Friday 5 November 2010

Can do!



Two Loos Lautrec, that's me - by Christmas, anyway.

Awful old joke aside, the two loos bit is true; another item has been ticked on the To Do list: Plan 2nd bathroom.

Richie the plumber and I met yesterday, made lists, drew sketches on envelopes, waved our arms about, debated the least head-injuring way to site a toilet under a sloping roof, and how to run pipes through the complicated eaves. It was wonderful to deal with a tradesman with a refreshingly can-do attitude, a fondness for problem solving, and a promise that it will certainly be done before Christmas.



Work on the conversion of box room into bathroom will start in December, giving me time to empty the room, strip the walls of their ancient lining paper, lift the (newly-laid) carpet, and choose all the items required. I have to find storage space for all the boxes currently being stored in the attic, but I'll worry about that tomorrow. I can't say I'm looking forward to clearing this room again; it seems to have had rather a lot of effort applied to it already this year, turning it from Room of Shame into almost-a-workroom.

But no matter - and oh, what delight! - at long last I will have a bathroom next to my bedroom. This, for someone who has rarely slept through an entire night in her life without needing to visit the loo, is going to be wonderful - no more dozy plodding down from the attic in the dark.


At my boarding school, with its - er... frugal approach to heat and light, the entire long and ghostly top corridor was lit during the night by a single strange bulb that glowed as a tiny spark of red, emitting no real light, only allowing you to avoid walking into the far wall. We learned to grope our way from chilly dormitory to icy Victorian lavatory in almost total darkness.

I have retained to this day the skill of navigating in the dark (helpful if one doesn't want to wake up too thoroughly), although street lighting intrudes rather helpfully onto the landings in this house, allowing me to avoid the life-threatening small-hours version of this:






They will have to adjust their strategy, but I'm sure they'll succeed. Meantime, I'm off to look at tiles. And taps....

15 comments:

the veg artist said...

Excellent! I once fell down stairs on my way to bathroom (in a guest house!), so wouldn't even contemplate mid-night wanderings which involved stairs! Also, I have "one-of-those" husbands - you know, the type who take a book with them, and cannot possibly vacate until they have read enough chapters!!!!! I value my second-loo very highly indeed!

June said...

What is it about cats and stairs?
MiMau likes to lie on the very first step at the top of the stairs, so that, if we aren't careful, severe harm could come to us all.

Lucille said...

Hamish looks like a man leaning on a bar. Serious death traps each one of them.

Marcheline said...

Oh, to have a new bathroom! I'd like to blow up the one I have and ask Richie to come over and figure a way to make it all better. Sigh...

BumbleVee said...

ooooooh, renovations.... my favourite thing......

I may have to bet against it being complete by Christmas if it doesn't get started til December though....doesn't seem enough time to me. Maybe trades people are quicker than Greg and me.......

Dan said...

Sounds like navigating down the stairs and through the cats will be a thing of the past soon!! I am deeply, deeply envious of your workroom chest of drawers!
Dan
-x-

Elizabeth Musgrave said...

A second loo is the secret of happiness. I have just got mine back after months of it being out of use while it was redone, by my skilful but overcommitted husband. I am still smiling every time I sit down!

Friko said...

So it'll be

'two loos, no trek' in future, will it?

happy flushing!

annie hoff said...

Excellent idea. A new bathroom sounds just what you need. It sounds positive too, and all part of the long-term plan for your move next year

SmitoniusAndSonata said...

Am now suffering severe second loo envy .
Even the most can-do workman would be hard put to find a space for one in this house . I have sometimes fleetingly considered the rentaloo-in-the-street-outside option when the family visits .

Anonymous said...

I have a friend who tries to navigate from bed to bathroom without opening her eyes, so she doesn't fully wake up. Her method is to feel her way with the help of the furniture. However, one night she missed the next bit of furniture and stood there shouting at her husband 'help Fred, I'm lost'!!

Linens and Royals said...

Well that made me laugh, all those traps for the unwary just waiting on the stairs.

Catherine said...

Renovations are always so stressful ~ but oh how wonderful it will be to have that 2nd bathroom by your bedroom! Good luck!

xo Catherine

Kate on Clinton said...

Great news! A good and enthusiastic tradesman is worth is weight in gold, but hopefully you won't have to pay that much. I used to live in a long narrow apartment where the bathroom and bedroom could NOT be further apart. You will be so thrilled with the results and convenience!

Sue said...

Good luck with the shopping.

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