And a week and 8 hours later, there was. And it was good. 

So, last weekend, I accomplished squat. Okay, not quite entirely squat. I did cut the caps off the second sink’s plumbing that was already there… that rather than actually install a double vanity (that, I remind you, dear readers, already had access to plumbing), they’d just cap it off and have a long vanity cabinet. I’ve decided to make use of them, though, and actually have a double vanity. 

I also learned to solder copper pipe since I was going to remove my shark bites from the tub rough and solder in copper. However, my shark bite is stuck and the remover tool won’t release it, so I’ve left it be. I’ll put that to good use when I plumb in the new shower valve. More on that below.

Then I went up in the attic to start the fan/light installation. I turned off the breaker controlling that fixture. Used my handy-dandy voltage tester, and saw that no power was at the fixture or switch. Get up to the attic. Excavate mounds of blown-in insulation to located the fixture and the line going to the switch (this was a huge task). Test them. Hot? What? How? I don’t know. Came down, retested. Not hot at the switch or fixture. I don’t understand. I throw my hands up in despair and shower. Sad me was very sad.

But enough about last weekend and what I did and did not accomplish. I paused on Thursday to give thanks for everything. And smash the patriarchy a little bit by bringing the smoked goodness.

Friday morning, I cut the power to the house. 8 hours later, I finally turned it back on.

The builders apparently used this fixture as a junction box and the switch itself was a leg using the neutral as the hot. See that white wire on the right with the black mark. Tell-tale sign. Too bad they didn’t do that at the switch, which is what I saw first and was hella confused. (Thanks, reddit!)

The next 4 hours was spent in agony as I wracked my brain to get three new wires into the switch box. 

Surely, I thought, this wire went straight up to the attic. But no. It comes up about a foot to the left. K and I spent much time tapping the ceiling looking for where the right “spot” should be. I thought we could maybe get a hole through the stud to feed it on the other side of the wall inside the closet. Nope. Because there wasn’t one stud. There were two. Several inches apart. I haven’t even gotten this old wire out of the wall cavity because it’s stuck. 

Needless to say, after K made a run to Home Depot for a few things (no project is really ever complete without a mid-work run to Home Depot, am I right?), we finally got a hole directly above the switch to run the new wires straight down to the switch. I did end up pulling out the existing switch box to more easily fish wires. 

The actual installation of the housing unit was cake compared to the insanity of the wire fishing. 

So glad K was here to help. She didn’t think she was helping much by mostly handing me stuff, but not having to constantly climb in and out of the attic was a godsend. 

Also, it took both of us several attempts to connect the light fixture to the housing because, well, there is this tiny little cable for the LED night light that just didn’t want to stay in. We finally figured it out, though.

When everything was wired together according to the instruction booklet and the light bulbs were plugged in, I inhaled deeply and went to flip the power back on. I immediately heard cheers from my lovely assistant and knew that we were successful. 

That light is bright. So bright. To the reviewers who said you might need a second light, dear lord, why? I mean, I’m going to install vanity lights, but that’s just because that’s what you do. 

The night light feature is also really cool, and I will enjoy it if I’m ever taking a bath in the evening. One day. When the project is finished. 

The fan also turned on, and it is quiet. I won’t know how well it works, though, until the bathroom is being used and there’s steam to pull out. 

As you can also see, there’s a bit of plaster work to fix around the ceiling. I wasn’t as cautious as I wanted to be with the removal of the old fixture box that was nailed to a 2×4 nailed between the joists. Ah well. That’s finishing work that I’ll do when I do the rest of the plaster refinishing work.

I will admit that I slept like crap last night worried that somehow my wiring was all janky and my house was going to catch fire or something. It didn’t, but I’ve never done this before, and wiring kind of scares me. 

I also need to get the exterior cap on the gable installed and tape off the ends of the ducting at the housing unit and cap. I may squeeze at least that in this weekend.

And now for something completely different.

My original plan also included installing the new shower valve, but it was already a long day, so that project will have to wait. And why, do you ask, must I put in a new shower valve if there’s one already there? That would be because every brand of faucet has their own special design. And none of them are “universal.” So, now that I’ve finally selected my faucets, I could order the correct valves. 

My dad is also amazing. He’s a retired pipe fitter and has answered all my plumbing questions… even the ones I had before this project.

He sent me a copy of The Plumber’s Handbook that happened to arrive the same day as my valves and faucets!!!!

And now, folks, I’m taking the rest of the weekend off (with the exception of that minor duct work). J is coming back home today (yay!), and so plumbing will have to wait. Also Christmas trees and decorations and such. 

So, we’re coming along, I think. The exhaust fan had become my white whale, and now that it’s in, there is a sense of relief. That maybe I *can* actually do the thing. 

So, ladies, don’t be scared. And even if you are, do the damn thing anyway.