Just while I have a few minutes as I wait for John to pick me up, I wanted to mention the latest bit of craziness that I forgot to report. Our drunken electricians didn't leave enough wire hanging out of the various outlets in the house in a few places, so they can't actually connect them. To fix this problem — which somehow passed inspection — they had to rip out parts of the wall today in three of our rooms to pull out more of the wire. That means they had to tear out the drywall and break through our foam insulation to try and find the wires they're looking for.
Yep, it's as bad as it sounds.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Refugees from 96A Crichton
John just went to the house around 7:00 p.m. tonight to see how the floors were coming along (they were supposed to be ready to walk on in socks at 9:00 p.m.) and found out that we actually can't sleep there tonight because the epoxy takes eight to 12 hours to dry. No one seems to have had any intention of telling us that. If John hadn't had the foresight to check on things, we would have been pretty upset to find out that we couldn't walk on the floor to get any clothes from our bedroom, and that we would have to find a place to sleep in a hurry. John hurriedly packed a few things for us, and my sister said she would take us in.
We are refugees from our new home.
We are refugees from our new home.
Post-move stress disorder (PMSD)
After a year and a half of planning, working, sweating and worrying, we expected to be celebrating one of the biggest accomplishments of our lives after we moved in. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out this way. We're still hanging on to the hope that one day soon we will get some joy out of our new home.
Our plumbers and electricians have proven themselves to be incompetent. Two weeks after we moved in, we still have an unconnected sink and another sink that leaks. The electricians, after admitting that the first crew who installed our wiring were drunk on the job (yep, for real), don't seem to feel any sort of urgency to finish their work. On top of it all, they leave a path of destruction wherever they go (a broken light here, broken lightbulbs there, etc.). They flick our breakers and boiler on and off at will, leaving us with systems that don't work when we want them to and no hot water this morning. The minute they finish their work, we will be complaining to the Better Business Bureau.
We've hinted at our flooring troubles, and I wish I could post our recent photos (I can't find my laptop at the moment, unfortunately). As we mentioned in our previous post, our flooring company left us with completely deficient floors before we moved in. They avoided our builder's calls for almost two weeks before finally responding after he escalated the issue to the company's president. They are scheduled to refinish the second floor today; we'll see what actually happens. Once the second floor is complete, we will have to move everything off of the first floor to the second floor so that that floor can also be redone. We've decided to just skip the third floor; it's not as bad up there, and we'll just do whatever we can to clean them up ourselves. Again, we will be contacting the BBB to lodge a complaint.
Our lovely stairs have, unfortunately, failed inspection. It's a very long story, but the stairs from the second to the third floor must be removed (!), corrected, and re-installed. We don't know yet whether we will just move some clothes downstairs and sleep among the boxes, or whether we'll stay elsewhere for the week. We have a bunny to consider, too.
In the midst of this, we've been sanding, staining and varnishing what feels like a million feet of baseboards and window and door frames. We're pleased with the results, but wonder whether our backs will ever forgive us.
On a happier note, we have continued to unpack as much as possible in our kitchen, which we truly love. We have many photos to share as soon as my laptop turns up. Stay tuned!
Our plumbers and electricians have proven themselves to be incompetent. Two weeks after we moved in, we still have an unconnected sink and another sink that leaks. The electricians, after admitting that the first crew who installed our wiring were drunk on the job (yep, for real), don't seem to feel any sort of urgency to finish their work. On top of it all, they leave a path of destruction wherever they go (a broken light here, broken lightbulbs there, etc.). They flick our breakers and boiler on and off at will, leaving us with systems that don't work when we want them to and no hot water this morning. The minute they finish their work, we will be complaining to the Better Business Bureau.
We've hinted at our flooring troubles, and I wish I could post our recent photos (I can't find my laptop at the moment, unfortunately). As we mentioned in our previous post, our flooring company left us with completely deficient floors before we moved in. They avoided our builder's calls for almost two weeks before finally responding after he escalated the issue to the company's president. They are scheduled to refinish the second floor today; we'll see what actually happens. Once the second floor is complete, we will have to move everything off of the first floor to the second floor so that that floor can also be redone. We've decided to just skip the third floor; it's not as bad up there, and we'll just do whatever we can to clean them up ourselves. Again, we will be contacting the BBB to lodge a complaint.
Our lovely stairs have, unfortunately, failed inspection. It's a very long story, but the stairs from the second to the third floor must be removed (!), corrected, and re-installed. We don't know yet whether we will just move some clothes downstairs and sleep among the boxes, or whether we'll stay elsewhere for the week. We have a bunny to consider, too.
In the midst of this, we've been sanding, staining and varnishing what feels like a million feet of baseboards and window and door frames. We're pleased with the results, but wonder whether our backs will ever forgive us.
On a happier note, we have continued to unpack as much as possible in our kitchen, which we truly love. We have many photos to share as soon as my laptop turns up. Stay tuned!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
We're in
Apologies for posting so late, but things have been incredibly hectic for us lately. We moved on Saturday, October 4, and it was definitely the most difficult move either of us has ever experienced. To all those who participated, we are very grateful for your help. I shudder to think what we would have done without you.
We moved into what is still very much a construction zone, and are trying to settle into it a little bit more every day. The greatest challenge remains the floors, which are truly a disaster. We will have to figure out a way to fix them, which will not be an easy task now that our furniture and 8,000 boxes are in the house. Various workers are trying to finalize the electrical and plumbing, put in the phone line, and install the living room ceiling, baseboards and trim around all of the windows and doors. The list is really a lot longer, but we're taking it one day at a time.
In happier news, we have started to unpack a few things for our kitchen. As of this morning, our fridge is our only functional appliance, but never underestimate the power of a mug in the cupboard to put a smile on our faces.
Cheerier updates to follow, we hope. Thanks to everyone for your words of encouragement; they mean a lot to us.
We moved into what is still very much a construction zone, and are trying to settle into it a little bit more every day. The greatest challenge remains the floors, which are truly a disaster. We will have to figure out a way to fix them, which will not be an easy task now that our furniture and 8,000 boxes are in the house. Various workers are trying to finalize the electrical and plumbing, put in the phone line, and install the living room ceiling, baseboards and trim around all of the windows and doors. The list is really a lot longer, but we're taking it one day at a time.
In happier news, we have started to unpack a few things for our kitchen. As of this morning, our fridge is our only functional appliance, but never underestimate the power of a mug in the cupboard to put a smile on our faces.
Cheerier updates to follow, we hope. Thanks to everyone for your words of encouragement; they mean a lot to us.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Where have we been?
Our deepest apologies to those of you who have been following our blog and wondering where we've been. We've been so tied up with all of our activities in the past few weeks that we've not been able to get here to provide an update. That, and one of our computers has been on the fritz for a week or so, and the other one was occupied with work.
In getting back to our chronicle, I realize how much has happened at our site--let's call it our home--since the last entry, even though for us it seems like we've been slogging through molasses. So much has happened, in fact, that tonight we started packing for our move! It's only being delayed by a week from the last anticipated date. We are planning to move on Saturday, October 4, 2008 (yes, this year), and have been granted a reprieve by our landlady to stay until that weekend, although not a day more.
If I recall, for our last update we were talking about tiling and drywalling. We're still doing those things, but both are almost done. The drywalling has progressed far enough that painting will begin this weekend. More on that later. The tiling, after 10 sessions of an average of four hours a piece, is also close to being finished. We have probably eight or so more hours to finish it off. More on that later, too.
Doors have gone in, locks have gone in, stairs have been constructed, the roof-top deck has been constructed, the siding has been finished, the basement has been wired and drywalled, and, just in the past few days, the floors have been finished--almost. All of these things are crucial, of course, and some of them have caused us great anxiety. The floor, in particular, has given us grief, and if you want our honest opinion on DaroTopp, please ask and we will reply.
About the drywall: our contractor has taken over some of it, but has also left some to the subcontractor that we asked to have fired. Apparently, there are enough bits and pieces left to finish that it will take a few days of work, by someone. It has progressed far enough, howeverm that the primer coat can be applied to most of the house. We're counting on this because one of our tasks for the coming weekend is to paint the bathrooms. Without going into the details, anywhere there is a colour other than the standard one we will be applying it. Our main priority will be the bathrooms. We'll be painting the study, living room and dining room after we move in.
About the tiling: it's been a lot of fun, but we're really looking forward to finishing it, which we're also planning to do this coming weekend. We're aware of all of the flaws that we've left behind, but when you look at it overall, we think it looks pretty good. Some will say that this kind of task should be left to the experts, who can do it quickly and are getting paid. We like the satisfaction of doing something for ourselves, when we can.
We have also been buying things like crazy--counter top, vanities, wardrobes, washer and dryer, lights, mirrors, door handles--all those things we spent hours window-and-internet shopping for months ago, and that finally we had to spend money on.
It's been a hectic few weeks, dear readers, and that's where we've been. In eight days we will be where we've been working to be for over a year. It seems like a short time for such a big move, unless you're us.
In getting back to our chronicle, I realize how much has happened at our site--let's call it our home--since the last entry, even though for us it seems like we've been slogging through molasses. So much has happened, in fact, that tonight we started packing for our move! It's only being delayed by a week from the last anticipated date. We are planning to move on Saturday, October 4, 2008 (yes, this year), and have been granted a reprieve by our landlady to stay until that weekend, although not a day more.
If I recall, for our last update we were talking about tiling and drywalling. We're still doing those things, but both are almost done. The drywalling has progressed far enough that painting will begin this weekend. More on that later. The tiling, after 10 sessions of an average of four hours a piece, is also close to being finished. We have probably eight or so more hours to finish it off. More on that later, too.
Doors have gone in, locks have gone in, stairs have been constructed, the roof-top deck has been constructed, the siding has been finished, the basement has been wired and drywalled, and, just in the past few days, the floors have been finished--almost. All of these things are crucial, of course, and some of them have caused us great anxiety. The floor, in particular, has given us grief, and if you want our honest opinion on DaroTopp, please ask and we will reply.
About the drywall: our contractor has taken over some of it, but has also left some to the subcontractor that we asked to have fired. Apparently, there are enough bits and pieces left to finish that it will take a few days of work, by someone. It has progressed far enough, howeverm that the primer coat can be applied to most of the house. We're counting on this because one of our tasks for the coming weekend is to paint the bathrooms. Without going into the details, anywhere there is a colour other than the standard one we will be applying it. Our main priority will be the bathrooms. We'll be painting the study, living room and dining room after we move in.
About the tiling: it's been a lot of fun, but we're really looking forward to finishing it, which we're also planning to do this coming weekend. We're aware of all of the flaws that we've left behind, but when you look at it overall, we think it looks pretty good. Some will say that this kind of task should be left to the experts, who can do it quickly and are getting paid. We like the satisfaction of doing something for ourselves, when we can.
We have also been buying things like crazy--counter top, vanities, wardrobes, washer and dryer, lights, mirrors, door handles--all those things we spent hours window-and-internet shopping for months ago, and that finally we had to spend money on.
It's been a hectic few weeks, dear readers, and that's where we've been. In eight days we will be where we've been working to be for over a year. It seems like a short time for such a big move, unless you're us.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Updated facade
Here is the front of the house with the garage door installed. We're really looking forward to the porch being completed and seeing the final facade.It doesn't look like it will be entirely finished this year, though. We are considering a couple of different options for our driveway, which won't likely be implemented before the snow flies. It also looks like landscaping won't be happening until next spring, either. We'll see; there may be something we can do before the frost hits. To be continued...
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Garage door installed!
Our garage door was installed today. The colour isn't a perfect match to the front door or windows, but it's the closest that we could get, and it looks alright. It was very exciting to see it finally in place. (I tried to take another shot of the whole house with the garage door installed, but the batteries in my camera died. Ah, well. I'm sure you can imagine it.)
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