Disaster strikes

We've had an unlucky week. I'm trying to stay calm, but it's hard.

Disaster #1: Electrical wiring

Our contractor found a rat's nest of old wires hiding behind the ceiling and wall. Despite what the inspector said, our whole house is still wired with the original knob and tube wiring from the 1920s. Previous owners badly patched the wiring, making it even more dangerous.

The wires are brittle, you can't safely put attic insulation near them, and there are no junction boxes. Furthermore, our other interior projects won't pass inspection now that this issue is exposed. As a result, we need to replace the electrical wiring for the whole house before we can make progress on anything else. It's going to take at least a week and $7k.

Disaster #2: Rain

Rain is usually a blessing in the Bay Area. We got a solid downpour this weekend and were thrilled that our new roof did its job. Unfortunately, our contractor left all of our bathroom materials outside without any protection from the rain.

All of our unsealed encaustic tiles for the bathroom floor are ruined. The blue dye ran, leaving an uneven muddy gray color. Our contractor is going to pay to replace them, but we'll need to wait for a new tile delivery. Tomorrow morning we'll do a full survey of the damage (e.g., to see whether the heated towel rack survived the water) and find out whether the tiles are still in stock.