Fix the Shower for Sanity

Well, it's been about a week since I last had an update to the blog and my sister is getting a little antsy for a new post. This week's episode is about water/bathing to be specific.

When we moved in the house was in a state of slow decline. No maintenance done since the dawn of time. And when the moving clan needed to take a shower the only real option was to jump into the shower upstairs (shudder). You know what it's like to bathe in a really clumsy, leaky and corroded shower? Not fun. Each time I showered I couldn't help notice that the drywall was delaminating, the paint bubbling and peeling, and the water was finding its way past the tub into the cracks and crevices down into the walls and Lord knows where else.

Step 1: Cover the peeling and bubbling paint/holes in the shower sidewall with a plywood board. Paint and caulk around it to prevent further deterioration. Done.

Step 2: Caulk all the cracks and crevices so that water remains trapped in the tub and shower area until it dries. And around these parts it dries in about five minutes! Done.

Step 3: Remove the nasty old hand-held shower wand that won't stay on the sliding rail that is located right in the middle of the wall so that no matter what you do you knock into it constantly. Did I say it was kind of yucky? Done:

Step 4: Clean the entire shower and tub. Make the faucet really shine. Descale the thing. Shine up the curtain rod. Done.

Step 5: Paint the sheetrock with a high quality Ben Moore Semi-gloss white so that it won't let water past. Done.

Step 6: Install a shower head that works and puts the water where you want it. Done. Shower is now light years ahead of where we were.

Notice how the shower is located such that the window is intruding into the space. This is the reason why this room is going to need a total makeover. But it is not this day!

We brought a shower head from home with us that we had bought and used before. Once in love with a shower head its's a hard habit to break. I also mounted it in the fashion that it was intended to be used: Straight overhead. It is a rain maker. I removed the water saver plug from the head for even more of a deluge. Hey, we got water rights here in Idaho! (another story there)

I used some brass GatorBite tm fittings to route the water up and over to the ceiling. These fittings allow removal and reuse later when we decide to sink more money into the pit. You know, buy a house , then tie a cinder block around your bank account and throw it into the hole. Wave good bye...

See that shower head? YOU NEED ONE! And mount it overhead. It ROCKS! I now come out of the shower only after the hot water is depleted. And the flow of water makes it seem like Niagara. It's also about 6 inches ABOVE my head. No more taking a shower on bended knee. I hate having to bend over in order to get my head wet. Water goes in my ears and other wrong places. Now I am in shower nirvana. Might be a while before the bathroom gets renovated...

Next installment? The workshop gets a boost - Or how can we get this crap we bought that weighs five hundred pounds off the truck - or Hey! There goes that guy that still has that planer in the back of his truck. Until then, as they say where I'm from, "See ya, don't cha know."