Welcome back. This is Episode XXI - Vain Vanity. We will be talking about vanity-related things in this Episode, but first a brief update on a couple of items. The first update regards the blank planting area by the sidewalk. You will recall that in
this Episode we mentioned that we scattered both moss rose and poppy seeds in this area, just so we would have something growing there. New sprouts have emerged! Some of them are not yet positively identified, but many of them are confirmed to be poppy sprouts. Pictures will be forthcoming when the sprout are bigger. The second update is regarding our property value. We figure that the work we've done so far has raised our house's resale value by
at least $517.00 over what we paid for it.
Thank you, Amy, for helping us out at our house again. As a reminder, all who are geographically local are welcome, and invited, to come help us out with our new house and, or with moving into our new house.
Vanity Part 1
No, we're not talking about a bathroom vanity, yet, although this type of vanity is often seen in bathrooms. We're talking about a mirror, something that can be used to increase one's vanity. The mirror in question was recently hung in the 1/2 bath, above the new vanity (in this case, the cabinet thingy that holds up the sink). Our new mirror measures about 24" x 30". See it below.
|
Our new mirror |
|
What's that in the background? |
As you may have noticed in the 2nd picture, the mirror is not the only recent addition to the 1/2 bath. Scroll down to get a better view of what is in the mirror.
|
It's a new cabinet |
|
And now the inside view |
Vanity Part 2
Speaking of bathroom vanity, good lighting in the bathroom also helps to confirm or increase one's vanity, so we replaced the light fixture (such as it was) in the upstairs bathroom. To do this required first removing, but not defenstrating, the medicine cabinet, because the old light fixture and the medicine cabinet are one. See the picture below.
|
Is that another color of paint in the reflection? |
The 5 black holes in the picture are where the 5 light bulbs were. This unit was mounted to the wall by two long screws that were merely screwed into the drywall, no anchors used. Have I yet mentioned that whoever worked on this house previously apparently did not believe in drywall anchors?
As suspected, there was no junction box for mounting a light fixture, since the light fixture was part of the medicine cabinet. This lack of junction box necessitated an OSH run (the OSH is a little closer than Home Depot to the house) to pick up a box, some romex, wire nuts, and snazzy yellow electrical tape. We needed the romex because in-wall romex was cut quite short, the black and white wires spliced to the light's wires were old and crackly, and the ground wire from the romex had been cut all the way back to the housing. In short, it was a mess that needed straightening out. Finding the in-wall romex and mounting the new box required cutting a sizable hole in the wall. Fortunately, I am not afraid to cut holes in walls, and I have become quite adept at basic drywall repair. (As a side note, we have almost used up our
2nd tub of joint compound.) The new box was mounted to the stud, the new romex was properly spiced (including the ground wire this time), the hole was patched, the wall around it was painted, and the new fixture was mounted. The story is also told in the pictures below.
|
Not too many extra nail holes here |
|
The new box and old wires |
|
The new box, new romex, and yellow electrical tape |
|
This was a somewhat complex shape to cut out. |
|
The new light fixture, in the OFF position |
|
And in the ON position |
Vanity Part 3
This is where we talk about the cabinet thingy that holds up the sink in the upstairs bathroom. In short, we replaced it and its related plumbing. This was a pretty straightforward job, and everything went together correctly the first time. It doesn't always work out that way, and we're quite thankful when it does. Also, the inlet pipes did not have much build-up in them, which was a nice discovery. The vanity and sink came out, the old vanity was defenstrated (but not the sink), the inlet pipes and shutoff valves were replaced, new inlet hoses were attached, the new vanity was put in place and anchored to the wall, the new sink was mounted, a new faucet was installed, and new drain pipes were connected. As with the 1/2 bath, we painted behind the new vanity before installing it. Unlike the 1/2 bath, however, the vanity in the upstairs full bath has
two working drawers. It is also a bit wider than the vanity in the 1/2 bath. No new mirror has yet been hung in the upstairs bathroom. See the progress below.
|
The old vanity and sink |
|
With top and inlet hoses removed |
|
Old valves and old wall repair |
|
New pipes and valves, and some old cracks |
|
That's a lot o' green |
|
Almost perfectly level on the first try |
|
The finished product |
We chose a two-knob faucet for this bathroom, rather than a single-action unit. We chose a high arch in-part because we like the high arch of the kitchen faucet. Unlike the kitchen and 1/2 bath faucets, this unit is
not a Price Pfister. One interesting thing we've discovered with both of the Price Pfister faucets we've installed is that the hot water pressure is noticeably less than the cold water pressure (but still adequate for our needs) when it comes out of the taps. The pressure is equal in the pipes and inlet hoses, but it is non-equal after going through the faucets. We're not sure why this is so. Do any of you have any possible insight into this behavior? Our new upstairs bathroom faucet has equal pressure for both hot and cold water.
Also, for those who still might not be clear on the matter, this Episode is the
first in which we have shown new paint that is
any shade of green. Can you guess which green this is?
Bonus Question
Here's a bonus question: what color will the below paint be after it has been properly stirred?
Good night, and good
bIsh