Picking Up Speed

We had a very slow week before I took off for Tempe. It takes several days for dry wall and spackle to go up and dry. I believe they were sanding the walls while I was (finally) heading towards Tempe. Next came 2 days of priming and painting. Notice the smooth white ceilings and walls. Good thing that the a/c in what was the breakfast room still had power, as we ran it during the entire drywall/painting process to speed up the drying. Which brings up a very important question…. Will it still be the ‘breakfast room’ when all of this is done or will it ALL now be only ‘the kitchen’?

I got home early Tuesday after taking the red-eye home from Arizona. Shortly after my arrival, the floor installation began. We selected a vinyl floor with padding underneath (Strive Luxury Vinyl Plank). My husband had seen (felt?) this at a friend’s house and loved it. I confess that I can’t feel a difference between this floor and the hardwood in the living room. My husband and sister both say there is a difference, so I’ll believe them. My feet are NOT my most reliable body part. *rueful smile* (You’d have to go back and find the blog posts about the foot surgeries.)

I might not be able to FEEL a difference but oh wow!!! The floor looks GREAT!!! I love it. It took the two workers 2 days to get it all installed, but it’s gorgeous. Unfortunately there IS an issue – one that was stressing me out greatly. One of the key requests for the renovation was to have a level floor. When we added the breakfast room long ago, we were young and inexperienced and we let the contractors get away with having the kitchen floor and breakfast room floor at different heights, joining them with a metal whatever it is called (once again my vast ignorance of construction terminology is on display). (I’ve been told it’s a ‘threshold’.) Having the two rooms at the same height was non-negotiable. The join between those two rooms, however, was a tricky spot. I’d noticed that there was a lot of nothing under the vinyl flooring that was removed. I’m not sure why/how the gentlemen installing the new floor did not notice that what they did in the doorway was inadequate. Seriously – how can you not notice that the new floor boards don’t have sufficient support? When I stood in the doorway, the new flooring sagged. I was not happy. (And no snide comments about weight-load and all that!)

I sent an email immediately and got an immediate response from the contractor. I do love our contractors. 🙂 The next morning Manny was there and assured me that it would be fixed, fixed properly, fixed sooner than the end of the job, and I could stop stressing. *smile* He doesn’t know me very well – “stress” is my superpower. He and I talked about many things, including a new ceiling fan for the kitchen, and knobs and pulls for the cabinets. I kept circling back to the floor and he promised me it would be done, and done right. I did finally begin to feel reassured. I was fairly calm about it by the end of the day. Wouldn’t you know that is when my husband began to freak out about the floor, the warranty, damage. *grin* We really need to coordinate better. I think I got him calmed down. (And after Don talked to us when he came by we ARE both relieved and confident. That’s why we hired these contractors.) I said “look, it’s only a floor, how often have we ever relied on warranties anyway – they always expire, Manny and Don will get crews in here to fix it, it’s just a floor.” One thing that I have learned over the last 30 years is that “things” can be fixed. Damage to people is a matter for concern because often no matter how much money you have or time you have, some people damage can never be repaired. A floor is only a thing. On the other hand – yes, it would be nice to have it done well and right. Don will make it so. *grin*

Here is a very odd thing that I noticed when I went to lookup the product information about the floor. The floor is the correct color. It looks like what we selected (Himalayan bamboo). The boxes, however, say Georgian red oak. What is in the boxes and on the floor looks NOTHING like the sample of Georgian red oak in my renovation-selection photos. I think I should pretend that I did not notice this and go on my way quietly. (I’m way too neurotic not to dig around. I found a label on the end of the boxes that indicates it IS indeed Himalayan Bamboo. *grin*)

The cabinets are in as well, another thing that went astoundingly quickly. I forgot to get a picture of the kitchen filled with boxes of cabinets (stressing about the floor AND the cabinet installers were there before 8:00 am). For those who asked me, the cabinets are Fabuwood, a NJ company. The boxes are gone and the cabinets are up and oh my!!!! It’s starting to look like a real room!!! I’m told the cabinets still need to be adjusted and drawers balanced 100% but they are all in the right spot and looking beautiful. I’ve begun researching knobs & pulls. I DID find one I loved, for only $175. That would be $175 per single pull. I need a total of 35 knobs and/or pulls. I’m going to have to find one that perhaps I don’t love as much but CAN afford. 🙂 I have champagne taste – my second favorite is $70/pull. That is still a bit steep. (But it would look sooooo goood, she whined. “See???”)

I thought the workmen would be back today to do the trim and the pocket door, but I guess that is happening next week. I know that on Monday they (he? she?) are coming to do the template for the counters. I’m told that takes about a week to fabricate. I gather that installing the counter and installing the appliances can happen together or separately. After that the electrician and plumbers return to make everything WORK. I can’t even begin to imagine how wonderful it’s going to be to have an ice maker and cold water in my refrigerator. I started wondering about filters for it but Don told me that new refrigerators typically have the filters built in, and he’d show me where and how to change it. I hope so. It’s very educational moving into modern times.

The plumbers will have their work cut out for them. It’s not just the sink and the refrigerator – it’s 2 new hot water radiators as well. We’ve picked out very modern units. One will be installed the old fashioned way – the pipes through the kitchen floor. The other in the front hall will be mounted on the wall. That will allow us to change some things about in the front hall as well. I’m hoping that the electricians found and handled all the knob & tube issues already so that their work will be uneventful. Except, of course, they need to install a whole new sub-panel. Sigh. The homeowners’ motto: It’s Always Something.

Anyway, at the moment things are looking absolutely beautiful. I’ll be spending the weekend looking at bistro tables and knobs & pulls. I want something funky, unusual and bright. They have to stand in place of the artwork I had to remove in order to have cabinets everywhere. If you find something funky & unusual – let me know!