Category Archives: Remodel

What a Week!

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What a Week It’s Been!

I wish every week was as productive  as it’s been this week Not that it wasn’t without aggravation but lets go over the week one thing at a time.

Kitchen Faucet

Remember that nasty, rusted kitchen faucet? Well my contractor, finally,

was able to squeeze me in between big jobs. After all replacing a faucet is a little job and I feel lucky that I found someone to do it. Most of the plumbers I called didn’t even bother to call me back and if they did they said they’d “Let me know”. Never heard from them again. Well here’s my before and after photos. Love my new Faucet. It solved the water pressure issue that I thought was in the building and finally I have a spray that works! I even like to way the new faucet blends with the décor. The bronze matches the drawer fixtures. 

Stove

I may have mentioned that when I went to Home Depot to pick up the faucet that I also ordered a a new gas stove. It has a grill on top and air fryer setting and convection oven. It’s gorgeous but it scares me. I have a lot to learn about this.  I guess it was sort of like going to the grocery store when you’re hungry. You buy things! Anyway Home Depot delivers but they don’t install. Now imagine how hard it is to get a gas certified plumber to come out not once, but twice. They need to disconnect the old stove, leave it and come back once the new stove is delivered and hook that one up.


I found the plumber through my HOA as they are doing a lot of Gas work in the other building in my condo complex. I was surprised when he said he could do it without any push back! More than surprised, I was thrilled. The only  fly in the ointment was that Home Depot wouldn’t give me the delivery window, just the day that they were coming out. I was promised an email and a phone call. I got neither so I made a nuisance of myself calling their delivery hot line. 

Home Depot Scheduling

Finally at 3 pm on Friday they gave me a delivery window of 7-11 am on Saturday!  Sent a quick text to the plumber who said nope- all booked. can’t do it. Push it out a week!

I reminded him that I had our texts with the date of delivery. I just didn’t have the times until Home Depot got around to scheduling the delivery. He must have found the text or felt guilty because he came through with one of his employees.

The plumber’s assistant ( I can’t call him a Plumbers Helper    Plunger - Wikipedia   ) was removing the old stove when I got a call from the delivery team. They were 30 minutes out, Perfect Timing. They brought the new stove in with an ingenious system of belts and took the old stove out the same way. PA (Plumbers Assistant) had just come back from a supply run and walked in as the HD team was leaving.  He hooked up the new stove and was out the door. All done by 9:30 am!

 

Table

The last home improvement was my dining room table. Its over 25 years old so I guess it’s an antique. It’s part of a set with a big hutch and dry sink so I really didn’t want to replace it but it was getting very wobbly. I’d tried tightening the legs from under the table but that didn’t work so before the PA left he helped me flip the table over. I grabbed a pair of pliers and went to work on the bolts holding the legs in place.  My neighbor helped me flip it back onto its feet. One thing about living in a condo, there’s always someone around. 

 

Finally

 I’m pretty pleased with my week. A new faucet, a new stove and my table as good as new.  And I even had time to explore another vacation option. I’ll tell you all about that in another post. Get ready for Santa Fe.

TOURISM Santa Fe Santa Fe Re-Opening

Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day

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Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day

And neither was my bathroom remodel. The wall paper was stripped and the walls prepped. The linoleum floor was pulled up.  No sub floor. The linoleum had been attached to the concrete.

About that time Brian decided to check the bulge in the tile behind the faucet in the tub. Progress came to a grinding halt as we discovered mold there. The sheet rock was not treated for use around water and had to be removed and replaced with water resistant board then re-tiled. Guess what they don’t make any more? The tiles! So Brian did his best to salvage the tiles he’s removed. Otherwise I’d have been looking at all new tile work on the tub. 

That process seemed to take forever before we could move forward again. 

Lets Add Some Wainscoting

I decided instead of wall paper or tile on the bathroom walls I’d just go with paint. I thought adding wainscoting might add interest so while Brian dealt with the tub problem his wife came along to prepare the bead board.  We wanted to be sure it blended so the panels were painted with the same color as the walls.  All during this time Brian would put me back together each afternoon so I had a working toilet and could take a shower. I hated walking on the concrete floor but Brian didn’t want to have to pull the toilet every day. He planned to just do that once the day the new floor went in.

We tossed the old over-the-toilet storage shelves because I was replacing them with an actual cabinet and shelves so the messy look would be contained. 

Old Shelves

New Shelf Unit

Time for the Bathroom Floor

Finally the day came when Brian said it was time to put in the floor. The wainscoting was in. The walls were painted. The end was in sight. Please excuse the toilet paper art the cats left.  Take one minute to look away and this is what happens but you can see the floor and the wainscoting here.

We’re in the homestretch!

Almost done! We just need the vanity top/sink and to put the shelves  in.  More on that next time.

Bathroom Re-imagined

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Bathroom Re-Imagined

I’m looking for a contractor to update my bathroom, not a handy man. I want someone who can find other professionals if they are needed.

I have a housekeeper. She comes in twice a month to make sure I’m not buried in cat hair.  While I was in my mental funk she was  in cleaning when she mentioned her husband had just gotten his general contracting license. That caught  my attention. I’d put feelers out for someone to remodel/ redecorate my bathroom but no one was interested in a small job. By small I mean a tiny almost square box. 5 Ft X 5.5 Ft not counting the tub.

The tub takes up 5.5 ft. along one wall. The toilet and single sink vanity are on the opposite wall. You have just enough room to walk in and chose your side- tub or toilet. 

I have no intention of replacing my wonderful deep cast iron tub. That was a bone of contention between me and the other contractors. (even if the tub and toilet are a disgusting brown color.) They wanted to upgrade, everything from walk in shower to soaking tub with jets. 

 

 That’s how I came to hire my housekeepers husband. He was willing to take on my small bathroom with my budget and restrictions.  I wanted a new ceiling fan, new ceiling, new walls and paint and new floor. Also needed a new vanity top. 

I did not want a walk in shower or a soaking tub with jets. I didn’t want shower doors. They are are hard to clean, a shower curtain was fine with me. So once we agreed on the scope of the work we set a date and began. 

 

Let the Project Begin

Tear out was pretty quick and but not easy. He started with the ceiling since that was a big issue for me. The ceiling fan had never worked and there was a leak that the previous condo management was convinced was all in my head.  As soon as Brian opened the ceiling it was clear that I was not imagining  the leak. It was an old leak and appeared to have been repaired at some point but the yucky part was that leak was in the sewer pipe. That water that kept dripping on me was sewer water. Oh YUCK! I wanted to take a decontamination shower when I heard that!

And Mold

Of course there was mold and that had to be removed. Luckily it was just on the insulation so we could pull that out and replace it but now we had to bring in the HOA maintenance so work came to a stop while we waited for them to come out and inspect. They wouldn’t let us go forward until they had a copy of Brian’s Liability insurance. That took a couple of days for him to secure so we lost about a week while all that was going on.

New Ceiling and Fan

Once we got the green light from the HOA and Brian’s insurance squared away, Brian came back with an electrician. In less than a day I had a new ceiling fan and my electrical switches had been moved from the wall outside the bathroom to above the sink in the bathroom. I was assured I’d get used to the new location and like it. I’m still waiting for that to happen but I do like the fan and the new ceiling light. Apparently my cat, Banner, likes the lights too. He taught himself to turn the light on and off. The switch now has little kitty teeth marks to prove it.  I’ve installed child safe covers over the switch so I can get through a night without the light turning on.

Getting the new ceiling plastered took a little longer since now  we  had to do the whole ceiling. Walls and floor next. Hopefully no more delays.  That was a futile wish.

 

 

The New Kitchen

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Except for a few little spots that need a coat of paint the kitchen is done! I even have new under cabinet lights!  I don’t know what I love most…the new microwave?

New Kitchen 001 copy

The solid new drawers?

New Kitchen 004 copy

The amazing counter tops?

New Kitchen 006 copy

or the rustic backsplash?

New Kitchen 007 copy

And I can’t forget the new lower cabinets that give me so much more storage space.

New Kitchen 005 copy

I got some wall art for the soffit area. It reads  “Many have eaten here, few have died” I like a touch of humor. I haven’t had a chance to put it up yet but I will soon.

Do you remember what it looked like before?

kitchen 002 copy

kitchen 001

Much better now don’t you think? Its amazing that its the same size but it feels larger.

Now I’ll have to think about new appliances to match that beautiful microwave. Maybe next year. 🙂

Moving Right Along

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Just a quick update.

Still waiting for the electrician but my neighbor came by. In less than 10 minutes we had the hutch moved! I was able to unpack the boxes and vacuum the floor. We found another ton of cat toys!

dining room 002 copy

Moving the hutch and china cabinet just opened up that room. I’m so glad I did it. Can’t wait to get the paint! What picture do I want to put on that wall?

dining room 001 copy

But I am getting ahead of myself. I need to moved the book cases next to make room for the armoire.

girlhappy