In too deep? Cut it out.

Well, I suppose the big news around here right now is that we topped out at 80 F today, March 25, missing the all-time record by a mere 8 degrees. It was a great day all around.

And in other news, I took a circular saw to the outmoded whirlpool bathtub on the main floor, and converted it to a walk-in type. These are very popular and very expensive amongst the assisted-living crowd, but I’m sure the net effect was to lower our property values by a few thousand Washingtons.

The whirlpool sides were too high for J to vault comfortably, and the tub never belonged there in the first place. A standard tub was removed, and some space in an adjoining closet had been annexed to provide for the bigger receptacle. Before we bought the place, the contractor who had been fixing it for the owner had to change a lot of plumbing and stop a serious leak in the drain system. Even that wasn’t enough to make the tub all that attractive to bathers. The whirlpool initially coughed up green water and plaster dust, and despite repeated cleanings, it seemed unlikely ever to resemble something that would be found in Better Homes and Gardens. We used it only twice in two years.

A shower stall, on the other hand, would prove prohibitively expensive. So I cut to the chase, so to speak, and over two days fashioned the new look. The problem of supporting the shower curtain over the 20 inch open space was solved with a plexiglass panel that hooks over the side of the tub. The electrical connections have been rendered inoperative, which will solve the problem of guests thinking they’re turning on the vent fan and getting an obscene burp from the jacuzzi. The old nozzles have been covered by glued-on rubber drain stoppers.

There’s still work to do. The water in the Great Miami Aquifer is notoriously hard, and it takes only a few weeks for rust stains to attach to walls and curtains. The easy part is finished. Now I gotta clean the grout.