What an economy—my wife and I are moving in to our first house, and the only options we can afford are short sales. Fortunately for us, that means that we have a lot of options. Few houses in our price range, however, don’t have master baths. To us, that’s essential. Several houses, however, have the bathroom right next to the would-be master bath.
Now that we’ve picked out our house and begun the process, we’ve also been into 203k loans, reconstruction, and lots of tools for me. Now my childhood dream comes true—I get to put holes in the wall, and I don’t even have to feel bad.
Here’s the goal: Put a second door into the bathroom from the master bedroom. The 203k loan is taking care of the carpeting, flooring, and even some of the paint that is going throughout the house. But a door? That’s cheap.
The first step is to identify the studs in your wall. Moving a sink is difficult, but moving a stud is relatively easy. Your typical home will have 2×4 studs spaced about two feet apart, so—if possible—find a space where you can remove one stud to give your doorframe 4’ 2” of space.
Measure off the door frame, grab a sawzall (reciprocal saw), and take off your drywall. You don’t want to just start ripping off the drywall, because you may start pulling it away from other areas of the wall and develop more repair issues than you need. When you can see through to the bathroom, take out your studs. Depending on your frame, you may want to put in a brace in the top of your hole (just take your discarded 2×4 for the extra plank).
Finally, put in your door frame, secure it, and then spackle the outer edges to smooth the transition between the wall and the door frame. Put in a little paint, and you’re done! Now your master bedroom has a “master bath,” and your budget barely noticed the difference.
ABOUT: Jared Heath splits his time between marketing, family, and home repair. Thanks to 203kready.com, Jared is spending time fixing up his short sale home.
