We are anxiously awaiting the real work to be done by our contractors. While we wait, there are a couple of projects that we have started on.

Sonya and the kids have been working on the first floor pulling up the flooring. There was hardwood flooring already down that was in pretty bad shape. For a short time, we contemplated keeping it and refinishing it, but ultimately decided not to, mostly because had to address the sagging floor in that room. Meagan, Seth, and Vivian mostly have been helping pull up the flooring and the nails, with the help of Zach and Hadassah for a day. They also pulled up the carpet in what will be our room and Vivian’s room.

Another immediate project that I took on was replumbing the house. This part has been quite the adventure for me with a fairly steep learning curve. This house in on a well that seems to be performing “well” so far. I don’t know much about well systems, but as I understand it, the wells in this area tend to run dry fairly easily. Having no real baseline for performance, and with six people ultimately living in the house, I’m trying to look at future expansion of the water supply, including the installation of a cistern or harvesting rainwater. With that in mind, I’m installing a water filtration system that is probably overkill, but (as one of my contractors put it) it’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. The system consists of a spin-down filter for larger sediment, a 3-stage filter system to remove unwanted metals, and a UV light to remove any harmful bacteria. I’ve also plumbed in a water softener to be added later on, if needed. In addition, I decided to add a water manifold, which is described as “a breaker box for the water system,” which I think is going to be pretty handy. As far as piping goes, I went back and forth between PEX A and PEX B piping. PEX A seemed to be easier to work with, so I started off with it. However, when I went to purchase the fittings and the manifold (described on Amazon as only “PEX”), I found that they were PEX B fittings. At that point it was going to be easier to switch over to PEX B from A. I also decided on using brass fittings (instead of plastic) and stainless steel clamp rings (instead of the copper crimp rings) because they looked easier to work with. I’ll let you know how the pressure tests go. So far it’s been very easy to work with.

The basement (or “The Engineroom” as I’m referring to it as) is where all of the water and HVAC components are located and it’s a really nice space. But the utilities are a complete mess with electrical wires of all gauges and types, water and gas pipes and tubes of all materials and sizes, run here and there without any rhyme or reason, other than 100 years of “I’m adding an X here and I need to tap into the existing system”. We actually discovered that somewhere along the line, previous owners took out part of a supporting cinderblock wall in order to run HVAC ducts (which is what is causing the 1st floor flooring to sag).

On November 8th, with paperwork and completed renovation plan drawings in hand, I went into Johnson County Zoning & Planning to file paperwork for the permits. It all went fairly smooth. Nothing really that difficult to do. I was told that it would take about 7-10 business days to receive an email or phone call letting me know that the permit was in place for the work. And, on November 16th, I did receive that email…that went to my Junk Mail folder. On the Monday after Thanksgiving, November 27th, I called to ask about the progress of the permit, when I was told that I had been informed via email of its completed status on the 16th. So, I went into Zoning & Planning, paid my fee, and got our permit to start the work!

Now the real fun begins!