Entry #24

Our Bathroom Renovation...No, this was not our idea! Right after moving into our apartment in late January, some workmen noticed that there was a leak someplace in the building. With our luck, they determined that it was coming from our little flat. First, they told us not to use our balcony (it has a drain), then not to use our master bathroom, then not to use our second bathroom. They said that they were "observing".

Evidently it was helpful to make this hole in the corridor wall so they could observe any water that might be coming from our flat. These pipes run underneath our master bedroom floor, which is entirely marble.

And some of those pipes end up right here.
They decided to remove "just a couple of tiles", so that they could "observe".

They were still befuddled as to where the leak was coming from,

so they decided to remove the toilet and to my surprise,

about 2 minutes later, they picked up the tub and took it out to the balcony as well!

And this is what we were left with.

At this point, I decided that we needed a "project manager"!

Here, bathtubs are set up on bricks and then sand is filled in around them.

Now it was time for the jackhammer.


They proceeded to remove the entire tile floor

and subfloor.

Eureka! They finally found the leak!

Guess where it is!

In the back wall, at the bottom left, they have now "entered"

the second bathroom and that's where the leak is coming from.

Since my husband's blood pressure had risen sharply by this point,

and five months had passed, it was time to put the bathroom back together.

They used layer after layer of gravel and cement to build it up.

My landlord keeps asking me why I don't take a bath!

So, you are wondering what this has to do with India! A lot. We could not count the number of days we waited for workmen and they never showed up, or came three hours late and then took a three hour lunch break. We put up with strangers coming and going in our apartment "observing" and speaking only in Telugu. We put up with a layer of dirt on the floor and a haze in the air that never settled. Kent gave up his bathroom and I gave up my balcony where I dry the clothes. And every moment that there were workmen in our apartment, the landlord had to be present as well -- so that he could "observe" the workers!
One day I counted 5 people crowded in the bathroom having a "conference".

It reminded me of the nursery rhyme...

Rub a dub dub, five men in a tub,

A landlord, a builder, a plumber, a mason and a mediator.