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I made framed piece, hubby made towel rack
hand towel holder from Hobby Lobby |
The last several months have been crazy busy, crazy messy and crazy pricey at our home. Basically, we've all been cray cray up in here! Our youngest son graduated the first weekend of June so we did what we had done for our other 2 sons and earlier this year, scheduled a big open house party to follow the ceremony. We invited all our friends and family and planned on a full house. We knew we would need to replace our kitchen floor before the event but we had plenty of time and money set aside. Apparently, our 50 year old pipes heard the news of the party and decided they just couldn't take it anymore! The pipes gave up the ghost during a cold snap here earlier this year and we had to replace them. The first hint at our problem was when the bathroom linoleum began buckling (also original to the house). Before we could find the leak, an outdoor faucet froze and cracked and began spewing water into the yard! We called a plumber who crawled under the house (thank God for pier and beam) and discovered we needed to replace all of our cast iron pipes. Quoted cost-a little over $2000 just to replace the plumbing. Trouble was, we also had to replace the floor and since we were doing that we might as well demolish the bathroom and remodel it completely.
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| tins from PickYourPlum.com |
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| Tub replaced w/corner shower & toilet turned |
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| made by me |
This had been our intention when we moved in 14 years ago but when I became disabled a year later our priorities and finances shifted. A large accessible bathroom was built for me and the main bath was turned over to our 3 boys. Everything in that room was original to the house-hideous linoleum, ugly metal tile walls, bath tub, huge linen closet, huge green tiled counter, etc. The door was too small for my wheelchair so I never entered and when guests came over I hung a "condemned" sign on the door-literally!
Back to the cost-we could NOT begin to afford to hire it out so we called for reinforcements-my husband's uncle in OK who had just retired as a plumber and my in-laws who were willing to help with the work and some of the cost so they could start staying with us when they visit instead of paying for a hotel because of the bathroom. We scheduled a work week during Spring Break so our 3 sons could also be available to work. It was messy, hard and took a lot longer and a lot more money than planned but in the end, we have new plumbing and a beautiful new bathroom that I can now get in and we show off to guests instead of hanging the condemned sign. In fact, it was the hit of the graduation party-lol! We "lost" a tub, big counter/cabinet unit and huge closet but we don't miss any of them. The floor space is doubled and the entry is now accessible. We love it!
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| cart from IKEA instead of ginourmous closet |
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large mirror was original, we added frame
also removed counter which was from door to toilet |
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| made by a friend |
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| I can roll chair up to sink! |
