Much To Do

Well, I haven't had much time to sit down and do much of anything much less write a blog, but here goes. We've been working on the house and getting a lot done. I absolutely love how it is going. I'll admit that it is hard work and not a cheap endeavor. However, our plan is coming together quite well. We have ran across a few stumbles, but we got right back up and amended our plan accordingly and it is all going well. One stumble that was bothering me a lot was the discovery that the tub/shower fiberglass insert that was given to us for free from our pastor wouldn't fit up the stairs. I got a second opinion about what might be done to get it upstairs, but the second was the same as mine. The only option left was to remove an upstairs window from the framing and pull a Laurel and Hardy act getting the unit up to the second floor and in the window via ropes and pulleys. I was not about to try this, so we were back to the drawing board with our bathtub options. Yesterday, the problem was solved when on my lunch break I went to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore next door and found a cool old enameled iron tub. From the moment I saw it I knew that we could install it and then put up tile on the walls for the shower and it would look awesome. I hadn't previously considered tiling the walls due to the fact that the option of doing so just never crossed my mind. I definitely did not want to buy one of those piece-it-together-yourself plastic shower wall assemblies. So this works out great. I also saw a next-to-new dishwasher, so I bought them both. Get this. The ReStore is awesome. The tub was $20 and the dishwasher was $40. The store was still running their 25% off everything Valentine's promotion so I got them both for $45 and since they are a charity they don't charge tax.

Also, despite it's look, the bathroom is back in line to be getting done. I was having some major trouble with some old school plumbing. I wasn't sure how I was going to tap into the 4" cast iron drain waste system. But, with a hacksaw, a lot of elbow grease, and even a lot more patience I got the old pipe cut off and I'm ready to pick up the couplings I need to retrofit to PVC. That little challenge will be taken on tonight or tomorrow night. I'm excited. Anyway, the last Before/During photo slideshow I posted showed the beautiful hardwood flooring we found underneath the nasty carpet we removed. This slideshow may look a little backwards, but it shows progress nonetheless. We took out all the old crappy crap and as I mentioned earlier I'm in the process or re-plumbing the bathroom for all the new stuff which will include double sinks, lots of red mohagany stained oak cabinets, tile floors, and nice new white plumbing fixtures.

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