mother of invention
by sandy mccall

Who ever heard of a house with two showers?

When I bought this cabin it had only those and no tub. I love soaking my worries away in a nurturing bath! Even when I haven’t had the money to take care of myself the way I wanted to, taking a bubble bath was key.

My downstairs bathroom was also the laundry room where a large closet held the full-sized washer and dryer.  It had the typical 70’s fiberglass shower and powder-blue vanity with cheap cupboards and the original toilet. A small linen closet also held the hot water heater and a small amount of storage.

I planned and sketched and ciphered and dreamed for a good year, trying to find a way to put a claw foot tub in this small bathroom/laundry space . . . the contractors that looked at it told me it couldn’t be done with tearing out walls or putting an addition on the bathroom . . . NOT!

Then, it came to me! It’s simple . . . I’d take the whole closet frame out that held the washer and dryer, flip the plumbing around and it would be the perfect size for a claw foot. It was the perfect size for the claw foot, but where would I put the washer and dryer? Ah, I could take the fiberglass shower out, move the plumbing and put a stackable washer and dryer in that space...simple.

Well, if you have done any remodeling, you know that it’s not a simple task to do this kind of job and, of course, I added several other features along the way. I started by removing the closet frame and the flooring and sub flooring of which there were two sets---who knows why. I could never figure out why this room had a sheetrocked ceiling when there were nice logs to be exposed. So I removed the ceiling, being careful not to disturb the electrical wiring. What a messy job and also one that required a mask and goggles to keep the sheet rock powder out of my eyes and nose. One thing led to another . . . it didn’t make sense to remodel this bathroom without putting new fixtures in and the 70’s vanity needed to go. So I put in a new pedestal sink and toilet too.

I hadn’t bought a claw foot tub and knew that I needed to have one that was just the right size . . . I searched all the local salvage places finding that $600 was the average cost for an old claw foot in good shape. That was too much for me. While driving home one evening on Old Route 23, I guessed that one of those old houses along that road must have a claw foot that they didn’t want any longer.

Funny how the Universe works: shortly thereafter I noticed a claw foot sitting in the front yard of a house on that same road. I stopped and talked with the folks about the family history of the tub and they agreed to sell it to me for $300, as long as they could have tub visitation rights—wow! What a find. I hired a young man to go and pick it up for me and he found that the lady selling the tub was his 3rd grade teacher and they were happy to see each other. The tub would sit in my carport for a year until the bathroom was ready for it.

Okay back to the washer and dryer—I measured and re-measured the spaces for the w/d and the tub making sure it would work…it looked good! I removed the fiberglass shower stall—actually I cut it horizontally into several pieces with my hack saw and took it out in pieces—being a shrinking 5’3" that was all I could handle.  The space that held the shower was a little two small for the stackables, so I removed a small wall and replaced it with a glass block wall that would reflect more light into the bathroom. Building the glass block wall was an adventure, but one that turned out okay. This part of the project required moving the drainpipes from the floor to the wall for the washer and in the process I discovered that the water and drain pipes for the bathroom were located in an inaccessible area in the crawl space below so it made sense to build a trap door for access from above.

So here I was in plumbing, wiring and sheetrocking 101—I know why those folks get paid so well. When the plumbing, trap door and glass block wall were complete, I learned quickly that I am not a sheetrocker, so I put a nice texture on the interior sheetrock walls to cover my mistakes and refinished the pine floors and exterior log walls---another job that needs a mask.

It was time to install the stackables and the claw foot. My brave friend, Marty, had no idea what she was agreeing to when she said she would help me install the stackables. We literally had a two or three inch clearance for the washer and dryer to fit in this corner space and how would we plug them in or hook the washer to the water once they were in place. All I can tell you is, I hope I never have to remove them and I know Marty will agree. I also needed lots of help bringing in and centering the claw foot in the new space.Thanks to friends Marty, Ellie and Whit for your help. Oh yes, Whit brought the plumbing for the tub through the floor because I don’t do dark, damp crawl spaces!The finishing touches are still in process. Wonderful stained glass lighting and accessories from the Natural Home add ambiance for my relaxing baths. I built double doors out of tongue and groove flooring so that, when they're open, you can easily see through the doorway to the bathroom I am so proud of. I also added shelving and a pine bi-fold to the small closet and put a laundry shoot in from the master bedroom closet upstairs. What a blessing that has been!

Well, the adventures continue and I have sure enjoyed sharing some of them with you folks during the past year. My plan is to discontinue writing this column on a regular basis, at least for now. If any of you out there have a project that I can help you with, please email me or write to me with your ideas and questions. Then if I talk real nice to the editors/owners, Julie and Sandi, I'll be they will let me write something about it for WNC Woman!

E-mail me at sandy@wnc-woman.com or mail questions and pictures to Sandy McCall, P.O. Box 1332, Mars Hill, NC 28754.

Sandy McCall is a real estate broker with Appalachian Realty Associates and enjoys the mountain life in a recreated log cabin near the Appalachian Trail with her four-legged and finned kids, Cooper, Moondoggie, Zipper, Rosemary and Salena. She is also the mother of three human daughters, Kerri, Kelly and Nancy, grandmother to many and a former foster parent.
[ sandy@wnc-woman.com ]