Monday, January 23, 2017

Let's Talk Toilets! :

Twice now I have had a toilet do this horrible thing. It works just fine but for whatever reason, likely a manufacturing flaw, the inside loses its enamel and turns brown. Of course this is the worst, your toilet looks embarrassingly poop stained and friends mock you and everyone thinks you are really gross no matter how much you swear you bleached it!

I searched more for some ideas. And thanks to my friend Tom I did better googling and tried something new!

Here is the before: horrific isn't it?



Have no fear! There was hope! 

First thing I did was empty the toilet. Turn off the water, flush it, dry it, let it dry some more, block the little hole at the front that kept dribbling water back in... 


Then I used a spray on all surface primer and let it dry for a day. 

 https://smile.amazon.com/Rust-Oleum-272479-Zinsser-Bulls-Primer/dp/B00L20TRW4/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1485226460&sr=8-5&keywords=spray+primer


Then I sprayed Appliance Enamel. 

https://smile.amazon.com/Rust-Oleum-7881830-Appliance-Enamel-12-Ounce/dp/B0009XB40I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485226378&sr=8-1&keywords=appliance+epoxy


It did not take much, follow the directions, you can use newspaper to keep it in the center.  I was careful not to give too sharp a line around the edges by spraying too much. It does smell!

 Also remember that multiple thin coats are best!

Let it dry between coats and for a day after the last coat (I think I did three total)

Once the water is back in you cannot see the very slight variation of white. Not even a little, and hopefully noone will be putting their face in there examining it closely...

So fast forward to now, it has been about 2 months. Is it great? weellllllllll, I have mixed feelings.  When I clean it there is some flaking. It is a bit upsetting. But, it is still far better than before. I don't think there is a permanent fix, but it is certainly an improvement until I save up new toilet money to get the Kohler dual Flush I bought last time this happened. .


Sunday, January 8, 2017

Slightly off topic

This has nothing to do with mid century design, this is just my call out to two AMAZING products I have discovered in my bathroom renovations. They save SO MUCH MONEY!

First is something I got a few months ago in order to get rid of all the junk and make my house more houseguest friendly.



https://smile.amazon.com/Three-Chamber-Shower-Dispenser-White/dp/B000FGCW0K/ref=sr_1_4?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1483890239&sr=1-4&keywords=shampoo+dispenser

The new silicon adhesive for these things is amazing. Just make sure to read and follow all the directions.


Here is the other. This ugly but perfect showerhead! Siroflex is my new love. My new favorite brand.

I wish I was kidding when I say that I have had 3, yes three showerheads get broken in my house this year. I am so incredibly fed up with these big monstrosities with 20 crappy settings and no water pressure in any of them.

This has one perfect pressured spray. No need for all that other crap.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B014YJSJZU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


If either of these companies want me to promote their products, I will happily do so anywhere. 

Saturday, January 7, 2017

Holiday delays! New Camera!

Don't worry my friends, I have not vanished! There was a delay in pretty much everything due to houseguests and holidays.


When last we left off the bathroom was just about done and the backroom had a gallon of paint on the floor.

Sigh.

The bathroom has had one more change... CAULK. Please my dear friends, always remember to keep you walls caulked. Grout is not caulk and caulk is not grout. Grout is not actually fully waterproof. Caulk all your corners and edges every few years to keep water out of the walls! I could not see a trace of any caulk ever on my shower... not good.

But back to the back room. I did finish painting the endless trim...    It looks great. It took forever, but it got DONE! I enjoyed the entire series of Felicity while doing it... Apparently I missed the last two seasons the first time it aired!


Then came the floors. 

In order to deal with the floor, I had to clear out space in my workshop. In order to clear out space in the workshop I had to tackle a project. Painting and sealing the floor. I had some oops paint in a couple of colors so I mixed them together! 



This was a bare unsealed concrete. Something spilled and it would just soak right in. You can imagine how awesome that is when an angry cat is accidentally trapped in there for about 36 hours. Yes, that happened. I didn't do it! :) 
SO painting concrete is one of my favorite jobs ever. Not the prep, the painting! just pour and roll!

But first... prep. Sweep, mop, sweep, mop. There is no such thing as it being too clean. Use TSP. It is a cheap degreaser that helps the paint grip on. I did not photograph the cleaning. I assume all my readers know how to mop. If not, please ask me what you need to know! i won't judge. No really. We all start somewhere. 


see how much prettier that is? 

Word of Caution:


Pay attention to where you start rolling. Do NOT, I repeat DO NOT put your cell phone on a counter then paint 10 feet of floor starting in that corner.


That little blue speck on top of the toolbox might be my phone. Maybe. 

But look how pretty that floor is!!  

Due to bucket sizes the workshop floor is two slightly different shades of blue...   But this is a workshop, floor being sealed is the priority. And now it is. :D