Invisible Home: the Bones, Nervous System and Digestive Tract Exposed

My excellent project manager and brother-in-law, John, has been documenting construction progress. These photos were made on September 17 (Day 13). The crew has been busy with plumbing (they promptly replaced that cracked second floor drain and moved every drain and faucet in my home), wiring and framing.

In the photo above, you are looking from the front of the house (standing in my new kitchen) towards the bathroom on the left and the red backdoor in the distance at right. The door to the service porch has moved 6 inches to the right. The old kitchen windows have had their bottom frames lowered.

The eye-catching blue elements are switch boxes, outlet boxes and power junctions. You can see the boxes for two of the four ceiling light fixtures in the new dining area and for three sconces on the west wall.

The yellow Romex wire is wide enough to facilitate labeling the many wires that congregate in a switchbox. There are lots of double-switches in this project.

The crew removed the remnants of an old fuse box and two old electrical panels. They installed a recessed box and Nathan has been rebuilding the panel a circuit at a time. There is a new 220 circuit for the electric oven.

Nathan's to-do list is just like mine - scribbled on the scraps at hand. His scraps are a bit more substantial than my post-its and used-envelopes. That's the shower mixing valve. It reminds me of the Mars rovers.

Keeping tools and accessories handy and out of the way. That slanted surface is the under-side of the stairs to Janet and John's home. The high outlet is the speaker jack for the stereo on top of the refrigerator.

Here you see the new sub-floor in the bathroom, sporting the big drain for the water closet. That brassy-looking fixture is the valves component of the wall-mounted lavatory faucet.

Do you know the right height for a bathroom faucet? Well, just ask yourself, do you want to bend over to put your hands in the water stream?

One of the best improvements that I never gave much thought to before is bathroom ventilation. Two registers will allow the fan to pull air from the main compartment and the shower compartment. Mildew, you haven't a chance in this new bathroom!

The vents will top the new linen closet. That's another great new feature and my consolation prize for giving up the tub.

See this closet with diminishing headroom? Being the bottom apartment of an up and down duplex, my home has two of these. During a detailed blue-tape walk-through on Wednesday, an idea struck. Now we plan to create a pair of drawers on gliders that will reach into the back of these closets for deep storage. I think this is what realtors call a bonus.

The project is coming along nicely. An inspector will visit on Monday. With his approval, the crew will begin installing insulation and buttoning up the walls with plywood sheeting. Then it's drywall, floor-leveling and tile work. Then window-, cabinet-, sink-, water heater- and range-installation. Before you know it they'll be laying linoleum and doing the finish work.