Mosaic Travelogue, Part 5

Showy Shower Shack

It was three years ago that I was knee-deep in a bathroom remodel at home that began Thanksgiving weekend the year before. It seemed like such a small room. It was another one of those projects where you start by tearing apart a portion of a room and realize the whole dang area needs a do-over. The proverbial can-o-worms.

We have two baths and this particular one has a built-in closet (space is at a premium in our wee home). Pictured below is the closet space with the old linoleum tiles which needed to be removed. Two walls are cinder block and one is sticks and drywall. I also cut out the old galvanized pipe, no longer in use, and recycled them.

I tore out the pedestal sink, which was in good shape and sold in short order on Craigslist, and began removing the old tiles and plaster covered wall. The closet area is to the left.

Lord, I had forgotten how funky the shower was back then.

Then came the miserable task of removing the tile and using a hammer drill with a chisel blade to remove the mastic. I wanted to get down to the concrete walls as best I could without crying too much.

In between bouts of sobbing I would go back to the closet and continue work there. I rewired the room so that I’d have a new closet light with a wall switch and a wall outlet. Then new drywall…notice I also laid down tile (I had on hand) for a new floor.

As my buddy Karl says, “Don’t bore us, get to the chorus.” So, regards the actual mosaic part of this post, I began the process in the upper corner of the closet area.

Mary Buckley had given me these reject tiles from the 4th Avenue Underpass project from several years back so thought I’d use them as baseboard tiles. Notice the face closest to the toilet.

I love subway tile so decided they would be of best use as backsplash around the sink and in the shower.

So here’s a not-so-great composite photo of the left side (going into the closet) of the mosaic.

Another not-so-great composite photo of the sink area. The bath is so small that I couldn’t get back far enough with the iPhone to take it all in.

…and the new cabinet, sink, and shower.

All in all, the project lasted from November 27th, 2017, to May 5th, 2018. I really didn’t have too much of a plan going in and most of it was dictated by seeing what was needed once stripped down. Highly recommended for ages 8-80.

And now, Donald and the boys at Karl Popper beach.