Autumn weather has arrived, and I'm sitting bundled up in a quilt in our old apartment as I write this, Sunday night. We accomplished a lot this weekend:
Plumbing:
Robert got a B+ in Plumbing 202, with assistance from Dad. They installed a new water shutoff, a sink, a counter, faucets, a water filter, a dishwasher, new waste line pipe, and a garbage disposal. They only needed to redo a few sections, and right now there are--in Robert's words--only "a drip or two," which he assures me will never turn into a flood and are well within the tolerance level. With visions of mildewey under-cabinet storage, and rotting cabinets, and yes, floods, in my mind, I nevertheless put my trust in Robert--and the extra layer of silicone caulk he applied just before we left the apartment today. It was a brilliant endeavor, and the kitchen now is almost completely finished.
Here you see the stove-side of the kitchen, finished, and the sink-side, partially finished (after the thrilling "cutting of the sinkhole" episode, before everything else).
Painting:
With a little help from Pearl one afternoon this week (Pearl does beautiful cutting-in), and a quick run to Home Depot on Saturday to get a second shade of blue (we were being too conventional in our color choice, apparently), Dad and I painted the front hall/dining room wall. Mom helped, too, with some of the tricky cutting-in near the built-in breakfront, and even Robert got the roller in his hand to take a stab at the ceiling.
Everything Else:
I finished the doorstep, refinished the wood on the built-in cabinets/vanities in the two bathrooms, and refinished the water-damaged wood around the roofdeck entrance and on the steps.
Mom and I hung custom bamboo blinds (inside-mount, bordered in blue, lined) in the curved living room windows and standard bamboo blinds (outside-mount, unbordered, unlined) in the easier-to-fit bedroom windows.
Mom touched-up woodwork, swept a lot, and tied up more bundles and boxes of trash. She also cleaned out the under-stairs and under-breakfront cabinets thoroughly (they were full of mouse-evidence, and they smelled very musty) so I could put shelves in them and reclaim them as storage space. The space under the stairs, in particular, is huge.
Home Depot Updates:
We managed to go Friday evening and then twice on Saturday. Each time, Robert and Dad spent about half an hour in the plumbing aisle, talking to the guy there (Kevin and Josh), learning lots, and letting a giant line pile up behind them. The various plumbing guys finally convinced us to go with a real PVC solution, instead of quick-and-dirty plastic pipes, and then reassured us that even very thirsty mice would not be able to chew through the filtered-water hose going to our refrigerator. "Mice get thirsty?" Robert exclaimed, in one notable Home Depot moment. Mom and I got to catch up with all our Home Depot friends: chubby, friendly Jose in cabinets, the nice paint guy, and the two guys in lightbulbs and electric.
Flooring Update:
iFloor assures us that our floor "was scheduled to ship" on Friday. We don't have a tracking number or anything, but the day before it arrives someone will call us. We are not so confident ourselves, but we'll see. We can only hope, actually, that we run out of other things to do before the floor arrives--sadly, we still have much electrical work, some painting, some general repairs, and a fair amount of carpentry/molding work left to do. Stay tuned!