"You're remodeling a bathroom?!"

Many older, married friends and relatives chortled the above question to me when I told them we were tearing into our 30-year-old 5x8 bathroom. Shea tells me that her parents' marriage is most tense when remodeling, moving furniture, or making decisions about the physical aspects of their home. Well, mylanta! I think they all might be onto something.

As you'll see from the before and after shots, the bathroom at dear ol' 7787 was in need of repair. After three full years of complaining, begging, pleading, I finally took my place beside my beloved and picked up a crowbar. April 11 through late June 2008 could be labeled the longest six weeks of my adult life thus far. We managed to survive with few quarrels.

Let's be clear. What HGTV does not show on its clever little programming are the icky layers of demolition, the hours of leveling floors and squaring walls, the painstaking mess of hanging and taping drywall, and the seemingly endless details one forgets while standing in the wood trim or plumbing or tile aisles of Home Depot. Folks, this is no one-weekend project. Nope. Not without a crew of 50. Not even with the handiest husband-to-be on the planet. Even through all the bumps in the road, Patrick (and his trusty assistant!) produced a pretty neat little D-I-Y potty. And Sarah is H-A-P-P-Y!!

before...

NOW!