You only like the beginning of things....

You only like the beginning of things...

April 10th -- "You only like the beginning of things." is the line uttered by a woman to the man she has been dating when he returns from being out of town and explains to her that he has fallen in love and is now engaged to another woman.

In many ways this line pretty much exemplifies the winding down of my home renovation project for several reasons.  First, it is increasingly difficult to get the attention of my contractor to tie up these loose ends, even though we left some money in reserve that he will not receive until EVERYTHING is done.  He has moved on to other projects.  Second, this is feeling very much like a break up.  I am over him, but he still has things to do before the break up is final.  And third, the contractor really only likes the beginning of things because he certainly isn't too interested in the end of things.

Yesterday my contractor went to the major league baseball game with his son while I waited for the technician from the kitchen cabinet company.  The technician changed out some hardware, made sure all the drawers and cabinets were closing properly and he also installed "stops" so that the cabinets stopped at either 110 degrees or shorter so the door wouldn't band against something it wasn't supposed to bang against.  The kitchen tech was here for about 3 hours and did a great job.  

The guy who re-finished the claw foot tub came back to do a few touch ups.  

Today, the painters returned!  The weather has been spectacular, so they mostly worked on the exterior.  Besides the painters, a landscaper who I have been working with also stopped by to go over his bid.

The construction process has taken a huge hit on my yard, but I was greeted by a lovely surprise when I noticed that the grape hyacinth were spectacularly in bloom, right next to the gutter downspouts that the painters should soon get to.   As the lilacs begin to bud, I am growing more optimistic that my yard will come back, but it will be a long haul.

There was even evidence of a tulip in bloom.

And the day lilies will soon return.

The painters started by putting a first coat on the pergola that matches the base color of the house.  Tomorrow they will do some putty and filler work on the pergola beams and then apply another color coat and then a sealer coat.

The painters also painted the trim around the green house as the roofer completed his work on the flashing around the skylights.

The painters also painted the trim work on the newly redecked front porch.

They also finished painting the trim work on the deck off the master bedroom.

Before calling it a day, the head painter wanted to get a bit more done, so he stayed until 7:00pm -- putting in an 11-hour day -- so that he could put the first coat of paint on the stairs to the basement.



A second coat of paint will be put on the stairs tomorrow. 


















The painter has been very good about providing excellent advice and when he suggested painting the stairs in the graphite color that we painted the master suite bath in, I was drawn in by his compelling argument that it wouldn't show the dirt.  He has yet to lead me astray, so I decided to follow his advice.

 The painter also decided to put the first coat of paint on the claw foot tub.  

We also decided that tomorrow we will put two coats of gloss white paint on the actual "claw foot" of the tub while leaving the "ball" that the claw foot rests on black.

I also started looking for a replacement refrigerator and yet again am reading reviews, but at least this time the range of models that I am looking at is significantly smaller since I am looking for a refrigerator that is counter-depth and has very specific dimensions.



Finally, I had asked the contractor last week about the damage to the sidewalk in the front of my house that was done last November when the dry wall was delivered.  The contractor told me that he had "called in" the damage last November but never heard back.  So, I asked him for all the details so I could follow up.  It is typical that when the final house inspection occurs that the inspector will issue a warning and then a ticket to repair any sidewalk damage.



These photos show the actual damage that will require that the two cracked panels of the sidewalk will need to be removed and new concrete poured.

There was no answer after several attempts to the drywall supply company until an Internet search showed a phone number that was different than the one I had.  After calling that number I learned that the drywall supply company no longer existed as it was acquired by another company.  After three more phone calls and reading a bunch of articles that were published in local business newsletters, I located a phone number and actually spoke to someone who was sympathetic.  By the end of the day, and after sending these photos of the damage via e-mail, I received a return call by the manager of operations.  He told that I will be contacted this Saturday by someone who will come by the house to repair the sidewalk!

I have been moving out of my "temporary bedroom/office" so that the painters can paint, but I discovered last night that the phone jack in the master bedroom is not working.  Before I can move my  home computer network, router and modem out of my office,  I need to make sure that I can re-connect my home computer network via DSL through the phone jack in the master bedroom.  

The result is that the electricians will return tomorrow to fix the phone jack and to wire the green house.

Even though my contractor only likes the beginning of things, I am very much enjoying tying up the loose ends of this project, but I never want a job as a contractor!