Built like a brick...

For your weekly installment of house updates: This week we tackled the old kitchen door, scavenged a little, and wired some more.

I wrote, earlier, about having to re-wire the electrical panel box in the basement... however, upon the encouragement of our inspector and James' electrician uncle, this project has ballooned to now include re-wiring the entire house. This has meant punching a hole every 6 feet in the walls of every room and we no longer have any ceilings on the first floor. We were able to pull all of the old wiring out (pictures of what that looks like to come soon), and snake the new wire throughout the house. We are currently in the process of "loop to looping" the circuits and switches. Whew. The place is a MESS. It no longer resembles a house and I am bitterly remembering the words "All it needs is some paint" spilling from my lying mouth.

We were only able to do this, though, thanks to the quick action of our chosen brick mason, Bentley Masonry. As much as I dreaded this interaction, it was actually quite rewarding. When we had been working in the house the weekend or two before, it was raining. Inside. Due to the dilapidation of the back porch and the mortar cracking, water was running down the inside of the walls. Thank goodness we had not moved forward with insulation and drywall at this point. We were able to call and have a brick mason come out and estimate the damage that day.

Bentley was the first to respond and the ONLY company we called which would have the job started within two weeks. In fact, he was out there two days later with a load of salvaged bricks. Within 3 days he had gone around and tuck pointed every crack and crevice on the house, bricked in the old kitchen door, filled in the terrariums, and, when he had leftover mortar pre-mixed, re-laid all of our front porch and most of our walkway. It looks fantastic. Being serenaded "A country boy can survive" by four brick masons isn't bad, either. Very strange. But not bad.

Between working, picking at the wallpaper on the house, and sleeping I was actually able to manage to swing by the coolest place ever. I took my lunch break one day and went to Architectural Salvage - in downtown Louisville. An hour was NOT enough time. They have everything. I mean it. Need a spittoon? Got one of those. A million fireplace covers? All of those. I cannot wait to go back when the house has actual walls and start picking things out with James.

I was also able to find the deal of the century on Craigslist. Woo! I had been eyeballing a crystal chandelier for over a month - the first thing I saw that made me decide I needed a chandelier in the bathroom. I finally broke down and texted the ad. Still available, you say? And working? I'll be there tonight.

A short drive and $23 later I had myself a genuine antique crystal chandelier. All it needs is a little cleaning up and hang that baby from the ceiling!

We also broke down and finally placed the order for the everything. THE EVERYTHING. The kitchen cabinets, the lights, the appliances, the tile, the toilets, the vanity, the grout, the windows, etc. Holy shitzkies. Hopefully in 2-6 weeks I am feeling better about it.

Next up: plumbing, drywall, flooring, refinishing, and. more. wallpaper.