They work hard for the money.

The trade crews have been hard at work the past few weeks and things are coming along fast. Plumbing and electrical rough-ins are almost completed and insulation and dry wall will be going up before you know it. We really can't thank all the people who have worked on the house enough. Miles has some great subcontractors on the project who seem like stand up crews that do the right thing even when it's not the most convenient or cheapest. At no point have I felt like anyone we've met is trying to do shoddy work or drain us of cash. While this might seem like a silly point to make, it just feels good to know that the people who are working on the project really care about the work they are doing and want to make sure things are done right.

After some deliberation and measuring, it looks like even a low-boy water heater wouldn't fit under the house, so Miles and crew came up with a smart use of space. The water heater will now go above the decorative fireplace with an access door inside one of the master bedroom closets. Here you can see the drain pan for the water heater and the deck that was built to support it.

Part of the B. Smith electrical crew, sorting out a confusing tangle of wires by the back door in the kitchen. With the house down to the studs, and all the wires run, you can really get a sense of just home many wires it takes to complete a house. At first glance, it looks like some sort of schizophrenic electrical spider has taken up residence, but when you take a moment to follow the wires, it all makes perfect sense.

Mr. B. Smith himself, running some of the few wires that are going under the house. Brent said he decided to run the wires above the framing instead of under the house because, with the cost of copper being so high, it's safer to run wires above so that people can't get into your crawl space and steal the copper. This is a perfect example of doing things the right way and not taking short cuts because it's cheaper or easier. I couldn't find a website for his company, but you can see their excellent review on the Better Business Bureau here. Really nice guys and they have been extremely accommodating with our requests.

As always, Eman is destroying it (in the best possible way)! Here you can see him replacing rotted porch deck slats. This whole portion of the front porch is now completed and looks awesome. Among many other things this week, Eman also got the attic floor struts reinforced so the attic can be used for storage. !Usted, amigo mío, es un carpintero animalero!