MOVING A SALVAGED TUB
Cleaned,
primed, and painted, the cast-iron clawfoot tub they’d picked up for a song a decade ago was finally ready to be moved up two flights of stairs. The two had dreamed about and dreaded this day. For Wendy, fear grew so overwhelming (what could go wrong, moving a 350-pound behemoth?) that she couldn’t be home. So Alex supervised the team on the day of the event. “I have to admit I smiled when the first guy got to the tub and said, Wow, you mean, this is all solid metal?” Alex remembers. “I said, Yes—yes it is. That’s why we called you.”
With one man on either end of the tub and a third as spotter, the team made it safely up the first set of stairs. The next flight was more treacherous. Not only were the stairs steep and narrow, but Alex knew they were unsupported at the back. He advised the men to step only on the front of each step, and the team moved slowly upward.Then the lead carrier lost his footing—nothing terrible, but enough to stop forward momentum. Alex flashed back to when he was helping two others carry a massive piece of tempered glass. The lead man took an awkward step as they passed through a doorway, causing a ripple effect that allowed the edge of the glass to strike the door frame. The glass exploded into pieces.
“I remembered that huge explosion as I watched the tub begin to shift backwards, down toward the first floor,” Alex shudders. All of the weight of the tub shifted onto the rear carrier. Potential disaster flashed before his eyes. But the spotter tailing the two carriers planted his feet and put his shoulder against the lowest man, shifting his momentum forward. That boost steadied the rear of the tub—probably only two seconds, though Alex says his vision of the tub crashing down onto the movers, through the floor, and back to the basement was so “vividly realistic.” He came away impressed by the professionalism of the movers. “And that’s why Wendy didn’t let me do this job with a friend,” Alex concludes.
painfully frigid on bare feet. In the middle of winter we’ve found ourselves lingering in the bathroom just enjoying the warmth. Temperature-wise, it’s now the most comfortable room in the house.
This is not a project that came together quickly or easily. Our “bargain” vanity cost us countless hours reinforcing it and trimming it out in a way that suited our vision and our budget, for example. On the other hand, the angled and beveled mirror that perfectly complements it turned up in Wendy’s inbox—on sale!— in an email blast. She all but tripped over it.
Some last details still need attention before we declare the bathroom complete—we’re looking for polished nickel keyhole covers for the vanity—but we’re both very happy with how the bathroom turned out. FOR RESOURCES, SEE PAGE 87.