Has anyone partially redone their own bathroom?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you people disclosing when you sell your house that you DIYd the plumbing and tile?

Why would an owner have to do that? A typical residential sale is as is, and it is up to the buyer to have the house inspected. Likewise, the seller also doesn't warranty the work of the actual contractors they have hired in the past.

[Anonymous]

I gutted a ~8x5 bathroom to the studs and redid the whole thing myself.

You definitely need the right tools for the job (wet saw, rotary hammer, drill/impact driver, etc). I spent about 2k in tools and about 4k in materials for what have easily been a 20k job. Ended up looking better than it would have been for a 20k job. I'm an engineer and very handy. You can learn how to do almost anything you need to do on youtube, but its very time consuming.

I overdid everything with the highest quality materials, attention to detail etc. Pulled the necessary permits and had the inspections done (~$300).

It was honestly a labor of love and took many months start to finish to plan, purchase and execute. I wouldn't do it again.

Demo is 1, maybe 2 days worth of work. You won't save any money doing that yourself. The shower/bath is the hardest thing to do, you won't save a lot by doing the 'other' things yourself which are relatively easy in comparison.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why wainscot in a bathroom though?

Honestly, because the walls were trashed halfway up from the old tile and I didn’t trust my drywall skills. Wainscoting was super easy. Bead board, but not the big routed MDF panels — I use the kind that is individual real wood slats that you fit together. That was very forgiving of a slightly uneven wall surface, and also required less precise cutting. It also looked great with the style of the bathroom. Kind of like this:


I also built shelves in between the wall studs, backed with bead board. Found a tiny vintage wall hung sink, and that postage stamp bathroom was a happy place. I hope the current owner is enjoying it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you people disclosing when you sell your house that you DIYd the plumbing and tile?

If the home owners did this, there goes the sale. They'd be better off selling it 'As Is' in a seller's market to avoid litigation for non disclosure.

Why would it matter if not moving plumbing? How is it different from installing your own washing machine, something most people do?

I know the answer to this one! If you simply place tile on top of existing flooring, you are raising the distance from the bottom of the toilet and the drain pipe. There is a flange and wax ring that seals the toilet drain to the drain pipe. When this distance is too high, you don’t get a seal or you have to use multiple rings / flanges which is a hack that often leaks. Contractors ten cut this corner so they don’t need to deal with the labor of ripping up the existing floor. It’s the perfect corner to cut because the leak will occur over time and run down into the sub floor when contractor is long gone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why wainscot in a bathroom though?

Honestly, because the walls were trashed halfway up from the old tile and I didn’t trust my drywall skills. Wainscoting was super easy. Bead board, but not the big routed MDF panels — I use the kind that is individual real wood slats that you fit together. That was very forgiving of a slightly uneven wall surface, and also required less precise cutting. It also looked great with the style of the bathroom. Kind of like this:


I also built shelves in between the wall studs, backed with bead board. Found a tiny vintage wall hung sink, and that postage stamp bathroom was a happy place. I hope the current owner is enjoying it!

I want to try doing this - what tools do I need, and is it easy enough for a first timer? The ig pages I follow say mitre saw, pin nailer. Is that what you used for cutting and nailing? For shelves what kind of wood did you use? Hinges?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why wainscot in a bathroom though?

Honestly, because the walls were trashed halfway up from the old tile and I didn’t trust my drywall skills. Wainscoting was super easy. Bead board, but not the big routed MDF panels — I use the kind that is individual real wood slats that you fit together. That was very forgiving of a slightly uneven wall surface, and also required less precise cutting. It also looked great with the style of the bathroom. Kind of like this:


I also built shelves in between the wall studs, backed with bead board. Found a tiny vintage wall hung sink, and that postage stamp bathroom was a happy place. I hope the current owner is enjoying it!

I want to try doing this - what tools do I need, and is it easy enough for a first timer? The ig pages I follow say mitre saw, pin nailer. Is that what you used for cutting and nailing? For shelves what kind of wood did you use? Hinges?

Did I mention that this was a small bathroom? I did the small amount of mitering that was necessary with a handsaw and miter box. I didn’t buy a pin nailer — just small headed nails and a hammer. A nail set was useful; it lets you slightly sink the nail heads into the wood. Then later you use a tiny smudge of filler to conceal them entirely before painting.

I bought shelves that were already the right depth so all I had to do was cut them to the right length. I did get a tiny mini circular saw for those cuts. I love this thing! Very lightweight and easy to use. It cuts stock up to 3/4” thick, which is the actual thickness of a lot of the nice hardwood you see at hardware store that says it is (for example) 1x4.
https://www.amazon.com/BLACK-DECKER-BDCMTTS-Matrix-Attachment/dp/B009V5C616/

That attachment goes onto a Black & Decker Matrix drill. You can get cordless, but corded is lighter and cheaper. I am not very strong, so lightweight and easy to handle was important to me.

I can’t find the drill in stock right now (this was it, it has to say matrix: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0094B9BHE); you could probably just buy an ordinary trim saw. But I really liked this setup.

I didn’t need hinges. I did use chrome towel hooks.

Have fun! You can do this!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you people disclosing when you sell your house that you DIYd the plumbing and tile?

In Virginia You don't need permits so no

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why wainscot in a bathroom though?

Honestly, because the walls were trashed halfway up from the old tile and I didn’t trust my drywall skills. Wainscoting was super easy. Bead board, but not the big routed MDF panels — I use the kind that is individual real wood slats that you fit together. That was very forgiving of a slightly uneven wall surface, and also required less precise cutting. It also looked great with the style of the bathroom. Kind of like this:


I also built shelves in between the wall studs, backed with bead board. Found a tiny vintage wall hung sink, and that postage stamp bathroom was a happy place. I hope the current owner is enjoying it!

I want to try doing this - what tools do I need, and is it easy enough for a first timer? The ig pages I follow say mitre saw, pin nailer. Is that what you used for cutting and nailing? For shelves what kind of wood did you use? Hinges?

Did I mention that this was a small bathroom? I did the small amount of mitering that was necessary with a handsaw and miter box. I didn’t buy a pin nailer — just small headed nails and a hammer. A nail set was useful; it lets you slightly sink the nail heads into the wood. Then later you use a tiny smudge of filler to conceal them entirely before painting.

I bought shelves that were already the right depth so all I had to do was cut them to the right length. I did get a tiny mini circular saw for those cuts. I love this thing! Very lightweight and easy to use. It cuts stock up to 3/4” thick, which is the actual thickness of a lot of the nice hardwood you see at hardware store that says it is (for example) 1x4.
https://www.amazon.com/BLACK-DECKER-BDCMTTS-Matrix-Attachment/dp/B009V5C616/

That attachment goes onto a Black & Decker Matrix drill. You can get cordless, but corded is lighter and cheaper. I am not very strong, so lightweight and easy to handle was important to me.

I can’t find the drill in stock right now (this was it, it has to say matrix: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0094B9BHE); you could probably just buy an ordinary trim saw. But I really liked this setup.

I didn’t need hinges. I did use chrome towel hooks.

Have fun! You can do this!

Thank you!

I purchased another black and decker drill a few months ago. Wish I had purchased the matrix instead. I got this one:

https://www.amazon.com/BLACK-DECKER-BDCDD120C-Lithium-Single/dp/B01EV57OGM/ref=sr_1_1?

I'm wondering if a cheap mitre saw would work for these to make the rectangle frames:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Alexandria-Moulding-9-16-in-x-1-9-16-in-x-84-in-Primed-Finger-Jointed-Pine-Panel-Moulding-00182-93168C/205576544

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Alexandria-Moulding-3-8-in-x-3-4-in-x-84-in-Primed-Pine-Finger-Jointed-Panel-Cap-Moulding-3277S-93168C/205576647

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why wainscot in a bathroom though?

Honestly, because the walls were trashed halfway up from the old tile and I didn’t trust my drywall skills. Wainscoting was super easy. Bead board, but not the big routed MDF panels — I use the kind that is individual real wood slats that you fit together. That was very forgiving of a slightly uneven wall surface, and also required less precise cutting. It also looked great with the style of the bathroom. Kind of like this:


I also built shelves in between the wall studs, backed with bead board. Found a tiny vintage wall hung sink, and that postage stamp bathroom was a happy place. I hope the current owner is enjoying it!

I want to try doing this - what tools do I need, and is it easy enough for a first timer? The ig pages I follow say mitre saw, pin nailer. Is that what you used for cutting and nailing? For shelves what kind of wood did you use? Hinges?

Did I mention that this was a small bathroom? I did the small amount of mitering that was necessary with a handsaw and miter box. I didn’t buy a pin nailer — just small headed nails and a hammer. A nail set was useful; it lets you slightly sink the nail heads into the wood. Then later you use a tiny smudge of filler to conceal them entirely before painting.

I bought shelves that were already the right depth so all I had to do was cut them to the right length. I did get a tiny mini circular saw for those cuts. I love this thing! Very lightweight and easy to use. It cuts stock up to 3/4” thick, which is the actual thickness of a lot of the nice hardwood you see at hardware store that says it is (for example) 1x4.
https://www.amazon.com/BLACK-DECKER-BDCMTTS-Matrix-Attachment/dp/B009V5C616/

That attachment goes onto a Black & Decker Matrix drill. You can get cordless, but corded is lighter and cheaper. I am not very strong, so lightweight and easy to handle was important to me.

I can’t find the drill in stock right now (this was it, it has to say matrix: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0094B9BHE); you could probably just buy an ordinary trim saw. But I really liked this setup.

I didn’t need hinges. I did use chrome towel hooks.

Have fun! You can do this!

Thank you!

I purchased another black and decker drill a few months ago. Wish I had purchased the matrix instead. I got this one:

https://www.amazon.com/BLACK-DECKER-BDCDD120C-Lithium-Single/dp/B01EV57OGM/ref=sr_1_1?

I'm wondering if a cheap mitre saw would work for these to make the rectangle frames:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Alexandria-Moulding-9-16-in-x-1-9-16-in-x-84-in-Primed-Finger-Jointed-Pine-Panel-Moulding-00182-93168C/205576544

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Alexandria-Moulding-3-8-in-x-3-4-in-x-84-in-Primed-Pine-Finger-Jointed-Panel-Cap-Moulding-3277S-93168C/205576647

Something like this should work great:
https://www.homedepot.com/b/Tools-Hand-Tools-Cutting-Tools-Miter-Boxes/N-5yc1vZc258

It’s pretty easy. The only tips I have for you are

1) Make sure the thing you are cutting is firmly clamped. Wiggles will ruin your angle. If you can clamp the box itself to a work surface, you will be even happier.

2) The angles in your house are probably not perfect. So if you are trying to follow a wall, even if your cuts are good, you might have little gaps. Don’t sweat it, just caulk with painters caulk before you paint.

“A a little caulk, a little paint, makes a job what it ain’t.”

[Anonymous]

DH and I did half bath, put new tiled, new toilet, new sink, new granite, and painted. Not a new vanity.