everything inside. To combat that, builders were required to install a hurricane lintel around the top of the outside walls. If the wall is concrete then the bottom half of metal straps are buried in concrete poured along the top rim of the walls. The upper half is supposed to wrap over the top of the roof trusses and be nailed on both sides. The theory being that enough straps would hold the roof onto the house during a hurricane.
I know the straps are inspected to be present after the lintel pour. But I don't know if they are inspected for proper nailing after the trusses are installed. I can only figure they aren't.
Not a single nail on this side. It appears that there are two nails on the other side but I can't get my hand back there to know for sure. I suppose there could be a nail on the top of the truss but I can't tell that for sure either. The ones like this that I saw over the garage and family room areas weren't even wrapped over the truss. They were just sticking straight up in the air.
Yes indeed, only the finest of craftsmanship!
The tile guy was here last Friday to measure out the shower surround and floor. I should get the estimate early next week. He's allowing me to save a lot of money by doing all the tile demo work, plumbing rework, and installing the dry-board in the shower area. That way all he has to do is just the actual tile install. Should save me a huge chunk of money.
Stay tuned! The fun is just beginning!
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