Jeffrey Court Renovation Challenge ~ Week 4

Let the fun begin…This is going to be my week, I just know it! Here come the big changes. Get ready and hold on to your seats…Who’s ready to be amazed…I sure am. If I have to look at this empty bathroom one more day, I’m not going to make it. So let’s talk week 4 of the Jeffrey Court Renovation Challenge!!!

This week was a tough one. Last week, I paid the professionals to come in and help me get some much-needed stuff done. When they were all done, it was a little disappointing. I was hoping it would look like or a least feel like I didn’t have as much stuff to do on my own. That wasn’t the case in any kind of way. It was actually the complete opposite; how could it still feel like every single possible thing still needed to be tackled??? Ahhhhh…. So, let’s get started!

I struggled with where to start this week and the longer I looked and debated where to start the more I became overwhelmed. I went over each of the things that still needed to get done.

1. Cement floors down
2. Cement walls hung
3. Floor tiled
4. Accent wall tiled
5. Shower tiled
6. Custom niche made
7. Toilet installed
8. Walls painted
9. Ceiling drywalled
10. Shelves made
11. Towel rack made
12. Vanity installed
13. Mirrors hung
14. Light Fixtures moved and replaced
15. …..

Okay guys…anyone else feeling extreme heart palpitations right about now?? If you said “NO,” I think you might not be human. Renovating a Bathroom from the studs up is not for the faint of hearts. How in the world is all of this possibly going to get finished in time?

Well…One thing at a time!!!! Up first, Cement Floors. Did you know that if you lay tile in a bathroom you need to lay a cement barrier down first? If you don’t know this, you do now. The big debate this week was between Durac Boards or Hardie Boards. I thought I would try each and let you know what I thought about both.

So, here is what I came up with. Hardie Backer Boards are way cleaner and not as messy, but sooooo much harder to cut. I actually had to buy a cement blade for my circular saw to cut the boards. For the Durock Boards, I just need a utility knife. I scored them and then bent them back to cut them. So, much easier, but this was also way messier. So, you kind of have to pick your poison.

In the end, I went with the Durock Boards and used 1/4″ for the floors and 1/2″ for the walls. The floors went down pretty easy. I even managed to get some tile down this week. Yessssss…finally! After all the hard work of demoing, then carrying, cutting and hanging giant cement boards, tile was such a nice change of pace. I actually love tiling. A lot of people are intimated by tiling, but it’s one of my favorite things to do. I find it so relaxing and so satisfying.

For my floor tile, I choose the white marble Locket Mosaic Tile is so beautiful and really brightens and opens up the space. I ended up laying as much tile on the floor that I could without making any cuts and plan on going back for all my big cuts. I just really needed to see some progress this week, so I had to put down some tile…Lol!!

I’m still working on making sure the shower is completely water proof. I mortared all of the cracks, opening and leveled out my shower curb. Next, I used RedGaurd to add extra water protection in all the corners in the shower. It started Pink and when it was dry turned red. I used a paint brush and painted it on, it has a different texture then paint. It actually reminded me of Pudding! 😉

That’s it for this week. Keep following along to see all the progress made in the next week and Don’t forget to follow all the other designers and vote this week at Jeffrey Court!

Jessie

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