Hallelujah!!

We finally passed our plumbing inspection this morning! We were able to get the toilet moved over without replacing any floor tiles, as the base of the toilet covered up the enlarged hole.  We also replaced most of the IKEA drain system with metal pipes and a metal p-trap.  A different inspector showed up, which worried me (now what's THIS guy going to find to complain about??), but he did indeed sign off.  I have a feeling that if we'd had today's inspector the whole time (instead of the guy I've been affectionately referring to as Lumberg, for all you Office Space fans - dead personality ringer, I swear), we would have saved a couple of extra inspections and $350 in extra inspection fees.  Ah well, que sera, sera.

The contractor and I enjoyed a hi-five, and R enjoyed hearing the news as a lovely early birthday present.

Next, we need to deal with our electricity issue. I priced new gas appliances, and as they are significantly less expensive (<25%) than the $20K for the electrical upgrade, that's the route we'll have to take. Bad news is, I lose my beloved oven with its delay start, automatic timer, and warm feature, which I used twice this week! The good news is, I'm getting a fancy BlueStar oven (http://bluestarcooking.com/) and a gorgeous Thermidor cooktop. No automatic features, but otherwise a sweet upgrade!  Mama's gotta be happy in the kitchen, right?  And a few hundred dollars extra for the upgrades seems a pittance after the $20K price tag.  Luckily, the appliance store has 12 months interest-free financing.  It's the first time I'll be taking advantage of such an offer, but it will really help get us through to next month when I start getting my new paychecks.

BlueStar appliances are in demand, so we'll have to wait 6 weeks to get the oven, and then we'll schedule our electrical inspection after that.

Moving the toilet

Toto in the hallway

Demo in the family room - big bummer

Enlarging the hole to shift the toilet over

We failed our final plumbing inspection for two reasons: the inspector did not like the drain configuration for the IKEA sink/vanity in the kids' bathroom, and the powder room sink was two inches too close to the toilet. We knew that the toilet must have 15" clearance from the center line of the toilet to the walls on either side, but we didn't know this extended for 24" from the front edge of the bowl, and that the sink couldn't breach that space.

We couldn't move the sink, and there was no sink small enough to meet the requirement. Even a tiny corner sink wouldn't work.

So, today, the contractor has opened the wall in the ceiling below to access the drainpipe, has removed the toilet, and is cutting the tile and flooring to move the toilet over two measly inches. Once it's moved, we'll potentially need to replace some tiles and redo the drywall, mud, sanding, and painting in a room that was previously finished. Last night Rene and I spent a couple of hours moving everything out of that room so it doesn't all get covered in drywall dust.

I'm not a happy camper, but it's what we have to do to get sign off.

Granite desktop in office

Our neighbor teasingly reminded us, as we retrieved the final items we stored in her garage on Friday, that the pieces we purchased first (these file cabinets, which were on sale at the time) were the last to install!

We are eager to set up our new office, and to have this dedicated space right off the kitchen for bill paying, home office, meal planning, and homework.

Hardwood floors complete!

Hardwood on stairs (risers not painted yet)

View from main level hallway

Some bare spots remained when our contractor ran out of the hardwood flooring, and the extra material took another three weeks to arrive. Now is the day we can claim that our hardwood and baseboards are officially finished on the stairs and all!