New House Blog: Episode XVII - A Is For Appliances

That's right.  The appliances have come and some are connected and operational.  In this Episode we will be talking about the delivered, operational appliances.  Other appliances will be discussed as they arrive and/or are fully connected and operational.  But there is more to turning a house into a home than just adding appliances (or so I'm told); a home also needs a stereo system of some sort.

Stereo

We finally have a real stereo system set up in our house.  Of course, with no rack and no shelves set up yet the stereo setup is temporary, but it is sufficient for providing music.  It's nice to be able to turn up the volume and not worry about neighbors complaining (can't turn things up too loud when you share walls with other people).  Here's a picture of our stereo, which comes from Bish's pre-marriage days.  What components can you identify?  Can you tell what brands they are?  Can you guess which item was donated to Bish and not purchased by him?  Here's a hint: the oldest component is about 20 years old; the least old is probably about 15 years old (not counting the cables, of course).  Here's another hint: Bish did not get any extended warranties with any of it and it's all still going strong today.  See for yourself.

It's old, but it still sounds great.

Appliances

The appliances we're discussing in this Episode are the washer and dryer.  Our house came with no washer or dryer, and we really don't fancy the idea of washing our clothes in the river and beating them dry on the rocks.  The best option, or so it seemed to us at the time, was to purchase a new washer and dryer.  So we did just that.  Based on Consumer Reports' high ratings of the Kenmore brand, in general, we chose a matching set of Kenmore washer and dryer.  We don't recall the exact model number right now, but they include fancy blue LED lighting and a display indicating the estimated time until cycle completion.  On delivery day we hauled over our laundry so that we could take care of that while working on the house.  It's been a challenge, lately, to find the time to do laundry while we're spending so much time at our house, or blogging about our house.  You might not be able to tell from the pictures, but they are very quiet while operating.  They are also very quiet when powered down.

Of course, what plumbing-related job would be complete without an unanticipated surprise?  That's right - we had an issue that prevented the delivery crew from connecting the washer and testing it out.  The shutoff valves for the hot and cold water (for the washer, not the dryer) were too corroded to make a good seal with the water hoses.  Another trip to Home Depot.  While there we also picked up some additional cans of paint.  Thankfully, this repair job went very smoothly and quickly and we were able to connect up the hoses and verify no leaking.  The laundry commenced.  Below are some pictures.

The old, corroded shutoff valves

Did we mention the lack of electrical lighting in the laundry room?  This is not an accurate rendtion of the wall's paint color.

The shiny, new shutoff valves

A peek behind the washer

This peek behind the washer shows a relatively accurate rendition of the color of the laundry room.

L to R - The dryer and the washer in operation

One might think that the washer should be to the left of the dryer, but this order was necessary due to the locations of the various connections.

Painting Update

When I was a kid and we painted our house I did not get to use a roller.  And when we painted my grandma's house I did not get to use a roller.  Finally, after all this time, in my own house (our house), I get to use the roller!  Hooray!  And use it I have been.  Becky has been gracious enough to let me do all of the roller work so far (the roller work is the easier, funner work).  We have both been doing brushwork - Becky has done far more of the boring, tedious brushwork than Bish - as well, and we now have two rooms painted - the laundry room and the 1/2 bath - and others in progress.  You've already seen a picture of the painted laundry room in this Episode, and now you get to see the painted 1/2 bath.  We chose a color called February Frost (we chose it based on color, not name), and it looks blueish or purplish, depending on the lighting conditions.  It really is a striking color in-person.  Pictures, as usual.

The vanity taped, before painting

The vanity taped, during painting

The toilet taped, during painting

The light fixture

The ultra low flow toilet

An overview

The vanity and wall

Another overview

And that is going to have to tide you over until the next Episode.  In the meantime, keep those cards and letters coming.

It all comes out in the 

   bIsh