Buying an older house often means at some point, I will want to do some remodeling and updating. Our current house is no exception. While we have not done much to make it our own over the past few years, the time finally came. I finally decided to do a full master bedroom remodel. The catch? I am currently 35 weeks pregnant and planning a homebirth.
Our current master bedroom is soon to be the kids’ room.
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Trading Two Bedrooms for a Master Bedroom
This might seem crazy to some because we are about to have our sixth baby, but we actually opted to make our 3/2 into a 2/2. This will make more sense when I explain the bathroom size situation. When we bought the house it was advertised as a 4/3, but it was clear that the original floor plan was only that of a 3/2 and the fourth bedroom was in the basement.
Our Ranch Style House on move-in day.
Remodeling Road Blocks
The problem was the basement was only partially finished because the foundation needed work and water got through the walls. So I soon discovered our 4/3 was really a 3/2. No big deal, we only had 4 kids at the time and we knew buying a house in rough shape would come with some remodeling expenses. However, soon we found out our “master bathroom” which was the size of a closet had a bad leak. I had dreams of remodeling that just did not match the reality of our situation. The bathroom was gutted the leak fixed and set aside for another time after we addressed our foundation issues.
We had to dig all around the house’s perimeter to fix the house’s foundation.
Three years after we had bought our house I still only had one functioning bathroom. The problem was trying to fix two very small bathrooms seemed like a waste. My husband finally talked me into turning the two smaller rooms into a master suite.
Our small master bathroom which never got remodeled will now be merged with the common bath.
The very tiny guest or common bath in desperate need of TLC
At this point having two larger rooms and two decent-sized bathrooms just made more sense. I was just not prepared to do it while 35 weeks pregnant. Nevertheless, the master bedroom remodel began.
The soon-to-be more spacious guest/kids bath needed some serious attention as the tile by our tub started to fall out this past year.
Merging Two Rooms
The work began by merging the two smaller rooms. Demo usually goes by fast as well as the initial framing for the new master bedroom bathroom.
I will say at this point even though, I know work is getting done it doesn’t look all that great.
As I get closer to my due date I am starting to question if this was the best timing for it. The idea of giving birth in a brand newly remodeled master bedroom was just too much for me to resist. Now, I wait.
Construction Essentials
Here are some of the things we have found super helpful/necessary for our home improvement projects throughout the years.
- Woven Contractor Bags are new for us in this project and they are amazing! I can not believe we did not use these before.
- Shark Bite Plumbing fittings, we discovered these handy plumbing tools back during our very first remodel. They make running plumbing a lot easier according to my husband anyway.
- Dremel Tool if you are looking into some serious DIY remodeling this tool is a must. I hear it going all day long, especially during the framing process.
- Milwaukee Drill Set, one of the first things you should buy is a good drill, as a homeowner it is just one of those things that makes life easier whether you are remodeling or not.
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While We Are At It
I can tell you from experience that every time you remodel, something will come up. This master bedroom remodel was no exception. The A.C. return had to be moved because it was in the nursery’s closet. While it was necessary to make our master bedroom what we wanted it added about an extra day’s labor.
While the task was simple it meant adding ductwork and moving closets around. This will be our new linen closet. Our youngest is enjoying the building process since everything looks like a jungle gym.
Master Bedroom Remodel Process
I will be updating to see how the process plays out in hopes of helping anyone out there looking for a realistic timeline for a major remodel. Adding to the drama of ours is the fact that we have only 5 weeks to get it done so we are learning that planning is crucial. More on that later.
For now, I am happy to report we got some of the walls back up to the new master suite.
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