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...