Before the foundation or demolition of the addition, came the bathroom. For our first 8 months on West Johanna Street, each time I stepped into the shower, I felt the plastic floor sag, threatening to give. As I stepped back out, I would try not to touch the mold-covered foam insulation busting out of the cracks of the piecemeal shower. I shuffled across the bathroom floor, the loose linoleum tiles shifting around the room with me. I leaned down to the tiny sink and bought plastic drawers at Target to avoid having to put my cosmetics into the dark wooden cabinet. Even once Rob had blocked out the bugs, I never got over the images of cockroaches falling out of that medicine cabinet. The windowless room with the pepto pink walls and mustard yellow closet was suffocating and, pathetically, more than I could bear.
The excitement of owning our first home had worn off and I just couldn't get used to that bathroom. I guess I complained about it enough that our friends eventually decided to put aside their plans for the 3-day Memorial day weekend. A few months before, my brother, Sean, designed the plans. My mom and Sean came to visit to help choose the tile. Our neighbor, Al, put us in contact with a tile guy and a sheet rock guy.
And Tim and Aaron and Rob spent three days straight tearing down those rotting walls, ripping out that decomposing subfloor, and throwing away that toilet, sink, flooring, and shower. Rob got into the ceiling and vacuumed up years worth of cockroach and rat droppings. Tim, with his experience as a contractor, guided the process and put his large truck to work with several Home Depot hauls. Aaron, having remodeled his own home, framed in walls, screwed in the hardiboard, and helped with the floor tile. We even found a window behind the shower that let in sunlight and fresh air. Rob took over the plumbing and the two of us grouted the tile floor.
Throughout the weekend I picked up food: P. Terry's, La Mexicana, Torchy's, and passed out beer after beer. Whatever helped make the job more enjoyable! The three of them worked like crazy, prying out walls and new ones up in their place before I could get back with the next meal. I wanted to cry out with joy as I watched the bathroom be transformed.
What good friends. What a great job! What a shiny new bathroom!
The vanity that Rob's uncle, Stuart, had given us on one trip to Waco to visit fit perfectly into place. We found an old wooden locker/cabinet at the Habitat for Humanity Re store. I painted it white, Rob built in cedar shelves, and we had a new, free standing linen closet.
Over the next two and a half years, I may have taken more baths than in the previous 30 years combined. There was something to be said for a brand new space where I could escape the peeling wallpaper, see-through floors, and patched up ceilings. The bathroom was truly a group effort with a lasting effect for which I will be forever grateful!!
The excitement of owning our first home had worn off and I just couldn't get used to that bathroom. I guess I complained about it enough that our friends eventually decided to put aside their plans for the 3-day Memorial day weekend. A few months before, my brother, Sean, designed the plans. My mom and Sean came to visit to help choose the tile. Our neighbor, Al, put us in contact with a tile guy and a sheet rock guy.And Tim and Aaron and Rob spent three days straight tearing down those rotting walls, ripping out that decomposing subfloor, and throwing away that toilet, sink, flooring, and shower. Rob got into the ceiling and vacuumed up years worth of cockroach and rat droppings. Tim, with his experience as a contractor, guided the process and put his large truck to work with several Home Depot hauls. Aaron, having remodeled his own home, framed in walls, screwed in the hardiboard, and helped with the floor tile. We even found a window behind the shower that let in sunlight and fresh air. Rob took over the plumbing and the two of us grouted the tile floor.
Throughout the weekend I picked up food: P. Terry's, La Mexicana, Torchy's, and passed out beer after beer. Whatever helped make the job more enjoyable! The three of them worked like crazy, prying out walls and new ones up in their place before I could get back with the next meal. I wanted to cry out with joy as I watched the bathroom be transformed.
What good friends. What a great job! What a shiny new bathroom!
The vanity that Rob's uncle, Stuart, had given us on one trip to Waco to visit fit perfectly into place. We found an old wooden locker/cabinet at the Habitat for Humanity Re store. I painted it white, Rob built in cedar shelves, and we had a new, free standing linen closet.
Over the next two and a half years, I may have taken more baths than in the previous 30 years combined. There was something to be said for a brand new space where I could escape the peeling wallpaper, see-through floors, and patched up ceilings. The bathroom was truly a group effort with a lasting effect for which I will be forever grateful!!
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