Our next big project

Now that Dexter has arrived and our family is complete (yes, complete--we won't be "trying for a girl" or otherwise compelling the purchase of a minivan by having a third child), we're moving on to our next big project: bathroom renos!

Our house has 2.5 bathrooms. 1.5 of them are getting redone. The main bathroom upstairs is being gutted and rebuilt. Cosmetically, it was looking very 80s and more than a little grotty, but the big motivation to do this project was the leak in the tub/shower that was causing water stains on the ceiling below. It's obvious the damage was bad enough to merit some serious work. The 0.5 bath downstairs is being fixed up so that it's more of a proper powder room. Right now it's basically a storage closet with sink and toilet. The powder room is a small part of the project overall, but we figure it will be money well spent, and we might as well get it done while we have a contractor here. We'd never be able to get someone in to do it as an individual job--too small.

The crew arrived at 7:45 this morning to start work. They immediately tore out the old jacuzzi tub. Not. Good. Man oh man, the wall is black and crumbling. The wood is rotted, and there's an infestation of carpenter ants. The tub was installed without a tile flange, so it's been leaking into the wall for 20 years or so. Also, the wiring for the tub jets was so poorly done that it is apparently a fire hazard. Awesome! None of this is a surprise. Our house clearly was the victim of extensive "DIY" renovations in the 80s, and it is apparent even to non-experts like us that whoever did the work had no freaking idea what the hell they were doing. We could probably do better work, and we're useless. Heck, HENRY could probably do a better job than the idiots who installed that tub. At least he watches Bob the Builder!

Anyway, the damage is horrible, but the contractor says it hasn't spread as extensively as he'd feared at first. They're sealing off the room to protect us from anything nasty, and tomorrow we're leaving for the day so the place can get fumigated. Needless to say, it's all a little nerve-wracking to have all this going on with a baby around. It's also nerve-wracking to contemplate what else could be wrong with the house. But this is a start. Hopefully the damage will be repaired without too much drama or expense, and I can go back to concentrating on how nice my new bathroom will look.