More Plumbing and Strapping

Today was a little less crazy.  No quick trips to buy shower valves and no decisions to make.  Matt finished up plumbing the new shower and relocated tub.  We got really lucky with the location of the shower drain.  It just missed the joist.

Justin and Keefe worked on strapping the dining room ceiling.  It might not look like much, but it is quite the feat to line up the new and old ceilings, especially when things are not level in the old house.

Bathroom Demo Day

Today was demo day for the kids bathroom.  So glad to see that strange bathroom surround gone.  The new tub is a bit wider and longer so the cabinet needed to go too.

The guys rearranged the living room to have better access to the plumbing  

The studs are rotated flat, so in order to have a niche, Justin furred out the studs.

Plumbing

Today was a bit crazy.  It was extremely windy last night (Mount Washington measured a gust of 140 mph).  We could hear something banging, but we couldn't figure out what.  It turned out to be the roofing barrier.  (You can see it out the window in the photo below).

Matt the plumber came today so we hurriedly emptied the bathroom so he could remove the bathtub. It was a lot more stuff than we thought it was.

The empty bathroom (except for the toilet, which is in the boxes).

The bathroom with a new shower opening, a new shower niche, and a new heating register.

We also had to move Charlotte's bookcase so that Matt could connect Evelyn's new heat to Charlotte's line.  (All this moving of stuff had to happen before we left for Evelyn's morning swim lesson.) Justin and Keef opened up the wall to the new shower.  They also framed in the new beam in the living room.  At first they framed it to match the existing beam, but that beam is so off level that it looked funny next to the new, level window.  Now it matches the level window.

Posts - Day Two

One thing this blog cannot convey is the incredible noise reciprocating saws, drills, hammers, saws and compressors make.  The kids had a two hour snow delay this morning and were trying to watch TV but couldn't hear.  The guys added a post in the living room to support the beam and a post to support Charlotte's dormer.  They tried to inset the living room post as much as possible, but there was thick plaster and mortar where the old chimney connection was that they had to put it outside the drywall.

They framed for a post in the basement to support both, but before they could install it, the plumber had to divert the main water line (and reconnect our sink).  While the plumber was here, he also kindly fixed the upstairs bathroom drain which was dripping about a table spoon of water after every shower.

Leak is Fixed

Pete the plumber came back out today and fixed the leak.  Yeah!  Because the leak was on the cold supply line, we haven't been able to use the toilet upstairs since we got back from England.  

A Hole in the Ceiling

Yesterday morning the plumber (Pete) came out to look at the leak.  He couldn't find it, but suggested that we make an exploratory hole in the dining room ceiling. Ugh.  We were so proud of our fancy, sound insulated ceiling.  It doesn't seem that long ago that we were there, with our rented drywall lifter, attaching the drywall to the insulating clips. We were reluctant to make a big mess in our living room right now.

When Colin returned from his doctor's appointment, he had another look and found the leak on the cold water supply line.  The plumber came back out again but said that he couldn't solder the copper pipe in such a confined space.  Fair enough.  So today Colin cut into our beautiful ceiling.  I was hoping we could delay taking down the ceiling, but the drywall below the tub was disgusting.  It's going to have to come down sooner than later.  There was still more water sitting up there too.

Colin found the hole in the cold supply line right before it bends upwards.  The water was spraying horizontally.  The plumber was off today getting new glasses, so it will have to wait until tomorrow.

After cutting away a section of the ceiling directly below the box around the bathroom drain, Colin found the hole in the cold water supply line.  Thank goodness we shut the water off while we were gone.  The drywall we have taken down is disgusting and damp.  The drywall still up there is probably a mold factory.

Plumbing Finished

Shawn came today to finish the plumbing for the new bathroom.  He connected the new pipes (the vertical ones in the photo) to the rest of the plumbing.  He also finished installing the new Grohe valves.  We're ready for cement board.

Bathtub Installed

Shawn and Chris installed the Kohler Archer bathtub.  We decided to splurge a little and buy a whirlpool.  We're looking forward to having a relaxing bath after all this work is done.

Drywall

While we were in Chicago for a few days, Shawn finished plumbing the bathroom and Chris hung the drywall in the old living room, the bathroom, and our bedroom.  Now that there are proper wall, we really have a sense for what the space will be like.  The bathroom is definitely bright.  Even with the blue board, it is super bright.  The back ordered drain kit arrived today, so Shawn is planning on installing the tub tomorrow.

Opening Up the Floor

This week, Colin started wiring for the new bathroom as well as rewiring what was the kitchen and the living room. Chris also ripped up the old floor so that the plumber (Shawn) can run the pipes. In the photo below, the joists under the plywood run perpendicular to the wall. There appears to have been a staircase at some point (fifty years ago or more). Very curious as to what the layout of this house has been over time.

No sign of any bats in the attic today.

End of First Day Demo Upstairs

By the end of the day yesterday Chris, Brian, and Dennis had taken down the laundry room wall and the wall between the living room and kitchen.  You can see the stack from the downstairs bathroom that used to run in the wall separating the two rooms.  With the wall gone, the space seems huge, like we should have a dance party or something.