My childhood friend is also the person who is supposed to be plumbing this project. Since the project has started, he has not been able to commit any time to working on it. Getting him to come out and mark trenches for the underground plumbing was difficult enough. In his defense, we did not agree on a timeline and schedule. In fact, I haven’t even signed any sort of contract with him. Because we were going to have to wait on him, I asked my father for help. He was a plumbing contractor for over fifty years and knows what he’s doing. I didn’t want to ask him for help because he is seventy years old and retired. He jumped right on it though. There were delays due to rain we’ve been getting and everything is really wet which makes working more difficult. He visited the job site to get a set of plans and survey the project so he could make a material order. The materials were dropped of this past Wednesday and he told me that he would be working Saturday to get ready for inspection the following Tuesday. The inspection has to be ordered on Monday.

Because I knew he would have no help, I decided to go help him. The work was hard and it took about three hours. The existing cast iron main sewer runs through the middle of the building and out to the street. We cut out a twenty foot section which was no easy task but it was the smart thing to do. That old American cast iron is stout and difficult to cut. We used reciprocating saws but the blades were quickly rendered useless. After a bit of cutting and sledge hammering, we were able to remove all the old pipe. There are still some sections that need replacing but we can move forward to inspection. When I got tired, I started chanting, “Money”, with every shovel full of mud to keep me motivated.

My Dad has gotten me out of multiple jams. He’s a good man. I think he’s enjoying the work and feeling useful.

I have to do all this labor on top of dealing with new tenants and finding new tenants. These are good problems to have I suppose. I am tired and sore today, though.

The construction crew was working on forms for the footings on Saturday. It’s nice to see progress. As soon as the forms are constructed, the underground plumbing can go in. Like I said, everything is so wet which makes everything a little more difficult.

I showed the soon-to-be-vacant unit today. The first people that saw it said they wanted it. They had previously submitted an application but I didn’t look at it until today. An 814 credit score is music to my ears. Apparently, the family owns the diner across the street and they are excited to find a place so close. I accepted their application immediately. I ask for a $500 non-refundable deposit in order to remove the listing from Zillow. I keep it if they decide to not rent the place. No one has ever not rented a unit for which they gave a deposit. I’m waiting for that deposit but I’m confident they will follow-through.