Construction | BulgingButtons

Our house was built in 1986. Our bathroom was constructed and finished in 1986. Needless to say, it had its day. That day has passed.

One morning I heard a crash from the bathroom and walked in to find several tiles had flung themselves off the wall to meet their fate on the old stained shower pan below. Several of their compatriots were clearly considering joining them, so we helped them along. As we did we discovered that there was no longer anything for them to cling to. The wall beneath them had disintegrated from years of water damage. Who knew?

Now when we bought the house we knew that eventually both bathrooms would need renovations, but we thought they were going to be purely cosmetic, and that we had more time. We always think we have more time, don’t we?

Needless to say, the shower is currently unusable, and we’re sharing the hall bathroom with my son who is home from college for the summer. Oh joy.

Well, since I’m the one who’s currently off work, it’s my job to find someone to fix this problem, but here’s the thing, if we fix this the way we want to, then we also need to do something about the tub, because I refuse to put a beautiful new shower next to a molded acrylic fudge ripple bathtub. And when we address the tub issue, we’ll need new flooring. Do you see what’s happening?

I can’t keep the nasty old oak cabinets when the rest of the bathroom will be beautiful and new, so out they go, which means a new vanity along with a counter top and sinks. Oh, and the giant mirror? Well part of it has lost its finish, and honestly the look of two separate smaller mirrors appeals to me. But then we need different wall lighting, because one light in the middle just doesn’t make sense. Oh, and the overhead light? Well, it’s got to go, as well as the brass-trimmed closet door. And don’t forget the medicine cabinet – having it stick out from the wall might have seemed like a good idea in 1986, but nowadays we know better.

So, all that being said I’ve had a couple of contractors out to look at the job, and now we have to pick one. And then we have to pick everything else. It would be a lot easier if it was just for me, but I do want to take my sweetheart’s preferences into consideration, too. Unfortunately our taste doesn’t exactly match.

Wandering around the tile warehouse (O.M.G.) I asked him to point out his preferences to me. He likes nature inspired colors and textures. To me they just read dark, at least for a bathroom. I prefer light and bright, with maybe some tan and turquoise mixed in. I’m sure there’s a middle ground for us, but I’m not sure what it might be yet.

Oh, and then there’s the cost. It’s not cheap, but I only want to do this once, so we’ll bite the bullet and do it. Besides, we’re not planning to move, at least not for a couple more decades. At least our home has built up some equity in the years we’ve been here, so that helps a lot.

Now I’m off to figure out exactly what these bids mean, and search for some more ideas on Pinterest, because I’m not nearly overwhelmed enough (okay, maybe I am). Wish me luck as this thing gets underway.

So much nastiness lurking behind those innocent white tiles.

The shower is adjacent to the tub, so we have to address both.

The photo doesn’t quite do it justice, but this bathtub reminds me of fudge ripple ice cream.

We started with the February Focus, where we worked and cleaned and repaired and decluttered and replaced and updated and generally went nuts over our house. A new faucet went in, two new light fixtures were installed, and several hundred pounds of books and other items were either donated or taken to our storage facility. It was a chore, but we did it.

February turned to March, and we set off on our March Mission. We studied the real estate market in our area, went over comps with our realtor, and settled on a fair asking price. We filled out the appropriate paperwork, rewrote the realtor’s listing, and held our breath as the listing went live.

There have been showings scheduled, often times at the last minute. The house has been cleaner and tidier than it has ever been, including the day I bought it. There has not been a single dish left out, a single unmade bed, a single toothpaste speck on a mirror. Every morning blinds are opened, beds are made, sinks, counters, and toilets are touched up, and doors are opened wide. Music from an easy listening channel plays each day from the televisions throughout the house, making the atmosphere as inviting as a model home. Still, no bites.

This is the artist’s drawing of the new homes being built near my house.

Ok, I know there’s a construction site out the front window. I do. I don’t like it that much either. So I did the research and found the preliminary layout and landscaping plan online. I printed it out, alongside a short article that explains the development. These two printouts are on my kitchen island, next to the lovely flyers my sweetheart created. Turns out that it’s a community of “Casita” style homes, all one story, mostly single units, but some side-by-side doubles. It looks likes it’s going to be hip and modern and lovely. You just can’t tell yet from the piles of dirt and heavy equipment out my front window.

Now it’s April, and I’m in the process of working on my April Affirmation. The house will sell soon at a reasonable price. This is the affirmation. In fact I even gave it a date. Tax day. Why not? We will have a reasonable offer by April 15. This is the revised affirmation. I need to believe this. I also need to consider adjusting the price. After all, you can’t fall in love with a house if you don’t come see it, and you won’t come see it if you think it’s out of your price range, right? So I’m giving this careful consideration, all the while repeating, “there will be a reasonable offer by April 15.”

If anyone would care to join in the positive thinking, I would be most grateful. I’m ready to move on to the next chapter of my life saga.