Day Nine--Drywall & Chimney Repair

Today it was just my brother and me to tackle some projects.  I didn't really have a set game plan, but without Dad, I knew we weren't going to be doing much in the way of electrical work.  So when I talked to my brother this morning, I asked him if he would be interested in tackling the huge chimney repair project!  He said, "Sure."

If you remember, one of the first items of business after I bought the house was ripping out the old wood paneling.  I hate wood paneling!  And this had been poorly skim-coated, then painted over, so I kenw it had to go.  Well, ever since then, my chimney has been exposed framework!  Today was the day to put it back together.  Over the last couple of weeks, I have looked into every finish imaginable.  I looked at stone, brick, fake brick, drywall, old barnwood, you name it.  After much thought, I decided to keep it simple.  And cheap.  Drywall it was.

I knew that with drywall I could really control the colors.  I'll paint the walls to match the rest of the room, but I'll re-install the old mantel.  That way the new owners can hang up a clock, a picture, whatever they want!  Drywall was simply affordable, flexible, and hopefully easy!

I picked up a few sheets of drywall, then met my brother at the house.  Unfortunately, before we could even get started, we hit a snag.  The flue for the chimney is not exactly straight.  One of the pieces at the top of the flue nearly pulled way from another piece.  So we had to address that first.  After much force, a couple of sheet-metal screws, and plenty of duct tape, we were happy to have the flue in one solid piece again.  It was work, though!  We tried budging that thing in the attic and together in the framework.  We tried pulling, pushing, wrapping wire around it, and all!  It finally just took some old-fashioned strength and determination...and some screws to hold it all together.

The flue repair.



Ready for drywall!

Finally, it was time to finish the studs.  I don't have a ton of experience with drywall, but it was pretty simple work.  Measure, cut, hang, repeat.  We ended up getting the walls all hung fairly quickly.  My brother had to leave a little after noon, but I stayed behind to work a bit more.  I went ahead and taped and mudded the walls.

The completely-hung drywall.  It's kind of bland now, but I think with paint and a mantel, it will really come together.

First coat of mud.

It's coming together nicely!

I was actually really pleased with how it all turned out.  I think it's going to look sharp after it's painted.  A nice big clock would look gorgeous over the mantel!  :)

I couldn't stay too long myself.  I had to mow three yards, drop off items at my family's garage sale, pack, and sleep for a 4:30 A.M. wake-up call tomorrow!

But what a productive day!  Another big project checked off!  We're gettin' there!!!

To wrap up the day, I had to mow two yards. I mowed this yard and then headed over to mow my new yard. What work that was. The previous owner avoided mowing the yard the entire season thus far (not thrilled about that), and Dad mowed it last week before it was actually mine (it was seriously so tall we had to do something). I knew I needed to bag the grass, but between last week’s baling and tonight’s mowing, I literally couldn’t walk just one strip before needing to empty the bag. It was awful. I did that for about 45 minutes before I said nope. I was losing daylight, and I realized that the grass was just too thick. The grass would literally catch in the discharge chute from being too long. On top of the old grass and leaves, it just wasn’t possible. I raised the tires two notches up and just trimmed the rest. I was EXHAUSTED.

I headed home, delivered some garage sale items to my sister’s house, did my laundry and headed for bed. My wake-up call comes at 4:50 A.M. ugh.

Day Eight--Another House!!! And More Electrical on This One!!!

I made yet ANOTHER trip to Menard’s this morning.  I picked up two Moen cartridges (out of the three possibilities available).  I headed out to the house where my brother and Dad joined me.  Our goal today was to wrap up the ENTIRE left half of the house with the bathrooms and bedrooms. As we have been re-wiring circuits, we have been removing some outlets from the original circuits (both for ease of wiring and for logic’s sake).  Now we needed to tie them all back in.

I was back in the crawlspace, and Dad and Kirk were upstairs guiding me where to go.  They would drill holes in between the walls through the floor, and I would run new Romex up to them from the crawlspace.  It was again fairly simple work.  Push wire up, tie it in to outlet, move on, do another.  It’s just tedious!

I was able to get all of the wires to them before I had to run for a very special appointment:  ANOTHER CLOSING!!! J  I closed on another house at 11:00 A.M., so I left at 10:40 for that.  I changed from my dirty clothes to my “fake” dress clothes actually at the title company!  I literally changed in the street!  Sometimes appearance is everything.

Everything was set up to go smooooooth until I realized I had made a bone-headed mistake.  I had forgot to get a cashier’s check, and the title company wouldn’t take my personal check!  I was embarrassed in front of the owner and my banker, and I realized I made a 45-minute mistake.  I rushed out of there while those two waited.  GRR!!!  Seriously embarrassing.  I rushed to my credit union only to watch a silly event unfold.  I wrote out my “worthless” check to them after which they printed off a “credible” check based off of my “worthless” check.  Voila!  The title company now had a legit check.  So stupid.

I rushed back, and we were finished within one minute.  Sorry, guys!

I made a quick run to Menard’s to pick up more items.  I was on a feverish search for circuit breakers to fit my 45-year-old breaker panel.  I picked up some ones that I thought might fit.  I also picked up a VERY expensive $35.99 cartridge for my bathtub handle.  That was about double what I was planning to pay.  Sigh.  I made a trip to Lowe’s, too, to look for circuit breakers, and between both stores, the electrical section workers and an electrician walking the aisles had never seen the type I needed.

I also picked up galvanized pipe for my master bathroom plumbing.

I headed back over to the house.  My brother had to leave, so it was just Dad and me working this afternoon.  He tied in all of the electrical, and we hooked up another circuit!  Little by little.  So we now have ALL of the wiring done on half of the house!  That means I can get my painter and floor installer in there.  This is HUGE!!!  We’re getting there!

We had to move one of the receptacles.  You can see the old location to the right of the air return.  The new one is to the left.  That return vent prevented us from drilling down to the crawlspace, so we just moved it!

I tackled the water problems.  Thankfully, we still had the mirror removed in the main bathroom, and I literally stuck my entire body waist up into the wall cavity. It was uncomfortable work, and blood rushed to my head quick, but I had a nice access to the pipe. It was HARD getting it free, but it finally came unstuck and unscrewed nicely. Phew! I added a longer supply line, and attaching the sink lines to the new pipe was a breeze. I love when projects go well!

The original pipe was so close to the tile wall that I couldn't get a good amount of teflon tape on the threads.  So it leaked!  I needed a longer pipe!

The longer pipe!  It's EASY to get teflon tape on these threads now!

The new 1/4-turn valves.  Looks great!

I installed the new cartridge into the tub, and as I was putting it together, I noticed that the tub handle itself was broken!  AGH!!!  So I wasn’t able to try the water out AGAIN!!!  Most likely, the handle was turned to hard to stop the dripping water, and it broke the plastic!  So I’ll need to get a handle before I can finally turn the water back on.  What a lengthy process!

The cartridge removed.

I have owned this house for a couple of weeks now, and I STILL can't turn the water on!!!  It's seriously driving me nuts!!!  Every time I think I am ready, something else pops up!  After I buy a handle for this tub, I SHOULD be able to turn it on.  Except that I've heard that a million times before!

More projects complete!  More outlets wired!  Another day in the books!  And ANOTHER house to start thinking about, too!!!  Aghhhh!!!  One house at a time.  I REALLY want to get this one done before I start jumping into that other one, except I think I am going to need to steal just a couple of days away to get that other one ready!!!  Agh, so many projects to do!!!

Day Seven--Bathrooms Get Power!!!

After church, I made another quick run to Menard’s.  I swear I live there!  After Mom’s homemade lunch, Dad and I headed to the house.  We started out the day by retrieving his pliers behind the walls of the bathroom. He had rigged up a magnet on a string wrapped around an air freshener bottle. I had the pliers in about a minute. Nice job, Pa!

Our goal for the day was completely finishing the bathrooms.  We would then be nearly complete (outside of a few outlets we removed from circuits) with that ENTIRE section of the house, allowing my flooring guy to get in there…and my paint guy to get in there!

Dad started off by telling me he thought the main bathroom fan could probably be wired from INSIDE the fan. He said he thought about it while trying to sleep. I pulled off the fan to find that was the case! It's amazing what just stepping away from a project can do for a brain. So I started to wire the main bathroom fan while Dad worked in the master bathroom.

Sure enough, after testing the circuits in the attic, we confirmed that both bathrooms were wired off of the Master Bedroom closet junction box. We decided to put each bathroom onto its own circuit. The electrical re-wiring was again fairly simple but slow-going. Both Dad and I were ecstatic to have found the wires easily accessible behind the mirror yesterday, and we worked today to tie everything together.

Dad worked on tying up the electrical in the Master Bathroom, while I decided to tackle my never-ending water problem. I installed 1/4-turn valves underneath the main bathroom sink only to find that one leaked. One of the supply lines from the wall was so flush with the wall that I couldn't get a good wrap of teflon tape on the threads.  Agh, it’s so frustrating!!!

The original valves.

Replaced with 1/4-turn shut-off valves.  Unfortunately the left one leaks...  :(  The pipe is too far in the wall!!!

 

We're pretty good at creating a mess when we work.  Notice the bathroom fan, the old two-prong receptacle, and the faucet handles and aerator removed!  Numerous projects going on today!

So after two weeks, the water was FINALLY on...again. Except that I found a leak. ANOTHER leak! sigh. This time my main bathroom tub was leaking. No matter what I did, I couldn't get it to stop from the minor but constant trickle. I needed a new cartridge. Agh!!! What's crazy is that it didn't use to leak on Day One, but now it was. Oh the joys! So before we left for the day, I had to turn the water back off...AGAIN!

While I was working on the water, though, I decided to see if I needed a new cartridge in my main bathroom sink faucet.  Both the hot and cold just trickle out.  I opened up the cold cartridge only to find that it was clean!  So I had a hunch.  I took off the aerator and quickly realized why water wasn’t flowing!  I had tons and tons of hard water deposits!  Gross!!!  I cleaned all of them out, and the faucet works flawless!

The reason the sink wasn't working!!!  Soooooooo many water deposits!!!  Ewwww!

Dad was able to get the main bathroom AND master bathroom wired up. Unfortunately the circuit breakers I had purchased did not match the breaker panel, so the project isn't officially complete, but it's as close as you can get. I'm hoping I can find a replacement breaker!!!

The bathroom with the new light fixture!  Looks great!

But we did what we set out to do. We now have two working bathrooms!!! We were both thrilled with today’s results in terms of electrical.  Getting both bathrooms completed in a weekend is so satisfying.  Tomorrow's goal is to finish up all of the receptacles that we have been removing from each circuit and tie them all together on their own circuit.

We are getting there! Today was a huge jump in the right direction!

Of course, my water woes continue…the water is back off.

I made a quick trip to Menard’s before it closed this evening and picked up some linoleum.  With the bathrooms now completed, my flooring guy can come this week!  WOO HOO!!!

Day Six--More Electrical

Every focus is on completing the tedious electrical work.  On my flights across the country, I have been trying to be productive and map out my house in terms of the electrical outlets.  I did it for two reasons:  one, to get a game plan for how the house is wired (and how we need to unwire and re-wire it), and two, to provide some inspiration or at least knowledge of how close (or not close!) we are to finishing.

Here's the first wiring diagram from nine days ago:

The first wiring diagram with the two circuits we have completed thus far.

Today we focused on the circuit that covered the three bedrooms.  We only had a few hours to work in the morning due to my niece having a birthday party, but we had a goal:  complete the bedrooms!  Dad had already set up the groundwork for this by installing junction boxes in the crawlspace.  So I spent much of the day in the crawlspace feeding wire up to my brother and Dad while they wired the three bedrooms.

I also had some great help from my brother and nephew!

Gabe helping out Pa-Pa on one of the outlets.

Gabers giving instructions to Pa-Pa on how to best wire the outlet.

Gabe helping out Daddy.

Gabe cleaning up Daddy's messes from patching the drywall holes in the wall.  He was adamant about doing it on his own, dragging the wet/dry-vac all around the house with him, asking us to plug it in for him!

After the party, Dad and I headed back over around 4:30 P.M. I spent more time up in the attic with the wires on the same circuit up there, as well. That place really is a bear to work in. I'm often on my stomach straddling the rafters trying not to fall through the ceiling while trying to roll back the numerous amounts of insulation hiding the wires.

We started wiring the main bathroom.  We were both ecstatic to learn that the wires were easily accessible behind the walls by removing the bathroom mirror.  Here is the old aluminum wiring hanging out of the wall.  It will all be new copper soon enough!  Notice the old two-prong receptacle from 1970.  This will be a brand-new GFCI three-prong receptacle!

The aluminum wire behind the main bathroom wall.

We were able to track down the main bathroom coming from that bedroom closet junction box, and we assume the other bathroom is also powered from there, but it shall remain a mystery until tomorrow.

I am happy to report that we now have the main bathroom wired, too.  That was way more than we expected to get done!

The day was certainly not without its frustrations. I was trying to wire the old bathroom fan but could not figure out how to open it from the attic. It was maddening!!! I had purchased a brand new fan, but when the cashier asked me, "Would you like a two-year protection plan in case it breaks"? I figured it was best to keep the very dependable and more-than-likely better-built 45-year-old one already installed.

I also dropped a pair of pliers from the attic all the way down to the floor between the two bathroom walls. So it wasn't a perfect day at all. But that's to be expected.

Look at those pliers down there!

Below is the updated wiring diagram from today. The electrical work switches from borderline simple to absolutely aggravating. Finding the wire can be easy when it's in the middle of the house (and thus in the middle of the very open attic). Or it can be very frustrating when it's tucked underneath four inches of pink insulation and six inches of blown-in insulation on the very outer wall of the house (and thus where only one foot exists between the ceiling and roof).



Today's updated wiring diagram.

Day by day, the work moves forward. Sometimes slowly forward, sometimes excitingly forward, but each and every day, the work moves forward. As can be seen in the following diagram, we have saved anywhere between $2220-$5735 depending upon who would have done the work. It sure is work, but those numbers are so encouraging. AND the house is getting safer, too! And as an even added bonus, the house is actually getting more user-friendly in that the outlets are now all three-prong. It really is a win-win.

We were tired and had to call it a day.  I did make Dad stay an extra 45 minutes, though, as I tracked down and ran some wire in the attic.  I wanted to set us up well for the next day, and although we were very beat, I knew that this would put us in a good position for our next circuit.

Little by little...but we knocked out a HUGE portion of the house today!  We're getting there!!!

Day Five--Little by Little

My dad, brother, and I met for breakfast at 8:00 A.M.  I got home at 11:15 P.M. last night, so it was a short night for me.  From there we headed over to the firehouse around 8:50 A.M. and then the house finally around 10:00 A.M.  My goal was simple today:  assist Dad in any way he needed!

And that consisted of me being in the attic most of the day again!

Kirk worked on fixing the drywall holes from the previous electrical work, and he did a fine job.  Thanks, Kirk!

My brother patching the drywall holes.

Patchwork completed!  Looks great!

Another corner and receptacle completed!

Patchwork around a receptacle.  Look at that new three-prong receptacle (and copper wiring!!!).  :)

More holes to patch!

Dad and I worked on the electrical wiring one outlet at a time.  We picked up where we left off last time...which was wrapping up the circuit that covered the living room, dining room, laundry room, and entryway.  The work is methodical...but slow-going.  We didn't have a ton of hiccups, but the work is just tedious!  We decided to add three new switches, too, so that added to the time.

But the good news is:

--The entryway closet now has a new light fixture (trendy) and a switch to operate it (new).
--The laundry room now has a new light fixture (non-pull-chain) and a switch to operate it (new).
--The dining room ceiling fan now has a switch to operate the fan (new) and light.  No more needing to pull the chain to operate the fan.

This used to be one switch.  Now two for the ceiling fan light AND fan!

We pulled the rest of the aluminum wire from that circuit, and we're both happy to say that circuit is done and back on!  It was a lot of work, but it covers what seems like 1/4 of the house!

I made a quick run to the hardware store to pick up some outlet covers and plumbing parts.  We eliminated the front porch outlet, and we added a new GFCI outlet to the rear deck.  That little booger was work!  Dad and I both commented about how it's the small things that get ya in a flip.  We literally spent a half hour trying to get ONE SCREW into position over lunch on the new GFCI cover.  We could have pulled wire and re-run wire from a switch to outlet in that same time!  It's borderline maddening!

The plumbing woes continued.  I had turned the water off from last time due to a steady leak at the master bathroom sink line.  One of the old shut-off valves didn't fully shut off.  I decided to go ahead and take the risk (and it WAS a risk!) and replace both valves AND the supply lines from the wall.  I had had good luck on the rusty supply line from the toilet, so I was nervous about these two.  But I was THRILLED to discover that both turned out of the wall freely!  And I was oh so glad I did remove the lines.  They were so caked in rust that no water would have made it through them!

The water lines from the wall.  Needless to say, I think it's best I replaced them.  GROSS!!!

The new water lines.  Unfortunately, the hardware store only had one 1/4-turn shut-off valve, so the water is STILL off!!!

I showed them to Dad and Kirk, and it's kind of gross to think that a new tenant would have possibly been brushing his/her teeth with water going through these lines if I hadn't replaced them.  GROSS!

Kirk left for work while Dad and continued the electrical work.  We moved on to a new circuit, and I spent a good amount of time looking for, pulling, adding new, and removing old wire from the attic.  I also added some new wire to the crawlspace.  Again, it's tedious work, but it's borderline simple.  Follow the old, replace it with new.

Chea surprisingly showed up with pie in the middle of the afternoon, and that was a welcome surprise.  And then Krissy and Gabe showed up an hour or so later, and that was another welcome surprise!  It's so nice to have the support of family and friends!!!

Dad was reaching his endpoint, but I wanted to set us up for another great day, so I had us run wire for an additional forty-five minutes for the next circuit.  It was extra work, but I'm glad we did it.  It's just another HUGE step in the right direction!

Mom cooked us supper, and I actually returned to the house afterwards to clean up.  It was killing me to see the RIDICULOUSLY filthy house!!!  I am trying to spare most of the carpet, so I cleaned for an hour.  I dry-vacced and vacuumed the carpet.  I also threw a ton of garbage away, swept, and organized our tools.  The house looks so much better.



Some of the aluminum wiring we've removed.

More of the aluminum wiring we've removed.

Out with the old!  Look at those dated 1970 light fixtures and receptacles!

After cleaning.  The room is amost ready for paint!!!

Dad's repair job of drywall.  Great work, guys!!!

Finally, around 9:45 P.M., I called it a night!  Another tiring yet successful day.  This electrical work is really work!!!  But we are making progress little by little...

Day Four--AL-most Got Ya!!!

It's really starting to get busy!  Before I could head over to the new house, I had to take off some lattice work from a deck I am having painted at another house.  And I had to mow my own yard!  I can't neglect my own while working on this new one!

After mowing, I picked up Dad from work to help me pick up a gas stove.  On the way back, I stopped at my sister's house to pick up a couple gallons of paint.  I dropped Dad back off, did that deck work, then headed over to the new house.  I had a simple goal of getting the dishwasher installed today (spoiler alert:  I failed).

Dad took off half the day to help with the wiring, and I was eager to assist him in any way possible there.  He had already completed five receptacles on one of the circuits, and we just needed to finish that one up.  I have found that home wiring is basically simple:  you run a wire from Point A to Point B.  So what's usually the problem?  Well, neither Point A nor Point B.  It's the "to."

I literally spent the majority of the day either in the attic (mostly) or the crawlspace.  On the first circuit which he had 80% complete, we (thankfully) found out that our last wire ran through the attic where it was (mostly) accessible.  I fished it down the wall to Dad, working on my belly while balancing myself between the trusses.

If I needed any convincing about the extra work we were doing to replace the aluminum wiring, well, it came fast.  On one of the receptacle outlets, I noticed major charring where the aluminum connected to the receptacle.  It was a fire waiting to happen.  More convincing, though no longer needed, was going to come in an even bigger way in a few minutes.

Notice the black ends of the sheathing on the aluminum wires.

Much of the sheathing had actually burned off.  More than likely this was a poor (loose) connection to the terminal.  It could have started tight, but with heating and cooling, expansion and contraction, the aluminum changes over time, causing a poor connection.  A fire waiting to happen.

Notice the charred ends of the sheathing.

We worked on a couple receptacles, one interior, one exterior, along with a switch that controlled the exterior.  As Dad pulled apart the switch, he let out an all-too familiar "You have got to be kidding me."  Frankly, this is a fairly common phrase from him on electrical repairs.  Since I was a little boy, I have tagged along with him on electrical jobs, and it's funny how today at 32 I am doing the job I would do at 12.  Up and down the stairs, crawling into nooks and crannies, in the attic, in the crawlspace, just finding, pulling, feeding wire.  He's the brains, and I'm the legs.  But in most projects we tackle, I hear that phrase.  Some previous owner (or even electrician) did something either stupidly or in ignorance (one knowing, one not knowing) that creates an electrical hazard.  Read:  Death hazard.

I had already seen the charred wires from a poor aluminum connection.  Now I witnessed a poor way of connecting what was probably a wire cut too short to a switch.  The previous worker simply extended the wire by twisting a smaller wire onto it.  Well, after 45 years, the tape (if any was used) had long gone, and the two hot wires were openly exposed.  Hence the, "You have got to be kidding me."

The wire was too short.  So the previous owner just extended it a few inches.  sigh...

A close-up view of the poor electrical workmanship.  This hot wire was fully exposed behind the switch.

Well, not soon after witnessing this, I had my full convincing as to why aluminum is a poor choice.  As I took off the exterior switch, I couldn't believe my eyes.  The previous owners were seriously lucky to be alive.  They undoubtedly had no idea how close they were to having their house burn down.  For in my hands, I pulled out a frighteningly charred GFCI outlet...connected to aluminum wiring.  If I needed any further convincing as to why we were doing this extra work (and it is work!), I needed none after holding the outlet in my hand.

Removing the GFCI outlet from the wall.  The house was this close to burning down.

The outlet after removing removed from the wall.  Aluminum wires had obviously become hot...way too hot.  Any further heat could have sent the whole house up in flames.  Thankfully, the burning was kept to this outlet.

Seriously, this is some dangerous stuff!  As a landlord, I can't even bear the thought of putting my tenants into any remotely dangerous situation, and the further we worked, the more I realized just how nasty this aluminum wiring stuff could be!

The reminder was needed.  Dad and I had our work cut out for us today.  I spent most of my time in the attic, trying to relay messages to him through the ceiling.  We ended up resorting to cellphones most of the time, although it was hard for me on my stomach underneath the eave of the house.  But little by little, we worked one wire at a time.

So one of the circuits is now 90% done and just needs the outlets wired.  Another one is 80% done and just needs two receptacles and one ceiling fixture tracked down.  Days can be difficult when you don't have that "checkbox feeling."  Honestly, with only partial completions today, it's not too fun!  But while eating with Dad afterwards, I let him know that in my research, an estimate for rewiring a house can come in at $155 a hole.

As we counted the holes we completed today, we came up with 7.  That's $1085.  Three more are close for another $465, and Dad completed six yesterday for an additional $930.  Don't get me wrong, this is work.  As in body-aching, belly-crawling, sweat-dripping work.  But one by one, the receptacles are going from dangerous 1970's two-prong aluminum to 2015 grounded three-prong copper.

And while the yelling through walls is frustrating, the wires stapled to studs is frustrating, the numerous holes in the drywall is frustrating, the breathing in insulation is frustrating, it's encouraging to know that we are that much closer to having a fully-wired, fully-safe house.

So thanks, Pa!  We are getting there!!!

In other news, I mowed the yard.  It's much bigger than I expected!  Also, I have a small water leak at the master bath sink supply lines.  I have once again turned off the water!  Oh, and I didn't even touch or think about the dishwasher today.  I had way too much else going on!  About those holes...we probably have a dozen or so holes in the drywall now to feed the new romex through.  It's a bit frustrating, but it has to be done.  It's just a little bit of a paint setback.

We still have a lot to accomplish, but after the wiring, it's literally paint, carpet, minor plumbing, and cleaning!!!  Then it's tenant time!!!  I'm hoping just three more weeks.  :)

Some of the drywall holes required to run new romex through the walls.

Corners are tough!  I will learn how to mud in no time!

More drywall repair required.  But look at that new receptacle!

Dad doing what he does best!

Thanks, Pa!

"A Major Snag"

I was on the road when I received a phone call from Dad today.

"Andy, I'm over at your house, and we've run into a major snag.  Your house has aluminum wiring."

I had never even heard of such a thing!  The next few minutes were him explaining to me how bad aluminum wiring was as I Googled it at the same time...

It's actually a fascinating read.  I consider myself a pretty well-informed man in terms of houses, but I must say, this was a first for me.  I literally thought we went from knob-and-tube to copper romex, but I couldn't be more wrong!

http://www.nachi.org/aluminum-wiring.htm

"Between 1965 and 1973..."

"...55 times more likely to reach 'fire hazard conditions' than is a home wired with copper."

Well, this house was built in 1970, right in the middle of the escalating copper prices!  What I can't figure out is how the plumbing is all copper...and some 4" tubes at that!  But as a landlord, the LAST thing I need or want is an unsafe house.  And the more I read, the more I realized aluminum wiring does really look to be pretty dangerous stuff...or at least very needy and requires constant checking.  I have no desire for a lawsuit, and I certainly don't want to injure any tenant.  sigh.  It's amazing how quickly surprises can get ya.

Dad says at least four circuits are all aluminum as he confirmed that with the wiring itself (AL).  He says we have to re-wire all of those circuits.  What's fascinating is that he has worked on hundreds of houses, and this was the FIRST time he's seen aluminum wiring used.  Of course it would be a house I purchased!

We'll see just how difficult it is.  I imagine this could be a $4000 expense just like that to rewire the house.  Oh, the unknowns when you buy a foreclosure!!!

To add to to the urgency of the whole project, I also read that insurance companies sometimes drop you if you have aluminum wiring!  They see your house as way too big of a risk!  Oh, the joys of home ownership...

Day Three--Sloooooooooow Goin'...

The goal for today was the same as it was for Day One:  Turn on the Water!

And Day Two:  Turn on the Water!!!

I was hoping that I could get the water turned on before I left for a few days.  The trip started out with the now-routine trip to Menard's.  I picked up some water lines for below the sink (replacing the older, cheaper lines with braided) and some right-sized chrome covers for the toilet lines.  I also picked up some cabinet hardware to hopefully tranform my kitchen on the cheap.  Frugal flipping!!!  :)

I grabbed my necessary cup of coffee and headed to the house to meet with my brother who was off.  I started a little later than I wanted (10:35 A.M.), but I knew I was going to be staying late to help Dad with the electrical.

First things first:  I replaced the toilet line covers with new.  It's amazing what such a small change can do.  These are about 75 cents but make such a big difference.  My toilet lines are now ready to go!  Quarter-turn shut-off valves, and no more rust!  This only took about 10 minutes.

Before and After.  A simple 75 cents to make a HUGE difference in appearance!

Before...the old rusty valve which broke off when I tried to remove it.

And After!  A new 1/4-turn valve, new wall supply line, and new chrome cover!

Next on the list was the kitchen sink.  I had purchased the wrong lines yesterday, so I installed the two new lines.  Easy work!  I love when threads go on easily.  Maybe 30 minutes or so.  My brother and I then decided to tackle the over-the-range hood.  I had already removed the old brown hood, and I was hoping this was going to be easy swap.  False.  I quickly learned that the old wire was cut to run to the left side of the old hood.  The new wiring is on the right side of the new hood.  I was a foot short!!!

The old supply lines.  I changed these over to new braided lines.

The tiles behind the old vent hood!  GROSS!  Also note that the wiring needed to be about three tiles to the right for the new hood!  We had to create a junction box in the wall and extend it.  Thanks, Dad and Kirk!

The tiles all cleaned up.

After talking it over with Dad, we realized we had to make a junction box and then run more wire to the range.  My brother worked on that while I tackled the dishwasher.  Dad showed up shortly thereafter, and Chea 10 minutes after that, so Dad and Kirk worked on the hood, while Chea feverishly change out cabinet knobs.  The kitchen was busy!!!

The new knob compared to three old ones!  It's the small things that make the biggest difference sometimes!

Problem:  The hinges are off by 1/4 of a hole.  :(  Hopefully I can find a perfect match as the knobs don't match the hinges!

My sister-in-law and nephew showed up later, and we had a packed house.  Frankly, the projects weren't going great.  The new dishwasher wasn't getting flush with the cabinets, and I quickly realized why the previous owners had removed two knobs (the door hit the knobs when opened!).  I was also having a difficult time getting the water lines connected below the unit.  Dad was having some frustrations with the wiring, Chea ran into some hinge problems (they were 1/4-hole off), and I wasn't getting anywhere!!!

That's what happens when you flip a house.  Things do NOT go as planned.  I could tell the overall mood in the house was a bit...well, not great, too.  I LOVE the help I am receiving from others.  Having my brother, dad, Chea, nephew, and sister-in-law all show up with support is amazing.  Yet when projects stall...or that feel-good attitude from them completing a project is missed out on...it hurts the overall attitude of all.  It was just one of those days.

Chea left to start getting ready for bed, my brother left from spending an entire day at the house, and Dad started a new circuit only to find out that he had no idea where the first outlet was located.  He was frustrated.  He soon thereafter went home.  I decided to stay around and clean up for awhile.  Storms were coming in, and I needed GOOD rest before my job stint on the road tomorrow, but I wanted to clean up the house.

But even with all of the frustrations, progress was made.  The toilet supply lines are completed and look great.  AND they hold the water from coming out!  The brown stove hood is now clean and white!  Another circuit is wired for GFCI!  The cabinet knobs are replaced!

 

Before:  The old range hood.

And After!  Great work, guys!

Before:  Old and dated.

After:  Shiny and new!!!

The 17-year-old dishwasher.

 

Behind the dishwasher was a mess of old tiles, black and white mold, and general gross-ness.

I cleaned it up and added a new vinyl layer!  So much more clean!

The new dishwasher.  As you can tell, it's not 100% complete as it's not mounted or wired yet!

So another few items can be checked off the list.  It's not exactly the day I had planned, but one good thing came as a result of the hard work today, and I'm very happy about it:

THE WATER IS TURNED ON!!!  And no leaks.  :)