Top 10 Reasons Why I Hate The Process

bluekitobsessed

16 years ago

Dust, dust, dust...what suzieca said.

9. Temp kitchen in bits and pieces throughout the house...fridge in the FR, MW in the LR, my head in the oven (if it hadn't already been torn out [the oven, not my head...I think]).

8. Dog considers it his duty to alert me to strangers. Nonstop barking 10 hours/day. Yes, Winston, I already know there are people in my house!

7. Hammering to exact same beat of migraine.

6. Kids too old to buy "it's just like camping! It'll be fun!"

5. No garbage disposal.

4. Washing dishes in laundry sink got real old real fast.

3. Cabinets instead of car in garage, car on driveway baking in the sun (we've had a heat wave) and getting dusty (more dust!)

2. Strangers in my house (at least I'm not barking at them).

1. Beautiful finished kitchens should be like laws and sausages...if you care about them, you should NOT watch them being made.

Did I miss any?

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Comments (25)

ganggreen980
16 years ago
Elderly cat being confused and terrified because the ENTIRE house has been rearranged and, as a result, becoming quite confused as to the location of her litter box.

Not having even one room left "normal" due to furniture from dining room and living room being piled up in bedrooms.

Having to practice for piano recital (son and myself) in my bedroom.

Not being able to find one freaking' thing that I need when I need it.

Heck, I haven't even started. Demo is Thursday. I can hardly wait. I work downstairs, right under the kitchen. I'm a transcriptionist. I listen to doctors and other providers whispering and mumbling all day long. I'm so looking forward to that along with the slamming and banging I anticipate hearing directly above my head.
mary_in_nc
16 years ago
Being required to be smarter in kitchen design than my KD or GC in order to get the kitchen I want.
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bbtondo
16 years ago
Mary in nc: How true! Thanks to everyone here, I feel I know just enough to get me in trouble!

Barb
dd70
16 years ago
eating way too much take out and junk foods!
JohnnieB
16 years ago
We are doing enough work in addition to the kitchen that the house is unlivable so my partner and I (and 2 cats) moved into our basement, which is finished as an apartment, and we are soooo glad we were able to do that. The dust has not made its way down there, we have a proper bedroom and kitchen, we're still onsite, and it's actually exciting to come home from work every day and see what's new upstairs. The bad part: basement ceiling is only about 6'8" (hubby is 6'4") and the cats hate each other. Oh, and losing rent for 6 months because we had to ask our tenant to leave!
pbrisjar
16 years ago
The tools and materials obstacle course in the kitchen / DR temp kitchen area. Hubby has a tendency to pull out every tool and material he'll need and arrange it in barriers and lines rather than piles.

Being kicked out of the kitchen completely for another 3 weeks.

The "discussions" Hubby and I have had regarding design / methodology decisions.
pdxgal
16 years ago
LOL about the sausasge comment! Too funny. Very true.
deedee-2008
16 years ago
I hate how the first estimate was this: $$$ and now it ends up being this: $$$$ (and still blossoming). And how a few decisions I very thoughtfully made weren't thorough enough. But, overall, like going through labor with a child...it will be worth it. :)
sigh
16 years ago
Bluekit- Ah, good times! If you think that washing dishes in the laundry sink is bad you should try washing them in the tub (no laundry sink). Two words: think disposable!

We were without a kitchen for over 5 months. We slept in the LR (about 300 sq ft) because the rest of the house was demolished. On the plus side I didn't have to worry about cleaning for 5 months and you meet a lot of your neighbors when you're cooking breakfast on the grill on the front lawn. Just keep repeating- it's going to be worth it.

I would like to make a suggestion that may help. You may want to look into having your dog boarded during the day. My girl spent her days elsewhere while construction was going on & it was much easier for everyone, especially the dog! I'd bring her home in the evening after the workers were gone, we'd enjoy a nice relaxing evening having a picnic on the bed then the next morning she'd go back to "camp" for a nice, quiet day. The cat was a different story...

Nina
rmlanza
16 years ago
Okay, even better...if you think washing dishes in a laundry sink (or a tub) is difficult, try a tiny pedestal sink in a tiny powder room. THEN DH takes OUT the tiny pedestal sink so the flooring guy can install the new tile and then promptly knocks it over in the garage and smashes it! Next thing we know, we have remodeled the bathroom instead of just putting new flooring in it.

Remodeling during the summer when 3 kids are home all day...sooooooo not fun. We used disposable bowls, plates, cups, and flatware and felt so guilty about adding so much to our local landfill.

But grilling outside, veggies in foil packets on the grill, store bought rolls and biscuits and eating on the deck saved my dinner making sanity last summer. I only had to tote the grilling utensils upstairs to wash in the bathtub.

Think ahead to how wonderful your new kitchen will be, it's worth it.
igloochic
16 years ago
When we were on site...

Waking up to the alarm of boot steps coming up the entry stairs (we too were living in the basement).

JUMPING out of bed because you know said boot steps will continue to your living area.

Baby waking to the sounds of first hammer. Neither baby nor I slept for more than 1 hour in a row all night (this was normal for us but I used to let him sleep from six to ten...that ended when construction began).

Plumbers...everything about them

Becoming the soffit patrol

Constant need to work my brain! 400 decisions a day!

"It won't cost much more" (yes it will)

Dust

Nails bolts and screws that fall from the ceiling mysteriously (baby on floor enjoying them as playtoys)

Playing hide and seek in the bathroom when they cut the holes above it for plumbing upstairs. One above the shower...one above the toilet.

Moving to the slum because of the plumbers

Moving out of the slum to a slum we purchased because of the plumbers

Remodeling two houses at once

Granite and tile in general sucks

I hate sausage and I hate cooking it...you always get burned in the process and at best end up with a fat piece of meat on your plate.

Ok then the good stuff...FINALLY seeing my visions (I'm the designer for the entire house) coming together...slowly, but it is happening :) Is it worth it...don't ask me yet!
sundownr
16 years ago
I think the worst part (other than all the inconveniences listed above) is the fact that you learn so-o-o-o much during this process and then you're finished. You don't have another kitchen to remodel so all of you hard learned lessons go to waste.

Kitchen remodel started 12/26/07 and we still aren't finished. Contractor said he wanted to be completed by the end of February (even though the contract said April).
rmlanza
16 years ago
WELLLLLL..."you don't have another kitchen to remodel..."...UNLESS YOU'RE IGLOOCHIC!!!! LOL!!!
teched
16 years ago
The last kitchen remodel was DIY. I got pregnant the day after we order the appliances. Oops. So, try washing dishes in the bathtub 6 months pregnant. I laid an Armstrong tile floor 6 months pregnant. I am happy to report the horrible fumes did not seem to have negative affects on Kitchen Remodel Baby (she's almost 15). So far, nothing that we have experienced this time around has been as bad as that remodel.
lynninnewmexico
16 years ago
Funny answers . . . and most are bringing back such memories :^o
* Our dogs barking all day at the subs = goosey subs + headaches for me!
* having to do all the dishes in the laundry room sink + forgetting that there is NO garbage disposal = many stopped up drains!
* living in a house with (too) many big windows and hardly any drapes (no neighbors close by so we didn't need them) + subs walking back & forth outside starting at 7:30AM = dressing in our minuscule, windowless toilet closet for three months!
* three months of having to be on site with all the construction, keeping the dogs away from the subs and each other+ having to make many big and small decisions on the spot every day and then having DH come home from work in the evenings and say, "Why did you let them do _____?!?" "Why didn't you do ____ instead?" Grrrrrrr!!
Jean Farrell
16 years ago
What are all you guys doing washing dishes??? We bought about 1 million paper plates, etc. from Costco. Very little dish washing. I know the project is taking too long, though, because we are starting to run out of paper plates and cups, and we don't even have walls yet!

Dust is the worst part for me

The "while we're at it, we really should [insert expensive item here]"

The second thoughts -- looking at so many kitchen pics, and wishing I'd picked this or that.
suzieca
16 years ago
* keep finding problems behind walls; just found a drain leak in kitchen that is hard to get to for repairing.
* DH is upset - he will have to fix it
* original tile was not installed correctly 30 yrs ago so caused sheetrock issues that now need to be addressed
* DH is upset - he will have to fix it
* this house was built by a supposedly 'better' builder but now we see the cheap way they did things
* DH is upset about that, too.
* Did I mention DH is upset? this new kitchen was MY idea and now HE has to fix stuff that we didn't anticipate
* I wish I'd never opened this can of worms.
* even our poor cat is confused. She can never find her bowl of food...at least we haven't moved her bed.
* and as I said before, there's dust everywhere but I am getting a handle on that part.
How do you guys handle all of this? This was supposed to be a simple reface the cabinets, put in granite counter, new backsplash, floor. Lighting later...
shannonplus2
16 years ago
- Workmen showing up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at, oh, 6:30 or 7:00 AM. We'd agreed on 8. EVERY MORNING. I'm pre-coffee, pre-toothbrush, in gaping bathrobe, with GC politely trying not to look.

- Plumber's Crack. Everywhere. So hard to look away.
susan205
16 years ago
OMG - I'm getting scared!! We are starting demo next weekend. I am very nervous about this whole project, but trying to keep my eye on the prize!! :)
sudiepav
16 years ago
I loathe:
Dust everywhere

DH saying...I'm not sure sure I'm going to like the cabs we picked out (far too late for that!)

Dishes washed in the bathtub. We use lots of paper, but I need to have real silverware and coffee mugs.

Not being able to find what I need...stuff is in the DR, FR, LR

My favorite...dumping the chili in the elec. skillet on the carpet in the family room

I didn't mention that this is the 2nd K remodel in 8 years. Did one, and 4 years later our dream house came up for sale. Somehow, like childbirth, it's worse than I remembered it being.
teched
16 years ago
Plumbers crack? Whoa, you hired the wrong guys. You were supposed to order up bronzed muscle men with abs of steel who sing beautiful love songs in Spanish while they gently hammer the "studs" in place. ... waking up now, that must have been the pool boy.

Actually, we had a female electrician (no plumber crack). I thought that was cool. The GC is a triathlete and pretty easy on the eyes for a guy of 50 or so. Can't complain down here is sunny warm VA.
pbrisjar
16 years ago
susieca sez: "How do you guys handle all of this? This was supposed to be a simple reface the cabinets, put in granite counter, new backsplash, floor. Lighting later..."

hahahahahahahahahahaha

Sorry. We thought pretty much the same thing. That was 4+ months ago.
cburch
16 years ago
Anyone mention not being able to find everything AFTER the remodel was finished. We put stuff in places that we still haven't uncovered ... like DH's most favorite cooler .... where in the world?!?!?!?!
bklyn2pok
16 years ago
*Dust
*Dust
*Dust
*Eating takeout and microwaved Hot Pockets for 3 months
*Dust
*Dust
*Having the livingroom and diningroom a complete disaster
*Piles of tools and debris in the traffic aisles - DH just didn't understand why that made me crazy
*Dust
*Not being able to find my favorite wine glasses-we had the corkscrew so that's all that mattered
*Dust

Ours was a diy that started on Labor Day weekend and wrapped up around the end of January...did I mention the house full of family for our annual holiday weekend party??

I love our new kitchen, it was all worth it.
suzieca
16 years ago
Hey, why don't we start taking photos of all those 'plumber's cracks' and post them in the work areas of our homes and see if the workers can guess who belongs to each 'crack'???
LOL LOL LOL
At least it would bring some humor to all this cr@p!

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