It Takes a Village ....

... to redo our bathroom, apparently

I guess folks were smaller in 1950 because our bathroom is literally one yard wide, from wall to tub edge. Factor in an average sink at 24-28 inches and you're inhaling just to step in. Actually, it's more of a shuffle (beware the door knob).

I've never agreed with the concept of making streets wider because cars are getting bigger and I guess I feel that way about my living space too. Whenever possible, if you've got lemons then make lemonade - don't install a pop machine.

And so we decided to work with the 8ft x 3ft space we had. We wanted something as no-toxic and environmentally sensitive as possible, befitting the age of the house and done with minimal waste. We started to spread the word - we needed help and lots of advice from friends, and patience from ourselves.

I've always been a vinyl shower curtain kinda guy though I was increasingly concerned about the plastic smell that I was always inhaling. Following a suggestion from neighbour Laura, the old curtain was relegated to the garage as a tarp and we found a liner at the $ store made of polyester (polyester is a synthetic polymer made of organic or inorganic compounds). As Laura said, if every hotel in the world uses it, it must be a design that works.
It not only keeps the shower water in the tub and dries quickly on the rod, it's easily laundered and can be hung outside on the line.

In spite of our best efforts searching websites and showrooms, visiting the Habitat Re-Store and various warehouses and junk yards, we couldn't find a small pedestal sink. We wanted one which would originally been in place and would therefore be in scale with the bathroom. Finally, acting on a tip from our friend Robyn, we contacted a place in Toronto's west end called Addison's Inc. and the resulting visit found Laura driving us, and our new sink, back to St. Thomas.

I never liked our medicine chest. We simply didn't have enough products to fill it and the brass and mirrors were too shiny for me. In removing the behemoth I uncovered the original cabinet, recessed into the wall. It was fairly small and the door had been removed but I loved that we were able to use the original shelves; shelves that had once likely held a straight razor or possibly flat blades, tonic, Noxzema, bobby pins.

Our new pal Lisa, who did the majority of our woodworking (baseboards and trim, cutting and fitting the bead board panels, shelf making) and all of the caulking, created a beautiful mirrored door fashioned from a picture frame she stained and sealed. Hinged and equipped with a magnetic closure, the inside of the door is painted grey chalk board for secret messages or reminders.

Our vinyl flooring had done its duty for as long as it could and it was now our obligation to replace it with a healthier choice; healthier being somehow from a renwable source or nontoxic or recycled. After some research and an endorsement from Dan we followed my original instinct and chose Bermuda Blue linoleum. Made from lineseed oil, cork and wood flour, and backed with jute, linoleum (and its young sibling Marmoleum) is still made by following the basic recipe from the 1860's. Up came the plastic floor and in came Nick, the lino guy from Elgin Flooring.

Similar was our approach to the toilet. The old one was from 1978 (every tank has a date stamped in it) and it had become a three-flusher. Not only was it inefficient (I had put bricks in the tank to force it to use less water), it occurred to me I was 15 and watching Charlie's Angels when it was installed so it was definitely due for a sequel. The toilet was removed, along with the old sink and the remaining tiles from the wall (necessitated by the removal of the old vanity) and in came the Carson from Ambrose Plumbing to install our new sink and an efficient, tall toilet (thanks for your help Jackie!).

A few coats of low VOC paint from Mike at Para Paints and our old privy really feels like a beautiful room befitting the house, not just a place with running water to get your business done.

Our bathroom is now efficient and very low in toxins, the holder stocked with 100% recycled toilet paper from Cascades, and our tankless water heater is ready to go; it’s an integral step in the plan to make our home healthy.

So thanks to Laura (especially, but not only, for the RENO cake and use of her bathroom) and Lisa (wow), Robyn, Dan, Nick and Carson, my folks for delivering us dinner and holding their tongues during our speachifying on "recycled this" and "eco that", and to Jackie and Mike.

We now have a beautiful bathroom and will qualify for a $100 rebate for the toilet as part of our Energy Efficiency Evaluation.