The last couple of months have been about dealing with and letting go of stress: the stress of having workers show up - or not; the stress of having so much left to do before we can move in; the stress of impending cold weather; and, last but not least, the stress of trying to get enough done so we could host Thanksgiving. THAT stress we've let go of! While I soooo wanted to host Thanksgiving this year, we really didn't need that pressure. Letting go of that sure made us feel better!
We've also had to deal with water pump going out at the trailer - yet again - and batteries dyeing. Pump got replaced and so did batteries. But, still, no fun! Plus it took us away from working on the house. All of that is behind us now and work progresses.
We really have completed - or almost so - most of the really BIG bits. Now it's a lot of little things that need doing and as time progresses, the list of things that absolutely have to be done before we can live in the house has gotten shorter. I would dearly love to get the final coat of plaster on the office, bedroom, bathroom and kitchen walls but if that doesn't get done, it can be done once we're it. Not optimal but I'm more concerned with being warm and snug this winter than having walls finished <g>
The plumbing needs to be done - which includes propane lines. Most of the plumbing is done and the propane lines are in the walls. We're just waiting for the lines to be laid outside which should happen this week. Once that is done and inspected, we will call the propane company to move our tank.
The plumbing depends on electrical to run the pump. The electrical got hooked up this week so we now have power!! We only have 8 panels installed (out of an eventual 20) and only 2 are currently hooked up but we will be moving more this week. Those two along with the 16 batteries we have give us enough power for now. We still need to have panels at the trailer but we can get by with fewer for a few weeks. We are now waiting for the pressure tank and pump to arrive.
We spent almost a week installing these tubes and filling with cement. We have lived with funky wooden racks for our panels for ten years. These racks are going to be great!
Here are the first eight panels installed.
Light fixtures got installed....
inside...
and out.
POWER!!
Here are other things we've been doing.
Floors
Bathroom floor.
Living room floor.
A close up of the adobes and poured floor.
Hall floor.
The hall floor is still drying but we hope to be able to finish it up in the next week or so. The only floor left to do is the studio floor and that can wait. The hall floor is taking so long to dry - even with the wood burning stoves going - that waiting until spring to finish the studio floor will be fine.
Help from Family
My cousin and his wife visited us for a week and we managed to get a lot done with their help!
Rick and Jim working on putting up the corrugated metal on the end of the garage.
What a difference!
We built the forms for the cement apron that needs to go in the garage. This is where the washer, freezer, deep sink and water tank will sit. We hope to pour the cement this week.
We also got the first coat of mud on the garage walls.
Dry wall got installed, too. Starting to look more "finished".
AND we got the trench for the propane line dug!
Tile
We have decided to tile all the window sills which needs to be done before the final coat of plaster is done. I am totally amazed at how labor intensive tile work is! I've done the windows in the office, living room, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom plus the thresholds of doors in the living room and sunspace and it feels like it has taken me forever. And I still need to grout some of them! Oh well, slowly, slowly, I guess.
Kitchen window.
Office trombe wall window sill.
Dinning room door before grouting.
Living room door grouted.
Pantry doorway.
Bedroom window sill.
Bathroom.
The one really major thing that HAS to be done before we move in is the shower which will get started this week - hopefully.
All the tile we're using we got at one of the Habitat Re-Stores locally. We've saved tons of money and while there is a mixture of tiles, I'm really happy with the way they are looking. But, boy, is it hard work! I must say tiling has been one of my least favorite tasks.
Last but not least . . .
We are going to be moving from 500 sf to 1100 sf of living space and while we have some furniture stored, we will need other things - like a nice sofa. I have been checking out all the re-sale and consignment stores in the area for just the right one. Have seen some really nice ones but just weren't ready to get anything - until last week. I found just the right sofa at the Re-Store! It's leather and in great shape. We have been enjoying it!
We're getting close!!!
