Yes, that is definitely a light and not an oncoming train!
Week 30, day 207.
Whelp, this part of our lives is definitely coming to a middle. Or something like that.
But first, I want to share something created by my friend and fellow stone carver Doug Howatt.
Doug finished carving this piece recently and shared photos with the old carving class.
I am really pleased to see this happen. Not just because Doug is a nice guy and I am happy to see him complete it, but also because it’s a kick in the butt to get me moving again on something — anything — just as soon as the renovation is done and the garage opens back up. I won’t make any promises — I’m too well versed in my own ability to procrastinate to do that! — but I hope to get something going sooner or later.
Congratulations, Doug, and thanks for sharing!
OK, now we go back to the home renovation project.
As you saw up above, it’s been 30 weeks since we moved upstairs. That’s a long, long time. But things are accelerating.
This week the plumber finished all of his work except installing two thermostats and testing the new heating system. That’s supposed to happen next week if all goes well, and then we can do the final plumbing inspection.
In addition, the electrician has done all he can. There are three light fixtures still to install and a few outlet and switch plates to go in once painting is done. And they need to provide laminated cards inside each breaker box saying what each breaker controls. The final electrical inspection has to wait for those items, but that should all be in the next week or two.
The appliances are nearly installed. The new fridge still needs a couple of tweaks, but everything is there.
Today the painter is doing his thing, painting in the bathroom, repainting some walls, and generally touching things to make them pretty.
So, what does it look like? I’ll share some photos. First, here’s a view of part of the new kitchen, which is our showpiece.
Not shown are the new fridge, the old dishwasher, and the faucet. But as you can see, the backsplash is in and looks great. The cooktop and oven are installed, but the breakers for them are off to avoid anyone accidentally turning them on.
The other thing that isn’t obvious is the dust. The whole house is dusty from all the drywall patching that has gone on. It’s a big mess that is slowly being controlled.
And here are a few more photos that give a sense of the place:
Note the blue cabinet in the back. That’s what filled the mystery space that I’ve discussed in previous posts.
Technically this is a bedroom (which means it has a closet), but it’s so tiny it can’t be used for much in reality. So for us it’s the library.
There’s still a lot to do, and we have a new deadline of sorts. The shipping container on the driveway renews for another month on July 2nd. We’d like to get it taken away before then if we can, but there isn’t a lot of time. And for my American readers, July 1 is a holiday, so they won’t pick it up then. We’re going to scramble and see if we can pull everything out of there in time to have the container picked up on June 30th, but if we don’t make it, it’s not the end of the world. Fingers crossed.
And of course there is other work that still has to happen. There is exterior painting to be done, and we still need to redo the concrete in the front entry to avoid the weird tripping hazard that exists out there. But we have plans, and none of that will stop the final inspections or keep us from emptying the shipping container.
Now you are up to date on all this craziness.
Someday soon, I will have to find other things to write about. I hope I can manage it!
Regardless, thanks for reading this far! May all your projects come to happy conclusions in reasonable time frames!