Five men in a tub…

Oh, was it supposed to be only three? And probably out on a lake somewhere and not all in my shower and bathroom, I bet!

It has started: the renovation of the shower and bathroom on my floor.

As per schedule, the man who is taking down and putting up my tiles was waiting for me when I returned home from my morning coffee (and mail pickup). I thought we had agreed that they would all come at 8 a.m., but he remembered in between 7:30 and 8:00. No problem. He actually managed to start getting the protective plastic down (new fangled stuff that is slightly adherent so much easier to put down and stays in place also better) before the two men for the heating units showed up. They in turn were here when the plumber and his assistant showed up.  Five men (six if you add my youngest son who at least had the good sense to stay out of the way) in a space measuring only around 5m2 for the shower and perhaps 7m2 for the bath (with the bathtub still in place) is a wee bit much, but they all were very accommodating to each other’s job so it worked.

By giving the plumber and his assistant coffee first, we were able to let everyone do their job.

By noon I had served 8 coffees and not only were the pipes in place for the two radiators, but everything ceramic (except tub and shower base) was gone!  All the accouterments were taken down as well (and in the process a couple of items were re-cycled). The tiler came back at 13:15 and by 15:30 all of the tiles were off the walls of the bathroom.  Hard to imagine that it will take all of two weeks at that speed, but the old is gone so now it’s wait for the new. And I am consigned to the upstairs bath, the downstairs toilet and the cellar shower for the duration. Younger son, with my encouragement, is leaving for four days, which will help with the crowding.

I so do not envy my sister and her husband doing a total house rebuild! Two weeks will be enough for me, even if it’s the only way to have that many men in my house at one time.

Hallway in front of the shower and the bath rooms.

o.k. only 2 in this picture, but imagine 5!