Week 566-568 - Get the Deck out of Here - 07-02-2017

Get the Deck out of Here

Still at home, preparing our house for sale.

After creating Melissa's photo studio we turned our attention to the downstairs bathroom. This room, seen below, was remodeled some time ago and looks pretty nice. However, there was one big flaw. The bathroom has only a 7-foot ceiling as furnace ducts travel overhead to other rooms. Because of the low ceiling water damage was prevalent in the original structure. We had a brilliant idea to use outdoor composite decking on the ceiling. This material is guaranteed for 20 years and not damaged by water.

However, after a few years the decking on the ceiling mildewed. Rats! You can see traces of mildew above the shower head. We called the manufacturer to determine how to clean it. They responded, "you didn't use this material indoors, did you?". Yes! "it must be outside with good ventilation to avoid mildew".

As the decking went up first, everything had to be removed: shower door, shower head, lights, sink, cabinet, toilet and even the walls. Then the window trim and ceiling of deck material was removed. Then most everything new was installed.

Beadboard walls, PVC ceiling, PVC trim, molding and baseboards. New vanity, new lights, new mirror. Only the tub/shower and toilet remain from the old room.

We spent dozens of hours researching materials. Most beadboard should not be used in a bathroom. MDF cannot be used as moisture will cause it to swell and crack. The best beadboard to use is made of PVC. It would have cost $1,200 dollars for the walls. We found eucalyptus beadboard made in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Cost? $80. It comes primed and looks nice as is. We did paint it around the tub for extra water proofing.

Ceiling material was the hardest to find. We used 1/16 inch plastic sheets. The manufacturer said to "never use our plastic on a ceiling". Here we go again. Their warning comes as "you would have to brace the plastic like a coal mine shaft to keep it from sagging while the glue dries. It will develop bubbles in some spots from gravity". We appreciated their concern but came up with our plan. We contact cemented the plastic to plywood on the ground with gravity in our favor. We installed the boards and trim LAST. If it fails we can replace it without removing the walls as before.

1) New room 2) old room

Happily complete, we invited ten of our best acquaintances over for cards, snacks and fellowship. We have known all of these friends for 35 years. While we may see them only infrequently, each is as close a friend as the Lord provides.

With love, Pete, Ellen and Mandy

Photos from Jul 2017