Sunday, February 7, 2010 - Starting Month Five of Our Four-Month Project

Could it be that the completion of our remodeling project could be derailed by the same thing that caused things to be delayed in the first place? Yes, we have had more rain...and snow. As we start week 18 of our 12-16 week remodel, we struggle to think we will be done by the end of the month...or week 21.

The contractor predicted last Wednesday that he would be done Thursday or Friday of last week. After we picked ourselves up off the floor and stopped laughing, we realized he was serious although the prediction was completely ridiculous. Not only were the major items not complete - HVAC, plumbing, electrical...each a day-long job - but there were a number of other things, all of which I detailed in a far-from-complete manifesto to him. The gutters were finally installed, but not after I added them to the list. We need interior doors installed, the new back door to be replaced, the windows completed, drywall touch-ups, trim, a vent moved, every nook and cranny caulked, etc., etc. I didn't even include finishing the front porch, adding railings on the interior stairwell, building the custom bathroom cabinet, and grading of the yard.

As mentioned, the gutters were finally installed and look great. The tankless water heater is in, but water isn't flowing yet. The bathroom has been tiled and the vanities installed...and we are pleased with the progress in the bathroom. But they still have drywall screws that need drywall mud, lights need to be installed, and trim needs to be finished.

It would be nice if they could concentrate on a room, and I mean really focus for a complete eight-hour day, we could wrap things up this week. Let's say they focus on the bathroom on Monday, the master bedroom on Tuesday, the hallway and stairwell on Wednesday, the exterior on Thursday, and the remaining pieces of the basement on Friday. Voila, we're done...but that is easier said than done.

We are seeing more and more shortcuts and half-assed "completions." For instance, they closed in the doorway to our existing bedroom and moved the entrance to the family room side of the house. So, in order to close in the doorway, they had to frame it and drywall it. Well, the drywall was bulging a bit simply from not being installed quite right. So, when they went to put the trim back on, it didn't fit flush with the wall like it once did. In addition, the drywall didn't quite come all the way down to the floor, so there is a void of about an eighth of an inch between the bottom of the drywall and the top of the baseboard. They also tried to push off the job of caulking all the windows on the inside to us. That is a battle that I won, verbally, but hasn't been completed by the contractor yet. They also seem to have a problem slamming things into walls and leaving indentations in them that will ultimately have to be repaired. The list could go on and on.

So, as we embark on yet another week of contractors hanging around for what will be their final week, again (insert laughter), we plod along trying to keep our sanity intact.