Basement Progress and Caulk Talk

This weekend was busy with home renovation projects-- not all of which were planned.  Hate that.

The planned part was having my project-loving and talented father come down to help us complete the trim work in the top half of our future master bedroom/art studio.  

1/11/15 New Sheetrock patched

1/11/15

1/17/15 Trim is up, carpet is gone

1/17/15 Hardwood plank flooring is next

The not so much "planned" project was our upstairs bathroom.  When we started renovating the upstairs, we didn't have the cash to do everything all at once.  Because the space was no longer an eyesore, we figured we could get away with not doing anymore upkeep on it for a bit... WRONG.  Very wrong.  The caulk in our bathtub was cracking, and dare I say molding for the longest time.  Quick cleaning sessions with bleach and a magic eraser took the orange mildew/mold away, but the cracking and splitting of the caulk remained.  (That's what she said-- FYI that situation would be terrible) 

What was frustrating is this is the second time we have had to re-caulk our bathtub, and it never fails, the same shit happens.  I refuse to do it again.  Next time I am ripping out the bathtub and throwing it outside.  So, there better not be a next time.  The re-caulking of the bathtub was the biggest pain in my ass.  First, we had no idea what type of caulk to buy to prevent this annoying occurrence from happening again.  After asking my dad he handed us a bottle of caulk called Waterproof Silicone by GE.  This is NOT a crappy acrylic base caulk.  So, if you are having the same issues as we were, the problem is you were using acrylic.  Thumbs down.

This caulk ain't messin' around

I spent a good part of my Saturday making sure all of the old gunk was scrapped away so that I could apply a fresh coat of caulk- crack free.  Once I rounded the sides of the bathtub, touching the wall, I noticed something that made my eye twitch.  Soggy Sheetrock.  I ended up having to remove about a 1-2 inch section of our wall next to our bathtub.  Because we let the cracks in the caulk go for too long, it managed to destroy our wall because there wasn't a protective barrier from the water.  Now, we have to replace that.  I sincerely hope all of this is a blessing in disguise.  

Once I got the tub taped off and perfect, I grabbed the caulk gun.  Squeezed the trigger and nothing happened.  Tried this for an hour, took a nap, came back and tried again.  Nothing.  Went to Shane and asked him to help me.  He said I needed to poke a hole through the tip of the caulk bottle.  Duh and done.  Went back to try again.  Still nothing.  Turns out the caulk gun wasn't catching to move the bottom of the bottle up.  Went to buy a new caulk gun.  Came home to unleash my fury on that tub.  Notta drop of silicone caulk came out.  Read the expiration date-- 2010.  F***.

As if this weren't enough, the faucet in our bathroom decided to act up.  The hot handle worked just fine, but the cold water handle would not turn.  This faucet was our first "expensive" home purchase.  $75.00 was a lot of money to us seven years ago.  Who am I kidding, it still is.  We were so proud of this faucet, and showed it off to anyone who was interested in looking at it.  Shane took the faucet apart, hoping we could spare it's life, but it was DOA.  So, here we were with a soggy wall, faucet-less sink, and no caulk.  Queue the violin.

We went back to the hardware store and bought a new bottle of silicone caulk and a brand new shiny Moen faucet that looks like something straight out of The Fifth Element.  Came home and got it done.  Best that tub AND sink has ever looked.  (Photos of bathroom to come)

The moral of the story: Silicone caulk for tubs all the way and don't buy off brand faucets if you can help it.

Dang, that is a lot of writing and a lot of caulk talk.  We did manage to get some socializing into the weekend mix.  Our freshly married friends came to Minnesota from DC for a little Hammerschlagen (first time playing) and Cards Against Humanity fun.  So offensive.  I love it.

Stop back later this week for additional photo updates on the basement progress.  Buh-bye.