Bathroom Reno (Rant #1)

Okay... Before Mom's House-Sale is even finalized... And before my Retirement Dreams can take shape... We've got a short-term problem that *really* needs to be addressed...

Specifically, the bathroom floor.

Now - several years ago - I'd noticed that the bathroom floor had some "issues." Namely, the fact that there was a *very* cold draft that was wafting over my feet as I sat on the toilet, via the base-of-the-head-of-the-tub-at-the-exterior-wall-joint. Add to that - a particularly rainy, cold night when a veritable sh*tload of ants decided to take-up residence *in* our bathroom (through a hole in the wall at aforementioned juncture)...

I think DH was out of town when the insects decided to move in b/c I recall asking him, over the phone, where the RAID was.

"Why?"

"Because we've got an infestation."

"Why?"

"Because - whoever did the caulking job around the base of the tub did a really sh*tty job!"

"*I* did the caulking!"

:::GULP:::

"Okay, well, where's the RAID, dear?!"

Well, we basically decided that we had a significant issue when I determined that I could peel-back the vinyl flooring and *stick my finger* through the underlying floor!!!

So we contracted with a Handyman Service to address our concerns...

ScrewYou Handyman Services came in and charged us a King's Ransom to pull-out the bathtub and surrounding tiles; fix a leak; replace the flooring; and install a sliding door thingie-doo on the tub.

Mystery Leak Under Floor

Tub and Shower Surround - w/sliding door

Well, just over a year later, the same problem came back again. Only ScrewYou Handyman Services (Now ScrewYou Renovation Services!) wouldn't cover it because it had been over a year since the repair... So we called in a different "Handyman" to re-fix the floor (and the improperly re-installed toilet!).

I think we repaired the floor - again - a year or so after that.

And now - Five years *after* the original repair (which cost as much as a full-blown bathroom Reno) - we've *still* got the original problem. :::sigh:::

Sooooo... Now we're gonna gather bids - again - to "Do The Job Right" this time. I went to the Home Show in SanJo this past weekend, and gathered business cards.

Now I'm going through the whole "Set-up appointments and gather bids" rigamarole again...

And - once again - I'm getting the whole misogynistic "Will your husband be there?" line of bullsh*t! But at least this time I can come back with "We just went through a kitchen reno - and *this* is how we did it: I gather the initial bids and make all the aesthetic decisions, narrow it down to 2-3 contractors,m *then* we meet again - with my husband - to finalize the details..."

Those who respond with "Well, we don't like to do it that way because we have to repeat ourselves" should get IMMEDIATELY dismissed! Jeez!

DH travels - A LOT - and doesn't have the time, nor the desire, to sit through a prolonged Sales Pitch. He is not interested in Granite Slab Countertops or high-end whatchamajiggies...

In fact, one of the "preliminary bidders" in the Kitchen Reface Project, a couple of years ago, made the mistake of uttering "Granite Countertops" in Hubbie's presence, and I thought DH was gonna take his head off! (He didn't win the bid, BTW).

After I make the preliminary design decisions and determine the Top-3 "Estimates,"*then* DH and I go back and meet with "the winners" to make our final decisions and -potentially - sign the contract.

For this Go-Round, I am obtaining a couple of bids from folks I met at the Home Show. I have also contacted the same company that did our Kitchen Re-Face. His business has changed and it looks like he also does bathroom reno's. This is good because we truly like the way he does business (He didn't do the whole Hard-Sell/Upsell Routine. We told him our budget and he worked within it).

Sooooo... In the next week or so, I will be gathering bids to rip-out our existing bathtub and tile surround (back to the studs); FIX the Freakin' Mystery Leak - ONCE AND FOR ALL; Replace the tub and tile surround with something a bit more "updated;" and replace the floor. At the same time, I'm hoping we can replace the vanity counter-top with something that will compliment the new tub-tile. Then - budget permitting - I'd like to reface the dark-oak cabinets with light beechwood shakers - to match our kitchen (Maybe).

I actually do hope that the Kitchen company "wins" the bid. I really was very happy with the way the kitchen project went. But I would be remiss if I didn't at least gather a couple of additional bids...

The "Challenge" here is that our house only has the ONE bathroom - so we really do need to minimize the amt of time we are "Out of Commission!"

Anyhoooo... That's the Latest 'n Greatest from My World!