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the bathroom, part 1 -- demolition
way more effective than dr. phil
One of the hardest thing
to get used to about our house was that it has no shower. Taking baths all
the time, while not the biggest hardship in the world, is certainly an
inconvenience when you lead hectic lives since everything has to be
planned around your bathing schedule. But we got used to it just like
anyone would from the 19th century.
However. Our tub, at some
point in the forgotten past, was surrounded by a rather dubious wooden
enclosure for purposes that will forever remain unknown. That, in itself,
isn't a big deal. A little odd, maybe, but considering the previous
owners, that's certainly not new.
No, the problem with the
enclosure was the general sorry state of the thing -- peeling paint,
disintegrating grout, rotting wood.
The
Bathtub Before
[photogallery/demolition1/real.htm]
It probably looks and
sounds a whole lot worse than it actually was, though not by much. I mean,
whoever built it put a lot of time into it, mimicking the curves of the
tub and constructing it to withstand a category five hurricane. But it was
long since time to put the thing out of its misery already and find out if
that enclosure was meant to hide more than just a really great original
clawfoot bathtub.
So what better candidate
for our very first honest-to-goodness demolition job? Now, if you've never
had the pleasure of a demolition project, I highly recommend finding one.
No, I'm not advocating vandalism, people. I'm just saying that if you've
got something around the house that's been bugging you for awhile, find
yourself a sledge hammer (or regular hammer, depending on the size of the
job) and just start pounding the ever-loving crap out of it. Believe me
when I tell you that it's the closest you'll ever be to nirvana.
The
Bathtub After
[photogallery/demolition2/real.htm]
As you can see, no bodies
hidden in there and actually, everything was in surprisingly good
condition. For once. It probably looks pretty bad to you -- worse even
than the nasty enclosure that came before it -- but it's actually a huge
improvement. Oh sure, the walls look like hell right now, though that's
mostly different layers of paint and adhesive, but honestly, it's better.
Plus, the bathroom looks bigger (not that it looked or felt particularly
cramped) and we're so excited to find that the tub is in as good of shape
as we'd hoped that we're willing to look past the fugliness of the
bathroom for now. We've only just started this project, but a good portion
of the work is cosmetic. And hopefully, in the not-too-distant-future,
it'll be something out of a spa magazine.
Because achieving nirvana
really works up a sweat.
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