Lame day

I didn't get much done today, but worked hard - the worst combination. I did a big Home Depot run - more bags of chips and wood for speaker stands. It took forever.

I am still trying to remove the numerous tiny paint drops the PIC (prior incompetent contractor) left on the toilet because he didn't use tarps. I've tried several tools and cleaning solutions, but nothing works. I have found the only thing I can use is my fingernails, so that's what I've been doing, inch by inch. I hate that guy!

Odds and ends

I cleaned out the bathroom vanity today. There were piles of drywall dust and big dollops of drywall mud because the PIC (prior incompetent contractor) didn't know how to tarp or what order to do things in.

The bathroom cabinets have handles! After 2.5 years of living here, we don't have to use a fingernail to pry the cabinets open. Yay! Of course, we didn't have the bathroom cabinets until after we had lived here for a while, but it is still nice to have handles.

I started on the garage shelves with demolition. There were some really poorly designed and constructed shelves there, so I was working on demolishing them. The people that owned this house before us had a penchant for nails. I removed 60-80 from each bedroom, and there were numerous huge (5") nails in this section of the garage. I was prying one out and once it got loose, my hand hit the wall underneath and I got a small cut that gushed blood! I never bled so much in my entire life and the cut was only 1/2" There was blood dripping on the ground, and it wouldn't stop. I was debating going to the hospital for a stitch or two, but then I looked at the cut and thought it was crazy. Then I thought "I'm either fine, or I'm really bad off and don't know it because I'm in shock." Shock can do that to you - you feel almost superhuman, so I was a bit concerned. But really, it was only a small cut. I think I must have hit a vein on the back of my hand where the skin is thin. I ended up icing it for 20 minutes and it stopped enough to bandage, and then the bandage helped it stop.

What is it with contractors?

We finally got the gates fixed after almost 6 months of badgering. It is such a pleasure to be able to go in and out without having to force or jiggle the gates or listen to them scrape against each other.

I am working on fixing many of the errors our prior incompetent contractor made. I had to grind off the words "green rose" from the tile shelf in the bathroom.

Here is a close up of the shelf with the words visible. He messed up cutting the shelf and used the side with the words on it as opposed to the 3 sides that didn't have the words on it. Duh. I used the grinder that we purchased for the concrete countertops to grind it off. I don't know what other people do with their incompetent contractor mistakes. Most people don't have a grinder or know how to use it.


Here is a shot of the niche where the shelf is. The words are on the top shelf.


I was going to start the garage shelving, but decided to put the handles on the bathroom cabinets first so that I didn't have to move the drills twice.

Yes, I still update

Today is actually November 20 and I am just posting entries for late October. I keep notes and pictures though, so everything will eventually get up on the blog. I'm backlogged now, but I figure that some day I the pace of renovations will slow and I'll have more time to blog and I'll get caught up.

handles done

The handles are all done! Every cabinet in the kitchen has a handle! Seems odd doesn't it, that this would be cause for celebration. But we've lived here 2.5 years, and the cabinets have been in about 2 years. For that entire time, we've had to use a foot or fingernail to open every cabinet, every time, every day that you open a cabinet. It is so nice to have handles! It feels good too because it felt like one of those projects I would never get to, and now it's done!

I'm ready to clean up and start the garage shelving.

Here is a shot of some of my new kitchen handles:




This shot is a cabinet that was installed by our prior incompetent contractor. You can see how badly aligned it is now that he handles are installed. He thought this was done. It looks like crap, but will have to wait a long time to get fixed.

Begining to see movement

Finally, we are beginning to get a sense of the ongoing rolling of projects - finish one, start one, finish one, start one...... Looking back just to July, we got the sewer pipe replaced, the outdoor seating area set up, the garage door replaced, the whole house fan in and now, the handles are almost done and I am ready to start the shelves right away. All of these are big quality of life issues. We are also getting into projects we can do on our own, and which cost less, are less complex and take less time. Sounds like a winning combination.

Now that we are further along in our remodel, I actually have a lot of maintenance to do. I am chronically behind, but I chip away as I can. I cleaned under the kitchen sink today - it was really bad from when we put the countertops in and from all the dust in the house. Much better now!

I also started cleaning the paint splatter on the toilet, which has been there for two and half years. I've looked at this item for that long and never thought I'd get to it, but here I am.

Garage shelves - making progress

This week I got all the stuff moved out from the area where the shelves will go. I did most of the demolition of the old shelves yesterday. What pieces of crap! The supports were anchored to wall strongly enough to withstand a hurricane, then the boards were just placed loosely on top. Go figure.

I could not get last few pieces from wall with just hammer. I hate to accumulate tools and house stuff, but I needed a pry bar. I found a 24" one for just $8. I got home and got those last few pieces off. I've decided on the final placement, marked a level line across all the studs for the top shelf. No I just need to finish kitchen handles so I can move my drills out to garage. My goal is Monday to start drilling brackets. I'm sure last 4 shelves will take as long as first one - there is always a learning curve with a job like this and the last 4 are not as high as the first one. I cannot wait to put things away! I would love to have my tools in the garage, not in my clothing closet. I would love to get the shop vac and air compressor into garage and out of den. I am so excited by my shelves.

trashcan drama

I have been having trashcan drama. We have large trash cans from the city for regular trash and recycling, and we have the largest size they offer. We generate one or fewer bags of trash a week and fill the recycling maybe 1/3 full. I called the solid waste department to get the smaller size, which will be cheaper. I called 3 times and could not get a person. I left a message each time on the voicemail that promises I will get a call back, but no call ever came. Yesterday, I finally got a person who told me to fax my request. Then, today, I happened to be near my trash and noticed the smaller can was already in place! They just did it without telling me.

This is a problem for multiple reasons. First, the gate where the trash is located is usually locked. It was not locked today because of the gate repair issue. They could have shown up and not been able to get in and then I'd be back to square one. Also, they didn't warn me that they were coming into my yard, and the dogs could have been in there. Granted, the trash is in the side yard and the dogs are out back but they don't know that. I just think it is really reckless to enter someone's yard without telling them you are doing so.

I am back to making calls to make sure the billing got taken care of and that we can get a smaller recycling bin as well (they only swapped the trash).

gates fixed?

The gate guy was here (he is a welder/metal guy and subcontractor to the general contractor hired for the job). When he (the gate guy) was installing the gates last fall, he was talking smack about how the gates would last 50 years, we'll NEVER have problems, my grandkids would use them, etc. Today, he was singing a different tune. He said the foundation was too small and that's why they are sagging and getting out of plumb.

WHAT? Ok, you had a crew here who jackhammered 2 foot square holes to put the posts in, why didn't you make them big enough? Why did you do a crappy job and why are you telling me about it.

Then, he tells me that the general contractor (and contractors in general) don't want to pay him enough to do the job because they want a commission so there is very little incentive to do the job right. Ugh. If there isn't enough profit in a job, either rebid it or don't take it. Don't do it poorly. And don't gripe about your private business with the contractor to me.

Seriously, I couldn't make this up.

No progress today

Today I made almost no progress. I did take a trip to Ikea to replace a cabinet door that had warped. Ikea has discontinued my cabinet doors, so I had to make this a priority. The store that had it in stock is really far, so it took most of the afternoon.

The gate guy did not come today, but is supposed to come on Monday.

garage shelving frustration

Today I tried one of my garage shelving brackets on a stud, and it's TOO WIDE! UGH! Why would you design a heavy duty bracket that is meant to be on a stud too wide for a stud? It makes no sense. This has thrown my whole plan off - the brackets are "L" brackets, which means they don't have a third leg to make a triangle which would impede the space of the shelf underneath.

I spent 8 hours over the last several days trying to come up with options that I liked and only found distant second place ideas to the one I had. I decided to try the bracket on a different stud in the area where I was going to install them, and lo and behold it works! The darn garage is build with different sized studs! Ugh. The bracket barely fits though, and I will have to slant the holes inward to keep them from splitting the side of the stud.

I trimmed the bamboo on the neighbor's side. Technically we're not obligated to do this, but it seems like a nice gesture to stay on good terms. We are very close to deciding that the palm trees have to go. I hate all the maintenance and the waste they create. Between the palms and the bamboo, I haven't trimmed the ivy in weeks because the yard waste bin has been full.

The beautiful metal gates we had installed last fall have gotten so far out of plumb that one doesn't latch and the other has the two halves rubbing against each other and scraping the paint. I've been bugging the contractor since JUNE to look at it. His metal subcontractor who put them in is supposed to be here soon but I haven't heard any word.

Lowe's for shelving material

Yesterday I went to Lowe's to pick up material for building the garage shelves. I was quite pleased to get all my stuff for only $82. It's way cheaper than any of the comparable shelving units I've seen, and I'll have 40 linear feet of 16" deep shelving that is really sturdy. Since I'm mounting it to the garage wall, everything can be off the floor as well. I like things off the floor for a few reasons. First, we want to eventually have the concrete garage floor cleaned and polished. The prior owner of our house stored junk in the garage for decades, so the floor is in great condition (no stains and almost no cracks and no chips). The more we can store off the floor now the less we have to move when that day comes. Second, we live in earthquake country, so any shelving unit could topple and wreak havoc. At least this way, only the items on the shelves will topple, not the shelves themselves. Third, I think rooms look more spacious, airy, and neat with things off the floor. Even though it's a garage, I won't want to work in there if I hate being in there. Finally, it's a clutter prevention thing. Mess breeds mess. A pile on your floor invites more things being thrown in it. It's like a law of the universe. By putting everything up off the floor in a specifically designated spot on a shelf, it will be much harder to mess it up.

Yesterday's trip was quite a big ordeal, so I didn't unload when I got home but did it today. I am dreading the prep for the shelf job - there is so much to move out of the way, but it will be great when it is done. I am so looking forward to actually unpacking and moving in (after 2.5 years).

The staff at Lowe's is so much better than at Home Depot. For tricky things like this where I need advice and a lot of stuff, it's worth the extra 10-15 minutes each way to go to Lowe's. Lowe's has more staff and fewer customers, which is great. They actually work really hard at answering your questions and are pretty knowledgeable. Instead of sending you to some distant aisle to find something, they walk you there. If someone sees you looking puzzled, they will stop and ask if you need help. I never get this kind of service at Home Depot.

Ikea run, closet done,

Today a big chunk of my day was taken up by an Ikea run to pick up more handles. I'm not sure why I don't have enough - we didn't go through any design changes after I bought them, so I should have right number. I suspect they are in some weird place, put there by our prior incompetent contractor and will turn up someday.

I also picked up some cheap doors for the cabinet in the garage we are using for luggage. It's a leftover kitchen cabinet that is 24" wide and about 6 feet tall, so it is perfect to store suitcases and travel gear. I didn't have doors because this cabinet was originally going to house the water heater, but we had a carpenter in to build it and he didn't end up using the box of the cabinet, just the doors. So we had an extra cabinet with no doors, but now it is being put to good use. It will be nice to put the doors on so the luggage doesn't get dusty.

Chris' closet is now done, so I will be bringing some things in from the garage to put in there. Here is his finished closet:

Someday is here for some projects

I am pleased to be getting to projects that were a long way off when I first put them on my list. I've had the old door frames from when we had to replace them due to our prior contractor's error sitting in the driveway for a year. I had to cut them up on the table saw so they can be tossed in the trash. It took about 40 minutes from start to cleanup. I cannot believe how happy this makes me. I hated looking at those door frames every time I was in the driveway, and I hated that you could see them from the street. So the obvious questions is why did it take so long?

Well that's life when you remodel. I have hundreds, if not thousands of small jobs like this. While this one sat idle, I was doing others that were before it on the list. I used to drive myself crazy trying to prioritize, but now I spend time just doing them in whatever order they appear on my list. For these small things, it doesn't really matter what order you do them in. For the big things, we have a critical path to get to put the flooring in and it includes all the major items in our current phase. Second, jobs like this have to be done during they day due to loud tools, and I have to be in my work clothes and not yet showered. Sometimes it takes a while for the context and the top of the list to line up and in the meantime I'm doing other things.

I also spent some time working on C's closet. I did the first pass a while back, and then this summer when elfa shelving went on sale I bought more shelves to finish it. This ties into getting the garage in order because some of the things in the garage belong in the house, but we can't bring them in because there is no place to put them yet. This creates some space.

I put a few more handles on the kitchen cabinets. Yes, I could take a day and crank them all out, but I have learned that I have a very low tolerance for tedious jobs. I get so bored with them that I tend to get sloppy. By tackling it in small chunks, I make sure that each handle gets handled with care. If I make a mistake, it could mean replacing the whole door.


Here are the door frames waiting to be disposed of for a year:

And now they're gone!

The fan is done!

Woo hoo! The roofers were here today and the ventilation is done, which means the fan can be cranked up on high! We are having a burst of really hot, dry weather so it is just in time. So far, it seems to work great. In the peak of the day's heat, it doesn't "cool" so much as make it less hot and more comfortable. It is definitely not sweltering in here like it has been. It's hot, but not so hot that it smacks you in the face as soon as you walk in.

Next projects are putting the shower curtain up, and putting some shelving in the garage so we can start putting things where they belong.

Also, I'll be updating my schedule soon. We REALLY want to get to the flooring, so I will be looking for ways to streamline the schedule and remove things that aren't on the critical path to flooring.