And then you’ll need to schedule the rough wallpapering inspection…

So why is the bathroom remodel taking so long you ask? Well, first of all, we’re doing the work after work. So we only have a few hours a night. Second of all, our electrician works painfully slowly. Painfully. And lastly, we keep running into problems like our current one, where all work must halt until we can locate the special fire-resistant insulation the inspector told us to get.

See, when we scheduled the rough building inspection, the inspector mentioned that in order to pass the upcoming insulation inspection (which he refused to do at the same time as the rough building inspection), we would have to use a specific fire-resistant insulation around our new tub and inside the chase that runs through the pantry. He said it was called “Rock Wall” or something.

“OK, fine,” we thought, and The Husband went looking for it at Home Depot. But they didn’t have any. And no one there had heard of it. So he called around a bunch of hardware stores, and no one had ever heard of it. So he asked our carpenter, who had never heard of it. Our carpenter asked the other carpenters, contractors, and builders at his day job. No one had heard of it. The Husband resorted to the internet. And voila, he found it! There was just one tiny snag. The only supplier was located in Denmark.

So yesterday, The Husband called the inspector and asked him if he knew where to buy this special insulation. “I’m not going to have it shipped internationally,” he said. Now, you might expect city hall to have a list of suppliers of the special insulation that they require people to buy. Don’t be an idiot. The inspector had no idea where to find it. He ended up having to consult with the other city inspectors, and finally, with a team of 3 people searching for 6 hours, they were able to come up with one location in Massachusetts and one in New Hampshire which sell something acceptable.

So this morning, The Husband had to get up at the crack of dawn in order to have time to drive to New Hampshire and purchase the special insulation. He is going to try to get the inspector to come today and sign off on the insulation inspection before we actually install the fire-resistant stuff so that either tonight or tomorrow, we can insulate and finish putting up the ceiling and walls.

I’m sure it will be all downhill from there.