The bathroom is done. I should say, the bathroom is roughly
half completed. It took two days to demolish, remove, and replace a cast iron
tub from 1954 with something modern and more fitting with what we like in the
2000’s. I didn’t do any of the work, but we will likely do the rest of the demolition
over the winter.
The contractor said that he rarely sees a home as well
constructed as ours. Well, he actually said that what would normally be a
two-hour demolition took him all day because of the layers of plaster, metal
mesh, and tile that some “asshole” had put up back in the 1900’s. Fortunately,
we had paid by the project, not the hour, so we didn’t incur any additional
labor charges due to frustration. I’ve posted pictures of the old bath before,
but I will post one again to compare it to the new one.
As you can see, this tub needed to be replaced. I can't find anymore pictures of the rest of the shower, but I can assure you they are burned into my memory.
I told the contractor that Amanda and I planned on using the winter
months to tear down and build up new walls for the rest of the bathroom, and he
suggested that I use all of them. I’m now wondering if it’s even possible to do
what he has done and make it look decent. I have absolutely no knowledge of how
to make a wall, or take one down properly for that matter. But, I have
neighbors who are willing to teach, and to help. I think this is a project we
will need help with, and this small town is great for people who want to help
each other.
Here is our new bath and shower. Everything from top to bottom, inside and out, is covered by a lifetime warranty. I mean, it's plastic and pex, so nothing should really go wrong, but it's nice to know that we don't have to worry about anything.
It's not fancy; it's functional. All people really need to do in a shower is... bathe. We have to wait 24 hours before we use it so the adhesive has a chance to dry, but then we can leave that old cast-iron tub in our memories, and begin the process of completing the rest of the bathroom by removing years of plaster, steel mesh, and tile, and putting up something modern. I think I may have written an identical sentence up at the top of this, but I will leave it in because I'm about done writing and I don't have time to fix anything.
I'm still sober. There, this post is now recovery-related.