Wednesday, February 24, 2010

And the process continues. I’m living with boxes again. Wasn’t I just here? There’s just nothing like going to work and coming home and packing up your belongings.

Well, I received my house plans back from the other contractor and of course they were wrong. Not just a bit wrong but a whole lotta wrong. I am pretty sure a 5 year old did them. Anyone who doesn’t put a door or a window into a bathroom has to realize that the room would be off limits to everyone, wouldn’t they? There were so many things wrong with them. I felt like yelling when I received them but because I knew I needed them to take to the city to get a permit I decided to be calm and put the changes in and give them back. I was told I would have them back right away. They were in my hands last Thursday and now it was Monday and I had heard nothing. I called Josh (my contractor) to tell him about the mistakes and the hold up. We both want to get this going as the city can sometimes take a while to give you a permit. Josh had told me a while ago that they can do the plans as well but because I had already started the process with the other contractors I thought I’d finish it. Well, it ends up the contractor could not get a hold of the kindergartener who is doing the drawings. I finally couldn’t hold back any more and I said “I need those plans. I want to get started on this”. He said he understood but his hands were tied. My patience had come to an end. Incompetence is something I have no patience for. I said, “Look, here’s the thing. I know that when I get these drawings back again there will be something wrong with them”. Anyone who doesn’t put a way to get into a room and leaves out numerous windows in rooms is not fit to draw plans”. “I need those drawings”. He said, “Well you can always back out of it. Do you want to do that?”. “Yep!!! And just so you know, I’m not paying anything for them”. And that was that! I hung up and called Josh. I asked him to do the drawings for me. We met that same day (yesterday). He did proper measurements and I bet you that today or tomorrow he tells me they are done. When we met yesterday at lunch we talked about the contract he had written up. I didn’t sign it on the spot as I want to go over it. It’s pretty simple and straight forward but a contract is a contract and I want to go over it with a fine tooth comb before signing anything.

On another note my new house numbers I had ordered where waiting at my front door for me when I got home (the front door that the bush-league drafts person didn’t put in my house plans by the way). They are beautiful! Of course they won’t go up until I paint the exterior of my home…if I can wait that long. Apparently my front door window inserts have been shipped along with my new locks as well.

I went out on the weekend to do some browsing for the house. I picked out the soaker tub I want in my master bath. I also finally found the outdoor lighting that I was having so much trouble finding. I picked out the berber carpeting for the bedrooms and I stopped into IKEA to talk to the kitchen dept. about my kitchen. It was very helpful and I got a lot of questions answered. I’ve also found a company that does the quartz counter tops I want. I wondered why their prices were cheaper than most of the other places I had inquired into. Apparently it’s because the quartz product is not brand named. I cannot find anything on the net that warns you about buying no name brand quartz. It required further investigation. Because this is a man made product I need to find out the quantities of quartz in the product compared to the polymer. That ratio may be different with the no name brand quartz. Typically the quartz is about 93% present in Silestone or Ceasarstone. I had them quote my kitchen counters, computer station and my ensuite vanity. I was very pleased with the quote. Granite and laminate are both my other options but I’m really not that fond of granite because I want a white counter top with a minimalist look and I find that granite counter tops, can look too extravagant for what I’m going for here. I know a lot of people love granite, and so they should, but it really isn’t the vibe that this house sings for. I’m looking for simple and clean. It’s amazing how simple and clean and minimalist can add up though…and it’s a lot harder to achieve.
Thank God for the IKEA kitchen planner. It’s a lot of fun figuring out how your kitchen is going to be situated. I figure my cupboards and computer station should cost me about $4,500. Plus installation. That’s pretty damn reasonable if you ask me. If I go with the quartz counter tops and include all the new stainless steel appliances I want it should come to approximately $15,000.00. to $17,000.00. That is for a 12X12 kitchen plus a 5X5 computer station.

Enough dreaming already….I must face reality now and go pack. I'll meet you back here soon!

Monday, February 15, 2010

So it is written...so it is done!

Well, I’ve done it! I’ve finally hired the contractor for my home reno. I’m excited. I’m nervous. I’m apprehensive and I’m rare’ in to go. I know, my feelings are all so contradictory aren’t they? And this process has been so long and tedious.
The hardest part was telling Kirk, the other contractor who was in the running for the job, that I was not going to hire him. By the way, I’ve gone with Josh, the young guy who has had lots of experience with post and beam construction. I called my inspector friend who actually knows Josh. He gave him glowing reviews saying he has inspected his work and that he does a great job. That goes for all the other references I called as well. They all had the same great things to say about Josh.
He is organized and he got his trades in so quickly to do quotes it actually flabbergasted me. Unfortunately, Kirk had started the process of getting someone to draw up my house plans so I can submit them to the city for building permits. Now I must get those back from him. Hopefully it all looks tickety-boo. I called the city to get an idea of how much all these permits are going to cost. It looks like it will be approximately $600- $700 for them all. This is about what I had thought.

I laid in bed last night envisioning what it was going to like waking up, shortly I may add, to no walls, no flooring and sometimes no plumbing or electricity. I thought, as long as I can get coffee in the morning, I should be able to survive. I have also warned people that if I get grumpy or short with them it’s the reno showing through and to please be patient. I figured I’d let them know now and cover those bases right off the bat…no pun intended.

And the buying spree continues….I ordered modern house numbers for the exterior of my house, along with a door knob and deadbolt to match my door back plate which I will have chromed shortly.

Well, I guess I know what I will be doing this weekend… here come the boxes and the packing again…oh joy!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Getting closer to the big day!

I’m back. I needed to check in, as a few more things have happened since I last made an entry. Remember the interior doors I got on sale at Home Depot? I actually got a co-worker to pick them up in his van and take them to a door store to be pre-hung. That in itself turned out to be an adventure. I wish he had just let me borrow his van and I would have done it…. but such is life.
Once the doors were pre-hung I had to again seek help. I asked Ralph, my Mom’s significant other, if he would pick them up from there and bring them to my house. I really hate bugging people to do stuff for me but I really needed the help. Wouldn’t you know it the skies were open and it was drizzly and miserable. I brought along a tarp but luckily I learned once I arrived, they have door bags so I didn’t even need the tarp. Ever the clown, Ralph called them body bags and wanted to know if they bought them from a funeral home. The doors made their way to my home, via Ralph’s trailer, to now be stored until I need them. They look awesome by the way.

I also had my windows installed. I don’t think I slept much the night before. I was, as I stated earlier, a little apprehensive about my decision. Well, let me just say I was being silly. The windows actually look terrific and make the house look sleek. Once the exterior is painted a different color they will look even better. I don’t notice the windows being smaller and I gotta say…my house holds the heat 100% better. This window experience was a little taste of my life to come. The workers arrived at 7:45am and began taking out windows at 8am. The house was full of workers and was freezing for the whole day. My furniture was pulled to the center of the room and my house was a mess. I just thought to myself…hmmm, two to three months of this day in and day out. Can I do it? Ya, I’ll go gag a once in a while but of course I can. I’ll just write in my Blog a lot to get out my frustration. That is, if I have electricity to run the computer.

I finally ordered my window inserts for my front door. I am waiting for them to arrive. I actually thought they arrived while I wasn’t here because I had a Purolator notice in my mailbox. I knew it was either my door window inserts or it was the Rona gift cards I ordered off Airmiles. Well, it ended up being my Rona certificates. Now I have to decide what to buy for the house with them. I wish Rona had better bathroom fixture choices. I don’t want to buy a generic brand of fixtures and have trouble down the road. Who needs a leaky toilet or one that can’t, a-hu a-hum…..handle the load? My apologies for that graphic analogy.

My house has still been a revolving door of trades coming and going. Josh, the contractor I met off Craigslist, (he bought my dining room chairs) has been sending the trades around to do quotes. His last trade was here yesterday (dry waller). I met with Josh last night as he had put a spreadsheet together with all the costs. Josh is the cheapest yet and I am leaning towards going with him. Not because he is cheapest but because he has been very dependable and is insured and I feel a trust bond with him. The good thing here is we both know the same home inspector who has been a good friend of mine for a number of years. I will be giving him a call to get his opinion on Josh. Plus I will be calling the other references Josh forwarded to me. I’m feeling good about this.

I now have to call Kirk, the other contractor I may choose. Kirk has given me a rough quote back but not in the same fashion as Josh. It was a quote over the phone and I need to meet with him to go over exactly what this includes. I feel I can also trust Kirk so I I’m in a pretty good situation right now in choosing a contractor. I am weighing the pros and cons to each guy.
I’m going to make my decision by weeks end…and then, let the demo begin….eek!