This Weeks Progress (and animal control)

Les worked hard on the master bath this week, and there has been some progress, but a lot of difficulties. 
He got everything ready for the plumber, who was able to come on Wednesday. He did the plumbing work, then brought the new tub in. That is when we found out that the old size for a standard bathtub was 59 inches. The new standard size is 60 inches. OOPS. We couldn't put the tub in.

 

During this time, we had most of the bathroom floor open. Wednesday night, Les came into the den and said, "Guess what is in the bathroom." The first thing that entered my mind would have made me leave the house (rat), but he quickly explained that it was a possum. Yep, a possum in the bathroom. We stared at each other. We had no idea what to do. Finally, Les went to the garage and brought out a rake and a box. He gave me the box (I'm not sure what I was expected to do with it). And he went into the bathroom with the rake.

The possum was gone. It had gone back under the house.

Les had been fighting critters all week, after we heard something under the house or on the roof, or in the wall. It is hard to tell where strange noises are coming from during the night. Tuesday, he had found a hole in the wire mesh that covers the hole to go under the house. He built a new screen, made it secure, then put bricks in front of the screen. Unfortunately, we had trapped a possum under the house. Shoot! So, he opened the cover and hoped that the possum would just leave. Thursday morning, I bought a trap. We set the trap the next three nights at the opening, didn't catch anything but we have not heard any sounds. We are believing that the critter just left.

 

  The next day, (while trying to trap the possum), Les cut out one inch from each stud in the wall so that the tub could fit in.

 

 

 

 

 Saturday, while shopping for a really great light fixture for the master bath, we found a really great mirror for the hall bath. It was a great price, and just the right look I wanted for that bath. It is really hard to take pictures of a mirror. Either the flash is a problem, or the light above the mirror is. You can get an idea of how great it looks, though.

 

 

Master Bath Tear Out

We finally got started on the master bath. This is the next big job, and really, the last big job.
Once we got the kitchen done, the hall bath, and the laundry room, we took a break, and a big breath.

Then, Les spent two weeks organizing the garage. The next week, he built a roof over the patio. Then, he supervised the building of a drive-way addition.  It was hard to face another big project.

Finally, last Monday, Les got started on it, tearing out everything in the room. The floor was very uneven, so he cut holes in the floor to level it.  Just like in the other rooms, he put concrete blocks on the ground, then new piers, and jacked up the floor to make it level. He is getting really good at that.

For the last two days, we have waited on the plumber to come set the new tub.

These pictures are rather odd. 

These are looking down on the holes in the floor.

This is a picture of the jack under the beam.

This is the wall where the tub had been.

Another hole in the floor.

The plumbing for the tub.

 

Hopefully, tomorrow the new tub will be set.

Catching Up

Yep, like everyone else, we are busy folks.  We finished the kitchen. Well, not really, but it's useable and beautiful, just has some detail work to be done...like wall and ceiling repair!

Next, we moved on to the weird little area behind the kitchen. There was a hallway, with washer and dryer connections. If there had been appliances, we would not have been able to open the washer door! Then, a tiny bathroom, about the size of a coffee table. We could only open the door halfway, then wiggle around to get in.  We tore all the walls out to build a utility room and real bathroom. Fortunately, there was a closet right behind the utility hallway, that opened up from the master bath, which we didn't need. We tore out the wall to that, to create a nice size laundry room.

The new bathroom opens right beside the stairway to the attic, next to the kitchen. It is really looking good, but it's not completely finished. We want to get most of the real construction done eon the house, then do  repair, tape, bedding, texture, and paint on all of the walls.

The pictures aren't great, but they give you some idea of the new bathroom.