7/21/2008

Down the Drain

Our weekend started out so well. We knocked out a few errands. Managed a thorough cleaning downstairs. Went out with friends on Friday night to the Carolina Ale House. Had a couple more friends over for a cookout Saturday night. I experienced bratwurst for the first time. Not sure if I'll eat it again, but I at least gave it a try.

Sunday morning, we went to church and listened to a wonderful sermon by the director of youth ministries as our Pastor is with a group of members on a mission trip. During the service, I was thinking about how blessed we were. Really grateful for that. There are so many trying times around us. A line of prayer included in the bulletin really caught me eye as well: Help us to be faithful disciples who recognize that everything we have in life is a gift from you (GBOD | Stewardship).

Being grateful and having patience was on my mind all afternoon. See, this was our master bathroom before Sunday. Starting to see where my title fits in?

After we returned home from church, I made the discovery of a possible water leak around the toilet. Trent stepped in the area. Soft. Uh oh. It was gray and cloudy looking. I tried cleaning the sheet vinyl flooring. Still gray and cloudy. Bigger uh oh.

Trent lined our tub with newspaper, dismantled the toilet and placed it there. (And, yes, we clearly have an obsession with Paul Mitchell Tea Tree products, but that's for another day....)

Pulled back the sheet vinyl and, sure enough, there was a slow leak that had soaked the subfloor and started growing mold (the gray stuff I saw through the flooring). It's hard to see clearly in this photo because of the sawdust. Trent began cutting out the damaged subfloor. Once we had removed about a 30x30 inch section, we were able to see to the ceiling below and, thankfully, the water had not seeped through.
Over the next few hours (including a trip to Lowes for supplies) we managed to install additional 2x4 supports between the floor trusses and cut new sections of flooring.

As frustrating as it is, I'm trying to find the positives. I can either laugh or cry. Trying to laugh instead...

- Had I not discovered this yesterday, we might have discovered it falling through the floor and into the kitchen below. Seriously. The subfloor around the toilet that was wet literally crumbled apart. There are no joists directly below it. Just open air to the kitchen ceiling.

- I've been wanting to paint the bathroom. It's on "the list" of home improvement repairs I wanted to tackle this year. Now I get to.

- I've been thinking about replacing the current light fixture over the sink area. Trent & I talked about doing it when we paint. Now we can.

- I never really like the sheet vinyl flooring that was in the bathroom. I could live with it though. And have. But now I can pick out one I really like.

I still have a roof over my head. Another full bath (thank goodness because we were both covered in sawdust from head to toe). I still have food on my table. And neither of us went through the ceiling. That would have been a crying moment. Frustrated? Yes. Exhausted? Yes. But very grateful. Because in the overall scheme of things, my bathroom dilemma isn't so bad.

So, how did you spend your weekend? ;)

19 comments:

  1. Oh Sarah, my friend, I have been there, and it sucks. Good for you, looking on the bright side. Hugs to you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ohhh...I like your positive spin on the good stuff you get to do because of the *almost* disaster. Not a fun way to do them though! Sorry :) Hope this week is back to fun stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh no Sarah.. sounds like a mess but hey you get to redo your bathroom.. guess that is the good thing.. by the way i use that same shampoo too.. i love it too..

    ReplyDelete
  4. I say the biggest blessing that you have is of having a husband that could do the repairs. That would have cost me a fortune! God is good.

    ReplyDelete
  5. You stated my choice always. ...I could have cried, but laughed instead...My paraphrase and it is so true. I love this and will be back

    ReplyDelete
  6. I would have been stressing hard but at least you are looking at the positive.:) I bet you pick out a great floor too.

    My dd(almost 5) came up behind me and said "Mommy! Why in the world is there a potty in the tub?"LOL!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hey, I feel your pain...We're currently dealing with a finished basement that was supposed to be fixed BEFORE we moved in. We have a washer and dryer that we can't hook up (that's a load of fun with a 2 yr. old, let me tell ya...)because that is where part of the wet floor is located. I'm glad you found the problem quickly and was able to fix it. Don't you love those remodeling oppertunities?

    Oh, and give bratwurst a second try...I promise, it grows on you! lol...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Awwww...Sarah...glad you got it fixed..sorry that it was bad timing...but you could have had guests land on the kitchen table while on the throne..very awkward I would think....
    You guys are so handy BTW! So impressed.

    ReplyDelete
  9. good to see the positive,
    happy bathroom designing!!
    (don't forget to post pics)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh, my goodness! You really are quite lucky to have found it when you did. And you're also lucky that the two of you could do these repairs on your own! At our old 1923 house, we had a "small" leak which resulted in our completely gutting the bathroom. Although it was a mess, it really was an opportunity to make things the way we wanted. Will look forward to seeing what you do with your bathroom!

    ReplyDelete
  11. What a thoughtful post. I am glad you discovered your bathroom problems when you did and were able to fix them yourselves. We would have been frantically trying to get a plumber out.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Your outlook on the situation is admirable! Glad it is working out ok. We had lots of birthday fun with our youngest- she is turning 4 tom. and spent alot of time driving around in hubbie's new toy- I mean truck. :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hugs sweetie! But you are right it could have been worse & you were very lucky!

    ReplyDelete
  14. OH Sarah,
    Im so sorry this happened, Remember our bathroom leak that destroyed our bedroom/hall/laundry carpet just before Thanksgiving?!?
    SO I definitely feel your pain. And yes we are so lucky to have handyman husbands.. You will be happy with the finished results Im sure!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Sarah that really stinks but I am glad you didn't find out while you were sitting down. That would've been another whole story ouch!
    Terri

    ReplyDelete
  16. I'm glad you didn't have to call a plumber. We would've had to.

    ReplyDelete
  17. yikes!!!
    hugs to you sweetie!!

    ReplyDelete
  18. What a day (week/month...) Yikes!! Glad you caught this when you did and that you could deal with it on your own. Not sure we could do that...well, maybe f-i-l would help:)

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for leaving a comment! I enjoy reading them all. :)