Rub a dub dub

Michael and I in a tub.

This was our bathroom. Actually, this was our guest bathroom. We'll both admit that this was the nicest room in the house. But, when you're renovating a house, what's one more bathroom? Plus, we wondered what we would find underneath the pretty exterior. We did find layers of tile, but nothing hair-raising. Unless you count the shoddy plumbing work. But really, it takes a lot to surprise Michael and I anymore.

It seems that the former owners decided to update the bathroom floor before selling. Good idea. I thought the floors looked great – and they did. But the person who put the floors in and reinstalled the toilet didn’t do such a great job. Because the floors were now about a half inch above where they were with the vinyl tile, the contractor/owner/moron needed to install an extension from the toilet to the drain. It’s about a 59-cent piece. Certainly not a budget blower, but essential in the process. Needless to say, the installer saved less than a dollar. Luckily, it was not a high-traffic area and we caught the problem rather early.

At first we thought we’d just install a new subfloor and tiling. Then we decided we should just start from scratch. So, out came the goggles, pry bars and hammers. We were mindful of pipes and electricity and took out the bathroom in a weekend.

Now Michael and I have an on-going debate about installing a bath or a shower. Slowly, he's winning that debate and I think we'll end up with a shower stall. Besides, most guests don't take a bath when they are visiting, right? I even asked my mother to weigh in on the debate. She voted with Michael.

I guess I shouldn't have asked.