The 6'x3' bathroom that took 19 months to renovate (Part 1)

This is the story of the one Neglected Nest project that will forever haunt us. It's a heartbreaker with a happy ending.

After trying to get pregnant for the better part of a year, we found out in June 2008 that we had finally been successful. It didn't take long for my "nesting" phase to kick in. By July 4th, my dad and Mr. Nest's dad had been called to action. Our plan was to take out the nasty shower in our basement bathroom so that it would serve as a fully functioning, usable bathroom while we completely gutted the main bathroom in the house. Our nest is about 1600 sq. ft., but the finished basement takes up a good chunk of that number. So only having a functioning bathroom on the 3rd floor is problematic.

So the boys set to work. When I left for work that morning, I was told they were just going to remove the 3 vinyl shower walls, put up the cement board, and tile.

I came home that afternoon to this:

 

  

  

  

Rot. Mold. Disgusting.

I nearly died. Then I nearly cried. Luckily, before I started freaking out, they showed me how badly the bathroom had been constructed originally. It all needed to come out. Suddenly, our simple $400 job turned into a major bathroom overhaul.

By the end of the evening, the shower looked like this:

  

By the next afternoon, it was already looking like this:

 

  

  

This is when I fell in love with Pex. It has done for the plumbing world what Jimmy Choo has done for the high heel world. It's clean, easy to use, and sturdy! It's not that expensive either- especially compared to copper. 

I think it's about as sexy as a Jimmy Choo too, no?

 

 

If I had to Choo(se) one (I'm a dork, tee hee hee), I have to say I think I'd go for the sexy Pex!

 

Anyway..... As the renovation was gaining momentum, so was the mess in the rest of the basement.

By the end of the long weekend, it was beginning to look the way I anticipated it from the start.

  

I learned A LOT from this project. And about Mr. Nest! He's always been keen on details, and you might even say he's a bit of a perfectionist. This project only magnified that 100x! My dad, who has done some construction work on and off for 20 years or so, was getting mighty frustrated with Mr. Nest. They took quite a few breaks from one another. They were like a married couple- I giggled every time they let out a deep, heavy sigh. Oh boys. But every angle is cut perfectly. Every corner is snug as a bug in a rug.

So I was thrilled with the progress of that weekend and couldn't wait to see the next stage. Unfortunately, as my belly grew, so did Mr. Nest's to-do list. He was a little nervous about tiling for the first time, too. So the project came to a screeching halt. For 14 months. 

Part 2 is next.....