This week was a hugely productive week at M. T. Acres!  I had to work on computer stuff from the rental house all week, so Tina spent the week at M. T. Acres letting workmen in and out.  We have both been slammed pretty hard with a cold recently, so our productivity was down but that did not stop us from getting a LOT accomplished this week via the workmen.

The countertop people came out on Tuesday and got the countertops installed.

The plumber came on Wednesday and got the sinks hooked up and more importantly, the propane hooked up and hot water heater installed!  That means we have hot water and heat!

He also got the bath fixtures installed!  That means we can actually shower with hot water at home!  WOO HOO!!!

Our good friend Eve, who lives about 3 miles from us, has been gracious enough to let us come over and shower at her place for the last several months.  That has been a HUGE help and I really enjoy hanging out with Eve for a couple hours every night.  But it is still a great luxury to be able to clean up at home.

The showerhead in the master bath has two settings, one where it “spits at you”, another where it “pees on you”.  Tina likes the “pee” setting, I prefer the “spit” setting, but now we do not have to fight over the shower setting because it is just a simple switch.

Once the plumber was done on Wednesday, Tina was able to get all of the caulking done on both bathrooms.

I came out to M. T. Acres on Friday evening, after work.  The electrician came by on Saturday and between him and I, we were able to get all of the remaining electrical done.  The remaining electrical involved a lot of “bull work” that one person could not do by themselves.  I was pleased because he did not even charge us extra because I helped.

We got the ovens installed.

And the range hood and under-cabinet lights.

He also got the last few outlets and switches installed, plus the Edison lights over the center island in the kitchen.

The plumber also came back Saturday to finish off the few outstanding items he had.

He had partially installed the water softener on Wednesday, but did not finish because he needed to get some other part.  I am VERY pleased to report, the stuff that he did install on Wednesday had a leak because we had a pretty good sized puddle in the garage.  I say that I am pleased because if a professional can get leaks, I do not feel quite so stupid for some of the plumbing debacles I did in our Minnesota house over the years.

Saturday, he got the water softener completely installed (with no leaks).

And the garbage disposal and dishwasher.

For my part, I have been doing a bunch of little clean up jobs that need to be done before we can get the final inspection.

First I got the last deadbolt lock installed on the door between the laundry room and the garage.

Why the county requires me to have a deadbolt lock on an interior door is beyond me.  If Tina does not want me inside all she has to do is tell me to stay in my garage.  That is my favorite place in the house anyway.

Then I made a door frame and some doors for the utility closet in the garage.

Stupidly, I did not think to check and see if the studs were plumb before nailing up the frame. – They were not.  So I ended up having to trim up the top of the left door with my belt sander and jam a couple shims in the bottom of the right door to get everything to look decent.  You can see it a little bit on the bottoms, but otherwise, it looks fine.  Plus, it is a damn garage!

Tina spent today cleaning and cleaning and cleaning the kitchen.  Then she started moving stuff from our temporary kitchen (which is currently in my office) into the real kitchen.

It is looking pretty dang awesome I think!

This week’s plan is to get a door hung on the water softener closet and get a frame on the attic access in the laundry room and get the first (of what I am sure are many) final inspections from the county.  Then I will be able to focus on making the drawers and doors for the cabinets and getting the last of the mouldings hung.  And that should be the last of the build other than some “touch up”.