News...some good (bought fridge) and some bad

12 years ago

I said I'd report back on my fridge situation after I posted a couple of weeks ago about how I messed up some measurements in the kitchen. Sorry I'm just now getting around to it. The past couple of weeks have been an adjustment period having 5 year-old DS home from school all day. We can't seem to find our "no school, yet still working on the reno" rythmn. The holiday with all our various neighborhood and family events slowed me down too. I make a pretty cute parade marshall with my little white bullhorn!

So here's an update. If you don't care about anything other than the fridge you can skip the rest of the long post.

Good news:

I ended up buying a built-in KA fridge from eb@y at a great price. New, in the box, and with full warranty no less. Problem solved. Yes, it was more money than I intended to spend but it was better than trying to figure out how to re-frame and suffering the time loss to do so.

I finally found a tile installer to set my shower tile pan in the new master bath! That's a huge relief after my plumber screwed me on that one and set me back two weeks. The tile guy is actually the owner of a local flooring company. So more good news...I picked out my carpet with his help and got a decent price.

The marble for my kitchen and the limestone for my bath should arrive at my fabricator's shop today from the big city. Finally! The stone yard wouldn't give me a sample of my limestone so some bathroom choices have been on hold until I can see the stone again.

Good and bad news:

I was having trouble getting drywall subs to return calls and show up to look at the house. I've gotten two over this week and have one bid back. A third is expected at the house this afternoon. We're running into more problems than just our custom ceiling texture that needs to be matched in the areas needing patches. Because DH yanked the drywall down in areas that needed demo and didn't screw up the drywall to the ceiling where it was left sagging, we have to remove a few more sheets than we expected. Apparently, when drywall is left hanging/sagging for 8 months you can't just screw it back up and expect it to lay flat. It has a nasty memory of the sag. Anyway, don't tell DH I told you about this because he's grumpy already. ;) This all means more expense, more work, and more time to do the work.

I had the HVAC work done a couple of months ago, including moving an ugly cold air return vent in the ceiling to a spot I thought would be out of the way. Turns out that the vent is now sitting right where the interior designer I consulted with suggests putting a wall-washer ceiling fixture in order to highlight some yet-to-be-purchased art work. Darn! Another call to the HVAC guy and more work. The worst part is that there's no good spot in which to move the vent where it won't be a visual eye sore. It'll have to hang out near the front door entry now.

Now the bad news:

We have to move out of the temporary house we're staying in now at the end of the month. My goal was to get the walls and floors in by that time so we could move in. That leaves me only three full weeks at this point. I scheduled the hardwood floor install already in hopes the walls would be done, but we're not going to make it. I'll need to start looking for a place for a family with two young kids and one very old, shy, sweet, fat, black cat to stay.

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Comments (9)

kaismom
12 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
breezygirl,
welcome to the world of major renovation. I have done many many of these... Your story is bringing back memories. Our budget is healthy by most people's standards so we were able to absorb unexpected costs. Even so, it is very stressful to be faced with financial as well as other issues in the midst of being "homeless". One of our neighbors stopped in the middle of the remodel when they ran out of money. They never really finished even years later.... Hope you have enough "contingencies" set up for these situations.

Hang in there. It too shall pass.

During one of our big remodels, I was pregnant with my second child. We lived in our basement which had a separate apartment. Even so, it was hard. I remember having a "hormonal melt down" because I had no place to bring the baby "home" to.... If you are like me, you will probably have meltdowns. Remember that we all had them; we who tread before you.
brianadarnell
12 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Breezy- Glad you found a solution to the shower pan and the refrigerator. It seems like you are on the right track on both. On the home front, I'm sorry to hear you'll miss your deadline for the temporary living situation. Renovations/building timelines never stick (even with the best GCs :) )...We are on month 6 at my parents when it was supposed to be 3. We were lucky to sell our old house, but this has gone much longer than anticipated. My parents have been wonderful hosts but we are wearing out our welcome and I'm pulling my hair out. All of our stuff is either in storage or in the bedroom we are staying in and it's getting TIGHT in there...I know how you feel...the feeling of homelessness and being unsettled.

Do you think you're a month behind? It sounds like that might be where you are, but I'm not sure. You don't want them to rush- the work quality will suffer for sure even though most contractors only seem to work 6 hours a day (must be nice!)...

Briana
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beaglesdoitbetter1
12 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Breezy I am so glad to hear that you are moving forward at least. Maybe it is better in the long run that you are being forced to find temp housing since it can take some of the pressure to rush off of you and so you and your kids won't have to be in an unfinished house with no kitchen all day, which I can imagine would probably make you even more stressed :)

Just keep in mind some day this will all be just a funny memory to laugh over as you enjoy your beautiful house :)
celineike
12 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
ooohh big hug - sorry - what a bummer and PITA!

I've been thinking about you and wondering how things were going. It's been tough for me with the kids home all day, and Im on the edge of done. Hopefully you'll find a cute little place to hang out til you get in.

hug again.xox
powertoolpatriot
12 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Breezy,
Glad you got a fridge. I'm sure you'll be happy with the KA!
Too bad about the drywall, but it is probably the cheapest thing as far as building materials go. A few sheets won't take long to hang, as long as he has some help. A few cold brewskis can bring some warm bodies to lend a hand.
Good luck with the rest of the project!
breezygirl
Original Author
12 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Kaismom--I've had plenty of meltdowns in the past 18 months of this, but I've been fine lately. We almost did this when I was pregnant with our second, but I convinced DH to wait until after she was born to start.

Briana--I feel for you living with someone else. We've been so fortunate enough to have a decently sized house to live in for the past 8 months so we didn't have to squeeze down too much. Yes, I think we're realistically about a month behind. I'd like to say less, but I'm tired of under estimating! I would have said 3 weeks until today when I found out that drywall would take about 8-10 working days. For some reason I thought it would only take a week.

Beagles--I hadn't thought about the stress of living with the kids in a kitchenless house with construction still ongoing. Maybe we'd better plan for a 3-month apartment lease and stay there until the house is further along.

Celine--Yeah, some stuff is a bummer. The progress feels good though. I can't wait to see your kitchen done! Hurry!

Patriot--I'm sure I'll be happy with it too. I appreciate your help in my path to buying it.
brianadarnell
12 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Drywall will take 8-10 DAYS?!?!? Our new house isn't huge and they completed hanging the drywall in a day and patched it on the second day. I don't know what the norm is but that seems like two extremes! I'm tired of underestimating too. Apparently wishful underestimating doesn't make subs work faster :(
mrshanson1
12 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
My plaster guys just took a day to install the drywall, but they needed 2 more days to do the paste and smooth out everything... Yes, sometimes, it can take longer. It is more than just boards and screws. I was told that it takes 10-12 more days for it to cure before you can paint it.

Everything is a process.

It is summertime. Just move back in, live in the basement, and put up a tent in the backyard. Save the rent money, and just survive it. We have lived in our family room for 6 weeks now. Yes, it stinks (I can think of other choice words).

I know this summer is not ideal, but just think when it is all done, you'll be so happy. If your kids are real young, they will not remember that their summer is ruined.
cluelessincolorado
12 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Is one person hanging/taping the drywall? Ours was just finished and it took 4 overtime days with one person. We have 2 small rooms and a short hall, but tons of time fiddling trying to meet up with lath and plaster walls, patching, shimming, and lots of tries matching an old texture in the DR. Hope you get in soon. FWIW, I have been w/out a kitchen since May 5th, and it's been okay, but stressful. We have a laundry sink in the basement which has helped enormously,but I seem to remember you have a nursing child still? Temp housing might be the answer if you are too stressed about the remodel to deal with all the little pains of not having a kitchen. Mine are 6 and 9 and at a point where they can truly help. If I was trying to watch a toddler and roaming infant it might be different. Last big one they were 3 weeks and 3 and we had housing for 6 weeks.

News...some good (bought fridge) and some bad

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