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Old 08-02-2014, 06:41 PM   #14761
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Spent my first day of retirement with a former coworker and best friend in Port Townsend. Met for lunch, conversation and browsing the small shops. On the ferry now headed back to Whidbey Island and enjoying the fact that I'm not pinched for time 😍


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Old 08-03-2014, 04:42 AM   #14762
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Spent my first day of retirement with a former coworker and best friend in Port Townsend. Met for lunch, conversation and browsing the small shops. On the ferry now headed back to Whidbey Island and enjoying the fact that I'm not pinched for time 😍


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What a spectacular part of the world! DW and I love Port Townsend. We visited there this time of the year in 2000, scouting potential FIRE locations, and fell in love with the area. In fact, the first time I stepped off the ferry in Victoria, I was almost ready to move to Canada. The whole area is beautiful; and fantastic weather. Alas, we decided the Olympic peninsula was a little too remote for us. So, we're moving out west but, a little further south.
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Old 08-03-2014, 12:40 PM   #14763
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I'm retired now - and lovin' it already.

congratulations on a working career well done! Now it's on to playtime!

We have used an alarm clock twice in past 7 months... we just wait for the sun to come up and contemplate whether to get up or not. Enjoy...
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Old 08-04-2014, 08:20 AM   #14764
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Saw Mt. Hood, Oregon, from a ski lift:
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Old 08-04-2014, 08:52 AM   #14765
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Heading off to Stanley, North Dakota for a few days today. Last time I was there, it was -20F. It should be about +100 F difference in temperature in Stanley this week!
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Old 08-04-2014, 10:01 AM   #14766
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Wow, have fun on your vacations, BestWifeEver and aja8888 and others!

After years of urging from various forum members (notably REWahoo , and also several others), I have decided to completely and utterly abandon any remaining semblance of frugality and do some major loosening of the purse strings.

Yesterday I got wild and crazy and decided to take a Big Step. I called up my handyman/contractor guy, who has done excellent work for me before, and told him I want a MAJOR bathroom remodel to try to cram a large 4'x6' shower into one of my very small bathrooms somehow. I don't even know if or how that could be done, despite mulling over the problem for over a decade. So, he is coming over with a plumber in tow later this week and they will come up with some ideas.

This may involve sacrificing a bedroom to make one of the bathrooms larger, so walls may be coming down and floorplan may be changing. Both bathrooms badly need updating. I intend to have both completely remodeled, one after the other. I want everything replaced, even the flooring, walls, toilet, sink and vanity, and more, so this is not just a quick shower addition. Oh no, quite the opposite. I expect this is going to involve Big Bux.

In the unlikely event that a shower just cannot be jammed into my floorplan somehow, I swear to high heaven (are there bathroom gods? If so, to them) that I will sell the house and move to a house with a big shower. I am determined to end up with one no matter what it takes.

Should be interesting to see what WR I end up with THIS year.... Meanwhile there are a million decisions to make and things to learn about bathrooms and bathroom choices.
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Old 08-04-2014, 10:04 AM   #14767
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Originally Posted by W2R View Post

After years of urging from various forum members (notably REWahoo , and also several others), I have decided to completely and utterly abandon any remaining semblance of frugality and do some major loosening of the purse strings.

...I expect this is going to involve Big Bux.

In the unlikely event that a shower just cannot be jammed into my floorplan somehow, I swear to high heaven (are there bathroom gods? If so, to them) that I will sell the house and move to a house with a big shower. I am determined to end up with one no matter what it takes.
O...M...G, the world may be nearing the end!
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Old 08-04-2014, 10:15 AM   #14768
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O...M...G, the world may be nearing the end!
That's OK, I am determined to be in Bathroom Heaven one way or the other!
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Old 08-04-2014, 10:45 AM   #14769
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Wow, have fun on your vacations, BestWifeEver and aja8888 and others!

After years of urging from various forum members (notably REWahoo , and also several others), I have decided to completely and utterly abandon any remaining semblance of frugality and do some major loosening of the purse strings.

Yesterday I got wild and crazy and decided to take a Big Step. I called up my handyman/contractor guy, who has done excellent work for me before, and told him I want a MAJOR bathroom remodel to try to cram a large 4'x6' shower into one of my very small bathrooms somehow. I don't even know if or how that could be done, despite mulling over the problem for over a decade. So, he is coming over with a plumber in tow later this week and they will come up with some ideas.

This may involve sacrificing a bedroom to make one of the bathrooms larger, so walls may be coming down and floorplan may be changing. Both bathrooms badly need updating. I intend to have both completely remodeled, one after the other. I want everything replaced, even the flooring, walls, toilet, sink and vanity, and more, so this is not just a quick shower addition. Oh no, quite the opposite. I expect this is going to involve Big Bux.

In the unlikely event that a shower just cannot be jammed into my floorplan somehow, I swear to high heaven (are there bathroom gods? If so, to them) that I will sell the house and move to a house with a big shower. I am determined to end up with one no matter what it takes.

Should be interesting to see what WR I end up with THIS year.... Meanwhile there are a million decisions to make and things to learn about bathrooms and bathroom choices.
Congrats W2R! I'm sure your handymen will be able to do what you want. Almost anything can be accomplished. It's only a matter of how much it costs.

I'm doing a total redo of one of our bathrooms also.

Good luck in your remodel!
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Old 08-04-2014, 10:57 AM   #14770
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Congrats W2R! I'm sure your handymen will be able to do what you want. Almost anything can be accomplished. It's only a matter of how much it costs.
Oh good! I have never done a big remodel like this before and I am pretty overwhelmed at the moment. I was just measuring my master bedroom to see if they could carve into that for some room for the shower. I would still have room for my bed, but not much else. If they need to enlarge the other bathroom instead, that would mean sacrificing my barely 9'x9' office and turning the house into a supposed 2 bedroom instead of 3 bedroom.

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I'm doing a total redo of one of our bathrooms also.
Just finding out what tile is both suited to a highly watery environment like a wet shower floor, and has a high enough friction coefficient to prevent slipping, and is in stock locally has kept me busy this morning. Oh, and it has to be in the brown/tan range, and the little 1" tiles (in sheets) float my boat. I think I want to use the same tile for the shower floor and the bathroom floors. I will probably want a bigger tile for the shower surround.

And then, the present "vanity" (cabinet that the sink is in), is 43" wide which is an uncommon size and I haven't found any that size in stock locally. But it can't be even an inch bigger, and smaller ones often seem to lack drawers.

I won't even BEGIN to vent about what I am reading online concerning the effectiveness of the new low flow toilets that are apparently all that is available today.

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Good luck in your remodel!
And good luck on yours, too! Are you choosing all these things yourself, or do you have a designer?
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Old 08-04-2014, 11:00 AM   #14771
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wow, have fun on your vacations, bestwifeever and aja8888 and others!

After years of urging from various forum members (notably rewahoo , and also several others), i have decided to completely and utterly abandon any remaining semblance of frugality and do some major loosening of the purse strings.

Yesterday i got wild and crazy and decided to take a big step. I called up my handyman/contractor guy, who has done excellent work for me before, and told him i want a major bathroom remodel to try to cram a large 4'x6' shower into one of my very small bathrooms somehow. I don't even know if or how that could be done, despite mulling over the problem for over a decade. So, he is coming over with a plumber in tow later this week and they will come up with some ideas.

This may involve sacrificing a bedroom to make one of the bathrooms larger, so walls may be coming down and floorplan may be changing. Both bathrooms badly need updating. I intend to have both completely remodeled, one after the other. I want everything replaced, even the flooring, walls, toilet, sink and vanity, and more, so this is not just a quick shower addition. Oh no, quite the opposite. I expect this is going to involve big bux.

In the unlikely event that a shower just cannot be jammed into my floorplan somehow, i swear to high heaven (are there bathroom gods? If so, to them) that i will sell the house and move to a house with a big shower. I am determined to end up with one no matter what it takes.

Should be interesting to see what wr i end up with this year.... ;d meanwhile there are a million decisions to make and things to learn about bathrooms and bathroom choices.
Perhaps this will give him some ideas.

Plus, think of all the time this will save you.

image.jpg
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Old 08-04-2014, 11:09 AM   #14772
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Perhaps this will give him some ideas.

Plus, think of all the time this will save you.

Attachment 19550
Actually, silly as it may appear at first view, actually I had planned to suggest something like this as one of my options. Thanks for the photo! I can use it to explain to my contractor/handyman what I am thinking.

My largest bathroom has a tub up against an exterior wall with the toilet right next to it (slab foundation, so I think moving a toilet is not ideal). See below for the photo. I planned to ask if I could remove the tub and use that area for the shower, continuing the tile shower flooring throughout the whole bathroom with a tilting floor for drainage. Even though there is supposed to be a certain number of inches between the center of the toilet and the edge of a tub or shower, with continuous tile I think I could fudge on that a bit. Who's to say where one begins and the other ends? And with no doors to the shower, nobody would bump up against anything while using the toilet.

Of course, this would mean a house with no tub, and two bathrooms with showers, supposedly a killer for any possible future resale in a slow market like ours. Nothing is easy, right? Oh well.
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Old 08-04-2014, 12:21 PM   #14773
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Two showers no tub.... the next folks can get over it or remodel.
After spending time in Japan the whole room being a wet area appeals.

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Old 08-04-2014, 01:17 PM   #14774
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Actually, silly as it may appear at first view, actually I had planned to suggest something like this as one of my options. Thanks for the photo! I can use it to explain to my contractor/handyman what I am thinking.

My largest bathroom has a tub up against an exterior wall with the toilet right next to it (slab foundation, so I think moving a toilet is not ideal). See below for the photo. I planned to ask if I could remove the tub and use that area for the shower, continuing the tile shower flooring throughout the whole bathroom with a tilting floor for drainage. Even though there is supposed to be a certain number of inches between the center of the toilet and the edge of a tub or shower, with continuous tile I think I could fudge on that a bit. Who's to say where one begins and the other ends? And with no doors to the shower, nobody would bump up against anything while using the toilet.

Of course, this would mean a house with no tub, and two bathrooms with showers, supposedly a killer for any possible future resale in a slow market like ours. Nothing is easy, right? Oh well.
W2R, good for you for deciding to enjoy your assets by investing in your home! I strongly recommend you get an opinion from an architect or designer. It's often amazing what they can come up with and they can get good deals. I like your idea of the shower room. It should be perfectly feasible in that space and would be good planning for possible future infirmities, possibly enabling you to stay in your home for longer. As for the resale value of your home, I seem to remember that you were unable to sell it several years ago, and have since decided to stay put. So why not make your home the best home that it can be?
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Old 08-04-2014, 02:41 PM   #14775
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Did my morning walk along the banks of the Missouri River, had lunch, and have spent the afternoon making a new set of 6 MP3 CDs for my car. Thursday I will head home for this year's Perseid meteor shower. There's a full moon so we probably wont see much but just sitting out under very dark skies is enjoyable. I am part of a group that has been getting together for it every year since 1979. If I don't show up I'll be in big trouble.
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Old 08-04-2014, 02:48 PM   #14776
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Saw Mt. Hood, Oregon, from a ski lift:

Must have been a slow, rough trip down. Don't see no snow...


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Old 08-04-2014, 04:10 PM   #14777
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Re the low flow toilets, I've read of people ordering them online from Canada to get around that issue. Apparently it is illegal to sell them in the U.S. but not to buy elsewhere and import for one's own use.

Bought some pink roses on sale at the grocery store. Those will be tomorrow's photo project.
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Old 08-04-2014, 04:31 PM   #14778
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I won't even BEGIN to vent about what I am reading online concerning the effectiveness of the new low flow toilets that are apparently all that is available today.
You should look at the Toto toilets. They get pretty good ratings. I've had one for about 5 years now and am happy with it.
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Old 08-04-2014, 04:38 PM   #14779
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I am starting to think that maybe I was too optimistic about my remodel when I first posted above. Actually, all that is going to happen is that this week my handyman/contractor is going to bring a plumber over to help us to figure out if this remodel is even feasible and what would be the best approach, if any.

Getting cold feet... Maybe there is some simpler solution that hasn't occurred to me yet.

Thanks for all the suggestions and tips, everyone.
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Old 08-04-2014, 04:52 PM   #14780
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Just found out my home town now has a web page:
Welcome to Cavalier
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