After a six-month delay waiting for the fire sprinkler inspection, we finally got it done and are working on the cottage again. We had to leave our sprinkler pipes exposed, but now we've got the insulation and ceilings done.

We use rafters instead of trusses.  For one thing, we can lift them easily to install, and for a bonus, we either get a high ceiling or an attic.  (High ceilings in our case, in all three buildings.)

We bought our windows at Habitat for Humanity Restore. Vastly cheaper, but they're kind of randomly sized, so we'll build the walls to fit them and the studio will look a tad eccentric.

We picked up a stove off Craigslist for $50 that seems to work satisfactorily.  Perhaps a fancy inductive range is in our future, but it was too many decisions to make at the moment.  But now we can bake brownies!

We had to withstand a few 100+ days before we got this working, but they weren't too bad.  The cottage is well insulated (even with the roof still uninsulated waiting for the fire sprinkler inspection) and has lovely protective shade trees.

It is fantastic not having to wash dishes with a hose out back.  Also: best dishwasher I've ever had, hot water, and some shelves to put dishes on.  We ran water to the ice maker in the fridge, but it inexplicably still doesn't make ice.  

It was surprisingly difficult to find cabinets with lots of drawers.  Apparently they're out of fashion, and people just like swinging doors open now. They took about three hours for the two of us to assemble, but they work great.

We are officially living in the lap of luxury, now.  No more pooping in a bucket!

We moved the tools and drywall and stuff out of the middle of the floor, making some usable space. Also brought in a TV and sofa. No kitchen sink yet, but we have some temporary counters and cabinets.

We're still unable to work on the ceiling because of insane delays with the fire sprinkler inspection, but we're doing what we can.

We gave notice to our landlords two months ago that we'd be out by April 1.  We hoped at that time the cottage would be more livable than it is, but we're committed!  We will be camping all summer, but camping in style.

Some friends of ours from Habitat for Humanity are helping us get the drywall up.

We are having delays on getting our sprinkler system inspected, so insulation of the roof is postponed.  California's mandatory sprinkler system is surprisingly expensive because of bureaucracy.

I wish we had rented the giant sit-on trencher, instead of the walk-behind one, to make the trench wider and deeper (and maybe faster?).  It worked, though.

The walls are 2x6, so the insulation is R-19, plus another R-4 from an inch of foam on the outside.  Because, you know, California gets really cold in the winter.

Sac Sewer tells us that they know where our sewer tap is this time, for sure, so we're going to dig again on Saturday to try to find it.  We buried the first 200 feet in anticipation.  Wish us luck!

We are using Pex for most of the interior plumbing, which is pretty easy and dependable.