Got to do dishes today after something like a week and a half of them piling up. And OK, I was gone for five days on a business trip. But still, for someone who typically can't sleep if there's a dirty dish in the sink, that was driving me literally insane. I'd periodically wash up some in the gutted bathroom sink just cos I would run out of silverware or whatever, but it was really exciting to be able to actually wash the dishes tonight!

Yes, I'm pathetic - relished every moment of it and now I have a clean countertop. Life is good.

Day #108

The plumbing took a bit longer than expected. Thought it was done but turns out I, um, sort of made a mistake and forgot to include a P-trap for the disposal. So when I went to add one, it became apparent that the drain line under the sink was actually about an inch above the outlet on the disposal. And since water can't travel uphill, that was a little conundrum. Which translated into having to saw into the wall and cut out the drain stack to lower the T connection. Fun stuff.

But it's finished now and everything seems fine. I even went the extra mile to take the advice I found here and use a Wye connector so that each drain (the sink and the disposal) has a full 1-1/2" pipe leading out to the stack, rather than the typical disposal connection that uses a T connector that halves each output at the intersection.

So it turned out pretty nice - now I just need to fit some new sheetrock in there, prime it and paint it and I'll be back on track.

Flooring is scheduled to be ripped out this coming weekend. That's the last real big part of the job - the rest, including hanging the remaining half of the cabinet doors, painting the trim and touching up the wall paint, experimenting with new drawer slides and other stuff, will happen.

New goal (yes, last two goals - to be finished a) before the end of August and b) by the time my sister Kathy came out two weeks ago - never materialized) is to be done by Thanksgiving. I think that's actually doable if I keep cranking at it. We'll see. Not holding my breath but it would be nice.

This is an actual attachment to an actual email. This is not a joke. But it is quite amusing.

Day #89

OK, so it's been 'officially' 3 months since starting on July 8. Um, taking longer than planned. So it goes. It's all a learning process. Let's see what we've learned so far:

• tearing down walls is messy. very messy.
• hanging 5/8" sheetrock on the ceiling requires two people.
• follow instructions to a 'T' for mudding sheetrock. No exceptions in case you think you know how to do it better.
• don't wire lights on the load side of a GFI.
• plan circuits better.
• everything takes 3x longer than expected.
• everything costs 3x more than expected.
• Use a roller instead of a brush to paint cabinet interiors and shelves - it's 3x faster.
• Formicaฎ cracks.
• use waaaay more contact cement than you ever think is necessary for countertops.
• think 3x before cutting any crown moulding.
• it's nice to be able to pick out every little thing but all the options are mindboggling.
• there is no such thing as a 'quick' remodel.
• see the last point.
• by the time I'm finished I'll be sick of it.

Finishing up the painting bits and some of the finishing touches before ripping out the floor and installing the new tiles - the last big part of the job, really. Then I'll have to save up a little for the LG appliances I've been eyeing.

Really hope that last point proves untrue. But we'll see ... starting to feel the burn.

Isn't Photoshop great?

For this image, when I took it I had in mind that I was going to replace the sky. The thing that probably helped make this an easy thing to do was that the blue sky was only just above where the frame ended on the shot of me. Then it was just a simple method of making the exposures pretty close before blending the shot of the sky into the original scene. As Russell Brown would put it, this is the 'creative' way to place a sky.

There was obviously some other post-production work done, too. :)