Downstairs Bathroom - Fan and Window Frame

We're expecting the tub guys to show up and refinish the clawfoot tub this week, so that's exciting! We're really looking forward to getting that out of the way. Today, though, I wanted to show you some minor items that are finally finished.

As I mentioned a while ago, the window frame on the south wall had been butchered by some previous owners - apparently just so they could get the bathroom vanity as close as possible to the wall. Here's what we found when we took it out:

BEFORE

Fortunately, we have a good handyman (another shoutout to Bill's Poor Man Repair, in Zion IL) who was able to fill the gaps with some wood and putty. Afterwards, I stained all the window frames to match what's elsewhere in the house. The stain on and around the new pieces still needs to be touched up a little, but compared to what was there before, I'm very pleased! Even though this window will mostly be obscured by the tub and/or shower curtain, it was really important to me to have this fixed.

AFTER

Once the fan had been installed and the holes filled, I also painted the walls and ceiling (with Valspar paint-and-primer semi-gloss white), so that's finished, too!

BEFORE

You'll notice that the switches for this unit are very high on the wall! That's because these controls are specifically to change the unit from exhaust fan/light to heater (the actual on/off switch is lower on the wall where you'd expect it to be). The heater is intended for when the temperature drops to near-zero or sub-zero temps, and doesn't need to be turned on any other time. Having these special switches higher up on the wall keeps them out of the way of the casual user or curious child. I still have to install the tile around the special switches, but that will be easy.

AFTER

My main goal was to finish the area around the bathtub, so once the tub is refinished (hopefully 'today' - the day this post appears) it can stay in place and I won't have to worry about moving it or working around it. I didn't quite make my deadline - I still have to touch up the window frame and then clear-coat it with a satin polyurethane - but I can cover the tub in plastic and then stand inside it to do those little jobs.

The next big job that I'll have to tackle is to cut a hole in the top of the vanity dresser we bought on Craigslist and drop in the sink - and reshape/resize the drawers so we can still use them. The vanity will go next to the toilet (we finally have a downstairs toilet again!):

Okay, that's it for this week. I hope next week I'll at least be able to show you the tub refinished and in place. I'm not sure if I'll be able to work on the vanity this weekend. We'll see how it goes...