Floors! A start, anyway. And one big cost just doubled. Sales and shares needed.

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

That up there is what you see as you round the turn in the stairs. It's amazing; so beautiful, I can hardly believe it. And it looks like we did well in choosing the color, in terms of matching the woodwork.

If it was a zoo yesterday with five people (plus us), I don't know what you'd call it today, with eight. And they were pretty much all at work upstairs, but they managed to work with and around each other very, very well. Of course, it was setbacks for days, but still forward movement. 

First, the floors again; this is our bedroom:

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

They're going straight across, from east to west, to get the most out of the planks. Reynaldo spent much of the day manning the big table saw outside on the deck, handing planks back and forth for resizing. Initially, they had some problems getting the click-and-lock thing to click or to lock, either one, but they eventually got it rocking.

In the meantime, Randy was back to grout the baseboards in our bathroom upstairs:

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

It's beautiful work, and he's quick. Unfortunately, he couldn't get started on the downstairs bathroom yet because of plumbing issues. First and foremost, as I said last night, the tub drain from upstairs had to be hooked up and the pipes and hoses fed downstairs to the shower in the small bath before they can put in the insulation and Hardeebacker and close up the ceiling and the upper walls. 

Photo copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved.

Of course, there was one fitting that came with the tub that was a non-standard size; should've been 3/8", and was . . . something else. Ismael didn't have one in stock, so he went to a different plumber's supply, and they didn't have it either, which initially brought everything to a standstill. He took off to check another supplier, with a warning that if he had to special-order it, we'd be waiting 24-48 hours. Fortunately, they had it, so the guys came back and went to work. That up there is the best I've got to illustrate it, which doesn't show the fitting in question, as far as I can tell, but does show the space we're dealing with. They did, however, also hook up the fittings in our shower, so I could get a shot of that at least:

Photo copyright Aji, 2017;
all rights reserved.

It's kind of bizarre, I suppose, but for some reason, this view right here makes us both unbelievably happy. Part of it is that it's just beautiful, but part of it stems from what we've been dealing with with regard to the so-called "shower" in this tin can for the last seven years. Truly, it's been abominable, and completely unfixable, and to have space just to turn around in is an unbelievable gift.

The other bad news is that before Randy can close off the ceiling in the downstairs bath, Ismael needs to be able to make sure that the water is running through the lines properly and that there are no leaks. Essentially, we need to hook up everything that's currently hook-upable, which excludes the upstairs sink, downstairs everything, and the kitchen. But the upstairs toilet and the water heater need to be done, and so we had to make a decision on the water heater. By the time we factored in the cost of all the extras (valves, vents, etc.), and the warranty, and the labor, we weren't really saving a whole lot by going to Home Depot or Lowe's as opposed to getting it through Ismael's firm. It still might have been enough to flip it, but there's the pesky warranty thing, and knowing how hard it is to get a repair tech up here if something goes wrong, especially when it's below zero with three feet of snow on the ground. By the time we factored in extra costs, we were way above where we thought we'd be already, so we made the decision to pay a little extra yet and go with the guy we know, the guy who's immediately responsive, uses top-quality materials and fixtures, warrants all his work, and fixes problems for free. 

So our cost has doubled, and that's a huge hit for us, but it will pay for itself in the long run just in preventing future maintenance costs. But it also means that what I thought I'd be able to put toward, say, tile work or cabinetry is no longer available. This means that the pressure is now on me even more to make sales to make up the differential. It also means that the Home Depot and Lowe's gift cards become ever more crucial, given what we still have to buy to make the place livable. So here are the links:

• Wings's site, for sales;
• Lowe's cards (the physical version) via our Amazon wishlist;
• Lowe's e-cards (delivered via e-mail) here; and
• Home Depot cards via the company site. The e-version using my e-mail address is great; I take the tablet to the store with me, and they scan it off the screen.

Please share them all, as much as possible. One large sale would go a long way toward making up the difference (we coughed up ~half down today, with just over half to pay when the water heater's installed). For now, another storm is coming, hard and fast, and I have to go shut the chickens in the main coop and then get back to work. Many thanks and much love to all.

All content, including photos and text, are copyright Aji, 2017; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.