By the time Paul got to the house at 7:35 the landscaping guys and a new plumber were on site. The plumber had let himself in through the patio door. That was fine, but was also a reminder to install the hardware on those doors to keep that from happening again. The retaining wall is apparently done. They capped it off. The tubes in which we are to put the fence posts are sticking out the top of the fill behind the wall. We hope they plan to use more fill to cover those up eventually as part of final grading. They were gone by 12:30.
Paul spent some time talking with the plumber. Nice enough guy. He told us that unfortunately we had the wrong water heater - Paul had bought a gas one, but it used standard venting (a chimney) and one was never installed, so if we wanted gas we would need a power vent model. Paul found that these cost $150 more than equivalent regular vent models. He is thinking of getting an electric model instead. With NG prices so high he's not sure that having gas really saves any money anyway. The other thought is to put in a tankless, but they're awfully expensive ($1300 for a 3-bath house) and we can't really afford that. We will also need to get a whirlpool tub and drain and a marble top for the master bath. Paul will buy all that in the morning.
