Mom Virginia (formerly and occasionally still known by her middle name, Vae) seems to be improving daily. She is in the small hospital in nearby Benson for rehab. We take walks down the hall and she works with occupational, speech and physical therapists. Her main problem is still memory, and it's worse when she's in an unfamiliar environment, so we are hoping she recovers fully at home. Becky drove over for a long visit yesterday, which helped a lot.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Sam and his number one helper took advantage of Sam's 4-day weekend (and Mom's absence) to remove Mom's bathtub and replace it with a step-in shower and grab bars. First, the toilet was removed for more room to work.
This is the "before" photo.
Then we removed the hardware and trim.
Sam used a friend's sawzall to cut through the old fiberglass surround. It was still in good shape after over 25 years, but not at all safe for an unsteady older person.
Progress! Sam has wanted to install grab bars for a year, but the walls weren't strong enough to support them, and there was no way to get in without removing either the tub or the outside walls!
The tub is gone. My parents painted the interior in 2014, but the original wallpaper was still behind the tub walls.
Next, Sam had to relocate the wiring and vent pipe into the wall joists.
Then we went shopping. Sam does the research online and by calling friends and local businesses. A park model/ manufactured home is much smaller than normal houses, but fortunately there's a supplier on the west side of Tucson. We also visited Lowe's and Ace Hardware. A lot.
The next two days sped by with Sam opening up the back of the house to replace the old polybutelene water lines with new pex tubing, including shutoff valves and new fittings. He first removed the floor insulation, not a real pleasant job due to rodents having made their home underneath while Mom's house was unoccupied a few years ago.
The plumbing hole in the floor helped us with communication.
And he used a tarp to work on.
Yesterday he connected the water lines to the kitchen and bathroom sinks, the toilet valve, and brought them through the floor at the shower location.
Did I mention how small this place is?
Then we did a water pressure check, and hallelujah! No leaks and good pressure. Thank you, God!
Today, Sam had to go back to work and drive the school bus. (What a hunk.) :)
But he came home for his mid-morning break and installed the cement board in the shower. Work will continue in the coming week.
It's a good thing Mom is in rehab. Her house is an explosion of tools and materials!
To be continued...
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