Blank Slate

Another whirlwind weekend filled with non-stop partying and drinking.
Just kidding...this is what we did.

The two images on the left are the "before" after the tile was scraped away.
The two images on the right are the "after"...or a blank slate, as I like to put it.

We are finally at a stopping point; prepped and primed to allow for the contractors to do their thing at the end of this week.

Mark finished the remaining wall demo around the tub and painstakingly removed the rolled linoleum flooring.  Through much swearing and smashing, inch by inch was removed.
Whoever installed the flooring in the first place decided that every square foot required AT LEAST fifty staples. I wish I was exaggerating but it was so true. Those YouTube videos always lie.

While he was destroying things, I was attempting to fix other things.
We wanted to keep the original plaster walls for half of the room that won't be getting wall tile.
They aren't perfectly smooth, but rather, have a bit of grit to them.
I love them and want to keep the integrity of our nearly 100 year old home as much as possible.

Hence, why I spent far too much time patching plaster holes.
Then sanding.
Then adding more filler.
Then sanding again.
Then wiping dust away from everything.
Then finally priming the space white.

And that lovely liquid nail application they used for the wall tile?
If you are wondering how to remove that, here was my tactic:

You will need odorless Mineral Spirits, rags, plastic gloves, and an orbital sander with 50 grit.
Alternating between scrubbing the walls with rags soaked in mineral spirits and the sander, you will want to "loosen" the glue with the spirits, then slowly take the sander at a slight angle and a bit of muscle to turn the glue into warm putty. At this point it should either fly off the wall or cake onto the sand paper. (You will go through at least 15 sheets, change them often!)
Back and forth until everything is level with the wall.
Did I get ALL of it off?
Absolutely not. But like I said, the walls have a slight texture to them so as long as the glue is flush with the texture, or drywall, etc, you can spackle and paint right over it.

In between hours spent in this bathroom, we did manage to clean the house, put away the Halloween decor (finally) and gather the non-rotted pumpkins into a festive Thanksgiving layout on the mantel.
I also took advantage of the 40% off sale this weekend at Sherwin Williams and scooped up the wall and furniture paint for the bathroom for a cool $50. $25 under budget!!

Four days until the contractors start and the (real) fun begins!!
Happy Monday!!