Darkest before the dawn

[james]

The second bathroom will be the first room that makes the transition from destruction to finished. Though you wouldn't believe it today.

We just finished re-plumbing for two vanities, replacing the tub with a walk-in shower, adding electrical outlets and removing the drywall to make room for the hardibacker. You can't get much worse.

Yet tomorrow, the tiler is going to start laying the hardibacker and we are moving forward (as opposed to backward) on something for the first time. I tried to explain to our second daughter that we are making progress -- and she just kept saying "darkest before the dawn." At least she still has her sense of humor about it.

The transition is pretty scary. We are faced with the prospect of seeing our finish work, and the stress that goes with wanting it to come out right.

James

[jengineer]

"You can't get much worse."

dry rot - remove 1/4 of wall and all the floor down to the joists!

[james]

Good point. At least the subfloor was good. :-)
James

[nissanneill]

Been there done that James,
I totally removed all the furniture and fittings throughout the whole ground floor (originally out 18 square 4 bedroom house before we built another 11.5 squares upstairs.
Laid into the kitchen and bathroom with jack hammers and removed all the internal unwanted walls/dividers. ripped up all the wet areas and started from the bare brick and concrete floors.
Luckily the kids had moved on and the wife and I lived upstairs.
Reassure your daughter that it will all be worthwhile in the long run but it must be daunting for them to live through it.
My younger kids lived through the roof conversion 26 years ago when we removed 80% of the roof for the extention one day after christmas day and they found it a little unsettling, especiaslly when it unseasonally rains and we were washed out - really funny now Ha Ha!
Thank god it it all behind us now.
I still have the upstairs to renovate but that can wait for a while.

Wishing you al well,

Neill

[james]

Neill,

Kids and roofs. We have the roof off during the storm of the century a number of years ago. The kids will never let me forget that one. Water everywhere.

I had to promise that we wouldn't take off the roof or open walls to the outside before they would OK buying this house. :-)
James

[nissanneill]

Ain't it amazing,
we males (sorry girls, but it is true), do these things for the betterment of the whole family, especially the wife and kids. but they are the ones who have the least perserverence with these venture.
I personally could live with the 30 year old house, especially when you design and build it to your requirements initially, but we do these things for the others.
That's life.
Enjoy!!! it might be dramatically different tomorrow. (I spent the weekend before last in the local hospital emergency with an left thumb almost cut through with a friction cut-off saw accident), Another change in lifestyle now I guess.

Neill

[james]

Neill,

How is your hand doing? Are you OK?

Every time the conversation moves toward furnishing the house after we are done, I almost start to lose interest. I enjoy getting the structure, materials, colors, finishes, surfaces, walls and floors done well, and the process of picking those things. But when it starts getting to sofas and drapes, I leave that to someone else.

Neill, hope you are on the mend.
James

[nissanneill]

Likewise James,
I do all of the construction, repairs and finishing, BUT I leave all the selection of colours, window treatments, light fittings, accessories and furnishings to the other half. She has a great colour sense and too tight to spend the money for drapes so makes them all. They are always better made and exactly to size.
The thumb is healing well, but the steel pin with a ceramic ball on the end(probably to pull it out) goes through the first joint to immobilize it and is twice as thick as normal due to swelling. You don't realise how much you use the pad of your thumb until you lose the use of it, even doing up your shirt buttons or tying shoe laces - most challenging.

Neill