So, if I'm willing to do serious bodily harm to a would be regicidal maniac, it should come as no surprise that I'd engage in a little property destruction without too much persuasion.
As regular readers, friends and family are aware, the Queen's health has been challenged for some time now. We had been noticing a musty smell in the master closet for some time which would not go away despite our best efforts to clean, vacuum, wash, and reorganize said closet's contents.
Not long after we started smelling the musty odor, we received allergy test results indicating the Queen has sensitivities to mold. Sensitivities in most people might be a case of the sniffles or a slight headache. Sensitivities with the Queen are slightly more debilitating. Like seizures, severe muscle weakness and other forms of excitement.
Naturally, we started looking more closely at the master bath for potential sources of mold. The sink and toilet were clear of any water leaks leading us to the master shower which looked exactly like the photo below.
A close examination of the shower revealed cracks in the second course of tiles up from the floor as well as a lack of grout in the corner from the floor almost to the top. The Queen and I had been discussing remodeling the shower for a long time. It just had not been a major priority given everything else we have been dealing with of late. Unfortunately, we no longer have the luxury of taking risks and letting a potential shower leak go unrepaired.
To quote the magician: "Now you see it, now you don't."
The good news is that the person who built this shower was very good at his job. There was no water penetration into the wall cavity. The bad news is that I need to build a new shower.
If anyone is interested in buying a slightly used but extremely well built shower, I'd be happy to make suitable arrangements with anyone willing cart it off. One warning though:
Some assembly required.
Oh, I bet you had a blast tearing that out! I've always thought I'd love the destruction phase of remodeling, but I'm not so sure about the actual work involved in the construction phase. Let's hope that getting that shower out will help the Queen's allergies a lot and that it solves your musty smell mold issue.
ReplyDeleteThe demolition phase is very therapeutic; however, it is tempered by the nervousness of breaking something important (like a plumbing supply line) or hitting something hazardous (like a live electrical wire hidden in a wall cavity). The construction phase doesn't bother me quite so much as the "what the heck are we going to put in its place?" design phase. I think we've landed on idea that's reasonably affordable and within my skill level to accomplish. Now I just have to get past my genetically encoded project ADD.
ReplyDeleteAs for helping the Queen's allergies, we've actually made them temporarily worse by coating every square inch of the bath in tile, mortar and concrete dust. It's even giving me a headache to go in there.