Kitchen plumbing

I don't know how most people do it. I have loads of plumbing experience and I am just barely able to prevail.  I knew that there would be undiscovered issues but this issue took almost an entire day of precious time before we can move in. The kitchen sink obviously has been leaking for quite some time. I assembled my extensive plumbing kit and the few parts necessary and crawled under the house. The crawl space is very spacious I can sit on my knees and be upright throughout most of it.

I dug and cut out the bad pipe and installed new copper pipe under the kitchen sink. Luckily the local plumbing store gives me Sun Light & Power prices plus and additional 10% off. I didn't expect that! Two words, "shop local" it really is the best thing for everyone in the end.

My next endeavor is the bathroom tub. The bath/shower valves that are behind tile are old and leaky. I had to cut into the stucco in our bedroom to gain (behind) access to remove them. Being old, the faucets are offset to not correspond with any existing factory models. It seems that I have two choices; tear out tile work and use a factory handle and diverter set or buy pricey components and build my own to fit existing holes. Since I am not prepared to start any tile work at this time I plan to build my own. This should be quicker and the more elegant solution. Albeit twice as expensive I am consoled by the fact that I can do all the work myself likely saving hundreds of dollars. I only hope that my local plumbing store has the valves I want to match the handles we have chosen.

The tub drain and over flow are another matter altogether. I need to replace gaskets, rebuild them and use the old technology. It will be easiest and the best solution.
Today it the final day before we begin the great migration of boxes to the new house. The new fridge arrives tomorrow along with a new dishwasher. Yes, for those concerned parties Tristan will still get an weekly allowance for doing the dishes. Duties will simply change a little. We got an incredible deal on the new matching fridge and dishwasher, they were in the scratch and dent section. The exact fridge I had researched and planned, a dishwasher plus 4 year guarantee for the same price at the un-dented fridge. Tabitha is so excited to have a place to hide dirty dishes dishwasher. We hope to be sleeping in the new place by tomorrow night. The pre move check list follows:

• two clean and livable rooms to sleep and store stuff in.
• a refrigerator
• a clean bathroom with working shower/tub
• back yard containment, fence fixed and locked gates
• remove nasty front porch carpet

I cannot wait to sleep there. I can walk to work. I can work on the house anytime of day or night. These are exciting times. The list of closely following important improvements are:

• install washer and dryer
• prepare upstairs for a house blessing
• prep, sand and finish flooring in master bedroom
• paint master bedroom
• makeover master/Tabitha's closet to more useable space
• prep, sand and finish flooring in office/sewing room
• paint office/sewing room
• makeover office/Karl's closet to more useable space
• move-in and install new stove

We love our new house it will be "home" soon.