Finally, a plumber. But where is Lafitte?

After about a week of the various contractors looking at each other saying "I dunno, what do YOU want to do?" We finally took matters into our own hands and chased down a plumber to detach the pipes under the house so the shoring can proceed. Time and materials for our plumber Jay were $225. Of course, in the meantime, Lafitte's shoring crew has moved on to another project, so we're stuck waiting around for their return.

I'm not sure if it's good news or not, but we found out that the damage to the wood around the old chimney was due to rot, not termites. Obviously there was a problem with the flashing around the chimney and water came in and ate away at the beams. So, we fix the beams, and hope the roof repair over the hole will take care of it. At least we don't need to tent the place. On the other hand, last night I had a nightmare about finding water gushing from the ceilings during a small rainstorm and having to replace the entire roof. What's even scarier is that it's not impossible.