Well, after the dust settled, a bit, we readied ourselves for the job that we fretted over the most: the plumbing. If you have ever hired a plumber, or ever needed one, you will understand that, on the whole, it can be frustrating to get them to call you back, to get them to show up on time, or to charge a fair price (seriously, $150 for 10 minutes of work?). But, in this case, we were lucky again. Thanks to Brad (our favorite electrician, and all around great guy) we were referred to a new plumber who squeezed us in and totally helped us out. And of course he’s called Dave. Why wouldn’t he be?

Dave set about to replace the valves for the shower, and move the drain (so we could install the tub) over the couple of inches it needed to go, all the while carefully cutting into the stud that runs smack dab in the center of where he needed to place his pipes. Even luckier for us: he got it done before we got nearly a foot and a half of snow on Wednesday. Phew. So now we can move on to the next step: getting Team Tile in here to work their magic on the walls and floors. Things are moving so fast this time around! Guess that’s what happens when you merely “refresh” a room, rather than gut it.

Brad also got working on the electrical, snaking hundreds more feet of wire through the house so that we can add an outlet (for code), install another radiant heat mat in the floor (though we will also keep the steam radiator) and update an outlet that was improperly updated right after we bought the house. (Back then we didn’t know any better, and didn’t understand that the people we hired merely changed the box, but not the wiring. Ugh. But it’s fixed now.) He also – with the help of his partner of the day, Jake – got to the cutting of the holes for the recessed lights! I can’t believe he got so far so fast! We mapped out the placement, and were able to put the cans in just about the exact spots we wanted. I’m telling you, luck is on our side for this one. I just hope it doesn’t turn on us unexpectedly.

So, even though Brad’s got a bit more work to do (placing the outlet within 12 inches of the sink is code, and super tricky in this bathroom), we’re just about ready for Caleb and J.J. to come along and do their thing, beautifying the space with new marble floors, and clean, crisp subway tile on the walls. I’m so looking forward to the next phase (no offense to the participants of the last/first phase).

Until then, take a peek at the progress. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

*Lyrics for today’s post from Beach House’s Zebra.