Day 14

Nothing happening today.  We have no one coming or going this weekend at all which is nice.  We all slept in and lazed about the house for a while this morning which was very nice.

I cleaned the two bathrooms and there are a few small issues that I have to bring up to our designer. 

• There some markings on the wall upstairs that the tile guy made to remind himself of where to cut the tile.  I scrubbed but cannot get them off
• Some grout remaining on the accent tile that I cannot get off
• The bathtub stopped leaks and the tub drains.  Not too fast but enough to notice and it would suck to take a bath in there
• Downstairs there are some black marks on the light taupe tile that I could not get off while scrubbing
• Writing on one floor tile that does not come off (says FLOOR so I think the tile guy just wrote himself a note about which tile was floor and which was wall tile)

And of course the chip in the brand new tub that will cost $300 to repair.  Looks like gabby tile guy (no consistent name for him here) dropped a tile on the tub and there is a gouge in the acrylic.  It is in a "good" stop for being able to try to hide it but I friggin' spent hundreds of dollars on the tub and several hundred dollars more to have it installed and there is a gouge in it.  Aargh!  We held back $300 of the fee for the tile guy to pay for it.  My designer thinks it will be about $250.  I told her it had better not come in at $300 plus TAX because then I would be out $30 for taxes and I will be very angry about it.

No action tomorrow either but on Monday the plumber $hould arrive to in$tall the faucet and drain in the up$tair$ bathroom.  Tuesday the electrician is coming to finish up that work.  Wednesday are the guys to install the medicine cabinets, storage cabinet, towel bars, tp holders, etc.  Friday is the tub repair guy and the following week is the frameless shower door for upstairs (curtain rod for down!).  I will be so happy to be done!

Edited to add photos of gouge in tub:

 

 

 

Close up of gouge.  You can tell it was hit with the corner of something hard.  Like a porcelain wall tile!

It is hard to see it because of the shadows (we only have the heat lamp for lighting in there right now) but the gouge is along the little lip in the tub, just down from the edge of the tub.  It is a good location in terms of it will be hard to see once the glass shower doors are on (hard to see from outside of the tub).

 

Day 13

The painters were back today and finished up the bathrooms. I also hired them to paint my front door black but there was a problem. 

The door is BLUE!!  A charcoal-blue.  The paint store screwed up the formula.  And the painters have no time to come back to fix it for about 2 weeks!  Thankfully the blue is not too blue.  But aargh!  Always something!

 

No action this weekend (we need the rest). Then the plumber returns on Monday to put in the final faucet.  Electrician on Tuesday and carpenter guys on Wednesday to put up the cabinets and towel bars, tp holders, etc. 

 

The bathrooms need a good scrubbing too.  Designer suggested we hire a cleaner but I will keep my money and clean it myself.  After the restful weekend.  ;)

Day 12

We have paint!

Upstairs:  Benjamin Moore Castlegate

 

Downstairs:  Benjamin Moore Smoky Taupe

 

Day 11

The countertop with integrated sink went on the vanity in the upstairs bath today. I am wondering what is going to happen to the chipped one in my garage. Maybe no one will claim it and I can sell it to recoup some of the plumbers' cost!  Yikes!

The drywall guy came too and the walls and ceiling repairs are all textured to match. Painters come at 7:30 am!  We are in the home stretch!

Upstairs vanity with countertop installed. 

Day 10

No new photos as there was not a lot of action done today.  Some tiles had to be taken out and refitted because they had slipped in the thin set (mostly the glass tile in the backsplash downstairs).  Also, the replacement vanity/sink arrived and I freaked out because the box was damaged and attached was a HUGE PINK NOTICE that said that the shipper was not responsible for any damage.  I made the delivery guy sit and wait while I opened the box and checked over very slowly and carefully.  I figured this was fair since was (once again) 1.5 hours late past the delivery window of 11am-3pm (it was the same late delivery truck driver as two weeks ago!).  Anyway, it all looked fine as far as I could tell.

So tomorrow morning the tile that was fixed will get regrouted.  The sink will be installed upstairs.  The drywall guy will come in the evening to texture all of the places that need texturing.  Hopefully the painters will come by to give us a bid.

After the painting is done (hopefully by Tuesday), the guys will come and install the medicine cabinets, the storage cabinet, the towel bars, toilet roll holders.  Another week after that the glass shower doors will be installed upstairs  (we'll just use a tension rod with a shower curtain in the meantime).

And now it is on to plan for the next project.  Gas cooktop and gas fireplace.  I think the cooktop will happen first although I have been talking about the gas fireplace for ages.  We'll have the gas lines plumbed for both at the same time though.

Ok, more pictures tomorrow!

Day 9

We have progress!  We have toilets!  Showers/tub too but the tile is not yet sealed so we have to wait a couple if days to use them. No sink in the upstairs bath yet. The replacement will arrive tomorrow and be installed on Wednesday.

Upstairs bathroom with no sink/countertop

Downstairs vanity/sink.  Drawers are very difficult to reinstall (they had to be removed to hook up plumbing).  A couple of the glass tiles slipped while they were setting so they have to be removed and reset.  Then grouted.

Downstairs shower and look!  A toilet!  Still thinking about that paint colour on the wall...

Day 8

Slow tiler came back in the morning. We chatted for a moment and then I ignored him. I know he was trying to make eye contact whenever he came downstairs but I was having none of that. Then I took Cars out to the club for a swim so I did not have to hear about how slow tiler was missing his son's last soccer game (he had mentioned to me several times on Saturday that he was missing time with *his* family to tile my place. (Emphasis his!). Whatever!  Don't take the job next time.

Anyway, the tile looks really beautiful though. 

I am looking forward to this being done so I can be less crabby!  ;)  I am really not a crabby person so when I get this was it makes me crabbier because I feel crappy about myself. Carb loading!

Day 7

Problems...

A broken floor tile left us short a tile in the upstairs bathroom. So we decided to tile the closet with the wall tile rather than the floor tile. No one will notice unless they are rooting around in the closet and move the Costco sizes toilet paper packages. Otherwise we would not have the replacement time until Monday sometime. Too late!

Slow tile guy finished the floor that and then buggered off for 3 hours. I was out and he told Stephen he'd be back in an hour and 2 hours later I was calling our designer to track him down.  He showed up another hour later.   Needless to say the tile did not get grouted. Then he said he would be back sometime tomorrow after his son's 1pm soccer game. I think not!  If the game was at 1pm he would show up at 3 or 4pm and he said he had 3 hours of grouting to do which means he would be here until like 10pm (remember he is so slow!).

I pitched a fit with our designer and said he would either be here tomorrow morning and be done by mid-afternoon or he can come Monday afternoon and she can reschedule the plumbers, the carpenters, the drywall guy and the painters.  At this point I don't care how quickly it gets done. I just do not need people in my house for 12+ hours a day who are not accomplishing their tasks.

Needless to say, she scrambled and called the other tile guy who will come at 8am tomorrow.  We will see what happens in the A.M.  

But, the tile looks so beautiful. 

Downstairs bathroom

Upstairs bathroom (not grouted!) Grrr!

Mismatched tile in the closet.  It is back far enough past the doorjam that it will be ok, right?

Day 6

Someone needs to take chatty tile guy's cellphone away from him. 

He promised that he would start

Laying the floor by noon or 1pm. He started after 5pm!  We are so behind!!

Downstairs bath is on schedule. This tile guy works with noise canceling headphones and works quick!

Day 5

Upstairs bathroom. No floor laid yet. 

Downstairs bath. Floor is laid and grouted. 

Remodeling is a huge PITA. Downstairs bath is coming along. Upstairs is behind schedule. No point stressing as it is what it is.

Day 4

No problems today - just a lot of work. Two tile guys came in and one was able to get the floor of the downstairs bathroom laid (he had mostly prepped the day before). Drywall guy came back this evening and will come back on Friday to finish the job. Things are starting to take shape. 

Upstairs bathroom

 

Downstairs bathroom - drywall repair on ceiling

Downstairs bathroom - tile floor has been laid

Day 3

Where do I begin?  The carpenters came to install the floating vanity but here were ever so many problems. First, while we ordered a 48" vanity to replace the old 48" vanity they are not equal. This new one has drawers that are flush with the very sides of the vanity whereas the old ones drawers were inset a bit towards the middle. So, that allowed for those old drawers to open without hitting the door jam!!  Also, where this vanity has special cleats on which to mount the vanity on the wall, the carpenter said there was no way he would mount them right into drywall and the while thing needed to be mounted into the studs for support. Makes sense but that means the vanity has to be offset an inch that will leave an inch gap between the vanity and the wall. Not the look I was wanting.

Then we looked at the vanity top with integrated sink and noticed there was a big chip out of the corner of the top. It is supposed to be installed today I shouted in my head!  So, the designer got on the phone and  by the afternoon we had confirmation that they were sending a new vanity too that should arrive on Monday!  Aargh!

Then, because of course there's more,  the tubs would not fit. Fortunately, I was not home when they realized this as I am sure I would have stroked out. And our designed [who is fabulous] worked with the plumbers to get it in, which meant  cutting some of the framing. Now because of this issue, the general contractor guy had to come in and repair the cut framing. Of course he is not very happy about this because he was expected to come in and start tiling.  In fact, he was supposed to start early at 7:30am but because of the plumbing issues,  he didn't get around starting until 3pm. 

So, we are a couple of days behind Schedule but hoping to make up that time on the weekend. How will I survive?

Bathroom remodel day 2

Technically this is the third day since the bathrooms were ripped out 2 days ago but there was no action yesterday.

Today we have major drywall ripping out which was not expected so a drywall expert is coming TONIGHT so we can get back in track tomorrow. Plumbers have been here for 4.5 hour$ so far and the tubs still are not in place which they need to be before the carpenter comes in to install the cabinets. And until the upstairs bath cabinet is in, the tile guy cannot start. I wonder when we will really be done.

One good thing about the plumber being here is that he noticed a problem on our hot water tank and he will fix it before he goes.  Some copper line droops down rather than go straight across and it should have been caught when the house was inspected.  :\

Bathroom Remodel

Today was day 1 of the bathroom renovations. Kids complained bitterly that they could not sleep in. Contractor showed up and tore the two bathrooms apart. Good news is that there were no surprises (ie mould or termites. Don't ask me why I was imagining that there would be. I guess because I am a worst case scenario type person).   Well there was one surprise...  No insulation in the exterior walls of either bathroom!  Nice. So Stephen picked up a couple of rolls f insulation and the contractor installed it before he left for the day.

Next up is the plumber and carpenter due in Monday. 

We've had a nice, quiet Memorial Day weekend which is nice because starting next Saturday, our house will be torn apart for two weeks while the two big bathrooms are remodeled.

I will take before/after shots and post them.  Wish me luck!

Have you heard of Greentoe.com?  It is this site where you can shop for items like electronics, appliances and baby gear but the neat thing about it is that you can submit the price you want to pay for an item and then see if someone accepts it.  Kind of like priceline for stuff! 

One of the cool things about the site is that there is a little meter when you submit your price and it tells you what the chances of getting the item for the price you are willing to pay.  So if you submit a really low-ball offer, it will tell you right away so you can up it and try again. 

Another cool thing is that tax and shipping are included in the price so there are no surprises if you submit an offer on an item and it is accepted.  That price is the price you pay and no more.

There is a video on their home page that explains it much better than I have. Check it out! :)

Blogher and Greentoe are offering discounts if you would like to give it a try.  They have given me my own special discount code to pass onto you so here it is:

pez25 ($25 off)

pez50 ($50 off purchase of $300 or more)

 

So check out the site - www.greentoe.com and if you see something you want to buy, use the codes provided! 

Got back from my trip to Toronto for my high school's 50th anniversary (the school is 50, I did not graduate 50 years ago). ;)  I had a really good time seeing some old friends and visiting the school which I do not think I have stepped in since I left in 1982! 

Friday night was a social at a golf and curling club.  Saturday there were lots of things going on at the school and Saturday night was the big Gala at the Ontario Science Centre.  The organizers posted a note on Thursday that there was going to be a HUGE surprise on Friday night at the social and that it would mean a lot to some of the people who went to the school during a certain decade.  Well, everyone was posting that they were sure that it was going to be the Barenaked Ladies playing (Ed Roberston and Steven Page (former member) went to my high school).  Boy, we were all so disappointed when it turned out to be a bass player who was in Alice Cooper's band (and who is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)  - Prakash John and The Lincolns.  Clearly not on the same scale as the BNL but still famous(ish). Anyway, there were a lot of disappointed people there.  :D

Anyway, here are some photos from the weekend. I tried to take some photos for my friend Diane who decided at the last minute not to go.  I would have loved to have seen her. And for Peter - my soul blahg reader.  :)  Click here -> My pictures

So in my last blahg post I mentioned that I was taking Cars in for the status of his incisors and to find out when he gets braces, right?  Well we arrived bright and early at the orthodontist (appointment was at 7:50am) and they call Cars back almost immediately. 

So I wait and I wait and look around and notice that the office was really crowded.  And I wait and I wait and I wait and I see one dad get up and go and ask what is taking so long for his son to come back out. Turns out that there was some issue with his son's braces and teeth and the orthodontist had to do more work than he was expecting so I figure that orthodontist is now behind because of that problem.  And I wait and I wait, wondering what is taking so long for them to look at Cars' teeth and decide if he is ready for braces or not.  And I wait and I wait. 

Finally, 40 minutes later Cars comes walking out WITH BRACES ON HIS TEETH!  WTF!

I guess he was ready.

But I was not!  I thought this appointment was to evaluate but apparently it was we will evaluate and if he is ready we will put them on!  He just has them on the 4 upper front teeth and will get more on a little later.  And I had already paid for this round of braces (and expander) way back in August '11 so the cost was not an issue.  The issue was that I was a terrible mom and did not KNOW he would be getting them and did not prepare him for them!  With the other two I dosed them up on ibuprofen before hand and we discussed how they would feel, blah blah blah and poor Cars walks in and is surprised with them.  Aargh!

Anyway, so I now have 3 kids in brace$ at the same time.

There are still 10 days left of this month but already I am thinking about the busiest time of the year - May!  What is it about that month that makes it so crazy every year?!  I have way backed off of my volunteering at school but it is still a busy month this year.

At the beginning of the month I am going home for a visit. Just me.  I will stay with my mom and she is very excited to be able to show me her apartment.  It will be the first visit home where I won't be staying in my childhood home and that makes me a little sad but knowing that my mom was more than ready to sell and move into an apartment does make me feel better.

She will fly home with me after a few days (it is my high school's 50th anniversary so I am going to the big party on the Saturday night.  Of my four siblings, only my oldest is going.  Looking forward to seeing old friends too) and stay here for about a week then I will drive her up to Vancouver where she will continue her annual "West Coast Tour" before heading to Edmonton to see my sister then head on home.

May also brings us lots of sports!  Dex is playing basketball at the club but also said that he wanted to do track at middle school so that is 4x/week with Monday being the busiest day because I have to pick him up and then take him directly to the club for basketball.  No idea when his meets are yet. 

Jax is doing track in high school and it started over a month ago and he practices 6 days each week.  I am not exactly sure when it ends but it is sometime in May.  Oh, he and Dex are still doing guitar lessons one evening a week too.

Cars is playing on a tournament hockey team so he has practice and then the tournament later in May in Canada.  He will miss 2 days of school.  Oops! 

With all of these after school activities, I am behind on getting the kids in for their annual allergist appointments and eye appointments!  We are still on track for the orthodontist though.  Dex just got his braces on a couple of days ago and I take Cars this week for the status of his lateral incisors so we can get those first set of braces on for him (I paid for this over a year and half ago - it was supposed to be expander and braces but those darn teeth never grew in!).  Jax is transitioning to get his off already! I told the orthodontist that I felt that I was not getting my money's worth with Jax (kinda half joking) but was told that Dex would wear his for nearly 2 years so I will get my money's worth there.

We are enjoying the changes we made to the house last summer and now are considering updating more things.  Namely, the main bathroom.  We do not have a power room on the main floor (that is the problem with side splits, or back splits - no room!) so guests use the main bathroom which is also the "kids" bathroom.  It has never been updated except for the new faucet and lighting fixtures we put in a couple of years ago.  The tub, toilet and sink are beige and I want white.  Also, it has shower doors which trap all sorts of ickyness and are hard to keep clean.

I had a designer come by this past week and she will get back to me with a plan for the bathroom.  While I do want to upgrade the vinyl floor to tile and the acrylic tub surround to tile as well, I do not want to go broke doing it.  We really are not DIY-ers so we will be paying for the labour.

Looking forward to having a nice sparkly bath up there.  And one day we will work on the master bath/walk-in closet/dressing area.  One day...