mine is our bathroom and I can't bring myself to post pictures. It still has the original 1960's tub, basin/vanity and floor tiles. At some stage long ago the shower was retiled. It's now starting to fall apart, floor tiles are falling off, shower tiles are falling off, and the top layer of paint is peeling.

The whole thing is turning into a nightmare, but since it's our only bathroom I don't know where we would shower while it gets done and then there's the cost, and I still can't decide if we should remove the tub and put a larger vanity in, or replace it with another one which would be the easier option but we don't use the tub we have (but we might use a tub if you didnt feel like you would drown in it!)

Then there's the tiny window which could be larger, but it would have to be bricked up and a new window would have to be installed higher to fit a mirror beneath it for the vanity. I don't even know where to begin with it, so I just keep ignoring it while it falls apart because the whole cost and inconvenience and decisions just overwhelm me

OH darn you have shamed me into dealing with with this last nightmare of mine. I will take a picture before I start and then one after. OH ugh I do need to deal with this space in my studio.

Trance, it seems to me that a temporary shower outdoors would be a fine option since your warmer weather is now, right?
I too had that problem while they had everything ripped out, except the toilet. I absolutely LOVE to shower outdoors for some reason, maybe because it reminds me of the beach showers at vacation homes.

If the mirror is a problem because of the window, you can get around that by mounting an articulated arm mirror. They make those so you can move the mirror around and it won't be on the countertop and only the bracket is screwed into a reinforced area (stud) in the wall. If the window frame is deep, then consider placing mirror tiles in the frame to reflect more light into the room in general.

And about the tub. If you are going to take that tub out and have to redo the tiles everywhere anyway, why not "stick build" your own walk in shower. In reading stuff on the Bathroom Forum, they mention something called KERDI, and that is a membrane beneath the tile which makes it waterproof I think. Plus you can seal the tile and grout once it is installed. Depending on how big your room is, it might be possible to create a WET ROOM, where the whole room can get wet with no damage. I wish I had a way to do that, but not in this lifetime. With a wet room you can tile ceilings and all. But I think that linen storage would need be located outside that area. By all means, if you can put in a floor drain, it would be possible to take the shower wand and wash down toilet, sink, and the whole room!!! Now that is what I'd call LOW MAINTENANCE!

If you don't use the tub now, it really could go. A walk in shower is the latest thinking for showers too.

Your bathroom sounds like the one we had, but the toilet was falling through the rotten floor, and the lavatory water lines were leaking in the wall, and mold was all over the place. I could not stand to take a tub bath in there. There was no floor under the tub, and it was cold when I sat down in it. Plus I could hear WATER RUNNING UNDER THE HOUSE, and CRITTERS which got under the house came up through that hole and into the WALLS. It was really a nightmare such as you describe. So I just began knocking it all down in July or August of 2009, and now finally we have all bathroom appliances working once again. Really, we now have TWO toilets, TWO lavatories, ONE shower, and ONE clawfoot tub.

Thinking is a creative act. If you can think it, you can do it. So begin by drawing it on paper. Do cutouts of your fixtures, and move them around. There are others here who can lend ideas to help bring what seems overwhelming into existance. And consider that what I did was not a total gut job, but done piecemeal. Maybe you can first remove the tile. You can still use most of the bath that way. Fix the outdoor shower while it is warm weather. Then take out the tub. Install the shower, and retile in the tub surround as you like. Maybe that is half the bath project already done.
We stand ready to help with the bath, but sad to say we are too far away to wield any demolition hammers. And THAT is the really FUN part of the job. :)

Trance, I agree with ML. :o) When I read your post, I was thinking you could remove the tub and tile in a great shower. If you post some pictures I know that there are folks who will happily help with layout etc. It's worth it to have a functional bathroom.
My hubby does all our plumbing but I still would have paid to have a plumber in. Once you have a really good plan in place it shouldn't cost the moon to get someone in to do the actual plumbing work. Tiling is something that I think almost anyone can do. I seem to recall you've already done some in your place.

As for my 'nightmare', I can't post pics and show my face ever again lol. It's my laundry/storage room. I keep trying to organize it, but it doesn't seem to want to conform. :o)

ML it sure would be handy if you could roof your 'garage'. It does seem a shame to have that potentially usable space just sitting there. :o)
As far as your back bedroom, are you trying to get rid of the stuff there, or is it stuff you need to keep and store?

OK as promised before and after pictures of my worst nightmare. I kept putting this off because it was out of sight but not off my mind. This is in my studio closet.

Pictures 6 through 10 and it really is kind of embarrassing to show these as it really was a nightmare.

The curtains are back in place. In the last photo there is a brown box and it stores behind the curtain. There is sheet glass in it. And a large mirror I do not want broken yet. LOL

ML Thanks for the push to do this. I feel so good to have this done. I know the pictures are not great. These odd things are hard to make attractive shelves. Why I keep them behind curtains.

Here is a link that might be useful: Saturday project.

My worst nightmare is my garage. I won't show a picture, but let's put it this way: If you poured a gallon of water out, it would be 10 minutes before any of it reached floor. The reason is that in FL, we don't have attics or basements, so the garage is the only place to put stuff. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

Good job, Chris! I always think curtains are a very cute way to cover shelves, and they make it so much easier to reach things when a door would often get in the way.

flgargoyle we don't have attics up here the way I often see on TV either. It's only a small space up there that is not tall enough to stand up in. We had to send my son up there to crawl around when we were re-wiring the main floor. We do have basements however. They are very useful for family rooms, storage, laundry etc, especially when one's husband refuses to let one store anything in the garage at all!

Thanks for the ideas ML. If I put my thinking cap on I probably could come up with a temporary shower, maybe in the laundry where we could use a hand held shower from the sink, if I can figure a way to contain the water and maybe run it outside with a hose. Do you have hot water to your outside shower?

I wish I could do it in stages but the waste pipe to the shower is old and needs replacing when we do the reno and the only way to get to it is to pull out the tub and break up the shower floor so I think we'd may as well gut the lot.

Thats a good idea to sit down and make a plan and moving some pieces around, making a plan is something I never do! but thinking about it a plan would be a good place to get started.

prairie, I know what you mean, it would be worth getting a plumber in, and even getting a tiler to do the work just to get it done quickly and functional again. hmmm, lots to think about! I really need to get a plan done

Oh, Moccasin! My clutter room makes yours look like a walk in the park! I say we trade. I'll fix yours, and you can fix mine.

I'll take one for the team and post a REALLY bad before picture ....if I can find one. I'll do a little hunting tonight.

Meanwhile, here's another nightmare: my den. We had to move in the contents of our shed when people started stealing stuff. (no door) Note the hole in the ceiling (roofers). What you can't see is that the floor around the door is about to give out completely. I must tred lightly when I walk in there for SO many reasons.

Well young gardener there are just some things like garden tools that do not fit nicely into good design. LOL At least it is not being stolen now and those ladders look expensive.

Sorry about your soft door way. We had a house where the outside corner of the bedroom caved in and we had to do new foundation on that corner.

Missy thanks for the cudos. So glad ML posted this subject as it made me accountable for those shelves once I said I was going to do it. Really was not all that bad of a job to do but I just kept putting it off.I went in twice to see the finished look because I could hardly believe after all this time I finally DID IT!!! Woo Hoo.

Now I am considering another furniture moving project. DH is talking about putting a second propane heater in this house. We love the one in the front room so much he wants one in the back of the house. I need to see if I can make a spot for it before he has his mind totally made up. LOL I think I can and besides it is about time I clear out some of this stupid furniture.

Chris

LOL, Chris! You're right. Maybe the lawn mower would look better in the dining room. ;)

To encourage participation, here are some from our move from FL to GA back in '07.

I admit it. When we moved, I kept a binder (see above) that listed the exact contents of every box. Each box had a number. So, you looked up what you wanted in the notebook, then located the matching box. Worse yet, having married me only months before, DH let me do it!! HAHAHA! Never again, I'm sure.

Young Gardner I got a picture much worse than your moving one, some where within all the computers. I did not label things well like you did. And I can totally relate to sleeping in the floor. I remember one night I was to pack up the 6 by 6 foot pantry Shelves on three sides. I fell asleep right after dinner and did not wake up until the middle of the night. DH just let me sleep if I fell so sound asleep so fast. He said I did not even move. I was laying on the couch. Moving is not fun.

LOL I missed the lawn mower. Is that a propane heater on your far back wall?

I wish! That room is cold. That is actually a stove I found scratch and dent at Lowe's last year. Needless to say, DH hasn't hooked it up for me yet. :)

You're right...moving is EXHAUSTING!

Yes it is very hard. That move was especially hard because is was from the 1850 house to the 1200 house. AND we actually traded houses with the people so we had to deal with moving in on each other. Was much harder for me to get out as I had one third more stuff and then some than they did. I ended up moving it into the big shop building at the smaller house then having to move it into the house as I could. Was really tricky. Good thing all of us were friends. And remained friends through all of it.

AND DH and I were working as cemetery sextons so mowing 4 days a week for several hours trimming with weed eaters and changing irrigation lines and then coming home to pack. I had a couple of melt downs.

We have said this before.This is the last move. I think this time I believe it. We totally moved ourselves with no help but one couch at the end of the day I could not lift. We are getting too old to move again. Why we tried very hard to do everything we could to make this house the perfect house for us. So far I believe it is. There is always some thing you wish had been done different. Most things can be worked around. We are both very happy with how this house lives or how we live with this house. The best we have had for us.

Chris

Shades, I'm serious....I've moved my last time. Well, we do have to close up shop in Massachusetts ASAP, and bring a lot of it here. But here I sit. Even my DH is tired of dealing with TWO HOUSES. I don't know how people who have multiple homes manage it. I'm not cut out for living that way. I become so attached to a house, a home. Maybe it is because I put so much of myself into a place. And I cannot feel "at home" until I clean the kitchen and the bathroom and put my own bed in the bedroom.

Good luck to all the Nightmare Projects that are getting underway soon.