The Weekend Worn out

The clock is ticking, and we're rushing to get the Delaney House ready for occupancy - Elliott has to move out of his place on Monday.

So, we got a lot done this weekend:

• The bathroom now has lights, a working outlet, and a shower curtain
  
• There is a stove in the kitchen, along with some cabinets (and the refrigerator)
  
• The basement has more windows with glass in them.
  
• The front bedroom is ready for paint

What is still missing, however, is hot water.  The hot water heater has been installed, and water comes out of the tap when you turn on the hot - but the water itself is cold.  We found out this weekend that, when PG&E turned on our service, they only turned on the E - no G.  So we are without gas, which means the stove won't work, and the hot water heater is just a big cold water storage tank.

Tuesday, PGYE is supposed to come and turn the gas on, so that problem will be resolved.  This week, we'll probably try to be at the house some nights, painting Elliott's room, hooking up the kitchen sink, and painting the bathroom and inside the kitchen closets.  We'll also be moving all of Elliott's stuff tomorrow, and he'll stay at our house until his house has hot water (a requirement with Elliott).

Next weekend, we'll try to get all the kitchen work done, and prep the living room for painting (maybe even the hallway too).  Johno might come back to strip wallpaper in the back bedroom (the last room to do).  

We also have two chimneys to dismantle.  The Delaney House and the Cheney Cottage both have brick chimneys, which have to be removed before the houses are moved. So we might spend a day on campus, talking down the brick chimney of the Cheney Cottage.

Fortunately, chimney removal, in houses as old as these, is relatively simple. The mortar has generally worn away, and so the bricks can easily be lifted off, one at a time, and then either dropped down the chimney to the basement, or tossed over the edge into the yard.  We removed the chimney at the MaGahey House back in 2003, and took down the chimney at our Fulton Street house (to the second floor) when we added on the third floor.  It's relatively straightforward work, and the nice part is we'll have plenty of bricks to use for walkways and patios later on 62nd Street.

Tonight, we're taking a break.  Malcolm and Michael, Joe and Johno and Tom and I are all going out to dinner.  We have to wash the cobwebs out of our hair, scrub the dirt, wood dough and wallboard compound from our hands, and then we get to have a lovely italian meal.  

It's going to be quite a week.