May 29, June 2

I can't believe I didn't write anything about Tuesday! LOTS has happened, and I have pictures!

We got the tile set, as I mentioned in the last blog. The next day we decided not to set the toilet because we thought we could still hear the thinset "squishing" a bit when we test-walked on it. So instead we focused on sheetrocking in the master closet, kitty litter closet, the linen area behind the vanity, deducing wiring connections, and figuring out what to do from there. Doesn't necessarily sound all that productive, but it really was.

So this recent weekend, by some miracle, I basically didn't have any houses to show clients and the weather was absolutely PERFECT, so on Saturday we worked on electrical. If you look at the pictures, it doesn't look like all that much got done, but it's all in the attic, which is actually a huge accomplishment. We had to run a romex line of 12 gauge power (called a home run, in electrician's parlance) from the circuit breaker box at the garage, all the way to the addition (dance hall). We also had to get the power line from the guest bath GFCI outlet (and yes, we DID plan for that 2 years ago, and had it hanging in the rafters, ready to go) to the new bathroom section. All sounds pretty mundane, right?

While we did have the foresight to run a 12 gauge wire from the GFCI outlet in the bathroom up into the attic, coiled up, and hanging, so as to push it to the new space when we did it, it was another feat getting there. At the end of 2010, we went ahead and had a company come in and blow in insulation in our attic. There was a Progress Energy refund available, as well as a tax credit, so it cost us just about the cost of materials to hire someone. So after they'd been there, we had a nice pile of insulation throughout the attic . . . it looks like it snowed in there. But that makes finding the rafters/ceiling joists to walk on that much more exciting to find. Remember Homewrecker's slipping incident 2 years ago? While occasionally I get a thrill from adrenaline, I prefer to get it from roller coasters, not watching HW's shins swell like potatos.

In addition (well, kinda pun intended), the hole in the old roof of the house that connects to the addition is about the size of a small child and is not easily gotten through. And my balance beam skills are legendary, in that I don't have any. So Homewrecker's job was to carry a jig saw (for cutting the roof), a drill (for drilling, of course), a flashlight (the addition doesn't have lighting), a 100-foot electric cord, wire nuts, a hammer, gloves, dust mask, wire clippers, electric tape, and his balance and agility, step by step, joist by joist, digging a small hole with the foot through the insulation, testing the weight, and then doing it again and again until he reached the addition. Before he started the trek, he pulled his socks up as high as he could so he could leave as much insulation in he attic as possible, instead of taking it all with him with his leg hair. Sexy.

From the storage area of the attic (with flooring) down to the addition doesn't look all that far when sitting on the plywood of the storage area. Just a couple of steps, really. But it's not. Not when you're carrying all that crap with you.

And we picked the coolest day we could, with it only being in the 70s, so it only felt like the high 90s in the attic. And my job was to make sure he got what he needed, but after that, I was running around downstairs, doing the "other side" of stuff.

He got the hole cut in the roof, and we ran 100 feet of 12 gauge wire (home run) to the new section. Then he grabbed the wire from the bathroom and we fished that through holes we had made in the top sill plate of the walls. Did I mention that that sill plate is a load-bearing wall, carrying the load of the whole old roof, because it was the original outside wall of the house? It's where the rafters of the attic come down and meet the exterior wall. So mice feel very comfortable there, but full-grown humans do not. Even if they have small fingers. But we managed to get the wire where we needed it, and then we moved a can light.

There are three lights in the dance hall on one switch. They were all in a line, but once we framed in the closet, one was hidden in the MBR closet and not helpful, unless you wanted to see in both the family room and the MBR closet at the same time, only standing in the hallway to turn it on. I'm sure in some alternative universe, that would be a useful thing. Not so much with ours. So HW untangled and freed the can light housing from its bondage in its old location, and we moved it to a new area in the new hallway we've created in the dance hall. Now the light shines right into the new coat closet we've created (which, by the way, doesn't hold coats at the moment--it holds our vacuum cleaner, a door, some corner bead, the cats water, and a carpet steamer . . . go figure). And can I say for the record that the hole I cut for the light was PERFECT?? No re-cutting, no jury-rigging. It was perfect the first time. I was proud of myself all weekend for that one. Small victories.

While I was waiting for the light fixture HW was freeing from bondage, I was able to see him through the hole I cut. Let's just say with the lack of airflow, topped with the temperature, HW was giving Linville Falls a run for its money. I think he went through a couple of gallons of water and Gatorade that day!

So to sum up, we got power over to the new lights, power to the new outlets, and re-configured power to the rest of the family room (dance hall) so that it all flows nicely again. We found out that when power comes into the family room (dance hall), it splits off to two sides of the room. So to keep them straight, we wrote on the cable sheathing which side was which. Since "right" and "left" are subjective, depending on where you're standing at the time of needing to know, we named the sides for what they serviced in the room. So now the lines say "TV" and "Litter". Anyone excavating in the distant future should get a kick out of that. :o)

And you keep asking where are the pictures? They're coming . . . .