Chunking Things

Monday, November 17, 2014

The Powder Room ReDeux

Our powder room was a room of many entrances.  This small half bath had three, count 'em, three doors.  It was basically accessible from the family room, the laundry room and the outside.  That's right, it has an exterior door.  Go figure.

After chatting with folks about it, I had several people who thought a bathroom that was accessible to outside guests might not be a bad thing... so we left that door.  We did close the door from the laundry room into the half bath.  Because, it just needed less traffic.  When and if we enclose the garage, we will lose the exterior door into the powder room too.

But for now, it's getting a new wall mounted sink.  The old sink, besides being mounted about kid height up the wall, was yellow and really old.

This picture was taken through the entry into the laundry room.  That eggress has been eliminated.  Also, the dangly light fixture was heaved into a construction dumpster months ago.  The flowered wallpaper was covered and the wall textured and painted.  I did preserved that divider of louvered wood.  I think it's kind of architecturally interesting.

Today is all about the new wall mounted sink.  The plumbing has to be drastically altered--because, sixty year old house--but that was no surprise.  I found the fixture online and bought the wall mounted sink with integrated towel bar and I can't wait to see it hung!

This will be a couple day process because of the hole in the wall, which will need patching, resurfacing and painting before the actual sink is hung.  But today, that yellow sink went into the trash.  And before I get blasted by comments about reuse, recycle and all that... remember, I live in Beaumont, Texas.  Population 125,000.  There is NO place to recycle old plumbing fixtures.  There used to be a little old plumber with a junk yard full of toilets and sinks but he has passed on and no one picked up that "green" flag.  I checked.

If I lived in California or Seattle, I know of many businesses that would have loved to have resold those fixtures.  Interestingly enough, they wanted me to ship the cast iron things at my expense so they could be resold.  And that, my darlings, is why I did not recycle the fixtures.

After the plumber moved the pipes UP, it was my turn to try fixing the hole.  Because the sink is wall mounted, instead of a pedestal, the plumber had to open up a BIG hole and set up the cross bracing he'd need to support the fixture.

He also had to move the drain pipe to center up the sink and SURPRISE!! the old sink did not have shut off valves at all, so those had to be plumbed in new.  Now that it's roughed in, it's up to us to close the hole up and get the wall textured and painted.

Phase one complete.  I have cut the wallboard, screwed it in, taped the edges and put a first layer of mud around the seams to try and build up a layer for sanding and smoothing out.  This will take two or three layers to get it level and smooth.

Days of mudding, sanding and finally texture and paint.  The texture is not as good as a professional's job but I think that with the sink shadowing it, it will hold up and not be too noticeable.

I'm just glad I was able to build it up level and get it sanded to the point where it doesn't appear like a big divot in the wall!

A couple of coats of paint later and I was able to call the plumber to come back and install the new sink.  But, of course, he quit the company for a better job.

Today, two guys from the Plumbing Services Co. showed up today to install the fixture.  That they had not prepped the wall for... or had knowledge of how to mount prior to arrival.  Sigh.  It took them a LONG, looooong time.  God Bless them both for sticking to it and getting my new sink hung on the wall.

I think it looks nice.

I'm sure it's not strong enough for a toddler to dangle from that towel bar, but for us adults in a powder room, I could not be more happy.

I will hang a mirror I already own and see if I like it.  If not, I will shop for a new one.  But regardless, I'm calling this remodel done!

--  Sandee Wagner





14 comments:

Emmylee said...

LOVE!

TAM said...

Yay!!!

Unknown said...

We put up the mirror today! It is done. And just in time. Marc and Vic are coming to dinner tomorrow night!!

Anonymous said...


There are ALL KINDS of recycling businesses in Beaumont!

That thing you mounted on the wall reminds me of an old recycled toilet from a Klingon spaceship!

Martha Ward said...

This powder room with three doors is neat and quite unique. A room like this deserves an upgrade! With remodels, you would inevitably deal with old plumbing that has to be replaced. At least, by having brand new pipes installed, you won't have to deal with plumbing disasters such as leaks in the future. Thanks for sharing!

Martha Ward @ Son-Rise Plumbing & Gasfitting

Tara Jennings said...

That certainly seems like a great fit. Your new sink looks real fine with respect to the layout of the bathroom. I hope the pipes are all fastened rightfully in place to accomodate the water flow, and eliminate any potential clogs and floodings. Thanks for sharing that!

Tara Jennings @ Robert Wagner Plumbing

Anonymous said...


That thing hanging on the wall also reminds me of some kind of modernistic porcelain bird bath.

That silver ring beneath the bathing bowl can be used as a perch for all the crows and starlings that will want to fly in and hang out and visit!

Those birds will be pooping all over the place! Good thing the floor is tile!

alexa said...

Much better! I just think you doing such a nice job on remodeling your house!

Anonymous said...


That thing hanging on the wall could also serve as a watering trough for the camels.

It's shaped perfectly for a camel to drink from. It's even shaped like a camel snout.

The only downside thing is that the camels will probably poop all over the tile floor while they're getting a drink. Just like the birds.

Anonymous said...


I thought of a trendy name for your place: "CAMELot"

Get it? "CAMELot"

Trendy, huh? Especially if you have a bunch of camels that can live in the back yard.

Anonymous said...


Do you live close to Spindletop?

Anonymous said...


I've heard about how terrible all the pollution is in and around Beaumont.

Anonymous said...


Do you live close to Spindletop?

Unknown said...

Nice! The guys did a great job affixing the mounted sink. And it only took them a couple of days? That’s great, considering how they needed to radically change its piping structure too. With the new piping, I guess there wouldn’t be any plumbing problems in the near future. Good day!

Evon Brow @ Athens Plumbing