Caught Up in the Bee House

I’ve neglected journaling this winter because I’ve been preoccupied with completing renovation of the Bee House. At first we called it casita B, but its name changed when Grant set to work on the renovation. He discovered a huge beehive in the chimney. A local beekeeper was happy to remove the hive (for a fee, of course) because the bees would bring new vigor to his apiary.

The building was in very bad shape. It had been rented as a studio apartment with a tiny kitchen and disgusting bathroom. The concrete floor was covered with vinyl tile that was laid at a goofy angle. Two brick planters abutted the front of the house, causing water retention that rotted the siding. Grant stripped it to the studs inside and out and removed the planters.

Originally this structure was a ramada, a roof supported by large beams. It’s easy to spot them in this photo.

He reframed the building to allow placement of a French entry door and two windows on the north side. He also removed the old entrance door, which was strangely placed at one end of the structure. Then he and Dennis put up new siding.

Next, they painted the siding.

This photo shows how neatly they had cut the new siding to fit the old ramada posts.

By the time we arrived back in Tucson last fall, Grant had new wiring and light fixtures installed, as well as a mini-split for heating and cooling. He had chipped up the old floor tiles. He framed in the tiny bathroom, and installed a new outside door that leads directly to the back door of Casita A. He also had put up insulation and sheetrock, and sanded and stained the inside of the ramada posts. He and Blair painted the walls on a 114º day.

Not much work remained to be done, but planning a tiny bathroom that would meet ADA specifications was a tremendous challenge for me. I was also constrained by placement of the original plumbing and by our budget. I spent weeks searching the Internet for products, scouring the offerings of local building supply stores, and even asking a local cabinetmaker to come up with a plan. (His ideas were well beyond our budget.) This photo shows the width of the space. I took it while standing in the doorway.

Eventually we settled on a 36”x”36” shower pan with porcelain tile walls.

In order to get wheelchair clearance to the toilet I chose a corner vanity, which Home Depot built to order, including seven coats of hand-rubbed paint. A piece of marble left over from a big house renovation would become the vanity top.

Julio Mareno and his skillful crew did all the work in the bathroom, including these nifty shelves. They constitute the only storage space in the building.

We contracted with Rogo’s to refinish, stain, and seal the concrete floor and the concrete fireplace mantle and hearth. In this photo they had sanded off the old tile mastic, repaired chips, and added a layer of concrete to smooth the surface.

After that, they added two layers of stain and a protective resin finish. The results please us.

The bathroom looks great and is highly functional.

Finally, Grant and Dennis cut and installed the baseboards all around. Grant and Blair contributed window shades for privacy. We moved in our newly-cleaned carpets and used furniture from two of Tucson’s many nice used furniture stores. Shortly afterward the sofa bed was occupied by visiting grandchildren.

Ta-dah! Now, back to normal life.

Copyright 2017 by Shirley Domer