Fun with Pallets

After surfacing a wall with pallets and having it turn out well, I decided to try out a few more pallet projects.  First was the construction of two pallet-framed mirrors for the bathroom.

Total cost of mirrors was about $20 each

Then I picked up my European mount at the taxidermist.  I had originally planned to use a commercial device to attach it to the wall.  After doing just that and finding that it stuck half way out into the living room, I committed to building my own mounting device out of, you guessed it, pallet wood.

Mount complete with tip of second arrow to enter the bull

In the end, I think both projects turned out really well!  Maybe I should start selling pallet things on Etsy.

Remodel Update

Today was toilet day.  I started by removing our old toilet, which always flushed twice and used a shit ton of water (pun intended) each time.  Once removed, I was able to rip out the old flooring and install cement backer board within the toilet alcove.  With the toilet removed, I decided to be artistic and attempt to duplicate a decorative wall I saw on Pinterest.  The previous day I tore apart and sanded some pallets I acquired for free on Craigslist, so today they were ready for staining, trimming, and attaching to the wall.  Since we already had the stain and I resused the nails pulled from the pallets, all this little project cost me was time and two bloody knuckles obtained while pallet wrestling.

When the wall was completed, I installed a new, high efficiency toilet.  This install in temporary until we pick some bathroom tile, but this way we only had to be without a toilet for about 3.5 hours.

Bathroom Remodel

The bathroom remodel has been initiated!  The cabinets arrived during our last bout of traveling, so I tore into the bathroom as soon as I was around for more than a day.  First on the agenda, remove the old, hideous cabinets and tear out the drywall behind them.

Old Plumbing (Single Sink, Centered on Wall)

Next up was to split the plumbing so we can have two sinks.  This involved cutting out a galvanized 3-way junction in the drain line and replacing it with a 4-way PVC cross, and extending left and right.  The water lines were easy to modify, because, well, PEX is easy.

Water and drain lines re-plumbed for two sinks

Similarly, I split the single wall sconce receptacle in two so we can have two sconces, one centered on each sink.  I also relocated with two wall outlets so they wouldn't be positioned directly over the new sinks.

Drywall replaced

Once the drywall was replaced, I took to mudding, priming, and texturing the wall.  With that messy work done, it was time for the cabinets . . . or was it.

After removing the old cabinets and linoleum flooring, I noticed some very compromised (rotten) subflooring.  Out with the bad, in with the good.  Also, we're planning to tile the new floor, so I began researching how to make that happen.  I read about this stuff called backer board (common in the tiling world but new to me) that you're supposed to install below the tile, so I just put a layer of that down over the whole bathroom prior to starting in on the cabinets.

My anal-retentive nature came in handy when installing the cabinets, making sure to get everything even and level in all three dimensions.

So this is where the bathroom stands right now.  We'll hopefully get the soapstone counter top late next week.  Tiling and toilet replacement will commence in the meantime.