Bathroom Vanity/Sink Options

When planning the wall of sliding doors for the basement, we knew that we wanted to be able to access both the washer and dryer at the same time; in order to make this happen, we had to add another 3-4 inches onto the span of the sliding doors. In doing so, we reduced the size of the bathroom by this same amount. Accordingly, as it stands right now, a standard vanity (22" deep) would be 24" from the front of the toilet and 20" from the end of the tub. This is acceptable, but makes the space kind of tight and uncomfortable, so we started looking for a vanity that does not take up as much space.

In order to accomplish this, we need to find a vanity that is not very deep (16-19") and/or that takes up less space than a cabinet style vanity (i.e. pedestal sink). To throw another wrench into this decision, we plan to have some built-in linen storage in this bathroom, so that needs to coordinate with everything.

Option 1: Our favourite look right now is the Retrospect Console Table from American Standard. It would definitely meet our aesthetic and space requirements, and would match multiple wall cabinet options, but it needs to be custom ordered and is a little bit outside our budget ($700ish, plus the matching toilet is pricey).

Option 2: We also like the look of this pedestal sink. This would cost about half the price (or less) of the above console table. I know pedestal sinks aren't typically used in a three piece bathroom, but the added built-in storage should make up for the lack of cabinetry, so maybe that is not a big deal?

Option 3: Another option we are looking at is modifying a kitchen cabinet from Ikea (maybe the Adel?) to fit one of their smaller sinks such as the Odensvik. This type of cabinet option would not seem as spacious as the above options, but has a good depth of 18.75" and could obviously coordinate well with matching wall cabinets.

Option 4: This is probably unlikely, but we are actually considering using the sink that was in the upstairs bathroom when we bought the house. It has been sitting in our garage for 2.5 years (didn't have the heart to throw it out) and is in great shape, but we would probably need to spend about $300 to re-finish the sink and re-plate the legs. The question here is whether or not it suits the style that we are going for (probably not).

New Hose Connection

Tub Installed

I could not procrastinate installing the tub any longer, so Meredith's Dad helped me install it last night. I had planned to take photos of the process, but sometimes getting the job done is just more important. The instructions provided by Rona and the tub manufacturer were basically useless, so this was the process we followed:

• Framed walls on all three sides for a very tight fit (only 1/8" or so of extra space).
• Inserted tub to make sure it fit the space, then removed it.
• Installed 1x3 pieces of strapping horizontally to support underneath the edge of the tub where it touches each wall.
• Inserted tub to make sure it hung at the right height when supported by the 1x3 (in our case we tried to have the tub level with the apron 1/4" off the ground), then removed it.
• Mixed three bags of mortar and spread a large bed of mortar underneath the tub at the approximate height so that the tub would rest on it.
• Inserted the tub to see if it was the right height.
• Removed the tub, removed or adjusted some of the mortar, and then reinserted the tub until the tub was at the right height (did this 3-4 times).
• Once the tub was at the right height (i.e. most of weight on the mortar, but edges supported by 1x3), stepped in the tub to push it down onto the mortar.

Time for framing and then more plumbing. Yippee!

Water Supply Upgrade

We got the water supply to our house upgraded last month. In order to take advantage of this increased pressure, we upgraded the main lines inside our house to 3/4" pipe this weekend; we now have 3/4" pipe through our water heater and to the main branches of our plumbing.

Moving the Tub into the Basement

My brother came over to help with the house last weekend, so we went to Rona to pick up the bathtub for the basement. Julian had previously helped me move the clawfoot tub upstairs, so I could tell he wasn't looking forward to that task, but he soon learned that acrylic tubs are not nearly as heavy as their cast iron counterparts. The tub we selected is kind of big (8" wider than a standard tub), so I knew that moving it into the basement would be tricky. It did not fit into the side door, so we had to move the fridge out of the way and carry it down the empty abyss where we once had basement stairs. Kudos to our kitchen designers who suggested having the fridge space accessible like this for moving things into the basement. Not-so-kudos to us for not having cleaned under our fridge in two years.



The tub is now sitting in the basement patiently waiting to be installed.

Cutting Off and Capping Floor Drains

I have been procrastinating cutting off the excess drain pipe since we had the new basement floor poured in September. This was easily accomplished with the reciprocating saw.

We have two floor drains that will be covered up with flooring when the basement is finished, so we installed a plug in each of those drains (see pics below). We installed a one-way plug (i.e. allows water to flow down, but not to come back up ... not sure what they are called) in the third drain that will be used for the furnace and de-humidifier.

We then covered all three drains with drain covers.

Water Supply Line Replaced

We learned in October that the lead concentration in our tap water was higher than it should be. After waiting about seven weeks, the contractor arrived last week to replace our water supply line. We got a quote from the City's contractor to do our side of the line at the same time, and decided to go ahead with that quote ($2000+tax). It was a bit more than quotes we received from other plumbers in the summer, but the added money was worth it to not have to deal with a second contractor and to have a contractor that has been vetted by the City. We took a couple of photos of the work in progress, which shows the holes underneath our front lawn and the sidewalk.

Our new water line looks very nice and clean, especially compared to our old line. You can see the difference in the thickness of the 3/4" pipe where it connects to the 1/2" pipe near the top of the photo. We have already noticed an increase in the water pressure, but that increase will be much more significant once we carry the 3/4" pipe through to the main branches of piping in our house. As you can see, we are also now metered, so we will have to wait and see how that affects our water bills in the future.

Lead Testing Results

We have replaced all plumbing supply lines inside our house, but were concerned that there is lead in the supply line from the City, so last month we submitted a water sample to Toronto Public Health for testing. We received the results earlier this week, and the lead level in the sample was 32 parts per billion. This is not good, so we need to be careful to use filtered water for our drinking water until the supply line is replaced (we have been pretty good about doing this already, but not perfect). I thought I would do some research to see how this 32 ppb value stacks up:

• 1 ppb: Typical lead concentration for water leaving a Toronto water treatment plant
• 10 ppb: Maximum lead concentration for drinking water in Canada (consistent with WHO and USA)
• 15 ppb: EPA action level for lead concentration in drinking water
• 32 ppb: Our unfiltered tap water
• 50 ppb: Pre-1992 maximum lead concentration for drinking water in Canada

I am very disappointed in myself for not getting our water tested when we first bought the house. If you have an older home (lead piping was used until the 1950s, and lead solder was common until the 1980s), I strongly recommend you get your water tested.

The good news: this means that our supply line will be replaced (and upgraded to 3/4" copper) by the City on a priority basis; the work will be completed in the next 6-8 weeks, as opposed to the previous schedule of "sometime in the next 9 years".

Basement Phase 1: Drain Replacement

The first step in finishing our basement was to replace the drains underneath the basement floor. We have not had any problems with the drains, but we figured it would be smart to replace them now and avoid a mess in the future. I broke up the concrete floor on the half of the basement that has the drains, and then dug down in the dirt to reveal the old drains. We quickly learned that the drain line from the house to the street (i.e. under the front lawn) had been replaced by the previous owner (bonus!) and that we had no signs of tree roots in the drains under the house (double bonus!).

We hired a plumber that I had worked with previously to replace the drain lines for us. I probably could have done this work myself, but we were in a crunch for time and I did not want to mess something up and realize this after it was covered with new concrete. He basically just replaced the old clay drains with PVC, as no major changes in layout/slope were required. He also roughed in the basement toilet and shower, as well as a stack at the back of the house that we will tie into for the future first floor washroom.

At this point, we just piled all of the concrete and pipes into a huge pile in the corner. Breaking up the concrete was no big deal because it was thin and mostly mortar. Removing the soil was much more difficult, as I dug it into buckets, carried it up the stairs, and piled it underneath our front porch (we had some grading issues under there that we wanted to solve).