Bathroom Update 2 ~Wainscot {using reclaimed beadboard}

 Remember this shed?

The gaping holes are where I took wood to make my barn-style bathroom door.

Let's take a peek inside:

That, my friends, is the ceiling. 

Wide tongue and groove pine bead board over 100 years old.

Given my love of reclaiming things, I could NOT let this go to waste.

And so, enlisting DH's help (on a very cold and very windy day LAST

fall), we (he) removed most of it.

Evidently, the racoons had been living 'upstairs' for quite some time.

The 'dirt' and smell of urine was almost overpowering and I began to waver.

Could I REALLY make something out of this?!

For several months, the boards sat while I worked on various other projects.

My plan was to use this in the bathroom as wainscoting.

Finally, a few weeks ago, I decided that it was time to dive in and make my vision happen.

I began by hauling all the boards to the garage where my 'chop' saw is.

Some of the boards were in very bad shape. Either the tongue or the groove (or both, in some cases)

were broken off. Or, there were large cracks down the middle of the board.

I began cutting out sections. Salvaging what I could, I cut them in 42" lengths.

Then they sat for another week or so.

Until one day I enlisted the help of my 7 year old son to remove nails

while I began the V.E.R.Y. dirty process of planing the boards.

After much thought, I had decided that I could get rid of the 'coon smell'

by planing a layer off of both sides of the board.

I was right; a pleasant pine smell emerged as I planed.

So, I pressed on.

It took a long time. Each 42" board (there are around 100 of them!) needed

to be ran through the planer 3 or 4 times.

After that was finished, some of the boards still had some dirt in the groove.

So, I hauled them out to DH's shop and, using his air hose, I blew out each groove.

Finally, I brought the into the house and began nailing them in place.

My plan was to prime them with a sealer/primer in 2 coats and then paint them white.

Before that happened, I made an accidental discovery.

One that I'm very happy with. :)

After I put the first coat of primer on, I thought the wood felt a bit rougher

than I was happy with so I grabbed my palm sander and began sanding.

Where the grain was raised from the primer, the primer sanded away leaving a rustic look.

I quickly texted a picture to my mom to get her opinion but I was thinking I liked the look.

Mom gave it a thumbs up so that settled it. This was how it was going to stay.

I sanded the entire lower portion of the wall. Because primer is a flat finish, and because flat 

finishes are not easy to clean, I used clear wax over the whole thing to seal it and make it 

'bathroom friendly'. I'm SO happy to have that part of the bathroom project complete!

There were times along the way that I nearly gave up. 

It was a very long, arduous process.

Now that it's done, I'm glad I didn't because it really gives the bathroom

the 'farmhouse' feel that I am going for.

I am currently working on the ceiling in the bathroom. That is another challenge

because it needs to be a somewhat removable drop ceiling so that

the plumbing to the upstairs bath is accessible.

I will do a post on how I did that (hopefully) before I do a reveal.

I'm also working on the vanity top.

Stay tuned for more updates.

(If you're new to the blog, you can see part 1 here.)

From the Farmhouse

Linking to: Knick of Time Tuesday
Sawdust Throwdown
SNS @ Funky Junk Interiors