One Room Challenge Week 3: The Story of the $5 tub and (dry)wall art

We are in the middle of our One Room Challenge guest bathroom makeover. See what all we got done in week three!

Spoiler alert: It’s real hard to do anything on a bathroom renovation when you’re out of town unplanned for a week…..Le sigh. So, our progress was not all I had hoped or dreamed, but we got a FIVE DOLLAR BATHTUB, Y’ALL. FIVE. DOLLARS. For a bathtub. The story is as follows:

In our post where we shared the final plans for this room, we talked about the tub we were getting which was this one from Home Depot. So, we bought it. Well, on his way home, Jordan had to get gas and stopped on an exit he normally doesn’t stop and saw a local place that is similar to a Habitat Restore or a Salvation Army, but it’s actually owned by a church. So, when Lowes has products they cant sell for some reason like they’re defective, then they donate it to this church who then turns around and sells it for DIRT CHEAP to raise money for their church. Pretty cool, right?

So, typically you have to make an appointment, but since the gate was open, of course Jordan drove in. Of course. He’s literally the most nosy person ever. But he can get away with it because he’s also the most friendly person ever. The gate was open because someone else was looking around and so Jordan looked around too. He saw a section of just random bathtubs and asked what was wrong with them. Apparently they all had cracks and wouldn’t hold water …. BUT THEY WERE $5.

So, he walked around and found one that didn’t have any obvious crack and he asked about it because it was actually one we had looked at buying brand new. What was wrong with it? The front apron had a crack.

Did you hear me? (read me??) The FRONT APRON had a crack.

DO Y’ALL NOT REMEMBER OUR PLANS?! I’ll give you a hint:

Is it all coming back to you now? We’re taking the idea from Diane at Spruce and Pine and WE ARE BUILDING A TUB SURROUND. <– Why did I just type that in all caps? BECAUSE YOU WILL NEVER SEE THAT FRONT APRON WITH A CRACK!!!!!! NEVERRRRRRRR!!!!!

So, Jordan loaded up that bad boy after handing him a big ol’ Lincoln (that’s a $5 bill. I promise. I looked it up.)

On his way home he literally calls anyone who will pick up to tell them the story and immediately blurts it all out when he gets home with two tubs. That’s right. Because the other tub was on the trailer still in the box from Home Depot.

We decided to test them out to see about durability and to make sure the depth and length would work so we unboxed the one from Home Depot …. and y’all …. IT WAS CRACKED! I couldn’t believe it. After wiping tears from laughter, we put it back in the box and promptly returned it.

UPDATE: 9 MONTHS LATER AND WE FINALLY FINISHED!!! Click here to see the completed space!

Since we were out of town this week, all we were able to accomplish really was setting the tub in a bed of mortar. Also, something I didn’t know – when you set your tub in a bed of mortar, you have to fill it up with water and leave it for three days until it cures to help weigh it down. But here’s our $5 tub!!!