It has been a long time in the making, but I am finally able to make use of a fully functional master bathroom! I confess that it has been about three years in the making. I worked on it when I had enough money saved up to do what I needed. Unfortunately, I have no pictures of what it used to look like, but then again, it might be safer that I don't! After all, I live in Santa Cruz County. I mean, really, all I did was re-paint the walls. If I did more than that, I'd have to have a really expensive permit to have someone from the county come out and tell me if I did an acceptable job or not. Since I am not very self critical about my work, I would have really needed them to ensure I did things according to code, which is available mostly online.... so I've been told. No, I did not take it down to the studs. I did not repair the rot in the floor and walls. I did not rebuild the entire closet drain for the toilet. I did not build a brand new tiled shower on my own. After all, I have never done this level of concrete work. Why would I do something like this for my first attempt? I would not have completely gutted the electric and replaced it, including a really cool towel heater that has a control module that is connected to the computer in the study to save energy and only power it during times when a warm towel is desirable. I just used the same Hans Grohe shower head with body sprays and automatic temperature control. I certainly did not add a new wet wall to improve the functionality for multiple people in the bathroom. I mean, how would I ever have managed to move all of the plumbing when one of the walls is positioned over a huge beam? How the heck would I have been able to connect to the original vent pipe from across the room? No. Everything is as it is, with a fresh paint/plaster application. The door to the bathroom, and the doorway to the closet are exactly where they were, and were not moved two feet to provide better accessibility. I do not have the patience or diligence to save up for new Kraftmaid cabinets and Corian countertops/sinks. I also would never replace the strange door that led out to the deck with a glass block window. Nor would I ever add 2" strips to the ceiling joists to provide enough room for a shower fan/vent. The tile floor looks really good for having been there for thirty plus years...

At any rate, yes, it took me three years to re-paint the bathroom and give me access. In fact, it was only last weekend that I managed to take the time to clean the now new looking glass walls for the shower. I even had to hire a contractor to come in and clean it for me so it looks like new.

It was quite difficult to find a good position in the bathroom to take decent pictures of the... um... new paint. Nevertheless, here is a glimpse:

Frankly, the pictures do not do it justice. Every morning I take a shower now, I have to pause for a moment with the water rushing over me, and grin. Not too bad for an electrical engineer. I mean, for a fresh paint job.

Not a contractor... but I play one in my dreams.