Category Archives: electrical

I love it all, so much I call, I want you back…*

As winter tromps along, with seemingly no end in sight, so does our Family Bath Project. Brad’s been fitting in bits of the project between winter storms, while Dave and Jonas have been giving us time on the weekends to fit us in amid their busy (weather-altered) schedule. We knew that the wintertime project would be inevitably affected by the weather, other bigger jobs (this is, after all, just a tiny bathroom compared to the whole houses all these dudes are working on), and colds and flus. So far we’ve been incredibly lucky, and the scheduling has worked out very well for everyone. Until…

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You know you’re gold, you don’t gotta worry none…*

Well, after the dust settled, a bit, we readied ourselves for the job that we fretted over the most: the plumbing. If you have ever hired a plumber, or ever needed one, you will understand that, on the whole, it can be frustrating to get them to call you back, to get them to show up on time, or to charge a fair price (seriously, $150 for 10 minutes of work?). But, in this case, we were lucky again. Thanks to Brad (our favorite electrician, and all around great guy) we were referred to a new plumber who squeezed us in and totally helped us out. And of course he’s called Dave. Why wouldn’t he be?

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Guess what, I am not a robot…*

I may not be a robot, but Team Carpentry (with some help from friends) were like machines tearing out the worst parts of the family bath (namely: everything). It seems like forever ago that we started the process of designing, shopping for, and hiring for our family bathroom makeover. But it was more like a few weeks ago. Boy, things change, though, once you rip down some walls, and rip out some fixtures. In a good way.

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I won’t stop until my tears are all shed… so happy…

This is the AFTER post. There are no days or weeks to quantify, save for the 16 (plus) weeks that have passed full of work (that’s over 80 days!), and the months prior to that full of planning, shopping, drawing, contemplating, anticipating. There are no more major events happening (I hardly think the installation of a new panel schedule for the new electrical warrants a photo shoot). All that’s left is to enjoy. Oh, and completely rearrange our second floor, and deal with the basement that looks like a stage 3 hoarding situation is happening. But I digress.

First, I must thank everyone who wished us well, who read up on what was happening (even if reading up only included looking at the photos), who showed us love and interest during this life altering process (who partied with us on Saturday!). Your support, your interest, your excitement helped when things got tough. Which they did. And when they were going well, your interest fanned the flames of our passion for the project. I am so glad I took the time to blog it out. It made the whole process so much more fun.

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We are family, I got all my (people) with me…

Okay, so it’s been a bit since my last post. About a week. Week (mostly lucky) 13. Days 61 through 65. What a week. If I can even remember back to the beginning, last Monday, day 61 (which was a holiday, or so I’m told) was just Dave and I trying to stay focused, and on task for another big week. Dave spent some time building light rails (to hide the undercabinet lighting), and finished up working on the infrastructure for the floating shelves in the baking nook (not as simple a task as one might think!). I spent the day painting – what I was painting I can barely recall – and would still be painting now were it not for the flu that snatched me from vertical to horizontal sometime on Thursday (hence the mostly lucky week 13). But I don’t want to jump ahead.

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He said I’m worth it…

Day 60! We made it! Well, that was Friday, and I’ve been so busy since then that I didn’t even get a chance to tell you about it. So, Friday capped off a great week (and capped of 12 weeks of work so far!). Caleb and J.J. finished tiling and grouting the backsplash, Dave finished building the pantry nook (which I LOVE, by the way), and started working on the shelves for the baking nook, while I cleaned, sanded and painted the radiator covers for the entire first floor. We were all busy, motivated by the Shakira and Beyonce channel on Pandora. (Let the record show, this was a request by the boys – they even sang along to some of the diva-tude. It was rather cute.)

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Ain’t it good to know that you’ve got a friend…

Day 59 was busy, eventful, and soooo satisfying. Team Dave got here early and began working on the math and layout for the pantry cabinet right away. Since the weather was mainly dry, and pretty much sunny-ish (partly sunny – I get it now, weather people) he decided to dive right into the carpentry since the rain has been keeping him indoors painting for a week. (Plus I think he craves sawdust. It’s a sickness. I don’t think he’s getting treatment.) Shortly thereafter, J.J. and Caleb arrived at immediately started walking tile up those walls. It was a great start to the day (especially after the whole plumbing fiasco from yesterday).

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C’mon y’all know I had to kill her…*

Day 57 started off great. Stone getting worked on (sinks, seams and sealer!) and paint happening all around. And then I got ill. Feverish, sleeping all day, sick to my stomach ill. Not fun. So I missed the rest of it. And now we’re finishing day 58. So it’s a combo post, not because nothing happened, but because sickness struck again. Ugh. (Still mending, not quite 100% yet… maybe 67%? Perhaps 78%? Remains to be seen.)

But, my health issues aside, so much has changed in a day! The whole house is painted, or nearly so, tile is being installed, countertops are in, the sink is in, the dishwasher is in place… we can almost imagine a day in the not too distant future where we’ll actually get to have a kitchen! It’s so good. So, first, on Tuesday, Team Stone finished up the install on the countertops (which look UH-MAY-ZING, by the way), and Team Dave finished painting, oh, just about everything! (Love you, Dave!) I staggered downstairs at one point later in the day (in my pj’s, looking ever so pathetic, I’m sure) and was amazed by how much paint can change the feeling of a space. No more do we have paint samples painted all over the walls in the foyer, or dingy looking trim. It’s all fresh, bright, and clean. It made me as happy as anything can make someone in my state. (I promptly went back to sleep.)

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You, and me, walk on, walk on, walk on, ’cause we can’t go back now…

Days 54 and 55 were saturated by Tropical Storm Nicole. She blew, blustered, rained and soaked. And ruined our chances at getting our countertops installed before week’s end. (Insert sadface here.) The driving rain, high wind and just general ickiness prevented Team Stone from being able to both work in the driveway, or carry the stone by suction handles into the house. The Team was worried about the excessive moisture (and it was excessive) inhibiting the ability for the suction gripper thingys from actually, well, gripping the stone. The very last thing we’d want is for the stone to fall and shatter in the driveway. I’m pretty sure my heart would stop right then and there. Stone install was therefore postponed until early next week. Poop.

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Like painted kites, those days and nights, they went flyin’ by…

Week 9, days 41 through 45, came and went while we dawdled along on vacation. I can’t say that Jeff dawdled along, he worked most of it, while Bec and I alternated between napping, cooking (well, she didn’t cook, of course) and going for walks. Though the weather was so chilly that the walks and outdoorsy times I had hoped for were sort of curtailed (I didn’t pack correctly, while rushing around trying to FIND things on our way out, and after we learned the hard way that our dryer at home was not working), I did manage to see the sea, the sunset, and had a walk in the sand.

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