We Made a Mistake...
THE FARMHOUSE
We were hoping to have a bathroom reveal for you today, but unfortunately we ran into a hiccup. A mistake we made 9 months ago that went unnoticed and has now become a big headache. Let me explain…
Remember our original claw foot tub that we rearranged the bathroom for? The one that we pulled out of the bathroom during demo, and stuck in our bedroom for the last 12 months? We wanted to put it right under the window for my dream of taking baths with a country view, so rearranged the bathroom and closet floorplans to accommodate it. We bought new clawfeet for our tub and welded up a frame to adapt the new feet. Sanded down the side blemishes and added a coat of primer. Than hauled all 200lbs plus of cast iron back into the bathroom, put the new clawfeet frame on the tiles, and set the tub in place. After a brief moment of celebration - we literally danced in the tub with relief after being without a bathtub in our house for a year - Garrett gasped. He had roughed-in the drain in the wrong location!
Clawfoot tubs are unique in their plumbing, and the drain actually goes outside the footprint of the tub, not below it as we did. Ugh.
I found it almost impossible to find a picture of what our exact setup should look like, but the image below shows how the drain sits inline with the overflow drain rather than below the tub drain.
photo: Amanda Kirkpatrick, styling: Anna Molvik, from here
Anywho, we have no way to hook up our tub. After a night of feeling discouraged, we looked at the options.
We could tear up the floor and re-do the rough-in (assuming the floor structure allowed for the drain to go in the right spot - a big IF).
We could use cpvc black pipe and reroute the drain to the existing hole.
We could buy a new tub that’s 6” smaller, to make the existing drain and plumbing fixtures work.
Well we opted for #3. We found a 60” tub at a salvage shop in Seattle, put it on hold, and had a family member pick it up for us. And we’re starting the sanding/priming/painting process all over again. Thankfully this one comes with feet, so we Garrett won’t need to re-make his foot contraption.
Our mistake was relatively inexpensive at $400, but it’s the time and energy that went into the first tub that really sets us back. But as frustrating as mistakes are, they’re part of the learning process. It brings to mind that saying: “you think hiring professionals is expensive? Try hiring a novice!”. That’s never felt more true than now…
xx
