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My family recently moved to a new house in Portland, Oregon. It’s a greathouse, but needs quite a bit of work. This is where is gets exciting. After gettingquotes for all of the work we wanted to do, we quickly realized we eitherneeded to do it our self or settle for less. I wanted to see if I could do somework myself, so I started remodeling our ½ bath. I quickly found out it wasmessy, sometimes disgusting, and difficult… I loved it! I also had no idea whatI was doing, so I turned to Google and YouTube to guide me.

I have always been good at two things. 1: Working with my hands and 2:teaching myself how to do things. So, it is only logical (and maybe a bitlaughable) that I believe I can teach myself how to remodel my house anddocument my journey throughout the process.

To make it more interesting, I am setting some rules for the process andthey are as follows.

Rule 1: Whenever possible, I will do the work myself. There will be instancewhere I will need help (i.e. heavy lifting, installing shower glass, etc.) andfor safety and sanity purposes, I will accept it.

Rule 2: If I do not know how to do something, I will teach myself using theinternet first. Thus, Google will be my best friend for a long time.

Rule 3: I know this will be a messy process, so I must share everything…including my massive fails.

Rule 4: I will consult/hire professionals when there are safety concerns(i.e. removing light switches/electrical components/plumbing etc.).

So lets get started!!!!

My first project will be the master bath, and its a doozy!

As you can see, I have a lot of work ahead of me. The plan is as follows:

Tons of demo!!! I will remove carpet, toilet, shower, massive bathtub and bathtub surround, sinks, and counter top/backsplash.

Next, remove the wallpaper (YUCK!) and texture the walls.

To save money, I am keeping the existing cabinets and refinishing them.

I will be installing a tileable shower base and tiling the shower walls. Because there is so much room, I am installing a freestanding soaking tub and tiling the surrounding walls up to about 3 feet.

I will also be tiling the floor, replacing the light fixtures, installing counter top and sinks, and installing a new toilet.

How I am going to do that is yet to be determined. Wish me luck!