A short, but satisfying day

I had to work at my job this afternoon, so again it was a short day at the house. I arrived just before 9:00 to meet the electrician only to find someone blocking my driveway with their car! That was a bummer. It's so rude, and I kept the electrician waiting while I dealt with it. To top it off, I couldn't even park in my own driveway. I and several neighbors tried to find the owner, but we couldn't find them so I had to have the car towed. Someone is going to be mad!

The electrician and I walked through the house again, and discussed again what he will do. I've learned a lot after talking to other electricians and wanted to look at the job with those more experienced eyes. He is going to get us a contract this weekend, and we'll have temporary power by Tuesday! This is a big milestone because no work can start without the temporary power. The electricity in the house is so bad that it is not safe to use - people have been getting shocked touching light switches and the home inspector found exposed live wires.

My dumpster arrived today as scheduled, and I didn't even have to make a call! I think I'm so prepared for things to go horribly that when something goes right, it is a pleasant surprise.

After he left, I started demolition on the bathroom. It was harder than it looks! When you see it on TV, the people doing it are pros and know all the tricks. I had to learn the tricks as I went. You'd be surprised how many wacks with a sledgehammer particle board stands up to! The problem is that it flexes instead of breaking. It was interesting problem solving too - I often had to trace through how things were attached - e.g. A to B to C to C so if I want C out I have to find out what B and D are attached to and take them out. I have to say though, this was REALLY fun. I made so much progress in just an hour, and my hard work shows right away.

Here is a before shot of the linen closet in the bathroom:



This is how it looked after an hour: