This is for the birds.

The weekend before last, we worked on plumbing. The previous renovators tied PVC into the existing galvanized pipe, which is asking for trouble. Most of those old steel pipes are almost completely clogged with rust and debris.

We are replacing everything with PVC. We moved the water heater to a more central location in the basement for the sake of getting hot water to all the fixtures in a reasonable amount of time. Our goal was to have at least one working bathroom, but we didn't quite make it. At least the main trunk is in place, but now the water meter isn't giving the house any pressure. I called the water company, and they began the slow process of fixing the problem. They dug up the meter box, but that's as far as they got. I haven't checked it in a few days, that reminds me...

Once my dad left, I continued work thru the week on the front bedroom demolition. Picture taking isn't high on the priority list when I'm working, but here's one shot.

I think there used to be a doorway here from the current foyer when it was once a carport. There used to be steps here on this side of the wall to go down into the basement; I can see the patch from underneath. The wall is kind of sloppy, so I'll clean it up as best I can.
I also added some R30 insulation to the attic over the cathedral ceiling; for some reason they skipped that part.

I did that last weekend when the temperatures raced up toward triple digits. I know it was 106 on the main floor, much hotter in that attic. Maybe I'll get an 'after' pic later; it was just too hot and dark up there.
Yesterday I picked up a replacement sash for the broken window downstairs. Here's the before picture:

...and there's the after picture. A ten minute job.
There is a huge pile of glass between me and the house in this shot that I will still have to pick up. It includes shards from the upstairs picture window, which I now have on order.

At least I got it out of the grass.

And finally, today I went back with the intention of cleaning up more glass, but had an uninvited guest in the master bedroom.

I knew there was a bird's nest in the chimney from all the chirping, but I didn't expect them to be able to squeeze past the damper to get in. This one is very young and can't fly well, but I chased it around the room for a while once I opened all the windows as a suggestion. I sat there strategizing several times, even falling asleep once, but he finally got the hint and went for the window. It took a total of 3 hours including my nap, which eliminated the possibility of other work. My stomach was feeling queasy all day anyway, so I wasn't really up for much. Must've eaten some bad grub. Hopefully I'll be 100% tomorrow and can retrieve more glass and pull some wire in the front bedroom.