On Wednesday, the rest of the kitchen was gutted and the rough in for the wiring was started. Half of the work crew has headed to warmer climes for a week, leaving one contractor on the job (although he did bring in a helper on Wednesday).
The contractor was unable to work on Thursday. My wife and I spent part of the day looking at granite. I think we have finalized our choice for the counter top. Once the base cabinets are installed, the granite people will come and make the template. I have mixed feelings about opting for granite over laminate, which would be much more affordable. We are now stretching the budget. Every dollar we spend now further delays the addition and garage. But at the same time, we don’t want to stop short. If we end up having to sell this house, granite would definitely be a positive selling point. Laminate may deter some buyers. And if we stay in this house (which is ideally what we are going to do until our daughter drags us off kicking and screaming to the nursing home), I don’t think I could be happy with a laminate counter top, no matter how nice, knowing that we could have had granite.
We’ve gone this far. Why stop now? In terms of percentages, the cost of granite does not add much to the overall cost of the renovation.
The contractor worked solo on Friday, finishing the electrical rough-in, installing insulation, and starting to hang the drywall.
Time crunch
The inlaws are coming the inlaws are coming. We are two weeks away from the summer invasion of my wife’s parents. The object is to have the bedrooms upstairs finished in time for their arrival. Once the kitchen is ready for the cabinets, the contractor’s will finish the second floor. By all estimates, that will take less than a week. But there are still doors to install, and a hallway to finish, as well as the upper cabinets to install in the kitchen. Realistically, there will still be construction going on during the first week or two of their stay.