Not much action today

The electrician cancelled on me due to rain. He's working outside on the garage and the "weatherhead" (the post on top of the house to which the wires from the street run) so there was no way he could be up on the roof. I worked on some more research today.

The framer I was going to use backed out on me two weeks on the Monday of the week he was supposed to start. This has been a big set back. I am still trying to get someone else started. A good thing about this is that I found a general contractor who can do not only the framing, but a lot of the rest of the work. It's been slow going getting him on board. GC's are so busy around here, it's hard to even get one to work. We worked on an estimate early last week, and I was supposed to have his contract last Thursday night. On Friday, he promised it over the weekend. On Monday, he promised it Monday night. Today, he called at 8:30 and promised it within the hour. It came sometime after 11:00. But, at least it's here. We are pretty close to an agreement - there are just a few items left open to figure out. It was hard to wait this out - I really like this guy and think he'd be great to work with. Also, if I had started the interview process all over again, it might have set me back even further.

Mixed news today

After opening up the house, the electrician asked me to go get the bathroom light fixture so he could wire it. After a successful run to the plumbing supply place, I got back to the house and called the structural engineer. There is a concrete foundation in the backyard we want to remove and he was looking at that to see if we could safely remove it. It is framed by cinderblock walls between us and the neighbors on three sides, and since no permits were ever obtained we don't know if the foundation and walls are joined.

At the engineer's request, we had three 12" square holes drilled so he could see what's underneath. The good news is that we can remove the foundation, but we need to build some sort of underground footer to support them. Hopefully, the footer can be buried under the dirt and nothing will show. It may be necessary to leave a curb or a little of the foundation in place. This job seems a bit overwhelming - it was really hard to find an engineer willing to work in my area. This one actually has his office an hour away. He's been a bit hard to get a hold of, and the arrangement has been rather loose - i.e. no contract or payment schedule. Our original agreement was for him to inspect and tell us if we could remove the foundation and to inspect the foundation of the house for structural soundness. We were to have gotten a written report, and then C and I were going to decide what to do and when. Well, so far we've gotten no report, just verbal communication. He is also telling us to remove half of the concrete (the remaining half will support the wall during construction) and then call him and he will design a footer to be built which we will then get a permit for. Hmmm, seems a little fast. I'd like a contract first of all, and now that I know it's even possible I'd like to interview a few more people about the job. So, I'm not sure what to do at this time. The general contractor I hope to bring on to finish a lot of the job also does concrete, so I will talk to him first about it.

We have old linoleum tiles in our master bedroom, and one of the contractors I interviewed suggested testing them for asbestos. It's a good thing we did because they do in fact contain asbestos! I was really surprised because I would not have even thought to test this area. I had no idea linoleum tiles could contain asbestos.

I spent a few hours in the evening researching windows. Ugh! Like everything else, they are extremely complex to buy. Not only are there at least 20 manufacturers, there are different types of windows: those used in new construction, full replacement windows and sash only replacements. Then there is the material - vinyl, wood, aluminum, vinyl clad, aluminum clad, etc. Then there are features to consider such as UV protection. Also, some companies only make their windows in 1/2" increments, so you may need a filler to make it fit in your opening. The can look awkward and can cause you to loose glass surface. Where do you even begin?

A day off

Today we took the day off. Although as usual on our "days off" every conversation ends up being about the house in one way or another.

Landscaping

Today we met with a landscape architect for over 2 1/2 hours. It was really draining, but we did get a lot done, and managed to come up with parameters for him to draft a plan for us. Landscape architects don't just tell you what plants to plant - they do a lot more like address grading, drainage, fencing, hardscaping, privacy, aesthetics, structural items (e.g. roofed in patio, built in barbeque, etc).

Our backyard is really challenging, which is why we needed to bring this person in. The grade is wrong, causing the water to pool near the house and garage. The drainage system collects the water and outlets it under the house, causing mold and moisture problems. There are tall ficus trees along one side, which are great because they sheild us from a two-story apartment building. What is not so great are their roots, which grow to more than 20 feet and run right along the surface of the yard. We need to put up some fencing to make the yard dog-friendly. It's a bit complicated though, because of the change in elevation in various parts of the yard and the fact that the trees are right along the property line. We want to add a back door because there isn't any good backyard access from the house at this time. There is a concrete foundation out back the prior owners poured to build a rental unit back there. We want to remove this if possible. While all of these issues are tricky, what makes it really complicated is that all of these issues interact with each other. The tree roots impact how and how much we can change the grading. The grading and drainage system need to be designed together. Where the living area goes impacts the fencing. It goes on and on, but you get the idea. This was the one area I felt like I couldn't handle it without professional guidance.

It was a long session, but I think we really accomplished a lot and that the end plan will be great and we will be able to grow into it over time.

Not as planned

I got ready to leave today at 7:45 to return the tile sample I borrowed yesterday. The tile store opened at 8:00, and they lent me a tile overnight (it was their only display) and I promisd to return when they opened. I drove just a few feet before realizing I had a flat tire! I drove over a nail. It looked suspiciously like a construction nail, and in addition to our house, there are several on our street under construction. I waited about an hour to have the roadside assistance change it, and then went to the tire store to have it repaired. Fortunately, the tire store was right across the street from the tile store so I got both things done. There was a funny moment when I told the guy at the tire store that I was going to the tile store and he said "What? The tire store?"

I returned the sample, and got some more prices on glass tiles, none of which was as good as the price I got already. I found a place that offers a huge discount.

After that adventure, I came home and got ready to meet my mom for the tile trek. In the middle of it, the roofer called and we had to work out some contract details. I got kind of overwhelmed with it - I couldn't figure out how to get the rafter tails painted and primed before the fascia board went on. The roofer repairs and/or replaces rafter tails when necessary but they need to be primed and painted before the fascia board goes up and they are covered. But the roofer doesn't really paint, and the roofer also comes in and out quickly (usually a day to demolish, repair and inspect and a day to put the roof on) so it would be difficult to get a painter in there or do it myself without having the roof off for several days. In addition, the fascia board has to be primed on all sides before going up and this had to be worked out as well. Ugh!

The roofer and I had gone back and forth with a couple of different versions of the contract and I was so confused I couldn't figure it out. As much as it seems otherwise, my request is unique according to the roofers I talked to. I finally called the general contractor I've been talking to (we're still trying to work out a contract, should be final this weekend). He walked me through the problem and I felt ready to talk to the roofer. When the roofer called me back, we were able to work it all out - at least I think so. I faxed over the contract with my changes this afternoon so I hope he signs it too.

I then dragged my mom to about 25 tile stores. We were able to cover a lot of ground because we were really focused on sage, square, large tiles. However, early in the day, my mom pointed out how good the glass looks with the sample I have of 3"x6" that I love. By the end of the day, I hadn't found anything I liked as much, and I think the rectangles will look good with the glass squares. They will be on different, but adjoining surfaces and the colors look like they were made to go together. Both shapes have a Zen feeling which I like. OK - tile drama is resolved! On to the next decision.

More tile shopping

After opening up for the electrician, I came home and handled some more desk work. I finally resolved my heated towel bar drama - I found one that was the right size and not too expensive. After that, I ran to two local tile shops, one I had been to before and one I had not. At the one where I had been to before, I went and relooked with my new level of discernment. Tile is like anything - the more you look the more you have to see. I am really clear that I want something in a large (6"x6" or larger) square for the tub deck and we will use the glass tiles on the wall. Glass is really beautiful and unusual. C came up with the brilliant idea of using both glass and ceramic to get the impact of glass but still save money.

I had gotten a sample I really liked of a sage green in a 3"x6" tile. I was really hoping they had it in a large square, but it was not available. I'm concerned that mixing squares and rectangles will look mismatched. At the second tile place, I found a 6" square that I really liked, but it wasn't as nice of a color as the rectangle. I think I could be happy with either one, but I am taking one more trip with my mom tomorrow to go to the part of town with all the home improvement stores. I just want to see if I can improve what I have. If not, I'll be happy with what I have.

A little less stressful

Today was more of the same from yesterday - phone calls, faxes, details, running around, etc. I actually didn't spend any time at the house. I did a bit better at not getting too scattered, but it is hard. I have at least 15 open projects and I worked on all of them but completed none. It's hard to keep so many things straight at one time.

Not a good day

Today I was really drained and scattered. I got very little done and felt a bit panicked about it. There is still so much to do, everything takes so long and it such a complex process.

A few good notes - I scheduled my first inspection for Friday 2/24. It will be an inspection of the plumbing and electrical rough work. I will have to have another inspection in order to close up the walls (after insulation and repairing framing and floor damage), then the work for the final inspection can begin.

I spoke to the general contractor I met with on Friday, and he expects that we can finish everything we need to for the place to be habitable in 4 weeks. That's really good news because I thought it was more like 8 weeks. Also, his price for the remaining work seems reasonable. I am waiting to get his final contract. The work still to be done by him includes: repairing subfloor and framing, drywall, building tub deck, adding back a missing porch post, installing windows and repairing a gap where the old heater registers were.

Too many tile choices!

After opening up the house for the electrician, I ran over to the plumbing supply place to see what they had in heated towel bars. They were really helpful last time, so I thought I'd give it a shot. They didn't have anything I could use for under $1,300. This is just too much - I've seen almost exactly what I need for about $100, but there's always just one small thing wrong. I am confident I can find what I need.

Taking advantage of the President's Day Holiday (light traffic on roads and in home improvement stores), I picked up my mom and went to an area with a large concentration of home improvement and flooring stores. We hit about 10 tile places. There is sooooooo much tile out there! I couldn't believe how much.

We took a few samples, and I think I'm pretty close to a choice. I really like glass tiles, but they are really expensive and I'm not sure if it is worth it. I have a light green granite I really like. I wasn't looking for granite, but this just popped out at us and it is on a huge clearance. The other option is some combination of plain ceramic and glass. C and I will sleep on it. The good news is that I like both choices and would be happy with either one. I am hoping to finalize my agreement with a contractor to do the remaining work on the house by the end of the week, so I hope to meet with his tile guy to help us decide.

I think women must have extra color and texture receptors or something. Even I was laughing at some of the comments we made about minute differences in light green tile. "This one's too limey," "this one's too gray," "this one is too Florida for our set up" "this one is too ashey" "this one looks more blue" When I told C of our trek, I think he was glad he wasn't there.

&*^%$ towel bars!

I spent another 5 hours today looking for a reasonably priced heated towel bar. There are thousands online, so you'd think I'd be able to find one. I have found a few near misses - either it's too wide, doesn't come in any finish we could use, it's not available hard wired (meaning the electrician installs it right into the electrical system and there's no plug), it's no longer available, or it's thousands of dollars. This is one item I really want, so I'm not willing to give up yet. There are a few companies I can call tomorrow during business hours. My local plumbing supply place carried them as well, and I can get my plumber's professional discount there.

I am still just shocked by how much you can spend on a heated towel bar. I saw one today for $7,200! For a towel bar! No, it wasn't made of gold either. And no, there wasn't some intricate artwork on it. I just can't believe when you can buy one for $100 that any one of them is worth that much.

Tile shopping horrors

C and I spent a combined 5 hours online today looking for tile. He really likes hexagonal tile so I'd really like to find it for him. We also want large tile so there's not too much grout. I actually found the perfect tile - it was made of recycled glass, beautifully colored, hexagonal, rounded edges, and had cool 1/2 and 1/4 hex trim pieces so the edges would look really nice. It was even priced right - $4.50! I've found that the moderately priced tile runs $4-$7 per square foot (although you can spend up to $100 or more!) so I was happy with the price. I even called a few places to inquire about ordering it. I was so happy!

Then C found out what made it too good to be true. The $4.50 was per tile, not per square foot (the standard way to price tile). The tiles were 4", which means 9 tiles per square foot, which means $40.50 per square foot! Yikes! That's just too much for tile!

Here's a link to the tile that was not to be: http://www.bedrockindustries.com/blazetile_shapes.html

Small bits of progress

After opening the house for the day, I left the contractors to their work and went tile shopping. Like almost everything I've shopped for, tile has been really complicated. It's also hard to tell what the tile will look like without seeing it in the actual room. It's looks different depending on the light.

After lunch, I met a general contractor who was coming to look at a lot of the work that is still remaining. I had a framer that was supposed to start last Monday but he backed out. The guy I met today is the person who is doing the architectural drawings for the bathroom window we want to enlarge. He has a really great attitude and is positive and proactive. I think it will turn out to be a blessing in disguise that the first guy backed out. I like this guy better and since he is a licensed general contractor, he can do more than just the framing. We had a great meeting, and my "homework" for the weekend is to compile a detailed list of what we want done and when. I asked him if I could just put "everything" and "yesterday" and he said no (ha, ha). On a positive note, I did tell him our goal was to have the place "habitable" within 8 weeks and he felt very comfortable that it was possible.

It was interesting walking around the house with him. He pointed out a lot of things I hadn't noticed. For example, we have a central hallway from which you enter the bedrooms and bathroom. But the bathroom door was not always where it is now! There were two doors on either side - one of which leads from what is now the kitchen and the other leads from what is not a bedroom closet. We couldn't figure it out. He thought maybe it had been a "jack and jill" bathroom (a set up often done for kids where one bathroom is accessable from two bedrooms). But, it didn't make sense that you would enter the bathroom from the kitchen, and what about the closet?

The other thing we figured out was that the kitchen sink had been moved. The plumbers had noticed an unused water line on the side of the kitchen that faces the side of the house. The kitchen sink now faces the front of the house and there is a window over the sink. I couldn't figure out what this unused water line was for until the general contractor pointed out that the framing indicated a window had been there. So, the sink originally faced the side of the house. We suspect it got moved when a large apartment building was built next door. It's interesting because there have been no permits pulled since the house was built in 1952, and there has been a lot of work done.

Looking at this picture, you can see the bottom of the horizontal framing for the old window over where the sink used to be. The right end of it is under the range hood.




The plumber was showing me the cast iron toilet vent pipe he removed because it had a crack in it. The vent pipe allows air into the toilet system so that gravity can make it flush. He said any crack, no matter how small, would allow the smell of the sewer into the bathroom. He told me about a restaurant he worked in where they had that very problem. They located it using blue smoke. He also told me an interesting bit of trivia - the sewer gas can kill you, and this is how the ancient Romans came to invent plumbing. Who knew? I'm just glad I have a new vent pipe. The new one is plastic PVC which is better suited to this purpose.

I finished the day by getting my kitchen cabinets delivered. What a treat that they showed up undamaged and I got the correct items at a time that was only an hour later than the end of the window when they were supposed to be here. It was raining, so I was glad we had cleared the garage so I could store them.

Friday night I spent 5 hours online trying to find a heated towel bar. Who would have thought it would be so difficult? It wouldn't be a problem if I was willing to spend $2,500. Yes, really you can spend that much on a towel bar. I can't understand why it could cost so much. There are heated towel bars for about $100 (I just couldn't find the size I needed at that price), so why would one cost that much more? What could it do differently?

Here is shot of the toilet rough in, now in the correct position. You may be able see yellow grease pencil where the plumber and I worked out the location.


This is a shot that I thought was interesting. The three vertical cuts are for each new plug we need. The electrician had to cut them in order to wire the plugs.

Here is the master bedroom. You can see the floor level wiring the electrician has done.

Busy day

After getting the electrician started, I met with a landscape architect. Our lot has so many challenges that I really feel like we need one. They do a lot more than just tell you what to plant. They will address the grading (water pools near the house and garage), the drainage (water is being collected and vented under the house), retaining walls, trees, fencing, privacy, hardscaping (paved areas such as retaining walls, driveway, walkway, etc). In addition, he will help us come up with a long term plan for things like adding a living space in the backyard, which may include a table and chairs, a barbeque and a fire pit, etc. We may add a back door. The side walkway is a utility area that doesn't funcion well. There isn't easy access to the trash. There is a non-functional landing out the side door. As you can see, it's a huge list and each item is really complex and they all interrelate. There's no way we could tackle this on our own.

The plumbers had their worker back today, and they allowed me to use some of his time to dig my trench in the backyard. He was so much faster than me. He dug the remaining 1 1/2 feet of depth in just about 3 hours. He also dug out some of the dirt where the concrete is dug up. This was another good choice to pay someone to do this. It was a lot less taxing on me and the trench is now done and won't hold up the electrician when he is ready.

This is the completed trech (20 feet long and 2 feet deep)

Here is where the concrete is broken already on the walkway near the house. The guy doing the digging did some digging here as well:

It has really paid off for me to be at the house every day. It really speeds things up - so often, someone has one little question for me that I can decide on the spot and they can get back to work. If I wasn't available, they might have to stop working on it and come back to it. I also spotted that the toilet rough in was in the wrong place! It was done yesterday after I left for the day, and thank goodness I spotted it today so it was easy to fix. It just goes to show you that even with a written plan, things can go wrong.

We've noticed a weird plastic pipe on the back of the house and never knew what it was for. I finally found out from the electrician - the previous owners used it to run electric wires from the attic to the crawl space using sprinkler pipe! This is not safe or up to code! I was glad to find out that not only can we remove it we have to in order to pass inspection!

Here is a shot of the back of the house from early on (it's much cleaner now). You can see the vertical plastic pipe near the window on the right.


Since tomorrow is trash day, I worked on filling the trash cans. We still have 30+ bags of trash from the prior owners in the garage. I make sure to fill our trash cans every week. I also worked on cleaning out the food left behind in the kitchen cabinets. We had to demolish the lower cabinets due to water damage, rotting and splintering. But the upper cabinets are in fine shape so I purchased some cheap lower cabinets that sort of match just to last until we can do a remodel. So anyway, I was cleaning out the food left behind and it was NASTY! One cabinet had a bug infestation at some point (all dead now) and the carcasses littered the cabinet floor. Everything I picked up had a coating of dust-slime-kitchen grease-? and many things stuck to the cabinet shelf. There were lots of things left open like drink mixes. I still cannot believe I haven't seen any critters!

Lots of progress

The electrician started his second day of work. He is working on rewiring all the outlets and switches. As I've mentioned before, the house was built in 1952, and there has been a lot of unpermitted work done on it since then. The contractors keep finding all kinds of weird stuff. The electrician commented today that he was surprised there hadn't been a fire. Yikes!

The good news is we have a target date for the rough inspection! The electrician expects to be done next Wednesday 2/22, so allowing a day for problems we are aiming for an inspection Friday 2/24! It feels really good just to be able to talk about such a major milestone with some degree of concreteness. Even if it doesn't happen that day, it will happen soon.

I spent a good deal of today digging a ditch! I was thinking if my cubemates from my corporate days could see me now.... I spent about 3 1/2 hours on it. The electric in the garage is really unsafe - it was installed using sprinkler pipe! So we have to dig a trench to rewire the electric from the garage. The shortest distance is from the garage to the house then to the electrical panel. We are using a spot in the concrete walkway surrounding the house that is already dug up. The first three hours were fun, then it got really old. It is truly "backbreaking" work - you really use your back to work the shovel. I was careful to lift correctly though, and I never lifted too heavy of a load since the length of the shovel makes it feel heavier. The difficulty with this ditch is that the dirt is packed hard and that there are tree roots all through it. I would shovel a few times, then stop and cut the tree roots and repeat. The roots ranged in width from a hair to 6"x3". The big one I actually took an axe to and cut a section out wide enough for my trench. I saved lots of earthworms, and was happy my soil had them. I wished I had my compost pile set up so I could have put them on that. I did see one nasty bug though - it looked like a huge, bloated ant (maybe 1-1 1/2 inches long). I hope it wasn't the pregnant queen ant. I put it back in the ground and it was gone by the next time I looked. It was nasty and reminded me of something on a nature show.

An interesting lesson - the first three hours of ditch digging were fun. Then it got really tedious. My body was tired and the progress was slow. I think it was my brain that forced me to quit though. It just got to be too much. I've found this with the demolition as well - about three hours plus and hour or so to cleanup is my max in one day. A guy from the plumber's company was digging out front as well (we have to replace the sewer line due to tree roots in it). I noticed he works and takes breaks in short bursts. He might work for 10 minutes and then take a 5 minute break. He never attacked anything with a frenzy the way I did. I guess this is how you can dig for a long period. Both plumbers have worked with him for a long time and said he is an excellent worker so he must know what he is doing.

The final excitement of the day came when I was leaving. There was a geyser coming out of my front lawn! The guy digging there hit the water main! The water was shooting up about 10 feet. The plumber had to shut the water off at the street. He said it was no big deal to fix. I was glad he was there because I would have had no idea what to do!

Here is the start of the ditch. It's about 20 feet long, and 6 inches deep at this point. It took me about 3 1/2 hours to do this.


This was the biggest root I found. It's about 6"x3" and I hacked at it with an axe until I split it. I had to cut it twice to remove the chunk I needed.

Ugh! But I found a new motto

I started the day on a pretty good note. The electrician started today, which feels like a big milestone. As soon as he is done his rough work, I'll be ready for my first inspection. I wanted the electric and plumbing rough work to be inspected together to save me from scheduling separate inspections.

Sometimes it pays to procrastinate. I was gradually working on demolition this last week, and planned to take the drywall out in the kitchen up to about shoulder height due to water damage. I also was taking the floor out down to the subfloor. When the framer comes in, I want him to really be able to see what's bad and do a good fix on it. When the electrician started today, he took out about half the drywall I wanted to remove just to run his wires. Yay!

OK, I may really need a hard hat! It's a good thing my ancestors were Calabraise (a region in southern Italy known for hard heads, both literally and figuratively). I was loading the dumpster today (it's dumpster #4!) and the lid fell on me twice! Ow! I thought it was going to draw blood. I just had a big swollen lump on my head a week or so ago. Even without the hardhat, people think I'm a contractor. As I was cleaning up, a contractor working on the street approached me and asked if "you guys" do construction site cleanup (nice to know I'm good enough at it to get noticed by a pro!). I told him I was the homeowner (aka "the lady of the house") and he responded "right on sister!"

Yesterday was kind of a bummer. The framer backed out on me after giving me a verbal agreement that he would do the job. He's someone my plumber has worked with for years, so I was looking forward to an easy time as they worked together. He was supposed to start this week. The good news is that a contractor I talked to about doing the architectural drawings for the bathroom window may be able to take the job on. He worked with an architecture firm for serveral years doing technical drawings (they referred him to me since it's a small job) and now he's a licensed general contractor. This would be great if it works out because he can handle the drawing, do all the framing work the framer was going to do and he can do other things like tile and drywall. I may not need to hire anyone else (except insulation and landscape). I really liked him too - everyone else had me panicked that these drawings would be a huge undertaking, very expensive, etc. His attitude was positive and problem-solving oriented from the beginning. He took it on himself to call the city and find out exactly what drawings were needed before we even had a contract. Nobody else offered to do that. Everyone I've hired so far has that mindset/attitude, and it's been a godsend. It's saved me a lot of headaches.

And finally, my new but not original motto: "This too shall pass."

This remodel has been such a roller coaster. One day, I'm so discouraged I can't imagine it will ever come together. It just seems to be unsolvable problem after unsolvable problem. The next day, I'm flying high, thinking this is the greatest, it's going so smooth, aren't I awesome. In both cases, I'm learning it's important to remind myself that this too shall pass. When I'm down it's important so I keep going. As long as I keep looking, working and talking to people, the answer emerges (often after a good night's sleep and a proper meal). When things are good, it's important to remind myself that things will be bad again so that I don't crash when (not if) it happens.

A lot of work, no progress

I had planned to not be at the house today and work on other things today. I ended up getting a call at 8:30 and had to meet the plumbers at the house. We seem to be on track. We figured out what to do about some tricky gas lines and are just about ready for the rough inspection.

I left them and headed out to do some "sanity" things. I haven't been able to keep up with my wash, mail, bills, errands, etc. so I did some of those today. I didn't make a dent in the wash, and had so much mail piled up it took 5 hours to get it all paid, shredded, filed, etc.

I also got a call from the framer and he backed out. It's a bummer, but I have to be happy he's the first person who backed out on me. I'll have to find someone else.

Wow, there is just so much to do. No matter how bit a task I complete, there's another large one just around the corner. We're about a month in and I'm wearing thin. It must be really hard to do those huge remodels that take years.

Another day off

We took another day off today, except for numerous conversations about the house.

A day off

Today we took a much needed day off. C hasn't had a weekend without a trip to the home store in some time. Aside from talking about tile and other things, we didn't do any work on the house.

Wow, a busy day

I spent the early part of the day trying to scrape the kitchen floor free of the paper left from the linoleum. I need to clear the paper so the framer can really see where the damage is on the floor. After an hour, I managed get about a 6"x6" area cleared. It was discouraging.

I spent the rest of the morning trying to find an architect to draw simple pictures of a window I want to enlarge. Even though a general contractor or framer could do it, the city is requiring architect drawings. It's really ridiculous, and a lot of the architects I talked to can't even believe it. Most of them won't touch something so small. After 11 calls, I found someone who wouldn't do the job because it was too small, but they have someone who used to work for them and is now on his own and handles small jobs. I called him and he sounded confident the job could be done quickly and easily without a large expense.

I took a breather to meet C for lunch, and headed off to a local home supply store to buy a belt sander to work on the kitchen floor. They didn't have an appropriate one in stock, so it was back to the home center store for the 4th time in 6 days. After that, I ran to a tile store to start picking samples. After that I headed to the art store to buy a board to mount all the samples I've collected so far together. It's a trick I've seen on HGTV (Home and Garden Television) and I think it will be easier to pick tile if the floor, cabinet, and counter material are all mounted on the board. My last stop of the day was the fabric store to buy sticky velcro to mount the samples. Then home at last. I'm tired!

It pays to hire good people!

Today I had a big plumbing dilemma. C and I spent two hours at the home center store on Sunday trying to pick out fixtures for the bathroom. Our installation is a little unusual, so it was very confusing. Today, after showing the information to the plumber on the job it seemed that our set up would not work without an expensive installation of additional lines. I called the plumbing company owner's nephew, who he left on call in his absence. (In case this is confusing - the guy I contracted with owns the company. He's on vacation, and left a licensed plumber in charge who used to work for him. His nephew works at the company too) After spending 15 minutes trying to work it out on the phone, he offered to come over. I suggested we meet at the plumbing supply company. We sat down with a sales rep and mangaged to figure it out in 20 minutes, and I got his trade discount. I was also able to order a lot of the other stuff I needed. It made me glad I hired the right people rather than the cheapest.

I went back to the home center store and actually got the rest of my order placed. What a sense of relief. It's a huge burden off my back.

I knocked off early to spend the afternoon with my mom.

Demo and progress

Today I got the whole laundry area demolished (again with a little help from the plumber's helper). It's so much better. I didn't like the way it was set up, and I'll be able to use the space much better, and the contractors will be able to do much better work. I also met a framer that my plumber recommended. He was nice, and can start the job next week. He seemed like a good problem solver.

I also met roofer #3 today. His price was better than the other two, but I am concerned about his thoroughness. I am really not sure who to pick.

I spent several hours today at the home center store trying to get our large order in. It's a bit undertaking, and I'm feeling the pressure because if I don't get our stuff ordered soon it may begin holding up the job.

I quit early today due to a prior obligation tonight.

Here's how the laundry area looked when we took possession of the house:

Here's how it looked on January 15, after we dejunked:



And here's how it looks now:


This is our nice new heater. It's actually suspended from the attic rafters to decrease noise:

More progress, tighter deadlines and a design dilemma solved

I met another roofer today, and interesting enough his quote was exactly the same as the first. I'm not sure who to pick (feels like I'm The Bachelor, on the tv series of the same name). The first one is more personable and professional. The second one was less professional - their office staff was not very impressive and they didn't see why I needed or wanted to be here when he came by ("Can't he just come out and measure? Why do you need to be there?") Uh, how will I ask the 20+ questions I have written down? How will I see if I like him and if he's professional? What if he doesn't like me? What about all the little items I want to point out that may factor into his estimate? I can't believe they would even ask that. On the other hand, the first one does not regularly work in my city, and it is notorious for being brutal on inspections. The second one works here all the time and is used to it. So, I'm not sure, but I'm interviewing my third one tomorrow, so hopefully I'll know then.

The plumbers continued to make progress. The ducts leading to the registers (for heat) are almost done. They look really good.

Here is one of our new heating duct. It will be covered with a register.



There is some concrete in our backyard we want to have removed. The engineer told us to have holes drilled so he can see what's inside and make sure we can remove it without being in danger of damaging the adjacent walls. Here the concrete guy is beginning to jackhammer the hole. I considered doing it myself, but it was cheaper to have him do it when I considered the cost of renting the jackhammer and buying proper safety shoes (that I'd never need again). It also would have taken me much longer.


Here is the completed hole (although, can you dig half a hole?) I'm really hoping we can remove the concrete.


Here is our heater waiting for the installation to be completed.


Some duct work waiting to be installed.


My friend Trish stopped over to help me solve a design dilemma (She just completed a 2 1/2 year remodel). There's an enclosure in the kitchen where the heater, laundry and pantry are. It's set up pretty inefficiently spacewise now, and I don't particularly like it. Also, I don't think the framer and drywaller can get in and cut out/repair all the damaged area with the enclosure in place. She helped me step through my ideas and figure out what to do. I'm going to demolish the area and let the repair crew come in and get rid of the rot and mold. After putting in the water heater and washer/dryer, I'll use a modular shelving system that can be customized to maximize the available space. Then I'll hang a nice curtain in front of it. I think this will add some interest, and it is a cheap and attractive solution. I don't want to spend a lot of money on this as we plan to do a kitchen remodel in 5-10 years. Trish pointed out too that with a curtain, especially a nice one, it won't be obvious I'm hiding something. It will look more like an intentional design item. Mom, are you reading this? (Mom of M is an excellent curtin maker).

I'm feeling the pressure a bit now. The deadlines are getting tighter and any delay now will cost us time. A lot more things are now set, and we can't change our minds. I have more going simultaneously and the dependencies are getting greater. I can have a framer as early as Friday, and I haven't even selected one yet. I have a huge order to place at the home center, and I'm not even close to ready. I need to have it placed by the end of the week. It's more pressure, but it's a good thing because the project is moving.

It smells a lot better

One of our less serious but yucky problems is the smell in the house. It's a combination of filth, mold, rot, and no circulation. As time goes by and we make progress on these things, it smells better every day. It's a small, but nice reward.

I started today by meeting the plumbers first thing. I had a quick meeting with the head guy to discuss some concerns and they were off and running. They are mainly working on the heater, and spent the early part of the day in the attic laying ducts and later cutting holes for hot air registers. They are definitely making progress! The plumber who runs the company is on vacation this week, but he left another licensed plumber in charge who is really good. I felt very comfortable with him. This afternoon, the plumber's nephew who works for the company stopped by just to check in and make sure I had no concerns while the main guy was on vacation. He left me his cell phone number. I was very impressed! I must at least look like I know what I'm doing because he thought I was the "general" or general contractor.

I'm pleased with the plumber. I think it pays to be really thorough in selecting contractors. They've been prompt, available, clean and professional. One of the helpers even attacked a linoleum floor I was ripping up while the supervisor was out and he didn't have anything to do. Wow.

I did manage to get the whole nasty kitchen floor up today (with assistance from the plumber's helper). Like the other demolition I've done, I got faster over time. Now that the floor is out, you can really see how bad the water damage is. Part of the wooden subfloor in the laundry area (under a pervasive leak) was basically compost. It was really not even wood any more but crumbly, soft, powdery soil. Wow. I'm looking forward to getting a framer and drywaller in to get rid of the damaged parts and put in brand new stuff.

Here is my start at removing the kitchen floor:


Starting to remove the kitchen floor:

Starting to remove the kitchen floor:


This is the spot that was behind the washer/dryer that has rotted so bad it turned to compost:



Late in the day, there's just a little left to scrape:

YAY - it's done!

A great day to go to the home center

Today started with a call from a roofer that I was supposed to meet tomorrow who happened to be in the area today and wanted to know if he could stop over. It worked out well for me too, so we agreed to meet. I really liked him - personable, smart, good communicator and professional. Addressed all of multitudes of questions, is willing to work with my other contractors and comply with all city requirements. He gave me some good ideas too. I still want to get the recommended two more quotes, but assuming his price checks out, I'd be happy with him.

We then went to the home center, which is sheer torture for C. It's a good thing I like to go because that way at least one of use isn't miserable. This was a particularly gruelling trip however, and even I was unhappy when it was time to go home 3 1/2 hours later. We made a significant dent in our shopping list, which was good. We are trying to accumulate as many selections as possible before placing our order to save on delivery fees. I hope to have a massive order placed by the end of the week.

Oddly enough, the worst thing to select so far has been the bathroom faucets and showerhead. Maybe it's because I expected them to be easy. It took us two hours and we (especially C) were not that picky. It's difficult because you want them to match, and maybe you'll find tub and sink faucets but not a showerhead in the same set. Or you find the set but it doesn't come in the finish you want. Or you find the set and it's $1,200 for just one faucet (yes they really have one for that price!). Or you find a set and it will not work for your setup. Or you find a set and it's discontinued. The store set up was not helpful either - the displays were up high and were very mixed up. The catalog was also mixed up - the sections were sorted differently, making it difficult to go from section to section. Also, someone took the pages out and put them back in the wrong order. This was not a fun time!

Add this to the "I don't get it" list. I asked the salesperson about the lead time for ordering our tub. He called the manufacturer and they were closed (it was Sunday). He said to call back tomorrow and he would check it out for us. I asked "Can you just call me with the information?" His answer was no, I had to call back tomorrow to ask the same question I was asking now. He stated it would work better for both of us if we did it this way (and it wouldn't happen at all if I didn't). How is this better? Have you ever tried to get a person on the phone in a specific department of your local home center store? It often takes 15 tries just to get put on hold in that department and then they cut you off. He was unconcerned with this. I also stated that he could call at his leisure and call me whenever he had the information rather than doing it whenever I called, which might not be convenient. He disagreed, and refused to make the call until I called him tomorrow. At that point, I gave up. He had the upper hand, and I didn't want to shut myself out. But seriously, does this make any sense?

On a positive note, Superbowl Sunday is probably the best night of the year to go to the home center. We had the place to ourselves, and had the personal help of a really nice bathroom designer for an hour. I think this is why we were able to make such progress on our list.

Not much to report

I started the day by letting the plumber in at 9:00 to work on installing the heater. He had a helper who turned out to be the cousin of the person who sold us the house. What a coincidence. They only stayed about an hour, and I worked on again filling the trash and recycling bins for pickup on Friday (better in the bins than in the house). The house is almost trash-free, and I think one more trash day after this Friday should do it. Of course, that doesn't count the 40+ bags of trash C carried out to the garage.

C and I were both feeling really drained today. Remodeling is really fun (for me anyway, C hates it), but it is exhausting. We met the guy who cleaned up the backyard (see entry on Jan 17) to get an estimate on cutting holes in the concrete foundation in the backyard. It's a weird situation - the previous owner was going to build a rental unit(s) in the back, and poured a foundation for the building. He didn't get a permit, which is not surprising. There's been a lot of work done on the house since it was built in 1952, and no permits have been pulled. Because there was no permit, we have no idea what is going on with the foundation and the adjoining walls between us and our neighbors. We had a structural engineer here, and he was concerned that if the foundation and walls were tied together structurally, breaking up the foundation could cause the walls to fall down. So, he suggested we get holes cut in the concrete so he could better inspect it and advise us. It's been really hard to find someone willing to drag their equipment out just to cut 3 12" square holes. On a whim, I called our hauler who seems to be able to do anything or call someone who can. He's going to come out and cut the holes on Tuesday. Yay!

We were then off to the home store to do a serious shopping run. We were concerned that not having certain things ready to go (e.g. tub, toilet, water heater, etc) would hold things up. At the last minute, we cancelled our trip. Both of us were just wiped out and couldn't manage it. I'm glad we cancelled. It was a much needed break. I asked C to work his photo magic and get some good progress pictures to post. Here are some shots to show what we've been up to.

Well, we wanted another bathroom, but this wasn't what I had in mind.


I hate clutter, and I really have to fight my instincts to straighten up during remodeling. It doesn't pay. There will be stuff laying out until we are done (and probably several years after).


No more tires!


The last of the trash in the house (the stuff on the right is the plumber's)


The old heating registers were removed. We are installing a new heater in the attic. The old one was not working and wasn't salvageable. The rectangular hole in the floor is open all the way down to the dirt under the foundation. The hole in the wall goes straight through to the hallway (a register was removed from each side of the wall).


A better shot of the hole in the floor from the registers.


This is where the flue was removed from. It's in the end of a closet that is in the bedroom you can look into. We may be able to reclaim the space back into the closet. It's about 1 1/2 feet of length that can be added to the closet.


Not exactly the desinger bathroom I have in mind yet.... old tub faucet and shower control are visible near the lower right.

Another good day

I met the plumbers at 8:30 today, and when I arrived, the tires were gone! Yay! It feels so good to have these off the property. The plumbers tore out the old heater and the flue, which also felt good to get rid of. A nice surprise - the flue was walled in at the end of one closet and now that we don't need it we can use the space for the closet. I also took the huge amount of toxic and household chemicals to the local hazardous materials site. That also felt really good to get rid of. Although I realized later I forgot the half dozen various containers of motor oil the seller left so another trip to the haz mat site will be coming.

Now that we own an old house, I can see why an old house isn't for everyone. Aside from the work involved, there's just lots of quirky little things - for example, our driveway is only 8' wide. This is just wide enough for a small car, and the passenger needs to get out before you pull in. Another thing is that we have no real back door. There is a proper front door, and there is a side door that leads to a walkway along the house. The walkway leads to the backyard, but it is cumbersome to use and would really put a damper on a party. The path is also a utility area - the trash is there as are the meters, and it is damp and dark. One of our long term projects is to add a back door.

Where's my bathroom?

Wow. I was blown away when I walked in today. Seeing how the plumber and his crew are prompt, I vowed to beat them and was planning on arriving at 8:55. I got a call at 8:53 asking where I was - the crew was there waiting to start work!

Based on my amateur attempts, I was expecting the demolition of the bathroom and lower kitchen cabinets to take two guys about two days. Imagine my shock when I walked into this:

The toilet used to be here:



The showerhead end of the bathtub was here:


The vanity was here:

The this spot was right under the tub drain. The large hole was for the drain line. Notice the rotting wood on the right of the hole. That spot always felt squishy, now I know why.


The lower cabinets are gone. They were really trashed - splintered, parts missing and water damaged. Fortunately, the uppers are in good condition so we can keep those. We plan on doing a kitchen remodel in 5-10 years - lots of blog material to come! Although who knows if that's even realistic. It may take us that long just to get the place in decent shape. There's a lot of work in owning an older house.


This is the debris pile yesterday's demo caused. It filled two dumpsters.

Seeing how fast and thorough the crew was just confirmed for me that I made a great decision. My doing the demolishing would have taken way longer and probably not been as thorough.

The job is really moving along. They've done a lot of plumbing already. Check out some progress shots, and note my shiny new copper piping:

Under the kitchen sink:



The water heater area. This shot really shows the copper.


One small surprise - our sewer line was filled with tree roots. It's a wonder the water could drain in the house and the toilet could flush. The whole 4" line was filled with roots and dirt. Because of this we will need to replace more of the sewer line than we originally planned. While this is not good, we really haven't had many surprises so far, so I can't complain. We did know this was a possibility.

Here is a shot of the tree root filled sewer pipe:

Another milestone

I like recording milestones, no matter how small. Today I met the plumber at 8 a.m. and we worked out our contract and I met his helpers. They were already there at a few minutes before 8, looking around and pulling out tools. One of the really great things about him is that he does more than just plumbing. He's helping me with job supervision and some design work and he also does heating. Anyone who's ever tried to manage a large project like this knows that the fewer people you have to manage and coordinate the better. We were talking about the demolition progress, and he offered to bring in a crew for me to do the demo at a very reasonable price. Wow, this will save me at least a week off the job. And, he will supervise them as well which will free me up to do other things. As much as I liked doing the demo, I have to admit my time is better spent doing things I can't outsource at a reasonable price.

I left around 10:30, and the plumber and I agreed to meet to begin work at 9 a.m. tomorrow to get started. He actually called me at about 11 saying he had some free time and wanted to start today. So I ran over and let him in.

Around 1:00, I got a call from the city saying the inspector could not give an estimate for hauling away the tires because they weren't out on the lawn. Huh? How do you miss 24 tires (and at least one is a huge tractor tire and there are several truck tires). After I got all wet and nasty last night putting them out!

Here are the tire sitting on the front lawn (and getting looks from the neighbors).