Don't Talk About The Rabbits

From justhuman: I loved the photolog of the kitchen reno - what's the next house project you want to do (whether it's financially feasible or not)?

So, RENOVATIONS. When I moved in, my realtor explained that in no time at all, I would have Lists of Things to Take Care Of. She honestly had no idea who she was talking to, or she probably would have refused to help me buy a house. I have SO MANY LISTS.

After all the workmen left this summer, we were like "...AND NEVER RETURN!" but it hasn't even been that long now, and I am already plotting like some kind of diabolical fiend, even though I know nothing is, in fact, going to be financially feasible for years and years to come.

If it were, however? The bathroom is SO HIGH UP on my hit list. In fact, it's so high up, that we already have the blueprints of a couple different possibilities. We did it this way intentionally -- we had to move the plumbing stack to do the kitchen renovations, which meant moving the toilet slightly closer to a wall. The architect came upstairs, checked out the situation, and gave us what she thinks our best options are, given the amount of space.

The amount of space is flipping tiny.

Here is the current layout --



What you are seeing here is the landing of the second floor. Stairs to the downstairs, two doors opening into two bedrooms, a hallway linen closet next to a very small bathroom. That empty space in the corner cannot be helped -- our roof is shaped like a barn (Google Dutch Gambrel) which means that is the corner where there is nothing but downslope and pipes and the like.

The bathtub you can see in this image is a bath/shower combo, and we hate it. The previous owners were so proud of it -- they renovated the bathroom themselves! Every inch of it, as far as I can tell. And let me tell you, these very sweet people are a case-study in why DIY shows should not be allowed.

They installed a jacuzzi type bathtub with jets. This sounds lovely in theory, I'm sure. In reality, the very first time I tried it out, it peppered me with tiny pellet like rocks, and resulted in the fastest end to a bath EVER. I have never been able to find a way to clean the system out.

There are also very lovely glass doors -- the type that slide back and forth, not the type that open outward. I admired them for all of two days. The thing is, they hung these doors themselves. And they did an utterly crap job. The doors regularly jam, fall off their treads, and on really special occasions, come off the tracks entirely and join you in the shower. We've had repairmen in to at least stop the part where they threatened to actually do us in amidst blood and glass. But despite the reassurances of every contractor who has had a go at them, they inevitably fall off the treads again, jamming one of the doors shut. We had a month of working doors earlier this summer, but now we are once again squeezing through the side that will open.

The tile, the inspector told me, when we did the inspection, was "Not very professional." I nodded, but I was baffled as to what he was trying to convey. The answer, it turns out, was that their terrible grouting job would cause a leak right through my kitchen ceiling. (Since fixed, at least).

But all in all, we just actually hate the shower and tub combo thing. Even without the rocks and the doors and the bad tile, its a slippery, dangerous mess, and since there is no ceiling light in the shower area, its dark as well. More than anything, what I would like is a separate soaker tub, and a floor to ceiling walk-in shower.

Well, I'm not going to get this. The bathroom is just too small, and no amount of reconfiguring can really change this reality (and god knows I've tried to come up with a way. I suggested to mollyamory that she do the noble thing and sacrifice a chunk of her bedroom, but she's selfish). Instead, we have decided to forfeit the bathtub, and eventually go with just a huge walk-in shower. If I have my way, it'll be a steam shower. With a bench.

There are two possibilities:



In this version, the following things happen: The hallway linen closet is sacrificed to Goddess Hygieia, and we knock backwards into that space, giving ourselves a huge shower with bench. The toilet is now closer to the wall, so we can put in a wider vanity. Sadly, not a double vanity, but maybe at least enough space to rest a brush or two in the morning, which would be nice.

Unfortunately this version, though tempting, results in too drastic a reduction of storage space. We have an awful lot of stuff crammed in that hall closet.

We will probably end up with this version:



This nets us a still pretty sizeable shower, it still has a bench, and puts a small linen closet inside the bathroom. We still gain a wider vanity.

Our contractor who did the kitchen is also pushing hard for us to go with heated floors in the new bathroom, because he just finished a course on how to install them. He will probably win this fight, we are weak of will and like warm tootsies. Also this might mean we could remove the radiator, and have more space for our knees over by the toilet (it's a TINY bathroom).

I still mourn the tub though, and there's a part of my brain that hesitates when it looks at this floorplan, because I know that if I ever have to sell this house (I suppose it'll happen some century) the lack of a tub is going to kill the deal for a lot of people, particularly people with small children, of which there are basically a zillion in this neighborhood. But, in the end, the house is for us to live and enjoy now, and we do not enjoy the slippy bath of death thing at all.

If I had all the MONEY IN THE WORLD the bathroom would be followed by:

--rewiring the sunroom. This has *got* to happen, sooner or later. I have my vidding system hooked up in there, and it needs more juice. Also, the sunroom is where the homerun for the ethernet will finish off, if we can ever afford it. Until then, its just useless wire in the walls.

--paving the driveway. It's gravel right now. I would love pavers, and I would be okay with a regular tar driveway, but holy HANNAH the price of paving!!! I had estimates done up a few years ago, I nodded sagely at the contractors, and then I went and replaced 17 windows in my house for *less*.

--a post lantern in front of the house would be charming and would give us some much needed light in the winter months

--some landscaping and a fence in the backyard, as the existing one is deteriorating on one side, and being eaten by ivy from conservation land on the other.


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