Still NO floors in the living areas!
Our first option was a nice, bamboo strand clic down. Rated very high for durability and environmental renewability. Not the cheapest but not overly expensive, and the installatino was going to be quite reasonable.
I had the delivery timed quite a while before moving out of our old place so we could have it in before we got there. When it arrived, we hauled the 2 pallets of boxes into the house. We even had the installer lined up. BUT when he went to start installing it the proper Monday he found the "clic" part wasn't clicking and the milling was sloppy. AKA he couldn't put it in. There's a week of wasted time and half day's labour for squat.
It had to be returned. All loaded (by hand) back outside so they could pick it up.
We looked at replacements. Nothing in that product looked reliably consistant (I wanted to cry). We looked at laminate, but nothing held a candle to the real thing - not even the high end stuff. The engineered hardwood is not an option because of the dog, he'd ruin it in short time. So the only thing left to consider is the same stuff we have in the other house - maple/birch. Okay with me because its beautifully warm, but much pricier to install.
Meanwhile we have moved into the back yard with the furniture stacked up in one room, and a million boxes under the house waiting for floors. I thought we would just be waiting for kitchen cupboards... how naive of me.
We took our bamboo refund and applied it to the maple.
We found some cork at a different store for the bedrooms, we picked it up and had it installed 2 days later. Not bad, now we have bedroom floors! And they are looking good, 3 rooms that we don't need to wear shoes in!
They delivered the maple 3 days later... BUT they delivered 2 different kinds of flooring. Same hardwood, different manufacturer. Very sad. Ready to blow my top. The one I picked out at the store was fine, but only enough to do one of the rooms! The other manufacturer is not fine. Not at all.
They had delivered it at 4:30 on a Friday. Because the delivery guy had gone home for the whole weekend and we couldn't leave it outside over the weekend, our choice was to haul it all into the house and out again on Monday, OR we had to load it up box by box into our truck to take it back to the store. What a waste of time! T chose to drag it back to the store himself. The only positive part of that is that it was a good upper-body work out.
I was fed up, and I told my woahs to the store manager. He apologized and did the best he could to make it right. We got replacement (a slight upgrade) for a cheaper price and another delivery came Monday. It looks fine. FINALLY.
While this whole floor drama has gone on, the installer had been busy with the cork and setting some vinyl in the bathrooms. I'm sad to say, I could have done just as well with the vinyl. It's slightly crooked and not cut with precision enough for what I would call a "professional installation". This shakes my confidence in his abilities to install the hardwood.
He called this very morning to say he couldn't come in to start on the maple because of babysitter problems. He's a nice young man and loves to work... single dad with a toddler... not positive he has the skills is all that I'm worried about.
With that early orning call, I think the universe is telling me to look elsewhere. I called a reputable high-end hardwood seller and asked for a list of installers. I called 3 and one agreed to come out to look right away. He did! An older man with more than 20 years experience with hardwood floors and a thick eastern european accent. He recognized the dips and humps on the substrate before I even pointed them out (something the first guy didn't do) and had a plan with how to deal with them. A bit of surgery on the structure of the house, but he said it should only take him 3/4 of a day to fix it. I got a good solid quote from him, and we shook on it.
It will be 75 cents MORE per square foot than our original installer qoted, but experience can be expensive. I called my carpenter to tell him we were going with a different installer, and he said he understood.
That is the drama of looking for something to walk on.
I will let you know how it goes...
7.31.2012
The journey
Moving is a big deal. I don't know when it became a big deal, but it really is now. As a kid we moved on average every 6 months to a year.... sometimes my mom would move, sometimes my dad would move. We lived in a boat for a while, we lived in a trailer for a bit too. Apartment, townhouse, basement suite and some very nice houses over the years. Sometimes my room was small, or I had to share or it smelled damp. But it is what it is when you are a kid... sometimes it felt like a downgrade, not that that mattered because it was always temporary. The hardest part was leaving the friends.... especially when a change of schools was required.
As a grown-up I have also had my fair share of addresses... the standard issue college years apartments, basement suite, etc. One thing though, I have never had a place on my own. And I am actually fine with that, because I want to be with my husband for as long as we both shall live (corny but true).
Since having kids moving has taken a whole new perpective.
Before: Moving = Change = Exciting
Now: Moving = Upheaval = Stress
It doesn't help that the ADHD that has found it's way from my husband to children is a condition that has a very hard time with a change in routine. There are tears, temper tantrums and long moments of quiet moping.
Adding renovating to this major upheaval and I am surrounded by 3 people that are experiencing regret for ever agreeing to this.
Mostly I don't agree.
Mostly I still think it's still a great idea. Even when the floor is returned. Even when the hotwater tank started leaking. Even while I'm digging through box after box looking for indredients and tools to make dinner out in the back yard.
When I do agree to have some regrets is when I try to open the screen door and it sticks and warps and refuses to budge when I have an armload to clothes to bring in off the line. I also feel some regret when I go to open the front door and catch a wiff of stale cigarette smoke in the woodwork even after scrubbing the thick brown sludge off repeatedly.
Mostly I feel like maybe I bit off more than I could chew when I add up the costs of getting rid of the nicotine... we could not have lived here without dealing with it. Honestly it was toxic. Painting, sealing, flooring, cupboards, heaters, even light fixtures switches and plug recepticals all had to be replaced. Not just ugly, they were not cleanable, brown and sticky. That part was a mistake... thinking the house just needed a good cleaning.... live and learn.
It's a good thing I still love the yard and floorplan. I can still see it's potential and feel a tingle of excitement of how it's going to be when it's done.
Bottom line is we are going to be spending waaaaay more on this house than we did on the last one. BUT I think this home has excellent bones and will serve us into old age -- once we get it done.
Oh ya.
I haven't done a lick of work since the 24th because my computer is not set up... because my desk is not set up... because I have no floors yet.
As a grown-up I have also had my fair share of addresses... the standard issue college years apartments, basement suite, etc. One thing though, I have never had a place on my own. And I am actually fine with that, because I want to be with my husband for as long as we both shall live (corny but true).
Since having kids moving has taken a whole new perpective.
Before: Moving = Change = Exciting
Now: Moving = Upheaval = Stress
It doesn't help that the ADHD that has found it's way from my husband to children is a condition that has a very hard time with a change in routine. There are tears, temper tantrums and long moments of quiet moping.
Adding renovating to this major upheaval and I am surrounded by 3 people that are experiencing regret for ever agreeing to this.
Mostly I don't agree.
Mostly I still think it's still a great idea. Even when the floor is returned. Even when the hotwater tank started leaking. Even while I'm digging through box after box looking for indredients and tools to make dinner out in the back yard.
When I do agree to have some regrets is when I try to open the screen door and it sticks and warps and refuses to budge when I have an armload to clothes to bring in off the line. I also feel some regret when I go to open the front door and catch a wiff of stale cigarette smoke in the woodwork even after scrubbing the thick brown sludge off repeatedly.
Mostly I feel like maybe I bit off more than I could chew when I add up the costs of getting rid of the nicotine... we could not have lived here without dealing with it. Honestly it was toxic. Painting, sealing, flooring, cupboards, heaters, even light fixtures switches and plug recepticals all had to be replaced. Not just ugly, they were not cleanable, brown and sticky. That part was a mistake... thinking the house just needed a good cleaning.... live and learn.
It's a good thing I still love the yard and floorplan. I can still see it's potential and feel a tingle of excitement of how it's going to be when it's done.
Bottom line is we are going to be spending waaaaay more on this house than we did on the last one. BUT I think this home has excellent bones and will serve us into old age -- once we get it done.
Oh ya.
I haven't done a lick of work since the 24th because my computer is not set up... because my desk is not set up... because I have no floors yet.
7.16.2012
What did it do the their LUNGS?
I hope you can see it in the pictures... the grungy yellowing on the ceiling...
Good thing this blog doesn't come with realisting smells, because you'd never want to come back!
So if their home looked like this with over 1800 sq feet to spread out in, imagine what their lungs looked like! Eeek.
... the sticky patina on every window track...
... the thick, sticky grit on every horizontal surface (no matter how small)...
... not only did they smoke, they never moved appliances to clean them either!
And we noticed as we ripped up the floor that their dog (or dogs) used this railing post as an indoor firehydrant if you know what I mean!
Good thing this blog doesn't come with realisting smells, because you'd never want to come back!
So if their home looked like this with over 1800 sq feet to spread out in, imagine what their lungs looked like! Eeek.
7.14.2012
DEMO DAY #3
Not so much of a demo day for me... but my sister's boyfriend took out the ugly closet sort of thing from the laundry room. The amazing (and disturbing) thing was when the cedar structure was removed, the room improved in odor drastically before I'd even washed the walls in there!!!
That is bad news because there are the gorgeous cedar ceilings and "feature walls" in the big rooms that are probably completely saturated with the evil stink. So we have been told it's not really "cleanable" but will need to be sealed. But with what?
My day was filled with the tediuos task of rinsing the walls. Every stroke of the rag made a difference, and even going over it several times, the yellow would seep in again by the time it dried.
CRAZY
At the old house we managed to get 2 truckloads out and into the crawlspace.
We are moving very very soon now in the grand scheme of things... and unfortunately we must be out of this house before the other one will be even remotely ready.
At least it will be clean and have floors again, so the furniture can probably go into a few of the rooms. The kitchen won't be here, so the BBQ, slowcooker and trailer galley will get used for the interm. I'm hoping it will be as much fun as camping, with the bonus of toilet access!
That is bad news because there are the gorgeous cedar ceilings and "feature walls" in the big rooms that are probably completely saturated with the evil stink. So we have been told it's not really "cleanable" but will need to be sealed. But with what?
My day was filled with the tediuos task of rinsing the walls. Every stroke of the rag made a difference, and even going over it several times, the yellow would seep in again by the time it dried.
CRAZY
At the old house we managed to get 2 truckloads out and into the crawlspace.
We are moving very very soon now in the grand scheme of things... and unfortunately we must be out of this house before the other one will be even remotely ready.
At least it will be clean and have floors again, so the furniture can probably go into a few of the rooms. The kitchen won't be here, so the BBQ, slowcooker and trailer galley will get used for the interm. I'm hoping it will be as much fun as camping, with the bonus of toilet access!
7.13.2012
DEMO DAY #2
And on day 2 the house begins to look more sane.
The rest of the cupboards are out! So is the terrible pink formica backsplash. And the vinyl and underlayment (and about a million super sized staples).
While removing the trim around a sliding glass door, I got quite close to the vertical blinds and nearly barfed from the overwhelming stale nicotine smell.... so immediately I got T to remove those from every window.
No carpet tack strips remain, and the glued down carpet from the front room is a pile of disgusting fibers on the back porch....(instead of a flat expanse of disgusting fibres in the front room)... too much glued foam is still on the subfloor, but I'm sure with more elbow grease it will be done tomorrow.
Sweet sweet generosity brought T's sister over to help, and while her 3 lovely children played with Cammy in the backyard, she washed every wall with TSP!!! Oh man, what a difference!
The home is becoming a clean slate:
The paint colours have been chosen (we had to go very very nearly white because the light is fairly limited). Painters are coming Monday.
The cabinets got ordered too (eek, I can't wait for the house money to finally come). They will take 3 weeks so we are (without a doubt) living in our trailer in the backyard for at least a week between the sale of the house we are in now and the new house having a kitchen.
The bamboo flooring is waiting for us at the warehouse (I need to pay for it by Tuesday). The carpenter is coming starting Thursday to start installing.
Tomorrow the plan is to clean the dickens out of the windows (and frames), get the last of the baseboards off, somehow remove the glued foam from the frontroom floor and remove the itty bitty nails from everywhere in preparation for the painters.
Lots of intense labour and soon it will be ready to start putting back together! (Except the cedar ceiling... we still aren't sure how to get the ugly nicotine off that).
The rest of the cupboards are out! So is the terrible pink formica backsplash. And the vinyl and underlayment (and about a million super sized staples).
While removing the trim around a sliding glass door, I got quite close to the vertical blinds and nearly barfed from the overwhelming stale nicotine smell.... so immediately I got T to remove those from every window.
No carpet tack strips remain, and the glued down carpet from the front room is a pile of disgusting fibers on the back porch....(instead of a flat expanse of disgusting fibres in the front room)... too much glued foam is still on the subfloor, but I'm sure with more elbow grease it will be done tomorrow.
Sweet sweet generosity brought T's sister over to help, and while her 3 lovely children played with Cammy in the backyard, she washed every wall with TSP!!! Oh man, what a difference!
The home is becoming a clean slate:
The paint colours have been chosen (we had to go very very nearly white because the light is fairly limited). Painters are coming Monday.
The cabinets got ordered too (eek, I can't wait for the house money to finally come). They will take 3 weeks so we are (without a doubt) living in our trailer in the backyard for at least a week between the sale of the house we are in now and the new house having a kitchen.
The bamboo flooring is waiting for us at the warehouse (I need to pay for it by Tuesday). The carpenter is coming starting Thursday to start installing.
Tomorrow the plan is to clean the dickens out of the windows (and frames), get the last of the baseboards off, somehow remove the glued foam from the frontroom floor and remove the itty bitty nails from everywhere in preparation for the painters.
Lots of intense labour and soon it will be ready to start putting back together! (Except the cedar ceiling... we still aren't sure how to get the ugly nicotine off that).
7.12.2012
DEMO DAY #1
In a mad flurry of crow-bar-weilding action, most of the flooring is now gone.
No turning back, the pocket door between the kitchen and front room is now removed - drywall and all - leaving a huge opening for french doors (to let in waaaay more natural light). And to really drive to point home that this house is ours and nobody else's T and my stepdad ripped out half of the cabinets already. Built like they were bomb shelters of heavy thick mahogany boards, the things are ungainly awkwardly installed with about a million nails. The mighty sawzall came out at one point!
My back will hate me tomorrow I am so very very sure.
There is a big UGLY pile of soiled underlay and brown shag carpet on the back patio keeping company to a few hundred feel of carpet tack strips (nasty sharp buggers they are). I NEVER EVER EVER want wall to wall carpet again. Vile stuff.
There are still some very serious decisions to be made (all of which are expensive). Can I live with the bathrooms?... except the lack of floor.... yes I think I can. A good scrub and new floors should do it for now. Paint the subfloor? definitely. We still need flooring ordered for the bedrooms, T is dead against laminate and obviously I don't want carpet... cork. sure cork. Expensive, hearty, warm.
My generous step-dad has offered to chip in the difference between laminate countertops and granite! Holy moly the kitchen would look like a million bucks with granite!
That would be amazing, but we'll have to find a granite on the less-expensive end of the spectrum.
Anyways that's all to report for DAY ONE of demolition.
No turning back, the pocket door between the kitchen and front room is now removed - drywall and all - leaving a huge opening for french doors (to let in waaaay more natural light). And to really drive to point home that this house is ours and nobody else's T and my stepdad ripped out half of the cabinets already. Built like they were bomb shelters of heavy thick mahogany boards, the things are ungainly awkwardly installed with about a million nails. The mighty sawzall came out at one point!
My back will hate me tomorrow I am so very very sure.
There is a big UGLY pile of soiled underlay and brown shag carpet on the back patio keeping company to a few hundred feel of carpet tack strips (nasty sharp buggers they are). I NEVER EVER EVER want wall to wall carpet again. Vile stuff.
There are still some very serious decisions to be made (all of which are expensive). Can I live with the bathrooms?... except the lack of floor.... yes I think I can. A good scrub and new floors should do it for now. Paint the subfloor? definitely. We still need flooring ordered for the bedrooms, T is dead against laminate and obviously I don't want carpet... cork. sure cork. Expensive, hearty, warm.
My generous step-dad has offered to chip in the difference between laminate countertops and granite! Holy moly the kitchen would look like a million bucks with granite!
That would be amazing, but we'll have to find a granite on the less-expensive end of the spectrum.
Anyways that's all to report for DAY ONE of demolition.
7.02.2012
We are really moving
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We finally got an offer... much lower than we had hoped for, but the conditions and possession date were PERFECT so we haggled briefly on the price and signed the papers. The inspection was Thursday and the conditions came off Friday!
Sure we took a beating compared to what we thought it was worth, but the truth is even with this dip in the market we sold for more than double what we bought it for 13 years ago. And I still think the other house's potential is worth the hassle.
So who is moving into this pretty home that I have so lovingly put money, time and caring into for 13 years? This house that has my beloved cat resting in the backyard, where uncounted numbers of BBQs happened on the back porch and dozens of big family dinners and where my youngest was born... ? Where most of my neighbours are really my friends and the sounds of the gazzillion field and marsh birds wake me up with the dawn? From what I can tell, they are first time buyers. 22 and 24 years old with a very young child. They must have family in town because the evening of the inspection they had about 6 cars in the driveway! I feel good that this young couple will be getting such a good house for a good price. (My first place was a dump!) And at least 3 of the neighbours are thrilled that there is a young kid moving in.
Now comes the fun part.... several fun parts in fact.
I have lined up the painter (coming July 16th) and carpenter (for the flooring and trim) for the other place. The kitchen cabinets and the majority of the flooring is being ordered on Wednesday. (!) Surprisingly stressful proccess designing a kitchen! There are too many things to get done in the time we have between the possession of the other place and the move-out date for this one!!!!
That's something too!
I have 24 days to purge, pack and move this household... even if we have no floors or kitchen on the 25th!
AND I still need to be able to continue working throughout this whole reno/move thing!
It's going to be hectic (but I still prefer this over the stress of WAITING.... by a lot)
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