Wednesday, February 16, 2022

You saw her bathing on the roof...

 Or - the unstoppable force meets the immoveable object....


Today was the day that we moved the big cast iron clawfoot tub from the garage to the upstairs bathroom.

There were a few moments where we debated whether it would be better to just put it out on the roof... and leave it there. You know the Leonard Cohen song....

Your faith was strong but you needed proof

You saw her bathing on the roof

Her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you...

Why do so many stations play that as a Christmas song? I've never understood that. But, I digress. As you can see, we made it past the fateful window turn and up the rest of the stairs...






How did the crew manage it? They built a wooden frame around it and attached it to a dolly, which got it up to the first landing where the stairs turn. But then, the space on the landing did not allow for the whole thing to turn and go up the next set of stairs. So, they removed the framing and the dolly, and strong manned it up the last set of steps. We'd seen videos of people using ratchets and winches and such but with the angles in this stairway, it turned out to be that brute force was the only way.

If you have the time for it, you may enjoy this video....worth watching before you try this yourself!


It's been a long haul... we started this project the week of December 28. But that's how things go in an old house. Inevitably you discover things that complicate the path along the way, but a crew with experience will see you through. We are almost to the end! The plumber is here today to install the bathroom fixtures. It turns out somehow when the shower system was sent, it was missing the rainhead fixture, so installing that will have to wait until a replacement arrives. All of the fixtures were ordered from #SignatureHardware and they've been pretty supportive of problems along the way. I've developed a certain patience for the process now.  When we started, I was all about making sure there would be no delays, ordering fixtures, stressing over when they would arrive... but renovation, at least in #thisoldhouse, doesn't seem to go like that. There are days when you make a lot of progress, and then days when it seems like everything is stalled waiting for one certain thing to happen. There is an ebb and flow, and resisting that only leads to stress and unhappiness. If you can embrace the whole process, all of a sudden you realize the crew you are working with has become family. You start baking coffee cake for them and offering a cold drink at the end of a long day. (Ever watch the movie "Under the Tuscan Sun"? It is one of my favorites! ) And this is so much more enjoyable than getting angry over unavoidable delays. Revel in the whole process. Embrace the inconveniences in the name of the anticipated result. And hope the process is indeed helping you grow and that you are not just experiencing some weird version of Stockholm syndrome. I'll leave you for today with this clip from one of my favorite movies ever. 



#signaturehardware
#thisoldhouse
#renovations
#KujawaConstruction







You saw her bathing on the roof...

 Or - the unstoppable force meets the immoveable object.... Today was the day that we moved the big cast iron clawfoot tub from the garage t...