hi - i am in the middle of a bathroom remodel (see my blog page below if you're interested) and we are ready to prime/paint. we have new drywall on about half of the walls & ceiling, and i assume builder's white on the other walls & ceiling. our new "ceiling" is really a big soffit of sorts, over our tub and a skinny "beam" where the 2 rooms used to be divided. we did it this way so that we wouldn't have to match the texture on the original ceiling... plus it adds some character. this new ceiling is flat new drywall. the original ceiling is textured - not popcorn/cottage cheese, but more like they put wet drywall mud up there & smooshed it with something round, then pulled the round thing off & left some peaks & valleys. not sure what that's called... but we figure it should be repainted to look cohesive, but i don't know if that needs to be sprayed, if i can do it cleanly diy or if a pro should do it. i am having a pro do my living room/hall/kitchen walls because of all the different cutting in & heights it requires, so i'll have him in the house anyway. ceilings & "beam" will be some kind of white; walls will be dark blue. so that was another question... i bought the zinsser bulls eye primer, at least for the first coat. should i get a tinted primer & do a second coat of primer since it's new drywall? or just the zinsser? i found my blue at lowes, so i thought i'd go ahead & use valspar... do i just ask for mildew-cide in it? thanks! lisa here's a glimpse of the new & old ceilings Here is a link that might be useful: my bathrooms forum blog

Plywood is several layers of wood, laminated together. It may swell too much for the use you are thinking of, but I am no expert in using it, so I do not know if that can be fixed by coating the surface and ends with something like Waterlox. I am hoping that you will get more answers. I do know that plywood is preferred over MDF for quality cabinet sides and backs. It is also commonly used on the front, with a layer of a preferred wood veneer for the top layer. My carpenter made my bathroom door and drawer fronts out of birch plywood with a walnut veneer. Then he Waterloxed them. If you are using the plywood as a wood paneling product in a bathroom area not directly in contact with water, why wouldn't it work as well as my drawer and door fronts? Then there is the question of using quality wood paneling. Are there types or brands that are appropriate for bathroom use? Lets hope others come by and give you more opinions.

As a real estate appraiser I would advise to try to keep it. It will reduce the valuation by a few percent. If I were to appraise your home, I would now have to compare and adjust it from a 3 bathroom home to a 2.5. That's anywhere from $2,500 to $5,000 adjustment downwards. Understand that I don't know where you live or your real estate market. Even though there is no bedroom on the floor, it's a very usable space. At the very least, I'd put in a shower. You just never know when someone will lose their mobility. It looks like an older home. If your laundry room is in the basement, you may want to reconfigure it to bring the laundry up to the main living area. That would be an improvement in utility and the only reason why I would consider eliminating it. Hard to see everything, but you could reconfigure the doorway/entry and take over that vestibule area.

Yep we had a wonky 1890 home now we are in a wonky 1910 home and just bought a really wonky 1956 home !!! I won't even show you the bathroom and what the PO did to it....think beautiful pristine pink tile and they painted the grout with black latex to simulate a black and pink color scheme....guess what I am going to be doing >? Keep it the way it is. I didn't even notice.