HOW I HID A LAUNDRY ROOM DEMO FROM MY HUSBAND
His first clue that I was up to a DIY laundry room demo, should have been when I offered to wash and dry his dirty clothes. Why? Because three days into our marriage I stopped doing his laundry.
I know what you are thinking and yes I was very young, but he was unemployed when he proposed and I loved him.
And I don’t like to stress him out with DIY decisions so I took the decision-making off his shoulders when I decided to demo the countertops.
HOW I HID A LAUNDRY ROOM DEMO FROM MY HUSBAND
It was a Saturday afternoon when I decided to remove the old, stained 12×12 porcelain tiles. In the last year, the tiles had started to pull up and crack. The grout was stained with every interior paint color in our house.
My husband was never the wiser. How did I do it? Keep reading!
THE PLAN
I offered to do his laundry. And that should have tipped him off. It’s been roughly 110,000 days since I did his laundry.
I offered because I knew if I did his laundry I would have three weekends to excavate the tile from the builder-grade cabinets.
We had already sourced large stone tiles and a new sink. My husband wanted to gut the entire space and I could not justify the expense of new cabinets for a room used to clean dirty clothes.
I shared this popular tip to update the hardware!
We had already scoped out larger tiles so it was just in a holding pattern. And that is when I made the decision to start and finish the tile demo.
PREP
Like most surprises, it is based on timing. My husband loves to run down to the Home Depot on Saturdays. Those trips gave me 35 minutes to demo and hide the broken tile squares in the garage cans in the garage.
SUPPLIES
I1. had a hammer, rubber mallet and a chisel stored in a drawer.
2. I had a vacuum on standby to vacuum any tile and backer board dust.
3. Washed, dried, and folded his laundry and returned to his side of the closet to put it away.
35 MINUTES
I watched his car leave the cul-de-sac and then I grabbed the hammer and chisel to pop the tiles out like a Lego waffle out of the toaster.
I know what you are going to ask- how did he not see the tiles?
HIDE THE EVIDENCE
I used a combination of Costco boxes and trash bags strategically placed in the garbage bins.
My neighbors must have wondered what the heck I was doing carrying out 12×12 tiles and backing board into the trash bins and then frantically repacking the garbage bins.
BUSTED
I finished this demo in under two weeks. And then on a random weeknight, my husband decided to refill his water glass from the laundry room sink.
What?
Who refills a glass of water from the laundry room sink? Anyway, he could not believe I got it done and hid the evidence.
The second clue should have been that I woke up early to haul the trash bins to the curb two Tuesdays in a row!
DEMO DONE
I had done the demo for him and he was ready to get us to the finish line with new tile squares from Home Depot! We love it and it makes for a fun story! Please pin for others to find on Pinterest.
This is amazing!! You did a great job on the demo and the subterfuge!