The three red trucks on the end yielded five plumbers on Tuesday,
to tackle the drain issues we've tolerated for twenty six years.
(Remember Mom's carpenter friend Bill? Yes, he "redid" everything, and winged it more often than not.)
I now know more about drains than Bill probably ever did.
Bathtubs have two inch drains.
Shower stalls require three inch drains. It's something about the way the water goes round and round.
Bill left us with two inch drains where three inch drains were required.
How many tradesmen fit in a 6' x 8' bathroom, stripped down to bare walls?
Three. For a few moments, four, but three was the consistent number.
More plumbers downstairs.
This one stayed upstairs.
Between all of them, including Jim and Mike,
they removed the old cast iron stack in the corner
and put in shiny new PVC.
Whoops.
It's a balancing act with the rotten old floor removed.
They gave young Mike the toughest perch of all. (The forward pointing toes.)
By Wednesday's end, new flooring and a good deal more prep work done.
Jim couldn't reset the toilet; I slept upstairs!
When I came in from work today, the shower stall was framed in. Jim was even putting down the sub floor, while Scott, a leftover plumber, was finalizing the terlit hole.
I think these guys are pleased me and my camera are missing a good half of every day!
Still holds three people, but one is now technically in the bathtub. Well, the shower.
Concrete, to set the shower base.
"You know you're standing on something!" Jim explained.
I'll bet a hammer and a crescent wrench are standard tools for setting the last quarter inch of a reluctant drain.
The plumbers are gone, it's back to Jim and Mike.
Contemplating the wall.
End of day four.
Jim reset my toilet for another night.
I'm sure the poor old thing thinks perhaps I love it and it, of all the old fixtures, will prevail.
Ha! This time next week there will be a lovely tall toilet there.
Keep checking back.
Oh wow this is looking great, isn't it amazing what you learn when having construction done, I actually love the process and wish I was younger I'd love to remodel homes for a living, the challenges are so exciting.
ReplyDeleteComing along nicely! There is a reason a plumbers license is not easy to get.
ReplyDeleteWow! This is a major overhaul for the bathroom. After it's all done you'll wish you'd done it sooner no doubt.
ReplyDeleteNot only do you need a new bathroom, but smaller plumbers.
ReplyDeleteThey must work together a lot and have the "rhythm and flow" needed to work in such tight quarters! Looking good!
ReplyDeletebetty
I always think the amount of work needed to renovate a bathroom (and kitchen) is surprisingly out of proportion to their size. It will be worth it though.
ReplyDeleteIt's going to look amazing when it's done, and even better: it will work as it should! Can't wait to see the end results.
ReplyDeleteHari Om
ReplyDeleteIndustrious!!! Poor porcelain...shhhh, say no more in case it starts to pout! YAM xx
Nice job. I expect you know that the water swirls round in the opposite direction in the Southern Hemisphere than the Northern one? On the Equator, it just falls without spinning - so I am told.
ReplyDeleteP.S. - Those trucks look more like Fire Department ones than plumbers!
DeleteIt's looking good, Joanne. Those trucks sure do look like they mean business...I hope the same can be said for the plumbers!
ReplyDeleteOnly half done and already it's looking very very nice.
ReplyDeleteNow I know what a crescent wrench is. It's what I call a shifter or what my dad used to call a monkey wrench.
It is all progressing very nicely.
ReplyDeleteDear Joan, that are good news! I always shudder thinking what handimen whom we have to (!) trust blindly, might bring about... think it is good that you know that much on plumbing!
ReplyDeleteFive plumbers in the house at once. I can hear the shouting and banging from here lol.
ReplyDeleteI must admit that the shot of the plumbing guts did frighten me a little. I'd rather not see a house's 'underpinnings'..I worry about them too much.
ReplyDeleteJan x
You're going to have one good-looking bathroom!
ReplyDeleteWe've got the taller toilets in two of the bathrooms. They're MUCH nicer.
Wow, what a big job! I only had one man redo my bathroom this summer, but there was no big plumbing problem to deal with. You will love the taller toilet.
ReplyDeleteWhat fun! Not! We bought our house from the man who built it, he did a pretty good job downstairs, but got bored upstairs and we've been deRomanoing it for years.
ReplyDeletelooking good.
ReplyDeleteProgress! It is looking very promising.
ReplyDeleteThose guys are marvelous. I wish you could ship them out to me. We need to do those things. Our house is a 1970s ranch so there would be no rotted floors or complications there.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your first shower and the first flush!
That is a good step by step account of the progress.
ReplyDeleteThey were sports to be in your blog.
ReplyDeleteNothing so cool as contractors who know their job and do it without dragging things out for days and weeks--and months.
ReplyDeleteI hope you didn't say that last bit out loud in front of the old terlet. Next thing you know, it'll stop flushing - or worse, back up!
ReplyDeleteYou seem to be having a good time with the plumbers but I bet you will be pleased when it is all done. It will be very attractive.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way about construction that I do weaving: it's a world I know nothing about, so I lap up the process. The fact that some people live with all this ability and skill and knowledge inside themselves--they can make a terlit hole!--boggles me mind.
ReplyDelete