i redid my shower

my house was built in 1940. maybe showers weren't widely used then, and maybe copper was in short supply because of the many wars of the era. i'm not sure what caused it, but the bathroom in my house ended up with a wonderful bathtub with a stingy 6 inch tile border. then maybe along the way someone added some shower knobs, just stuck em there in that plaster wall, and called it a new day showertown.
here you can see the somewhat ineffective 6 inch tile border...

my architectural and american history may be off a little (but just barely i'm sure), but what i was working with, in 2009, was three shower knobs -- HOT, COLD, ON -- that looked as if they were rotting out of the wall. it was less than beautiful. SO since the US gub'ment gave me a big fat refund for being a first time homebuyer single mother red headed professional earning less than loads of money, i set out to improve my situation.

ten days ago a nice man named justin came by and ripped up the wall. oh look, it's plaster and lathe! in the shower? moving on. he took out some crappy (galvanized) pipe and replaced it with COPPER. that's right. like the grown folks use. it looked like this when he was done:

that's about a what, 5 foot hole? um whoops. i only have 3 feet of tile. f it.

right. so...ten days later, after showering occasionally at the neighbors', and generally bein a little stinkier, it's done!

but it's not. i have to call that nice justin again so that he can put the fixtures on.

AND i need to put TWO FLIPPING COATS of paint to seal it. because the point of this was to make a waterproof shower situation. and all of that plaster work needs a good seal. but we went over budget with that GIANT HOLE in the wall and i need to make up the difference with elbow grease, which may have also been an original ingredient in the home. so it's an authentic period remodel, you know.
t
in happy news, the note you see there also lists various "green" resources because my dream of a handyman turns out to be a certified green builder. well hello, nurse.

isn't the design nice? i made it up myself using 50% salvaged tile. gorgeous.