Toilet

I am sure you are wondering, why I am making a post and posting a picture of a toilet. Frankly, I have to say, it is just such a beautiful sight!

Have I lost my mind? Maybe, but that is besides the point. No, it isn't new...or fancy. Just a toilet. To be exact, this is the same toilet we lost after our huge pipe ordeal, almost 1 year ago, when we moved in.

We didn't see it as a big deal at first, after all, we came from a house that only had one toilet. And at some point, we were just happy to have running water again.

Then we were sent an angel named Keith, who tiled over most of the gaping holes in this bathroom which got us a working bathtub again for the girls.

But there was still a huge gaping hole above the toilet that needed to be repaired, so we decided not to put the toilet back in until we got that fixed rather than tear it out again so that we had room to work. We actually got an estimate on the plaster work but it was just outrageous...especially in light of how much money we put out to get the house and the money we didn't even have to fix the pipes.

Then we had the problems with the termites as a result of the plumbing problems. After that, we had the problem with the trees the month after that. Meanwhile, Christian was researching how to fix our walls ourselves because we were clearly not going to be able to hire anyone else to fix it. But when Christian sets his mind to fix something, it has to be fixed right. So, he wasn't about to just tack up some drywall and fill it with joint compound only to crack months down the line. He was going to restore the original plaster. Once that was decided, he researched all about plastering and started to look for sources of materials.

Unfortunately, we found that most of the materials are no longer sold. So we had to improvise a bit. We couldn't even find the raw materials to make our own plaster as most of the materials sold were already in ready to use pre-mixes (which didn't tell you exactly what was in the mix).

Meanwhile, the heat of summer came along and we were not able to work on anything...especially not the plaster as it would dry way to quickly and not set properly. This was the followed by a really dry autumn. So, here we are, nearly a year later. We did not expect that it would take this long. But the plaster in the bathroom is in and the toilet is too! And none too soon as the idea of having two bathrooms but only one working toilet was wearing thin on my nerves.

It was touch and go for a while and we were not sure we were going to have the toilet in and in working order after all. All the gaskets had deteriorated and Christian basically ended up gutting the whole tank and refitting it with everything new.

Now, all we have to do is to let the plaster "cure" for a while and then paint it. Of course, that probably won't be any time soon either because the previous tenant left some badly patched up areas in there from previous water damage.
And the plumbers left this little gift for us on the ceiling when they were in the rafters putting in the new pipes.To say that we have our work cut out for us is putting it mildly, but, we have a working second toilet....and I for one, am thankful.