Friday, May 17, 2013

Cleaning up our act...


Just the right size
It's hard to believe that even though the
Money Pit is almost 7,000 square feet,
it's actually only a three bedroom house.
When George Washington Cook built the
house he was 65. Residents were GW,
wife Emma, two daughters, cook and maid.
Therefore GW opted to situate the Master
Bedroom and Master Bath on the main floor.
That meant there were no stairs to climb.
What was perfectly convenient in 1918
is just as perfect for our needs in 2013!

For Ladies Only
Upstairs two suites share one bath as designed for daughters Fannie and Carro, the last of his nine children living at home. The second floor was all theirs while the help slept in the cellar.

Nightmare to dream.
In case you've forgotten "before", here's a picture of the MP Guest Bath taken in February. It was a hobbled conglomerate of salvaged elements that didn't work together, nor actually worked. Plus... it was more than filthy.
Welcome visitors!
The second floor will now be devoted to guests. We've maintained the "Jack and Jill" bath configuration between the bedroom suites. Frankly it will be rare when both are inhabited at the same time. If so, our guests can share! The plumbing and electric are in and all fixtures and cabinets await installation. Once the sheetrock is up, Frank's brother "B" will start on the tile work. It pays to have Montana's best mason in the family!
A ceramic oasis.
All walls will be clad with white subway tile that will run up to the six foot "sanitary height". The floors covered with small hexagon tiles exactly as they were in 1918. We've redesigned the former gigantic bath into two rooms. One for the vanity and tub (shown above), the other for the toilet and shower (shown left).
Both rooms fit within the original footprint. This reconfigured space better suits the needs of our modern day guests.
Heavy scrub.
There's nothing like a nice long, hot bath. Our beautiful new free standing enameled cast iron tub (shown right) is very HEAVY. Before we could install it, the team had to replace the floor joists as they had been cut to peices over the years by prior plumbers. The last thing we want is for a guest to suddenly be taking their bath downstairs in the dining room.
The Throne Room.
Located on the main floor, the master bath is now much larger as we incorporated two closets into the space. It's going to be quite fabulous. Frank and I tested a plethora of showroom options before finding the perfect plumbing fixtures.
Fit for a queen...
One of the Money Pit owners is known
to spend a lot of time in the bathroom. Therefore this room must be spectacular! The other MP owner prefers long, hot showers to soaks in the tub. So, we've
created a spacious shower that will be
housed within a floor to ceiling glass box.  Brother "B" will encase the entire room in the most amazing carrera marble. We'll live in our "retirement" residence for the rest of our lives so why not splurge?!