Bathroom reno update. Pic heavy.

To refresh your memories, we had what we thought was a leaky tub surround. Ugly, cheap plastic thing glued to the wall. We ripped it out to discover the foundation was leaking and had been for some time.(this is the basement bathroom, so it has a concrete wall on the backside of it) The drywall and fibreglass were saturated and moldy, the studs were like mashed potatoes, utterly rotten.

There was some discussion about using wood as a surround and I said we would be using cedar. Turns out I was wrong. It is pine. I think it looks so much better than before! Will post some pics. Of course I didn't take a pic of that hideous before surround.

This is old tub still in, note scum on vapour barrier and tunneled homes of moisture ants. Thousands of them!
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More rotten, mushy wood.

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New plate, new studs cobbled in.
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New tub in place and pine surround going up.
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Note very pricey towel hooks, curtain rod holder and curtain rod. All scrounged out of the bush.
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To make sure to use the biggest, blackest screws you can find. Make a statement that says, I Like Hardware!
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Ready for dirty people, except for drywall repair and painting and trim work. But at least I have my own bathroom to myself again! Wahoo!
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Note: I use Photobucket to get pics on here and it automatically sizes them this size, which I think is too small. I do not know how to change that. Sorry.

I had also said I was going to oil the wood with a tung oil. Did not do this. Instead used a paste wax in BLACK. It left very little colour behind, just knocked back some of the brilliant glare of fresh, new pine.

This paste wax is a soft finish and is not staying on the wood. Water has raised the grain some and the boards feel 'fuzzy'. At some point I will have to spend a day in there applying the tung oil I had originally intended. Since this basement has very poor ventilation I am not looking forward to this job as that oil is NASTY smelling stuff and this task always leaves me a little light in the head by the time I'm done! But the shower is used daily by two people and looks great. Wood wipes clean so far and dries quicker than I expected. I think it looks great, have new flooring too.

Have you considered mineral oil? We have wood counters in our kitchen, and they all get rubbed down with hot mineral oil. For the first month I was religiously doing this weekly, now they are lucky to see oil once a month. Warming it helps it penetrate the wood better. Best part is it is edible, not that I endorse eating it, but it is. We bought the heavy stuff from a pharmacy for the first applications, and then I switched to the light stuff, as I could buy a cheap gallon at the feed store.
In any case, the wood counters are holding up great so far. Not sure if the fact your walls are soft wood and the counters are hard wood will have an impact or not. The good thing is, the mineral oil has no smell.
Enjoy your new bathroom.
The natural hangers are great in there!

Linseed oil would work also or I think it is called Dutch oil is another that should work well

Auntieevil, I have used mineral oil in our main bathroom, which has a wood surround also that is about 20 years old. I find the mineral oil does not penetrate the wood quite as well. Maybe it's because it lacks some of those ghastly petroleum distillates, I don't know.

The tung oil or Danish oils (I have used a few different kinds over the years) seem to work better. They wipe on, get scrubbed in with steel wool then after a time wiped off again. It is a big chore oiling these surrounds. But they do not require the upkeep of a counter top! I maybe do this oiling routine once every 3 or 4 years. That's even less upkeep than scrubbing the grout lines in tile! Overall, I have been very happy with the performance of the wood in the main surround, I am hoping for as much good luck with the downstairs bathroom.

If your system worked for 20 years upstairs, with only intermittent attention, you definitely know best what to use. Too bad the smell is unpleasant.
We looked at more durable substances for the counter tops, but none of them were edible and unlikely to go rancid, except the mineral oil. Even it is made from petroleum though, and something I'd have preferred to avoid. I'd melt in some beeswax, but haven't a source yet.
You probably don't end up with the lovely food stains on your surround we do on our counters. Coffee, berries, egg and all sorts of interest things leave patterns on the wood. Most of them come off with lemon or peroxide, so it's not bad. When they get really bad, and I care enough, I will sand the counters down and start over. For now, they still look fine.
As for grout and scrubbing, a great way to clean it, is use peroxide on it. We have white grout though. Perhaps other colours would be negatively impacted with peroxide. I have 35% food grade stuff I slightly water down for cleaning. It works great.

I do use mineral oil to treat my wood cutting boards, just as you say, it's food grade and does not have that ghastly aroma of other wood treatment oils.

Recently I caught on to the cleaning power of that 35% peroxide. Hubby drinks the stuff! I really like pouring some in water and freshening up my kitchen dish clothes. But now that Hubby knows what I use it for, he hides it.

May I be nosy and ask how the peroxide impacts your hubby?
I have been too chicken to try it yet, except for brushing my teeth with it.
Guess I shouldn't be suggesting other ways for you to use his stuff. Perhaps he should buy you your own -lol It is great for so many household chores.
It is too bad it is so expensive. I used some for the pool, and it was amazing.I love the fact it is totally biodegradable and safe for the environment. Chlorine and bromine are so nasty!
Opps, better mention your shower, and how peroxide works on mold, or I could be considered a hijacker....

auntieevil wrote:I used some for the pool, and it was amazing.I love the fact it is totally biodegradable and safe for the environment. Chlorine and bromine are so nasty!

I'm going to shamelessy jack your post Uno. You can beat me with a pancake next time we breakfast. Or better, flog me with bacon. Ya.

AuntieEvil, can you tell me about peroxide in your pool? I use bromine in my hot tub. Could I switch? I would love to get away from chemicals.

I read you can use peroxide for hot tubs, but since we don't have one, and I haven't used it, I'd have to suggest you ask someone else.
Sorry

Hubby takes peroxide, a teaspoon mixed with water, to ward off illness, telemarketers and high taxes. Some guy at work told him it was a cure all. Whatever. I use it on the dish clothes. I know a fellow who puts it in his fish pond, with the fish still in it!

Hijack away Farmchiq, and I look forward to whacking you with a pancake!

uno wrote:Hubby takes peroxide, a teaspoon mixed with water, to ward off....high taxes.

And how's that working for ya? Maybe I'll try it.

uno wrote:I look forward to whacking you with a pancake!

I thought we'd agreed on BACON!