Remodeling : Bathroom Facelift : Home & Garden Television

A new door and wallpaper can transform a bathroom space.

Just like a new coat of paint, new wallpaper can create a dramatic or subtle change to just about any room. Also changing your interior doors can give the inside of your home a whole new look. A few aesthetic changes can transform a plain bathroom into a beautiful, private retreat. Here's how:

Installing a Bi-fold Door

Materials:

bi-fold door (and included framing materials)
utility knife
pry bar
hammer
pneumatic stapler
pneumatic nailer
four-foot level
wood putty
caulk
screwdriver

Steps:

Figure A

1. Using a utility knife, score the caulking between the molding and the wall to break the seal. Then, with a pry bar and hammer, carefully remove the interior trim (figure A). Remove the trim from the inside side of the door opening to avoid damaging the walls.

2. Remove any nails that remain in the opening with a hammer and then begin removing the 2x4 from one side of the opening. To remove the 2x4, first remove some of the drywall around the opening. This 2x4 is not structural so it is no problem to take it out, this simply allows you to return the opening to its original size. (The 2x4 removal is unique to this project - it may not be necessary when installing your own bi-fold door).

Figure B

Figure C

Figure D

Figure E

3. Packaged with the bi-fold doors should be all of the components necessary to trim out the opening - all you have to do is assemble the door framing using a pneumatic stapler. Bring the door casing into the room and insert it into the opening (figure B). Secure the trim to the frame with a pneumatic nailer, making sure that the door jamb is plumb.

4. Attach the trim to the other side of the opening, again using a pneumatic nailer. Finally, fill all of the nail holes with quick drying spackling compound and caulk all of the seams between the door jamb, the trim and the walls (figure C).

5. First attach the door track to the top of the doorjamb with the screws supplied by the manufacturer. Then attach the pivot bracket to the bottom of the door opening and tap the pivot pin and track roller into the door. Finally, install the door into the track and make final adjustments (figure D). You are done. This project costs around 90 dollars and takes only two hours to complete (figure E).

Applying Wallpaper

Materials:

screwdriver
pry bar
quick-drying spackling compound
putty knife
sanding block
measuring tape
four-foot-level
sharp blade
broad knife
wallpaper brush
damp sponge
seam sealer

Steps:

Figure F

1. First remove the door in between the bath area and the powder room so that it will be easier to work in this area. Then remove all of the towel bars and switch plate covers from the walls. Make sure that the power to the bathroom is turned off before removing any of the switch plate covers. Next, carefully remove the mirror form above the sink and then begin spackling all of the holes in the walls (figure F). Once all of the spackling dries, gently smooth the surfaces with a sanding block.

Figure G

2. Beginning at the tiled wall, measure out 19-1/2-inches (your measurements will vary according to your room dimensions) – which is one-inch shorter than the width of the wallpaper and make a mark at this location. Use a four-foot level to draw a plumb line from the floor to the ceiling. When marking on the wall, use a pencil do not a pen or a marker, as the ink will bleed through the wallpaper. Hang the first piece of wallpaper, aligning it with the plumb line on the wall (figure G). Leave a couple of inches overhang at the ceiling and use a wallpapering brush to smooth the paper onto the wall and to remove any air bubbles. Trim the paper at the ceiling and along the wall using a broad knife and a sharp blade to cut off the excess.

Figure H

3. Measure from the first piece of wallpaper to the corner at several locations and added 1/4-inch to the longest measurement. Then paste and book your next piece of wallpaper. Booking is when you fold the wallpaper, pasted side to pasted side, so it is flat. With a new blade and a straight edge, split this piece of wallpaper into two pieces the width you have previously determined. Hang the first corner piece of wallpaper (figure H). This piece laps the corner about a 1/4-inch.

Figure I

4. Hang the next piece, pushing it into the corner and lapping it over the first piece. To insure that this drop is plumb, use the four-foot level as you smooth the paper onto the wall (figure I). Continue working your way down the wall and into the powder room.

Figure J

5. In this case, the next drop fell over the receptacle and light switches, so shapes had to be cut from the wallpaper for these areas. Simply lay the paper over the receptacle and cut an "X" over the receptacle with a sharp blade. Then carefully fold the paper back and trim it around the opening (figure J).

Figure K

6. To hang the wallpaper over the doorway, first align the pattern and then make a 45-degree angle cut from the door trim back into the doorway (figure K). Then cut away most of the excess to reduce the weight of the paper. With the excess paper removed, begin making precise cuts with a broad knife and a sharp blade to carefully cut along the door trim. Periodically use a wet sponge to wipe off any excess glue that comes out through the seams and also use a seam roller to help the seat the seams.

Figure L

7. Once you cut the border, book it and begin applying it to the wall. Butt the top of the border to the ceiling and lap the corners about 1/4-inch (figure L). Use a wallpaper brush to smooth the border onto the wall and then wipe the excess glue off of the paper and the ceiling with a damp sponge.

Figure M

8. Continue applying the border in the same manner until the room is completed. If you have to join two pieces of border along one stretch of wall, you will first need to find your repeat pattern – line up the second piece over the first, matching your pattern exactly – then, with a straight edge cut through both pieces of paper – peel a small portion of the paper back and remove the excess (figure M). You will be left with a perfect match that will not show the seam.

Figure N

9. Once you have replaced the wall fixtures, you are done (figure N). A project like this takes less than a day to complete (you'll have to wait two days to apply a border, however) and costs in the neighborhood of 230 dollars.

Also in this Episode

Fix It Up! : Episode FIX-1209
•	Bathroom Facelift

Remodeling

Bathroom Facelift

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