Friday, February 13, 2009

...D.O.N.E.[aka Friday the 13th has ALWAYS been a "lucky day" for me...]

on May 29, I posted this picture as a "summer project"...
[BOY... was I WRONG...]



on June 20th, not much had changed...
though I was in a cleaning frenzy...
[that's Cagney, "observing"...]



by August 20, I was in full "bath redo mania" mode...
trashing the window sill for the window repair...
and anticipating the coming "early Sept." start date...



then...up came a BIG stop sign...

and it all came to a screeching halt...

as I tried to understand why...
the thought came to me...

"just be patient...
those were NOT the right guys...
I'll provide the right ones...
wait until after the first of the year..."


and then I had a real peace about it...

so I waited...

in Dec, I was prodded to take Molly for a walk...
and met G, just down the street...
if I hadn't gone then, I would have missed him altogether...

he's definitely been "the right guy"...
and so have all the guys he's brought in...

BTW... the 1st glass guy, who was raising the price & being obnoxious...
was not G's "guy"...G's "guy" did just what I wanted & for less...

so when we started on January 6...



the bathroom looked like this...



an hour or so into demo, like this...



and by early afternoon, most of the old bath was here...
ready to "go away"...



leaving holes in the wall & floor...
due to dry rot repair...
and for the first 2 or 3 nights...
an outhouse kind of existence for me...

skipping ahead to today...

I was eagerly awaiting G's arrival...
for the hot water "fix" & a couple of last things...



the shower glass installation was now complete & cured...
we just needed the hot water to work properly...
[ie..."at all"...]



G wasted no time in taking the shower head off...
and taking apart the hot water valve...



then he first used compressed air to clear the pipes...
[after shutting off the water...]



then finally, water...
here you see hot water gushing out of the line...



when the water drained out...
there was something left on the drain...



it seemed to be brown paper...



it must have been inside the shower valve assembly...
and gotten moved by the water over the valve...
restricting, then stopping the flow...



with the shower put back together...
G put this in place for me...



this, "over the door" type storage basket...
fits perfectly "over the header" of the shower wall...



then, to help me out...
since I have trouble using "Frankenfinger"...
[so aptly-christened by MM...]
he unscrewed the filter from the sink faucet...



so that I can hook-up the plant watering hose to the faucet...
& water my plants...& boy, do they need it...



now...the work is finally done...
and all that is left to do...
is to move everything back in...



quite a difference...

thank you to G, R & all the guys, who were the "right guys"...

I got just what I wanted & needed...
the aggravation factor was very low...
the workmanship was stellar...
and the price was great !

I'd also like to thank all those of you who read...
left comments, suggestions & encouragements...
you really helped me get through this...
and for those of you who've "helped"...
in various ways...you have truly been a "Godsend"...

and finally, to the author of everything...
the little voice that said, "wait"...
and "go for a walk" and then just took care of everything...
He was MOST definitely, in ALL the details...

thank you, God...You are so good...

5 comments:

The Calico Quilter said...

Everything looks great! What happened with the faucet handle unscrewing when you turned off the water?

catsinger said...

...G turned on the cold side, put super glue on the threads and tightened it down as hard as he could...
if I just remember that it turns on to the left, I'll be OK...

us300 said...

CS,

Glad to see the finished product, hats off to the designer! what's next?

us300

The Calico Quilter said...

While I enjoyed the pictures of your new splendiforous bath, I thought about last year when we were looking at houses and deciding whether to move. I have a 1968 rancher with "yech" bathrooms - vinyl floors and old vanities and tile that has seen better days. In every new house I looked at, it was the master bath that got my attention - more than the kitchen, more than the living room or bedrooms. A good bathroom sends me over the moon. Someday...If we don't move and stay here forever (or until they cart us off to the retirement home!) we're taking a bulldozer to the bathrooms. I can't make 'em bigger but I could sure improve their looks.

catsinger said...

...thanks J...it really turned out just like I hoped it would... it even feels more spacious... no $ left for anymore redos, so I guess I'll be "rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic" from now on...
...Calico...I always considered a new bath a luxury[which is why I "waited"]
it became a necessity... and is now also a very good investment at about $22K, for everything... there's also a lot to be said about this process...where I truly felt led to the "right guys", at the right time... I wish I could be so "led" in every area...but I try too hard & mess things up...
live & learn...
I think it also really helped me focus, that I had a vision of what I wanted, based on what I had to work with...ie I didn't try to recreate "a Roman bath" in a basic 5' x 8' box... and I stayed within a specific period...the tile work was easily the most costly thing...
and it is also the best thing...