Construction: Days 39-48

The heads continue to roll here in Wester. We are nice people. Why are we having such a hard time finding workers who actually work?

So. The guy that was supposed to do the texture repairs on all of the downstairs walls? Fired. The work he did was slipshod to say the least and in the middle of the job, he found other jobs that he had to do first. Basically, he walked out. T says he was the laziest worker he had ever laid eyes on. From the minute he walked in he complained about the difficulty of the job and how things like removing trim or masking 'weren't his job.' That got old quick.

Super painters to the rescue! Turns out, the painter does texture and drywall repair, too. It took him a whole week, but he got the walls and ceilings repaired and they look like new. Got the bill today. His work is good. But not free. Ouch!

The tile for the bathroom arrived and was installed. When T walked in, he was all "Wow." He sounded so serious I thought something was wrong. When I asked about it he said, "This is nice. Really nice." It really turned out well. Except for my gorgeous accent tile. Sigh.

First, they sent the wrong tile altogether. Giant diamonds instead of tiny. Then they installed the correct harlequin-shaped tiles incorrectly; short and fat instead of tall and skinny. When I told the tile dude that it needed to be re-done, he tried to convince me that it looked better the way it was. Both he and his dad agreed! So I had to 'splain him that harlequins are supposed to be vertical not horizontal. They ripped it out, but the replacement tile won't be here until Friday. Bummer.

The tile guys also set all of the fixtures in the bathroom. I ended up making a mad dash for faucets because David had forgotten to tell me to get one - even though I asked (written down on my question list) if I should go pick one up. Grrr! The contractor place only had one faucet in stock that I could get that day. It was okay, but not what I would have picked out, so I went to Lowe's instead. I found a great faucet that is all curvy and tall. LOVE! So now all the water is hooked up and functional. The toilet has a push button on top. Fancy!

We had the final electrical trim-out. So now all of the lights, switches, switch plates, outlets, and outlet covers have been installed. There was a bit of last minute running around there, too. I thought David had purchased the light for the bathroom when he picked up the vanity. Nope. He forgot. When I got to Lowe's, I remembered that we hadn't gotten a ceiling fan, either. So I picked up one of those, too. It all looks great. My one complaint is that the ceiling fan is a little low. I picked the one I did because the display was flush mounted. The electrician installed it with a drop down. No problem for munchkins like in our family, but I have some friends that could lose an eye with a fan at that height! David says it is no problem to fix that. Whew!

Today the cabinet for the wet bar was installed. It is gorgeous! They made it custom to fit the space. Solid wood. It bugs me that I didn't get a choice on the doors, but the ones they selected are nice. I think we are going to stain it medium dark to go with the new stair treads and banister.

We are getting so close! The carpet is going in tomorrow. I can't wait! If the door folks hadn't goofed on the attic doors, we would be move-in ready this week. We have a bunch of attic access doors in the new living space. They are all odd sizes and shapes, so they had to be solid core exterior doors, since they have to be cut to size and the attic storage isn't insulated. They sent interior doors. Rats! The real doors should arrive on Monday. Luckily, with the carpet in, T should be able to set up his weight room again. That will make him a LOT less grumpy - which makes me a lot less grumpy, too!

After the long slog, the project is finally getting exciting again! It has been a lot longer than the projected three weeks, but I think the final product will be worth it!