The plumber arrived yesterday to start our bathroom refit. Basically, the refit involves ripping everything out of the bathroom and replacing it with new stuff. The bath is going in favour of a large walk-in shower. I am looking forward very much to this change because I’m not really a bath person. Just like sitting in a warm puddle, really, and what’s the point in that? So, there is to be a new set of sleek cupboards, a new low cistern loo, a slimline sink and shiny counter, and Aquaboards instead of tiles.
The first step, then, involving yesterday afternoon and most of today, was to remove everything from the bathroom and take it back to bare walls. The plumber was very cheerful about this process, but then he was wearing ear-defenders. There was a lot of banging and crashing. Lord Malarkey was on tip run duties. Bambino monitored progress from the landing. Nell did a lot of barking. My nerves by the end of today were beginning to fray. The bathroom looks like a bomb-site and has taken on a new level of draftiness.
The fraying of the nerves wasn’t helped by the fact that when the delivery van arrived with the new bathroom stuff, the driver got arsey about having to park on the road.
‘It’s a very dangerous road,’ he said accusingly, like it was somehow my fault that people drive like maniacs along it.
‘Yes, unfortunately it is,’ said I, because what else was there to say?
Anyway, the delivery contained the wrong Aquaboards and there was a missing wall cupboard. The plumber got on the phone to the plumbing centre and, fingers crossed, the correct panels and missing cupboard will arrive quickly. The job should have been finished by this Friday but now looks like it will roll over into next week because of the cocked-up delivery and also the bizarre pipe work configuration uncovered by the plumber.
‘I don’t know what the plumber who put this bathroom in was thinking,’ he said, ‘but it clearly wasn’t normally.’
And when he took the tiles off the walls - the grey ones that were pretending to be sky blue - the plasterboard came away with them, so new plaster board is now needed, but the plumber assures me it will be okay, just a minor annoyance really, nothing more, honestly.
Thankfully, we are still with toilet. The plumber says he will keep us with toilet for as long as possible and make the job of changing the old toilet for the new toilet as quick as possible. Just in case, we have set up the camping loo in the laundry. Be prepared, and all that.
Upstairs is now chock-a-block with many boxes containing bits of bathroom. Like a warehouse, really, which is a bit of a challenge for someone like me who prefers tidiness and the ability to walk around without crashing into stuff at every turn. ‘From chaos will come order,’ I keep telling myself. ‘One day at a time,’ I keep telling myself. ‘All will be well.’
I also said the Andy, ‘Next time I have a big idea, tell me to hush up.’ He said he wouldn’t because it is always a good thing to want to improve our home, and a new bathroom that was well-fitted, looked good and was warmer would be an excellent improvement. Andy is at work for the next three days, so he will escape the ongoing work.
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