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We went with Bosch machines because they’re well rated and very efficient. They look pretty nice, too. It took about 2 weeks for them to be delivered (because I went with the fancy silver ones) so we were really happy when they arrived. Jeph sawed through the wall and installed the dryer hose and the vent cover on the outside. The walls are the same squash color as in the kitchen and it definitely brightens the space. The west wall of the hallway is the same light brown as in the fireplace nook. The east wall got primed and painted light yellow, like the hallway to the bedrooms.

There’s a bench for throwing bags/keys/mail down and sitting on to put on/take off shoes. Last week the walls were scrubbed/primed/painted with just final touch up and trim needing to be done. The light fixture which I loathe needs to come down but turns out the replacement we got will hang down too low so we are still on the hunt.

The pile of boxes which has dominated this space since our stuff was delivered is gradually shrinking. There is a section of bare floor, big enough for our rug and a single yoga/pilates session. The cats’ scratching cardboard and toys are by the window and they are loving the unobstructed view. Only the window and door trim (big job) are left to be painted. Book shelves are ready to be filled. More than an hour of vigorous scrubbing with vinegar and baking soda didn’t clean up the flagstone so we’ve got to find something that will take off the grime/stains. The redwood walls need to be waxed/fed; we’re hoping that will give them a nice luster.

The electricians installed new circuits/outlets to power the refrigerator and range plus transplanting several outlets due to wall removal. As in all other areas where electrical work was done, this involved cutting holes in the walls and ceiling. (Another joy of a flat roofed slab house: no basement/attic/crawlspace for threading wires.) They also added a ground wire to the water service for safety. Rich the plumber capped off the hot and cold which had connected to the washer and dryer and, when we got the sink, connected that up. The nice old enameled cast iron sink was not a drop in so there was no quick/easy way to re-use it. After agonizing over limited options at IKEA (and doing dishes in the bathroom for a week), we settled on a freestanding double stainless. It fits well, serves the purpose and was relatively cheap so if/when we want to upgrade we’re more likely to allow ourselves. Luckily the gas line was “stubbed off” at the street and miraculously the gas co. does not charge to bring it up to the house. That was done a couple weeks ago, as soon as the ground thawed enough. Desiring a 48” six burner Wolf range on a $20 hot plate budget, we looked high and low for a gas range we could feel good about. The 30” 5 burner DCS was more than we wanted to pay, but far less than any comparable professional grade option, and we are aching to use it (it’s amazing what you can create with a hot plate, toaster oven, and portable grill!) Jeph has 75% of the trench dug and plans to finish today. Then the plumber lays the pipe in the trench and connects it, the inspector checks it out and signs off on it, and the gas co returns to add the meter and turn it on. For now storage/work space is all about working with what we have: small bakers rack, two metal shelving units, cart of drawers on wheels, cart of shelves on wheels, wooden buffet and glass front cabinet on top. Since cooking is a favorite activity and the kitchen space is the heart of our home, every step towards unpacking and setting it up has given us great joy.

The gas was turned on April 27th and we now have a working range! I boiled water for tea and that was pretty exciting. Pizza, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, and granola are on the weekend agenda. The inspector passed us on the condition that, per the range installation specs, we put up a back splash and exhaust hood. Until that is done the range must remain 12” from the wood wall. We were planning to do both but his lecture on safety (and the high BTU output of this unit) reminded me that these need to be done in the short term. Last weekend we got the walls scrubbed, primed, and painted. This weekend we hope to do the touch up and trim.

The Vermont green slate floors are nice and subtle and go well with the earth tones of the tumbled stone shower tiles and the gray-blue of the walls. The floor guys ended up doing all the shower tiling, too, which was great because it looked like a lot of measuring and cutting. We had a bunch of extra tiles, though, so Jeph put them along the wall under the window and I grouted them. That’s some messy work. My treat for digging out pounds of soggy rock wool from around the old tub (cringing with every grab at the expectation of feeling a dead varmint) was a jacuzzi tub. Rich installed everything for us and the electricians (for a couple hundred extra) put in power for the motor and the heater. That first bath, after 4 weeks of wearing the same grubby paint-stained jeans, sweatshirt, and multiple other layers and doing dirty, tiring work all day every day, was pure heaven. It was the only method of getting clean (much to 6′3” Jeph’s dismay) for about a week, while we cleaned multiple layers of grout film, then sealed the grout and let that set, and caulked the edges and let that cure (the other shower still needed covers over the old fixture holes.)

These shots are from the gas range installation project (*read about it in more detail in the Kitchen/20 April post.) Jeph had to dig a big trench for Rich to lay the new gas pipe in. It was hard work, but we really don’t like cooking with electricity.

Sister Sue took the lead on chiseling out all the old tile and we hauled it out to the junk pile (unfortunately the building salvage places don’t take used tile because the dried thinset/mortar on the back makes it tricky to re-use.) The sink fixture dripped and there’s no real way to replace a 50 year old faucet, so, we got a new sink/cabinet/fixture. Nice toilets are insanely expensive. We shopped around and found a total piece of vanishing Americana in Circle Supply, a plumbing supply shop off the beaten path in Watertown; full of real characters who were very helpful. They mostly sell to the trade but were happy for our business and only sell the best, which in the case of toilets is apparently Toto (Japanese.) We got the low back model with the silent self-closing seat/lid; sharp, as far as toilets go.