Destruction and the Point of No Return

A few weeks ago, I ripped down a wall with only a small sledge and my own brute force. It was manly work and I must say I enjoyed it thoroughly. Smashing and yanking and grunting. It was fun. Leah got in on the act too, destroying some old drywall and tearing out boards.

That was when we passed the point of no return -- where our constant talk about adding a shower to our basement half-bathroom went from a possibility to a commitment.

But, surprisingly, it wasn't the most enjoyable part of this ongoing project. Here is what the little bathroom looked like before the demolition began.

And here is what it looked like when I started JACKHAMMERING the concrete floor!

Who hasn't wanted to use one of these babies and inflict a little teeth-rattling destruction? The plan was to cut a trench in the cement so we can connect the shower drain to the toilet drain about five feet away.

It took me 30 seconds to hammer through the slab and then it was on! At least it was on until Leah pushed me out of the way and took over. "Nice work honey, now get the hell out of the way and let me show you how it's done."

I was impressed.

The job took all of 50 minutes but we rented the thing for four hours. We wanted our money's worth out of the thing. Leah tried to convince me that other things needed jackhammering, like tree stumps or the driveway. But then we calmed down a second, did the rational thing and hauled it back to the rental place.

Before the plumbers arrive, we have to dig down about a foot and a half. We decided to save that for another day. But if anyone needs five large buckets of busted up concrete and rocks, we have you covered.