June 2013: Working on the Laundry Room

My house has a huge laundry room.  It was part of the remodel done before I moved in.  Maybe it was part of the old garage.

It had counter tops made from old doors.  The counters were supported by wood posts on the floor.  There was one old rickety cabinet on the wall.  I added a couple of bookcases for storage.  But other than that it was very cumbersome to store anything.

I had Ian, my "handiest of men" take out the built in counters and cabinet.  I bought easy to assemble shelving units from Lowe's which will take their place.  Plus, I will put my Ikea counter in there under the window.  I hope to be able to use this space for flower arranging and painting crafts.

So far, Ian has floated the walls and primed them.  He removed the old carpet on the floor.  I've picked out some vinyl flooring for the room.

The room has space for an air conditioner.  I told Ian to go pick one up at Home Depot.  It will be easier for him to work in there.

I will post the after photos as soon as it's done.

Ian is a good handy man but he is doing all this work alone so it will take a while.  If anyone needs a recommendation for a handy man, I'll post his contact info after he finishes my laundry room ;)

New Floor

Yesterday workmen started on my family room floor. They ripped out the carpet and pad, leveled the concrete floor and added a coat of water proofing. They put all the furniture into the dining room. We have a little tunnel to go through to get from the bedrooms to the kitchen.

We're having a hard wood floor installed - no more smelly carpet (the dog rolls around on it). It's supposed to be all finished when I get home from work today!

Bathroom Remodeling Still Going On!!

Today is the beginning of the fourth week of the work in my bathroom. The designer, Jeff said it would take one week. After I called several times, the owner, Dave said it would take 3 weeks. The first week they ripped out my walls, fixtures, etc. The second week they worked for a total of 3 hours. Finally the third week, they completed the tiling. The tiling was a lot of work.

So far, the tile is done, a couple of cabinets installed, some plumbing work and my walls painted. That leaves the counter and sink installation, grab bars, shower door, mirror, lights, medicine cabinet, all faucets and the toilet to be installed. The rest of the cabinets have to be put in, too.

Funny thing about the cabinets, they arrived green. So, they all had to be repainted.
The cabinets do not seem to be what causing the delay. The workers just don't come very often. Today 4 guys showed up at 8:15. I checked on them and they were all just standing around. When I returned home after errands at 11, they were all gone. I don't know, if they did any work at all.

Another point of annoyance: they help themselves to our tools. One day I found my bedside lamp with the shade removed in the bathroom. Another day our spotlight from the garage was being used. Dave asked if they could use Jim's big level. Do workmen not carry their own tools?

Do I have to call again for the workers to start up again? It seemed like the tile installation was the most difficult. I wish they would just show up and continue the work.

So, I will continue sleeping on the sofa. Today I woke up all stiff. At least Jim didn't turn on the Bloomburg News at 5 AM this morning. I've been so tired.

remodel

On Monday work began on remodeling my master bathroom. It's not much of a bathroom - pretty small. Since I'm not enlarging it, it will still just be a small master bathroom. We're removing the tub and getting a shower stall. New tiles, cabinets, light, fan and that's about it. Despite the limited remodeling, it still costs an awful lot of money.

I had to sleep on the sofa last night. The night before I slept in the bedroom and woke up coughing from the dust and smell. Plus, the cats thought that the plastic sheeting made a great toy.

I sure hope the remodel goes as smoothly as the contractor says it will. I guess I just have to keep sleeping on the sofa until the work is done.