Day 6 - Transition to a Minimalist Bathroom

Well, I've finally bitten the bullet and admitted that the bathroom project has not totally gone as planned to date. I have torn into a few walls that maybe should have been left alone. This gives me the perfect opportunity to show how to transition from one project to another though, so I can use this as a valuable teaching tool. For all of you true diehard DIYers out there, you understand that sometimes working on one project can ultimately start a chain reaction on a wide variety of new projects. If you need more proof of this beyond my bathroom, just watch an episode or 2 of 'Tool Time'. (btw: Tim Taylor definitely follows my rule of power tools first.) Although I was not anticipating this intense of a project when I first took on the leaky faucet, the inevitable chain reaction has occurred from drippy faucet to ripped apart walls to collapsed ceiling to no more toilet. (Yep, the toilet is just the latest in this projects casualties.) I might explain later what tragedy has befallen the toilet, but for now the wounds are too fresh...
Looking at the overall feel of the bathroom now, I am considering going with a very modern and 'minimalist' approach. All of you diehard campers and backpackers out there should be familiar with the term BIFF (Bathroom in Forest Floor). I've decided to recreate this experience with my BIBF (bathroom in bathroom floor). As you can see from the picture above, there really is no need for a toilet...it is just something that will need to be fixed/ declogged/ handle jiggled or replaced at some point in the far future. My newly adopted minimalist approach says "it won't need fixing if it's not there". The only real downside that I can see with my new BIBF (patent pending) is that you have to be pretty good with your aim, but nothing I need to be concerned with as this is just the guest bathroom.
The minimalist approach offers many other shortcuts too for the diehard DIYer. Something that may not be known except within the DIYer community is that DIYers suffer from severe project burnout. This burnout usually starts shortly after all the demo work has been completed, often leaving projects in a state of disarray for extended periods of time until some ultimatum from the spouse forces them to begrudgingly start back on finishing the project that was started 3 years ago. Mary, am I right?
However, by claiming the minimalist approach, I can bask in the sheer beauty of a stud framed room and ponder to myself, "why would anyone want to cover up this carpentry masterpiece with drywall?" and "Who needs a shower when our kitchen sink has a pull out spray handle?" This minimalist approach is also very eco-friendly as I am not wasting precious natural resources on frivolous 'cosmetic enhancements' to our bathroom. I'm not sure if Mary is going to buy into this minimalist approach...if only it had been in that damn 'gorgeously green' bible..er..I mean book, that she has taken too so fondly. It will be a hard pitch to her I'm sure, but the upsides are endless. Much cheaper, environmentally friendly, and of course, much less work for me to do beyond the adrenalin filled rush of demolition...I'll let you know how this conversation turns out in a later post.
On a quick side note, i wanted to point out some good sound fundamentals of Carpenter Pete's approach to construction work. As you can see from this light strip above (sidenote: see how amazing the fixture looks with the minimalist approach backdrop behind it?) Carpenter Pete's eyeball once and hang it turned out pretty dang good. True, if I hold a level to it, the bubble may be slightly off center, but it would still definitely be between the lines. Seriously, that man is a time saving genius, and this goes as proof once again that the saying 'don't cut corners' must have been created by union carpenters who need to drag out all the jobs for as much labor time as possible.