Finally...a little progress

The bathroom is much closer to being done. Hubby installed bead board part way up the walls and installed new tile on the floor. We also needed a new toilet. We got a great deal at Home Depot, a European-style dual flush with the buttons on top. It works great, and flushes with power just like in Europe. Only $98. Later we need to install the trim and a new door.

We decided that the next  major step will be the electric. We need a breaker box and 220 installed. And we decided to go with an electric stove. See, years ago when my first hubby changed the kitchen around, he installed a gas hookup for the stove that is not code. In fact it's down-right dangerous....copper tubing strung from the meter through the wall to the stove, and there isn't even a shut-off valve! To make matters worse, the shut-off on the meter is stuck open. I called the power company, and they said no one is supposed to touch the meter, but they will come out and shut it off for $45. My daughter, who knows more about plumbing, electrical and HVAC than most men, said that she can run the gas pipe (yeah, she even has a pipe threader!) but to install it by code it needs to be buried 2 feet underground. For that we would need to jackhammer the concrete porch. Solution: have the electrician install an outlet for an electric stove. Then get rid of my broken gas stove (oven doesn't work) and buy an electric one. Problem solved. Since the meter is stuck, we don't want to risk breaking something trying to shut it off ourselves, so will cough up the $45 and have them do it. Then we can remove the copper code violation and close the hole with a fitting. No pipe hassles, no code violations, two steps closer to being done. After that we plan to hire a carpenter to do some framing. We can do the drywall and painting.

The work that needs to be completed to make this house sale-ready is enough to break your head. The obstacles have ganged up on my husband and sent me into bouts of the blues. I have to remind him, and myself, one step at a time.