A 1938-built-house needs a 1930’s cast iron claw foot tub. The tiny, twisty stairs to the second floor wouldn’t allow us to haul it in the normal way, so scaffolding and pulleys and the ingenuity of a do-it-yourself handyman to the rescue! Here’s the stairway. Really, it was impossible to bring it in that way.
So, it had to go in through the window before the window was installed. I was out of town, so I didn’t witness the 400-lb raising. Stephen said the pulley system carried the weight well on the haul up. The difficulty was maneuvering it through the window hole and carrying the weight of one side to the floor. And right inside that window the tub sat all through the construction phase, gathering saw and drywall dust for a year.
We found the tub on Craigslist. It was in good shape, not perfect. That’s okay. We don’t want a perfect house, but a charming one. It passes for charming, not dingy. I painted the outside black and touched up the claw feet once the room was ready for it to be installed. in its final resting place.
Hopefully, the next owners won’t want to remove it. I think the only way to get it out is the same way it came in.
Man, my titles are creative, eh? Here’s the old bath window.
I decided I wanted a matching window in the bathroom. Two reasons. 1. Continuity. 2. I’m convinced the old garden window smelled. #2 was really the deciding factor. I’d hate for guests to use our facilities and think I don’t clean properly! And, well, I guess I didn’t. It was impossible to clean the old window putty and screen in the old one. Pride demanded the switch.
If you haven’t seen the house in person, let me explain the unique situation that occcurs out our bath window. A shed is built right below. The garage is built 8 feet away. So, our window looks out on a roof and metal wall.
Lovely, right? I think I’ll hang shutters inside.
The long term plan is to demolish the shed and walk-out, so there is a distinct alley between the house and garage. It will help the asthetic a little.
But, for now, it looks like this!
We didn’t budget for new bathroom fixtures: tub, toilet, vanity. The old ones are usable, just dirty. I sanded, stained and sealed the cabinet, and had hoped to re-use the old sink; but it was too scratched and stained. I know I could have re-finished it, but it is too big of a job. We got a new sink, but re-used the old faucet…cause I love it.
I ordered the sink, and as usual, I got the measurments wrong. I am wretched at anything that involves numbers. We have a big gap at the back that we will have to solve with trim or a new side.
Isn’t that faucet so cute?
The bathroom is so tiny. Eventually, we will put in a small master bath upstairs, but for now this one has to keep 5 people clean. Here is it when we started.
We had a greyish-brown marble floor installed.
Stephen removed the nasty old bath fan and replaced it with a can light / fan combo. Its great. You can’t even see the fan part.
Stephen discovered all the plumbing in the bathroom was trailer-type plumbing. So, he had it all re-done. Nothing pretty to look at.
I’ve been sanding and staining the vanity a deep ebony. I like the original sink. Its cultured marble that is a greyish-blue with black speckles. And, the original faucet is too cute. But, I haven’t taken any pictures of my projects yet, so here’s one of the plumbing again.
The farmhouse has two bedrooms that are 10×10. TEN BY TEN! Teeny tiny, eh?
Here’s the dining room. There is a wierd hall-room that leads to the bedrooms, the bathroom and the attic steps.
The front bedroom has a built in closet and a new slider window. Lucky us… That window won’t match for a while, since we are replacing the old ones with gray single hung windows with no grid.
Wonder what that square hole in the wall is? It is where the wall heaters used to be.
The back bedroom gets lovely sunlight. But, there is no closet.
And around the corner is another window.
The only updates for the bathroom, besides paint and bleach, (until later) is the floor.
I Got A Notion! 