A bit of remodeling–The upstairs bathroom

With a teenage son now and plans of a multigenerational home in the future, (ok, so I can’t wait for grandchildren) we decided that a second bathroom would be nice to have. Since this bathroom was on the second floor, it needed to be raised up to include the plumbing underneath which meant making a step for my short legs.

My husband thought we should have a bathtub, which is a rarity here in Mexico.  After pricing the fiberglass tubs, he decided he would make it out of tile.  So he did.  Again, because of my short legs, another step had to be built.  

We had another search for suitable tile to go with the cream and brown color scheme. We found some creamy beige tile that seemed like it would be ok and ordered 12 boxes. When the delivery guy arrived, there were 9 boxes of cream tile and 3 boxes of other tiles.  Of course, my husband didn’t notice this until all the tile had been unloaded.  He refused the order.  He and the delivery guy loaded everything back on the truck.

Over the course of the next 2 days, my husband went back and forth to town to try and get this resolved.  There were only 9 boxes of the cream tile to be found.  So he accepted the 9 boxes and the store manager deducted the cost of the 3 boxes of hideous tile.  Then the 9 boxes were delivered a second time and work could commence.

Because there were now only 9 boxes instead of 12, there was not enough tile to do the bottom of the tub.  His brother B was also tiling his house and had asked to borrow the truck for tile pickup so when they went to pick up B’s tile, my husband bought 2 boxes of brown tile to finish the floor.  I can’t say that I really like it, but it’s not like many people will see it.  It’s at the bottom of the tub.

Then there’s the issue of the tub not having a faucet.  Our shower downstairs has a faucet on the wall, but no tub. I’m not sure why that is.  So, lieu of a faucet, we opted for a shower nozzle on a flexible hose.  I figured it would be just the thing since my son washes his hair every single day but doesn’t always shower. In the event of an actual bath, we could always fill the tub with buckets.  My husband even assured me he would heat the water on the outside cooking grill if need be.  Ok then.  We do plan on getting a boila (hot water heater) eventually, but it will have to wait.

We had a toilet and sink left over from one of my husband’s remodeling jobs.  He installed them but the toilet wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. It had a broken tank cover and was white which so didn’t go with the overall cream and brown classic look I was going for. I know, so picky!

We shopped around a bit, not precisely for the color although that was a big factor, but for a toilet that had a smaller tank. Water conservation is still our number one concern. We found a cream one reasonably priced and brought it home.  

The next step was getting another tinaco (water storage container) and installing it.  Some heaving and ho-ing got it up on the roof.  An afternoon’s work and it had a base. The pipes took a few runs to the ferreteria (hardware store), but it got done.  As it’s on the second floor and not the first floor, it is against regulations for the water delivery truck to fill it, so we are considering a water pump.  Until that happens, ‘algo pa’la soda’ (a little donation towards the purchase of a “soda”) should get the tinaco filled.

The sink faucet was a hassle.  We went hither and yon looking for something that would do.  After we made our choice, my husband installed it only to find that it leaked.  Back we went to return it.  The shop gave us another model.  AND it leaked too.  Remember, water is sacred.  There will be no leaking in our home.  Third time’s the charm I guess.  No leaky faucet with the third model.

The tub ended up being too big for just one shower curtain.  It was a good thing I had bought two, thinking to change out the downstairs shower curtain as well.

 

Our Harley carpenter made a wooden towel bar the matched the wooden curtain rod.  More on him later.  A mirror positioned just so to reflect back the light from the window and a plant artistically arranged and the bathroom was done.

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