Hick House Downstairs: New Bathroom

The first project Hick and HOS (Hick's Oldest Son) undertook was creating a new bathroom. I think you'll all forgive me for not showing you that picture of the OLD bathroom again!

A room downstairs was designated as the new bathroom. If you refer back to your paper plate blueprint, you would see this room on the right, near the back of the house, but not designated on the plate as the BR, because that was the old nasty bathroom that's being destroyed. This is a photo Hick took of the new proposed bathroom on March 1.

After HOS (Hick's Oldest Son) had cleaned out the junk, it was completely empty, and Hick hopped on the chance to fill it up with a toilet, bathtub, and shower that he'd gotten for absolutely FREE! He's had them a couple years now, figuring some day he might have a use for them. He found them along the county blacktop road on the way home from work one evening. Sitting by a driveway, marked FREE. Of course he stopped and put them in the back of his Ford F250 4WD Extended Cab Long Bed. Good thing he didn't have a short-bed pickup back then!

For a few days, the shower sat on the front porch. Hick said they had so much junk to clear out that there was no room for the shower inside. Then he had to take the frame off the door between the new bathroom and the front room that's becoming the new master bedroom. According to Hick, the shower can be moved by only one person. In fact, HOS might have brought it in when he was working late one night.

This was the first configuration of the new bathroom, on March 7. Hick was planning to build a wall between the tub and shower. Maybe with shelves that could hold toilet paper rolls or toiletries. The sink was planned against the to-be-built wall opposite the tub/shower wall. Like where the picture-taker was standing.

Then Hick had a bright idea for THIS second configuration, on March 8.

Of course you knew that Hick would change his mind again. Seems like it would be easier to use a little model, rather than drag those items around. But Hick says they aren't heavy. After thinking about where the water would feed into the shower, he settled on the third (and hopefully final) configuration below.

Hick also framed out the wall. This picture is from March 9. He says this arrangement works best, because HOS's stackable washer and dryer will already have that hole in the floor for the dryer vent. As if putting a little hole in the floor is difficult, considering everything else they're doing! The sink will go at the end of the tub.

Hick bought the drywall on Wednesday (March 13). So the bathroom is coming right along, ONLY needing painting, a finish on the floor, maybe a wall at the end of the shower, the sink, and of course plumbing! HOS used work as a plumber's helper, so he can do that without Hick's input.

They've been working on the kitchen this week, so the bathroom has taken a back seat. Kitchen coming up tomorrow!