Is it finished yet?

 So Christmas came and went and I went to Baltimore for a few days after Christmas.  I figured it would be fine;   they are making good progress and I won't be in the way.  I took Betty and Annie with me, so there were 2 less dogs to get in the way.  Then the winds came.  They were just as windy in Iron Gate as it was in Baltimore.  Wind gusts of 50mph +.    Mr. Kelley called me Monday morning to let me know they wouldn't be working because of the high winds.  They were going to do the dry wall, which meant cutting it outside, and with the winds it would be difficult.  Fine, I said...see you Tuesday.
   Tuesday and Wednesday came and went.  Cliff texted me pictures of the dry wall. Everything seemed to be going smoothly.

Mr Kelley called me probably once a day both days.  Progress was being made.  I came back home on Thursday and the workers were here.  They were installing the vanity, the mirror, the lights over the mirror and the new toilet.  Yea!  While they were outside,  I sneaked into the bathroom to see what had been done.  The "cabinet" around the water heater was basically a new wall put up with a full size door.  The vanity was put in, but because of this new wall it made it difficult to stand in front of the vanity.

And when I mentioned this to Mr. Kelley, he told me it was fine. You can stand in front of it with no problem!  Then his grandson showed me they couldn't move the vanity over any further because of the outlet on the wall.  And apparently they were finished so he couldn't, or wouldn't move the outlet.  Then he changed the subject on me. And acted as though his job was done.

They also removed the heater from the kitchen;  My mom is giving us a cabinet to put here :)

the oil tank outside of the house, they didn't paint behind the tank so now there is a nice white spot!

 and trimmed down the front door! Now it opens all the way!!!

Today is Friday and Mr. Kelley is hopefully going to be able to install the ceiling fan in our bed room.  Because of the drop ceiling, he said he may not be able to install it.  Oh please, please don't let this be a problem.  I am also going to talk to him about this vanity awkwardness.  Let's hope this won't be an issue either.  Sigh.

Day 9

We were shocked, Mr Kelley said he had two doctor appointments today so he would not be coming.  But they came and put down the new flooring and started building a shelf above the water heater, which will be hidden by a cabinet with a door.  

I have noticed whenever I am taking pictures Cashton seems to be around! Here he is again :)

Day 8

Well they showed up about 11am.  But they had a third guy with them, a different one then the guy who had the cat bite.  Great I thought, and left to go run some errands.  What they accomplished today though, 

Installed new ceiling tiles and finished the fan/light.  

A new Shower!!!! Whoo Hoo!!! Oh Happy Day!!! Praise the Lord!!! Alleluia!!!

They even trimmed down the bathroom door, so now it can be opened completely.  The rug didn't allow us to do this before!

And while they were at it, they also trimmed down our office door and rehung it.  It was taken off when Cliff and his Dad did the flooring, 3 years ago.  We really missed having that door!

Days 6 and 7

Well Day 6 came and they did not.  Mr. Kelley called me about 10am to say he wanted to go get the rest of the supplies before any more weather came.  He thought it might snow, so he was worried about the drywall.  He would drive to Lewisburg, then come to the house to put the supplies on the porch.  Well I came home from work and there was nothing new on the porch.  Sigh.

Day 7, they came, but only two of them.   The third guy was apparently bitten by a cat and so he couldn't come to work today!  Ok, whatever, the two men that were here accomplished the following;

installed the new vent/fan/light, as well as removed all the staples from the previous ceiling tiles.

 

Started the framing for the cabinet that will surround the water heater.

 And they finally finished the flooring, they just have to
put on the new sticky tiles!

Day 5 We have a tub!!

Well they finally came today!  They didn't show up until noon, but none the less, they got some work done.  They finished putting down the flooring over the old flooring, and they put in the tub.  It even has working water so we can bathe!!!  The tub is deep, very deep.  I think we are going to love it!

Day 4

Well no work has been done today!  Mr. Kelley said he would be back friday (today) morning to work.  School was closed again, but I felt gross.  Especially after I shoveled the walkway and my car, I was pretty stinky!   So I gathered up my things and headed over to the Y.  Well it was closed!  I called Cliff, who also hadn't showered in two days, since it was still closed, poor Man!  Luckily I have a friend who lives near the Y, and she was home.  She welcomed me over for a shower, some pancakes, orange juice and a nice conversation.   As I was leaving, Mr. Kelley called.  It was almost 11am at this point.  He was calling to say they would not be coming over today.  But he would be over tomorrow.  Plus he would like a bit more money, since it is almost christmas and all and he needed to pay his helpers.  He already had half up front, and was being paid for everything he was buying.  None the less, he will get a bit more, but nothing else until he finishes EVERYTHING.   And then Cliff called him after I spoke to him, after their conversation we are hoping they come tomorrow and do some work!  We would really really like to be able to shower here at home!!!  We can deal with it not being finished as long as we can shower.   He said he wants to get it finished by Christmas, which is now a week away.  Let's see about that.  Gotta love dealing with contractors.

Days 2 and 3

 Yep, it is snowing.  School is closed today and the guys doing the remodeling are taking the day off!  I came home yesterday to a new light switch, so now we can have just one light on, or both.  One over the sink and one which will be replaced with a fan/light located over the tub.  They have also installed the wiring for the heater they are going to install.   They have also begun putting a new floor over the old floor.  And then there will be another floor put on top of that.  So the floor should be safe now! As they were packing up to leave, Jim Kelley, the head contractor, asked if they could take today off and work Friday and Saturday.  Great, so with three contractors and Cliff and I all in the house, Saturday should be fun! 

                                                               Look, two switches!!!

Day 1 of operation new bathroom

Work has finally begun on the remodel and on this first day, the room is gutted!  Hooray...and the floor doesn't look too bad.  I guess we were just expecting the worst.  They left us a toilet to use, but there is no water. They had to redo all the piping to the tub because the hot and cold faucets were reversed.   We can survive through tomorrow and will be showering at the local YMCA.   So here in pictures is what we have so far :)

More adventures with freezing and bursting pipes

 We got our water/sewer bill in the mail on Friday.   It was $600 and normally it is about $60-70.  Something is definitely wrong with the bill we thought.  Well, the water line from the street to the house busted and has been leaking for almost a full month.   So as I type this we have a contractor out there trying to repair it.  They are replacing the entire pipe since it is probably as old as the house and will need to be replaced soon anyway.    Did I mention it is 20 degrees outside and with the windchill it probably feels like 10 degrees.  Hopefully it will be repaired today and the bathroom renovation will hopefully start tomorrow.  But knowing our luck, it probably will be next week!!! Sigh.....

 

Bathroom in Despair

As I have been saying, Cliff and I bought this house while wearing rosy tinted glasses.  Reality sunk in when we had the house empty, before we moved in.  That is when we discovered the bathroom.   The floor felt almost soft in places.  It looked like the toilet leaked at some point and so they rebuilt a part of the floor surrounding the toilet with chipboard.  There are two lights over the vanity, only one works.  The vanity itself looked like the side had water damage as the wood looks wrinkled.  There is no ventilation in the bathroom, only a pipe that leads from the ceiling to outside to get air in and out.  We it doesn’t work, so the humidity and steam go nowhere and I wouldn’t be surprised to find mold.  Then there is the tub.  It also feels soft when you stand in it.  We have always worried that one-day it might fall through the floor.  It also feels like there is nothing supporting it.  It appears to be peeling away from the wall.  It is one of those 3 piece tub kits, which probably wasn’t installed properly.  And of course there is the plumbing problems I mentioned in an earlier post.  So we have lived with it for 4 years now, hoping to find the money to have it remodeled.  But something else always comes up, as is life, and we haven’t been able to take care of it.

            Until Christmas of 2010.  As a Christmas gift from our families, we are finally having it remodeled.  Thank you guys so much!!! We love you!  So starting this week we will have a full on re-do of the bathroom.  This is our only bathroom, so we are joining the local YMCA to shower there.  The contractor is nice enough to leave the toilet during this process so we at least have that.  I am almost embarrassed to post the before pictures.  I can’t believe we have been living with this.  I will also post in the process photos and finally the finished ones.  We are hoping it only takes a week, but who knows with our luck it may be two or three weeks!

            We are also having the gas heater removed from the kitchen, the old oil tank that is located on the side of the house removed; a ceiling fan put into our bedroom and the front door needs to be planed down as it doesn’t open completely.  So stay tuned for a few more posts in the coming weeks of these adventures in home owning!!!!