So despite the fact that the contractors are not even finished with the plumbing or electrical work, I’ve been moderately obsessed about new renovation projects.  Can this be healthy? Or maybe the old pet smells have finally gotten to me?

The past week has been primarily about continuing the electrical and duct work.  They also filled in the trenches from the broken concrete in the basement where they laid down the plumbing lines.

We had a bit of rain in the area last week too.  There is still a bit of water coming in the basement, but I’m chalking that up to the unfinished transom above the back door.  Still, there’s this worrisome bit of water damage that looks like it has been there a while.

The rain also seemed to have caused a minor landslide in my backyard.  Remember that big hole in the back that was dug up to waterproof the foundation?  It was filled back in.  But the soil has settled in after the rain fall. Now the grade will lead water back to the foundation instead of away.  Ugh.  I have to contact the masonry company and see if they fix this up.

One accomplishment this week is that I finalized the contract with the flooring company.  I had to go back and forth with them a few times as I had a new idea or two in the interim.  The final version calls for me to get new white oak flooring on the main floor living room / kitchen with a light white/grey stain and refinishing of the old wood flooring in the second floor bedrooms, hallway, and the stairs to the second floor.

I also started work on fixing up the linen closet.  I put up some strips of drywall and started to install corner beads.  It was a challenge to find the wood studs.   I should have used the 2″ drywall screws.  But I think they’ll be secure enough.

So on top of all this, I obsessed about two things this week.  The first is my interior doors.  Again.  This time, I started looking into how to install a pre-hung door.  After the research, I believe I can do it myself.  That’s the big project over Memorial Day weekend.  The second obsession has been thinking about the basement stairs.  I think I found the solution for it at Home Depot.  But this project will be done after I move in and get access to my table saw and other various power tools.

I got an email from my mortgage broker. He’s been asking me when the renovations will be finished so that we can convert the construction loan to a regular mortgage.  The rates on a 30 year fixed mortgage has dropped recently and is in the 4.16% range, which is pretty hot.  I need to get that converted soon so that I can get locked in before the rates start to rise again.  The contractor believes that it will be in move-in condition by the first week of July.  I hope that it is an accurate prediction, otherwise, I’m going to get slap happy.