Four adults, one child and three dogs. Under one roof. In a house that is a still a construction zone. In a perfect world, the work would have been done by now. Alas, a perfect world this is not.
On Monday, we were still recovering from the 11-hour road trip. I headed out to the kennel to pick up our dog in the morning so we could establish her dominance in her domain as early as possible. Meanwhile, the contractors were working on the back door and the cabinet maker was taking care of some finishing touches in the kitchen. It was a hectic morning.
In addition to installing shoe molding around the kitchen cabinets, the cabinet maker also installed the re-worked linen cabinet in the bathroom. Except for a little more tile work, the bathroom is now finished and we have tons of useable storage. Best of all, we have now paid him in full, signalling an actual end to one of the phases of the renovation.
The re-worked linen cabinet-- downsized, reoriented, but still lots of useful storage space.
The other major accomplishment on Monday was the installation of a new back door. I have installed a pre-hung exterior door before. In fact, it was one of the very first projects I tackled as a do-it-yourselfer. Since moving into this house, I had always assumed that I would be able to replace the back door myself, but after seeing experienced contractors taking most of the day on this element, I am glad I left it to the pros. The old door was completely covered with paneling that did not let in any light. Now our back landing is flooded with light from the laundry room and the new half-lite back door.
Framing out the door opening
The view from the front door towards the new back door. Picture was taken at night, so you cannot fully appreciate the amount of light now let into the house....
On Tuesday, the contractors continued applying mud to the transtion between the old and new walls. It will take many more coats to blend everything together. The new electrical pony panel was also installed in the basement. Where I had a six space panel previously, we now have 24 spaces for the kitchen and possibly the rec room in the future. This abundance of space means we can have each kitchen plug on its own circuit. Not only does this exceed code, it also means we will probably never pop another breaker (something that happened with anger-inducing frequency in our old kitchen).
On Wednesday, two of the three contractors were on another job, leeaving one guy to work alone applying additional coats of mud. Meanwhile, the HVAC guys returned to finish installing the in-floor heat, which had been roughed in at least a month ago or more. They are also installing radiators in the laundry room and bedroom on the main floor, and in the bathroom, workroom and storage room in the basement. Unfortunately, I am not quite ready for rads to be installed in the workroom and storage room, but at least they will be roughed in.
Now that the in-laws have started to settle in, and all the dogs get along okay, I am going to have to get my butt back in gear and get some things done. On Thursday, I’ll start by taking care of a number of returns and getting some money back in our bank account.
