I was forced into renovating a second floor bathroom for numerous reasons. Never having liked the layout, I thought this was a perfect time to change it. The room is 70" wide by 126" deep. I wanted to put the vanity on the left wall, the toilet next to the vanity and then the tub on the back wall, drain to the left, so the left wall would become a wet wall. Problem was, the joists ran across the room, not down. Putting the toilet on the left wall would force me to bore 4" holes through 2"x8" joists. The two joists to be bored would sit directly under the tub. A real no-no. I did a little (clearly, not enough) research on the internet & mostly talked to some local building supply stores. I had an idea that laminating (glued & screwed) 7 1/2" X 30" strips of 3/4" plywood to both sides of the joists might provide enough support that the joists could then be bored. And this is where I was ill-advised. I was assured this would provide enough support, and that with 3/4" ply subfloor followed by 1/2" cement board the floor would be solid enough to support the tile I wanted to install. After completing this portion of the renovation and replacing the subfloor, another trusted advisor spoke up and said that I can't do that. I've since stopped the renovation in order to take the time to figure out what to do so that the plumbing and floor support will be safe and to code; hence, my now having found this thread. As an FYI, in doing my second round of research, I stumbled across these metal joist reinforcers - http://www.metwood.com/products/reinforcer . They look like just the thing I need to solve my support issues, assuming I leave the bathroom in it's current configuration. The problem with them for me is that they cradle the bottom of the joist and I don't want to have to tear up the first floor ceiling in order to install them. So, one of my questions for all you engineering gurus with your mathematical wizardry is, if I were to attach 30" long strips of 1/8" or 3/16" steel strap to both sides of the joists, both above and below the holes, do you think this would provide enough support for a full tub of water and a tile floor? If so, how would you suggest fastening them? Should they be screwed independently to each side, or bolted so that they sandwich the existing laminated joists? Further, should I be using some form of glue or cement to 'laminate' the strapping to the bulked up joists (not that I'm aware of any metal-to-wood adhesive)? Another option I have is to remove one side of the plywood lamination I've done. Then sister both existing joists with a new (at least 6', but as long as possible) joist that has one of the joist reinforcers listed above attached. Due to the construction, the joists are fully supported by a bearing wall on the left side of the washroom so these new sistered joists would have the benefit of being supported on one end. Any thoughts on any of these potential solutions? Thanks in advance for anything shared.

I would. Acid free paper is good. Just be careful it doesn't smell. I put some fancy drawer paper in one chest and didn't realize that it had enough scent to transfer to my clothes. Ugh. Or you could use Cushy Cupboards too :)

You mean it'll be a pony wall at the R end of the FP? The prep sink would work there on the kit side. From Sena's LO there'd be about 4' of prep space between it and the stove. I'd still use a shallow pantry on the wall of the laundry room at the end. (that'd also eliminate the deep lower corner cabinet area problem) I'd put in an EZreach upper cab on that corner to butt up to the shallow pantry. uppers usually run about 15" deep, don't they? I'd want a long area of prep space on the other side too instead of a deep pantry. Having the window side not so deep by the door and shallow on the stove side would make it more open at the doorway. Easier to see little ones coming in too. Having a prep area on both sides would be great when you have help in the kitchen by family/friends. On the window side, how about the fridge next to the dw? You could even move the sink/dw to the L maybe another foot - that'd give maybe 3' or so to the R of the fridge for the desk area. (before the doorway to the sunroom) Try putting this in the layout/or 3d pic and post here so we can see how it looks. I like the idea of the 6' between counters when a number of people will be working in that area - and possibly someone going out or coming in that laundry area door. Less congestion. The wall ovens - those are good for those who have problems bending down to the oven on a stove. Really tall people, those with a bad back... or those who often use oven and stove top at the same time. Many don't like standing at the stove top with the heat of the oven so close to them. I'd love to have one but I so seldom use the oven, it doesn't seem worth it for me. I probably don't use the oven 2x a month. Maybe once a month. btw, I tried bolding my '2x a month' above and it did. I didn't hit submit tho, so maybe it would bonk me if I did that. Or maybe it is the phone or just when editing a post? I'm gonna go ahead and click on submit so we'll know. Saving my post first tho...

....oh....my....."Installer tried to level out the subfloor in those areas with cardboard but it didn’t work." No kidding! Wow! I haven't seen that trick with lvp before. And there's a reason for it. S/He just blew your ENTIRE warranty. Subfloor prep work MUST be done as the installation instructions require. LVP HATES anything 'squishy' underneath it. It MUST BE rigid. Card board is for the boxes you use to cart his tools to the curb! If this guy KNEW your subfloor was SOOOOO bad that he felt cardboard would work, then your subfloor prep should be in the $2-$3/sf range. If you did NOT pay for subfloor prep, you (I'm very sad to say) got what you paid for (I know that sounds mean...but it is a very sad truth...so sorry :"( I pray to all that is holy you did NOT pay him! Please find another person to install this for you. Your installer is poorly trained and is not ready for something like LVP. S/he simply does not know the product and is trying to "figure things out" as long as you let him/her do it. And to be clear, it is entirely possible you will lose 25% of your planks when they are pulled up. The click edges on vinyl are very sensitive. They break just by looking at them. Once they break, the plank (or most of it) is lost. Please ensure the product is still stocked and you can access MORE when the right flooring installer is found and offers to deal with these issues....for the proper price. Free rarely turns out to be in the building industry.