Monday, November 12, 2012
A couple days ago, I got this bright idea to clean and re-seal the main
bathtub's shower doors. Well, our home is over 25 years old and the
sealant in the tub has probably never been replaced. Edged in black
mold, two areas under the shower door appear to leak rust-colored
water after showers. *shudder* Not clean!!!
Knowing myself, I'm way too lazy to undertake a project by myself. Currently, the
weather is cold and the sky is overcast, my tendency is to hibernate. *Sheepish
grin* To encourage myself (and to make sure I don't back out on this
shower door project), I ask my friend, Annie, for help. She so nicely
agrees to spend Veteran's Day (Monday, November 12) doing a very....
Ummmmmmmm...... inglorious project. Does she know what she's getting
herself into? Do I know what I'm getting myself into?
Come Monday afternoon... It's COLD! Heheheeeeee.... I know's it's
afternoon already, but the air feels crisp with a bright cold snap. The
sun shines bright, so I crawl into a small patch of sunlight;
unfortunately, the sun is not enough to warm my skin. Brrrrrrrr.... So
cold! Annie's coming soon. It is so NOT fair if she has to get out of
bed, drive over to my home to help only to find me huddled in bed. No
good! Okay, Kristy, out of bed and get ready to face the day. *sigh*
After a warm lunch, Annie and I prepare to start. Screwdrivers, two,
check. Razorblades, check. Caulk, check. Metal pokey thing for
fine-point scraping, check. Gloves, check. Mask, check. Ready? Maybe
and maybe not. *shrug* I'll never know until I start.... and then,
it's too late. *grimace*
Taking the shower doors off required lifting the whole top frame
assembly with the doors hanging on it... then sliding the door sideways
out of the frame. Bottom of the doors are black and slimy from
unmentionable gunk mixed with mold. Unscrewing the side frames and
bottom bracket... easy. It's the next part I shudder to think too much
about. Hidden behind the gold-colored metal is white caulk edged in
black mold. Ewwwww!
Annie and I drag the shower door pieces outside. Sitting in the cold
sun, scrubbing and chiseling at mold coated rubber, spraying chill
water, Annie and I work diligently to finish, clean and dry each piece
of the shower door. Leaving the separate components outside to
completely air dry, we trudge back inside. Heads bending low, we use
flat-head screwdrivers and razors to scrape away the old sealant.
Ick... more gunk.
About 5 hours from start to almost-finish... we have sealed the bathtub
edge, placed the shower door frame back in place and resealed everything
in sight!
Lord Father in heaven, thank you for such a great friend... one who
tirelessly worked beside me and encouraged me to properly complete this
project. Thank you, Father, for just enough caulk to reseal everything!
Lord, the shower door's still sitting on the side because we hit a
glitch. The bottom frame of the shower door doesn't quite touch the
tub's edge so I squeezed more caulk there. Now, it's Wednesday, the abnormally
thick layer of caulk isn't curing well in this cold weather. Thank
you, Lord God, that we have another shower in this household to use.
*wide grin*
Lord, can you please seal the bathtub and door with it's frame properly
for me? I jump into these projects knowing the theory behind what to
do, but rarely do things go perfectly smoothly... so Lord, I ask that
you minimize my mistakes and give me wisdom in what to do. Should I
scrape out the thick sealant, add a rubber filler and then reseal? Or
should I just wait a couple more days in hopes that the caulk will be
able to seal itself? *deep sigh* Lord, I ask for your wisdom and your
blessings on this "simple" shower door project. I place my worries and
my cares into your capable hands... and I NEVER want to have to redo this bathtub again in the next 10 years! Please? =O
In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
