The Zombie Apocalypse Hole and Other Matters

Much of the focus for the past two weeks has been on the plumbing. We had all of the pipes and exhausts in the outside walls done in preparation for insulating and drywall, but there was still a lot to work on. We had to buy showers and shower fixin's before we even got to any of the actual piping.

We got a full tub/shower for the upstairs bathroom (walls not installed yet).

Our downstairs bathroom is equipped with a 

shower, making the tiny bathroom even smaller.

Why did we stuff a shower into a 5x6 bathroom? After growing up in a house with 6 people and one shower, Daniel and I agreed that having a second shower, no matter how much it crowded the space, would be easier than trying to work with one. We bought the smallest shower we could, as well as a 17 inch sink and vanity to fit into the corner. It will be tight, but I'm sure we'll manage. Dad has been working in this bathroom to build a shower wall to run the pipes in. 

Much of the work in the past two weeks has taken place in the basement. I haven't written about the basement before because, believe it or not, it is the one part of the house that didn't need any repair! It's cold and a bit damp, but what else can you expect from an old house? The basement has become the central hub for electric and plumbing for the whole house.

The electric has been wired and we're ready

 to attach all the wires to the box.

Water pump, water softener and heat pump.

Dad has been focusing on running the copper water pipes to these. It's been a frustrating puzzle, since certain faucets don't need softened water, or heated water, but he's making progress!

Underneath the downstairs bathroom AKA: The Zombie Apocalypse Hole

I have to admit, this cracks me up. When the contractors put the bathroom addition on, they left a hole underneath so the plumbing could be run. To get there, you have to climb up part of an old chimney left in the basement and squeeze through a hole in the foundation. Hard to get in, but it is suprisingly spacious. I've declared this the zombie apocalypse hole - should we ever need to hide from zombies, we're heading in here!

In addition to the copper pipes, we've been working on running PVC drain pipes for the two bathrooms. My dear husband and his brother designated these as the "poop tubes," and had too much fun running these this past weekend.

We still have a lot of plumbing to do before we'll have running water and flushing toilets, but we're definitely getting closer! We have seven weeks to get it all done, so we're really getting down to the wire here!

Other items of note.

Dan worked really hard on our attic. We now have a plywood floor and an access ladder so we'll be able to use the attic for storage. This is huge because our house has a grand total of two closets - one in the master bedroom, and one in the room with the attic access. I'm no pack rat, but we're gonna need more storage space if we ever add to our family.

(itty bitty closet and attic hole)

Daniel and I hung boards in the kitchen so we would have something solid to attach our cabinets to. This was a bit of a pain in the butt - I had to chip away at the insulation with a razor blade to make space for the boards, and Dan had a difficult time screwing the boards in place. It will be worth it though - our kitchen cabinets should never fall!

Last, we've taken off all of the baseboards and window trim. Some of it was pretty badly broken or cracked, but the pieces that were good have been piled up and are now waiting to be planed by our contractor. We wanted to keep as much of the original as possible, so we're hoping that once they are planed we'll be able to reuse them in the house. 

Next week: priming the walls, ordering paint colors and starting to sand the floors!