MASTER BATHER

What happens when your construction fund runs out midway through the project? Well, your car no longer stops at Starbucks in the morning, all TVs in your home are tuned to Home Make-Over shows and you spend most of your time wandering the aisles of home depot eaves dropping on construction worker chit-chat hoping to pick up some easy, FREE, tips. What did we do? We did it ourselves! The pessimist in me thought we were insane for attacking this project in the middle of summer, on the second floor of a home with no airconditining on a 110 degree day. The optimist in me (and Joe) thought, why the heck not... and we might need to shower at some point! In the end, it was a lot easier than I'd ever imagined. Sure, we have cement poisoning and can't stand the sight of subway tile, but I'm sure that will pass with time.

HERE'S WHAT WE DID:

1.) Ran out of money. Sent contractor home.

2.) Had minor panic attack. Watched Oprah. Had another panic attack.

3.) Paid a nice man $150.00 to "hot mop" the floor of the shower.

4.) Poured cement (which, by the way, is very easy to mix with water in a bucket. WEAR SAFETY GLOVES AND MASK!) into floor area, avoiding drain. It was important to make a gradual grade from the edges to the drain (for easy water flow).

5.) Installed insulation and drywall (special drywall for showers and tiling)

6.) Purchased subway tile at home improvement store and paste. Tiled, let settle for 48 hours and grouted.

TIME TO COMPLETE PROJECT: 3 weekends

COST: Drywall $150, Tile $150, grout $40, cement $25, tile cutters $20, Ikea sink $150, Ikea Basin $100, Ikea Mirror $25, Therapy $125

STRESS LEVEL: Read last item of cost list above.