Don't Sweat It (plus a tool obituary)

It's Sunday, Sunday, Sunday. All four of us were busy today. Gregg spent the day plumbing the bathroom. I have learned that this requires sweating the pipes. Meaning Gregg has a propane torch in the bathroom and solders the pipe sections together using flame. With a fire extingisher nearby. We
did not need the extinguisher today, thank goddess.

Vic and Gregg then were able to fit the new tub in place (much lighter than cast iron, by the way) . During the process of getting all the new plumbing together Gregg seemed to have lost three items down the plumbing wall two stories below where we are working: the almighty Leatherman, an 8" piece of copper tubing, and a bit holder. Gregg plans to procure a heavy duty magnet and attempt to retrieve the Leatherman by fishing down two floors with the magnet on a string. Stay tuned to see if Gregg and his beloved Leatherman are reunited tomorrow. Or if he purchases a new one during our next visit to the Depot.

Since Gregg lost his Leatherman (along with its trusty file blade) I got to become a plumbing apprentice and sand down the ends of the pipe with sandpaper. Gregg informed me that sanding is the job of plumbing apprentices (especially since he lost the file along with the Leatherman tool).

Maddie, Vic and I took turns wire brushing the newly exposed brick in the dining area. This is a tiring (and dirty) job, but after the cleaning the wall looks great (while we all looked like chimney sweeps). Showers never felt so good. Gregg, Vic and I will be over to the condo early tomorrow (7 am!) to be ready for the skylight installer. I've got to get some sleep.


PS - Addendum by Maddie: "A Shocking Experience"

Pog neglected to mention the most memorable moment of the day - Vic was assigned the enviable task of cutting an old electical conduit with our faithful Sawzall. Gregg said he was about "75% sure" that there was no live current running through the tube (ok, maybe he was just kidding)...so Pog got to hold the metal tube taut while Vic cut into it. Needless to say, she was a bit nervous! Gregg had already fooled her twice with the faux electrocution trick (as seen almost weekly on America's Funniest Home Videos), which she fell for both times. As Vic began to cut, I snapped this photo, and my flash happened to go off - which Pog thought was a spark, and she immediately let go of the conduit and jumped about 3 feet in the air in fear. We all cracked up, and that one kept us lauging for the whole afternoon. But don't worry, no actual siblings were injured in this task....

Oh, and with Gregg's progress on the plumbing, we were able to test the shower fixtures. Look, we got actual RUNNING WATER to come out - how amazing is that??