Bathroom Progress: DIY Plumbing, Concreting and Building Renovation

Home renovations always look straightforward in photographs. One day, there is an old bathroom. A few photographs later, there is a beautiful new one with clean tiles, polished fittings and towels folded by someone who clearly doesn’t use them.

The part between those photographs is where we are now.

With the writing put on hold again, it was time to get back onto the home renovations.

Our bathroom extension is coming along, although “coming along” is a flexible term when concrete, plumbing, framing and an elderly shower are involved.

The first major job was to concrete the new section of floor. That allowed us to extend the room beyond the original outside wall of the house. Breaking through that wall also meant removing the old kitchen and opening everything up for the new layout.

Once the concrete had set, the framework began to rise.

This is the encouraging stage of a renovation. Timber frames give empty spaces some shape, and we can finally begin to see where the new bathroom will be. Until then, it is mostly rubble, tools and conversations that begin with, “Imagine the bath over there.”

The bath will sit beneath a new window, and Margo has requested a particularly wide windowsill.

This is not merely a decorative choice.

The sill must be wide enough to accommodate a coffee cup, a wine glass or a book—or possibly all three at once. A bath without somewhere to place these essentials is really just an oversized container of hot water.

We conducted a wine-glass test to make sure the sill would be suitable. It passed.

It may eventually support shampoo bottles and ordinary bathroom items too, but those are secondary concerns.

The greatest achievement so far is that we have managed to dismantle almost everything while keeping the old shower minimally operational.

I use the word “operational” generously.

The shower is about thirty years old and appears to be held together by ageing glue, one surviving post and a shared understanding that nobody should lean against it. The tiles are crumbling, the glass is waiting for an excuse to surrender, and every shower feels slightly more adventurous than the one before it.

Still, it works.

For now.

Keeping it going has allowed us to continue living in the house while the new bathroom takes shape. That is much better than carrying a towel through the neighbourhood and asking whether anyone has a spare shower.

The next major stage will be the plumbing and the layout of the new shower. Once the replacement is ready, the old structure can finally come down.

I estimate it will take about thirty seconds to demolish.

That includes twenty seconds of standing back and looking at it.

Renovations have their own pace. Some days bring dramatic changes. Walls disappear, concrete is poured, and frames rise. On other days, progress consists of a pipe being moved several centimetres or somebody staring thoughtfully at a corner.

But the room is taking shape.

The bath has a home. The window has an important purpose. The wine-glass test has been successfully completed.

Now we only need the shower to remain standing long enough for us to finish the job. (more photos below)

–Michael (Dark Fiction. Author of SEETHINGS (the first book), free for a limited time)

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