We have made our decision about the remodeling and we went with Contractor number 3. He was one that we almost did not even talk to as this was the one that Dad wanted canceled and then made the appointment again.
We went to their business and actually saw their show room and construction area. Dad was very impressed with everything. He did not hesitate but went ahead and signed up for the remodeling. I was surprised a little that he did not think anymore about it.
The start date is up in the air. We will either start on October 20 with a finish date of November 20 or the project won't even start until the new year. We have to have a walk through and they will decide whether the project is one that can be started now. That should happen this week.
We now have to wait and see what that decision will be as we need to buy some things for the project but we don't want to now if they are not going to get started until the new year. We also need to clear out cabinets but for the same reason we don't want to do that if things are not happening yet.
Crown Construction told us they will be doing both jobs at the same time which means it will be very noisy around here. The two jobs are the master bathroom and the kitchen. Demo will be the worse. I don't think there will be any jack hammering but I can't say for sure. We are having the whole floor replaced too. This is the laundry room, kitchen, hallway, entry, and both bathrooms. We may even put a design in the entry way to change things up. We buy all the floor tile and they will install. They did give us a name of a stone place to go to so we can pick out our granite for our countertops and hopefully we can get the rest of the tile there too.
It should be wonderful once it is finished but what a mess until then. The only other thing we would need to do is replace carpet in the bedrooms, ours in particular. It looks pretty worn. This will come later or until we (or maybe that will be me :-)) start thinking that everything looks so new, we have to replace the carpet because it looks so bad .... one thing at a time.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Remodeling Part 4
We received three unexpected surprises yesterday. We received a call from the third contractor lowering his bid, sort of, and the bid from the second contractor. We also received a call from the first contractor that we had cancelled saying there was a mistake in the address and please come to their office and see that they in fact do have a company.
The lowering of the bid can be seen in two ways. At first you think you are getting a good deal because they lowered the bid by about $5,000 but the second part is that you are needing to buy a number of the supplies for the job. We already needed to purchase the new bathtub (which Dad got from one of his sub's), sinks for the bathroom, faucets for the bath sinks, bathtub, shower, and kitchen. In order to get the lower cost, we have to now buy the tile for the floor. It is about 400 square feet and depending on what you pick out, it could cost you about the same as the money that was deducted. The quandary is that this company just seems to be giving us so much extra in work. We really feel they will give us a really nice finished product. The price tag right now though is around $42,000 (with us buying tile and the rest). Should we? We will still be here for at least another 5 years.
The third contractor's bid is out of the park! He was so high it was ridiculous. He had priced the projects as two separate bids and only took 5% off if we did them both together. Together it would run about $60,000. I don't think so....
The first contractor called us because they had received my email canceling them. I had told them in the email that we never found their office based on the address written on their contract. It was a store with mail boxes. Of course we were told this was a mistake. The story was that they had moved to a new office and had used this business as their address and mail facility until they got settled. They still continued to use the facility for their mail but failed to change their address on their business cards. We never received a business card! This was an address they wrote on a contract.
They always seemed to keep their address secret. Dad did get their address and we do have a meeting this Monday to see their office and meet the owner. We still are unsure about them. They were the lowest. They are also not doing all that the third contractor is doing. The third one has a different idea and layout for the kitchen than the first. The third one will be saying us some money on appliances in that we are not getting rid of our double oven but just moving it to a different location. The first design was getting rid of it and the range and having us buy a regular range. We did not want that after looking at them.
This whole process has felt like one of the TV shows we have watched where the owner received three different remodeling ideas and then they choose. Only we don't have the boards they provide with the ideas and all the fabric, etc. It is drawn out or talk about so you have to use your imagination to see it.
I will be glad when this process is over.
Oh, I almost forgot. We do have another person in this mix. He is an owner of a remodeling store that will be giving us a bid on the bathroom only. I am not sure about this one at all. This was a guy that came out and disagreed with me about putting in a pocket door because it would so hard to fix if it broke. He told me he was going to have to have confidence that everything would be OK and it would not happen. Gives you a lot of confidence to hire this guy, huh!
The lowering of the bid can be seen in two ways. At first you think you are getting a good deal because they lowered the bid by about $5,000 but the second part is that you are needing to buy a number of the supplies for the job. We already needed to purchase the new bathtub (which Dad got from one of his sub's), sinks for the bathroom, faucets for the bath sinks, bathtub, shower, and kitchen. In order to get the lower cost, we have to now buy the tile for the floor. It is about 400 square feet and depending on what you pick out, it could cost you about the same as the money that was deducted. The quandary is that this company just seems to be giving us so much extra in work. We really feel they will give us a really nice finished product. The price tag right now though is around $42,000 (with us buying tile and the rest). Should we? We will still be here for at least another 5 years.
The third contractor's bid is out of the park! He was so high it was ridiculous. He had priced the projects as two separate bids and only took 5% off if we did them both together. Together it would run about $60,000. I don't think so....
The first contractor called us because they had received my email canceling them. I had told them in the email that we never found their office based on the address written on their contract. It was a store with mail boxes. Of course we were told this was a mistake. The story was that they had moved to a new office and had used this business as their address and mail facility until they got settled. They still continued to use the facility for their mail but failed to change their address on their business cards. We never received a business card! This was an address they wrote on a contract.
They always seemed to keep their address secret. Dad did get their address and we do have a meeting this Monday to see their office and meet the owner. We still are unsure about them. They were the lowest. They are also not doing all that the third contractor is doing. The third one has a different idea and layout for the kitchen than the first. The third one will be saying us some money on appliances in that we are not getting rid of our double oven but just moving it to a different location. The first design was getting rid of it and the range and having us buy a regular range. We did not want that after looking at them.
This whole process has felt like one of the TV shows we have watched where the owner received three different remodeling ideas and then they choose. Only we don't have the boards they provide with the ideas and all the fabric, etc. It is drawn out or talk about so you have to use your imagination to see it.
I will be glad when this process is over.
Oh, I almost forgot. We do have another person in this mix. He is an owner of a remodeling store that will be giving us a bid on the bathroom only. I am not sure about this one at all. This was a guy that came out and disagreed with me about putting in a pocket door because it would so hard to fix if it broke. He told me he was going to have to have confidence that everything would be OK and it would not happen. Gives you a lot of confidence to hire this guy, huh!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Remodeling Part 3
We had the third contractor out last night and we were given another totally different idea on how to change the bathroom and the kitchen. Dad was more relaxed with these two gentlemen than the first two people. Their price did come in a little higher but they are also doing more work than the other people are. The work too seems to be of better quality.
The biggest problem we had with the lowest bidder was we could not find their office. They had an address but it was a UPS store with mail boxes inside that you can rent. I was told they had a suite but that was not true. If they are hiding their office what else do you think they might be hiding. Dad asked me to cancel them this morning and I did.
We mentioned that we had a lower bid number to the company last night and they really questioned that number. They said it sounded like they might have forgotten something in the price. This made us uneasy. Can you imagine getting things torn up and having to come up with more money in order to finish the job because they 'oops' forgot something. Dad had a bad feeling about them from the start. He has been in the business too long without going with his gut on his decisions.
So we were very impressed with the third company's presentation. They told us they have their own company to make the cabinets, do the tile, finish the granite for the countertops, and do the windows. They have a large warehouse and a showroom. We will be getting a tour on Saturday.
We have to wait to get our bid from the second contractor which should be tomorrow. I wish it was today so a decision can be made now. We are getting close. The two guys from the third company were funny. They disagreed with one another but it wasn't in a way that they were angry with each other; it was a difference in opinion. One of them looked like Ron Howard. Both of them really liked Chester and Chester liked them. That must be a sign don't you think? :-) Stay tuned for the decision. It will be coming soon....
The biggest problem we had with the lowest bidder was we could not find their office. They had an address but it was a UPS store with mail boxes inside that you can rent. I was told they had a suite but that was not true. If they are hiding their office what else do you think they might be hiding. Dad asked me to cancel them this morning and I did.
We mentioned that we had a lower bid number to the company last night and they really questioned that number. They said it sounded like they might have forgotten something in the price. This made us uneasy. Can you imagine getting things torn up and having to come up with more money in order to finish the job because they 'oops' forgot something. Dad had a bad feeling about them from the start. He has been in the business too long without going with his gut on his decisions.
So we were very impressed with the third company's presentation. They told us they have their own company to make the cabinets, do the tile, finish the granite for the countertops, and do the windows. They have a large warehouse and a showroom. We will be getting a tour on Saturday.
We have to wait to get our bid from the second contractor which should be tomorrow. I wish it was today so a decision can be made now. We are getting close. The two guys from the third company were funny. They disagreed with one another but it wasn't in a way that they were angry with each other; it was a difference in opinion. One of them looked like Ron Howard. Both of them really liked Chester and Chester liked them. That must be a sign don't you think? :-) Stay tuned for the decision. It will be coming soon....
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
A clogged shower drain
How can this be of interest to anyone? A clogged shower drain. This drain was in our new shower in the second bathroom. It is one that we don't use so had no reason to think it didn't drain. I started a maid service when I had my surgery and they had commented that the shower drained very slow. I just chalked it up to our old plumbing in this condo.
Today I ran the water in the shower to see how the water was going down the drain because I knew the maids were arriving tomorrow. The water did not drain. OK, I got out the Drano and put it down the drain. Nothing happened, water stayed. Next step, I got out the plunger and tried to plunge the drain. I brought up some rock and dirt but that was it.
Now this should have been my first clue that something wasn't right. Nothing happened. My third step was to call a plumber. The Roto-Rooter guy came out and it didn't take him long before he figured it out. When we had the bathroom shower tiled, the workman placed a cap over the drain so that grout would not go down it. He didn't take the cap off. All this time that cap had been in place with grout around it. The plumber had to work a little to get things loose and freed but he succeeded. The water went down real easy. He did say not to use Drano as it is good to eat through hair but it also eats away the pipe. Not a good thing to happen.
I kept the cap and a piece of the grout to show what was holding up the water. If we had been using it from the start this would not have been an issue as we would have discovered it so much sooner. It cost us $157 to find this problem. At least it wasn't a major problem. Another problem solved!
Today I ran the water in the shower to see how the water was going down the drain because I knew the maids were arriving tomorrow. The water did not drain. OK, I got out the Drano and put it down the drain. Nothing happened, water stayed. Next step, I got out the plunger and tried to plunge the drain. I brought up some rock and dirt but that was it.
Now this should have been my first clue that something wasn't right. Nothing happened. My third step was to call a plumber. The Roto-Rooter guy came out and it didn't take him long before he figured it out. When we had the bathroom shower tiled, the workman placed a cap over the drain so that grout would not go down it. He didn't take the cap off. All this time that cap had been in place with grout around it. The plumber had to work a little to get things loose and freed but he succeeded. The water went down real easy. He did say not to use Drano as it is good to eat through hair but it also eats away the pipe. Not a good thing to happen.
I kept the cap and a piece of the grout to show what was holding up the water. If we had been using it from the start this would not have been an issue as we would have discovered it so much sooner. It cost us $157 to find this problem. At least it wasn't a major problem. Another problem solved!
Remodeling Part 2
We had the second person out last night but he forgot the bid for the bathroom. He was there also to give us a bid for the kitchen so he said he would have them both to us by Thursday. Dad has been so stressed about this remodeling project and yet he was the one that started the process. He is upset because I am not able to do the running around to look at things like I did before with the other projects. Right now he has to be my driver which means he has to fit in the doctor appointments, visits to appliance stores, etc. and go to work and handle the meetings he has there. Now of course he does have those golf outings put on by the subcontractors that he needs to attend for business. It is PR....
So he complains about everything. He was OK with the low bid from the one contractor we had but then the more he thought about it, he was very uneasy about the lack of years in business. He had already checked them out and they were OK but they were not good enough. He didn't want this other contractor to come out either so he asked me to cancel him. I called and cancelled.
No more than 3-4 hours later, he changes his mind and wants him to come out to give us a bid. I am on the phone this morning trying to see if I can get him to come back tonight for his original appointment. If not, I will have to handle the appointment myself during the day because Dad won't be able to attend because of work. He has a meet and greet on Thursday night and his golf outing on Friday.
I am trying my best to do what I can to help. I am going to be the one that will be here during all the construction. He doesn't like the noise and does not want to be around it. I have missed going to my support group for the last month because I haven't been able to drive. It is going into the next month and I don't want to continue missing so I am going to have to call a taxi to go to the meeting. I don't have anyone around that can give me a ride. Dad has a golf outing on the day of my meeting so he is unavailable.
This remodeling project is going to be stressful. I am looking forward to having it done but at the rate of the stress it is taking on Dad already, it may not happen. Stay tuned!
So he complains about everything. He was OK with the low bid from the one contractor we had but then the more he thought about it, he was very uneasy about the lack of years in business. He had already checked them out and they were OK but they were not good enough. He didn't want this other contractor to come out either so he asked me to cancel him. I called and cancelled.
No more than 3-4 hours later, he changes his mind and wants him to come out to give us a bid. I am on the phone this morning trying to see if I can get him to come back tonight for his original appointment. If not, I will have to handle the appointment myself during the day because Dad won't be able to attend because of work. He has a meet and greet on Thursday night and his golf outing on Friday.
I am trying my best to do what I can to help. I am going to be the one that will be here during all the construction. He doesn't like the noise and does not want to be around it. I have missed going to my support group for the last month because I haven't been able to drive. It is going into the next month and I don't want to continue missing so I am going to have to call a taxi to go to the meeting. I don't have anyone around that can give me a ride. Dad has a golf outing on the day of my meeting so he is unavailable.
This remodeling project is going to be stressful. I am looking forward to having it done but at the rate of the stress it is taking on Dad already, it may not happen. Stay tuned!
Monday, September 29, 2008
We are remodeling again
We have a great bid for redoing the master bathroom and the kitchen. It is a lot less than when we asked for the bid for the kitchen alone a while back. Dad is already stressed about it and we haven't even bought anything or has anything been demoed. He just doesn't like the fact that we will be in dust and mess again. Dad was the one that said to contact people to get bids for doing these jobs.
At first it was just the master bathroom. We wanted to put in a bathtub as we don't have one in the house. We are also thinking resale value as this was one of those things that people had been wanting and did not see. I had been wanting to redo the kitchen for some time but the cost we had received was just too much - $50,000. I don't think so!
So we tried it again. We asked for a bid. We got one at $20,000 and this included moving appliances and opening up a wall so we can see the view. I guess the contractors are a little hungrier now as the economy has changed. The bathroom remodel was having a bathtub put in and the toilet moved and put into its own little room. Just to change things up a little bit. They would make a pocket door for that room too. Put new lights in that room and over the bathtub. It will require some work but at the cost of about $10,000. Not bad!
We are having someone else out today to give us a price. He has been high in the past so we shall see what he has come up with. The remodeling will just mean that I will have to stay home more while all of this is going on. I will just keep my records and pictures of this project like I did before. History in the making!
At first it was just the master bathroom. We wanted to put in a bathtub as we don't have one in the house. We are also thinking resale value as this was one of those things that people had been wanting and did not see. I had been wanting to redo the kitchen for some time but the cost we had received was just too much - $50,000. I don't think so!
So we tried it again. We asked for a bid. We got one at $20,000 and this included moving appliances and opening up a wall so we can see the view. I guess the contractors are a little hungrier now as the economy has changed. The bathroom remodel was having a bathtub put in and the toilet moved and put into its own little room. Just to change things up a little bit. They would make a pocket door for that room too. Put new lights in that room and over the bathtub. It will require some work but at the cost of about $10,000. Not bad!
We are having someone else out today to give us a price. He has been high in the past so we shall see what he has come up with. The remodeling will just mean that I will have to stay home more while all of this is going on. I will just keep my records and pictures of this project like I did before. History in the making!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Just a Band-aide
Well I have just a band-aide now. The area looks pretty good. It still looks like something happened but it is not one of those long scares you have seen people with after achilles tendon surgery. The doctor checked it and the tendon is moving much smoother now. I am also not having much discomfort except if I move around too much. Then it will get tired and start to ache. I just take a couple of Advil and it takes care of it.
I can take a shower without the plastic bag and worrying about getting things wet. I can't take a bath to soak, which is OK because we don't have a tub. I just have to make sure I dry the area off real well, and put the band-aide back on. I need to wear the boot for at least two more weeks. When I wear it, I need to make sure the area around the incision is padded so nothing rubs against it. Oh, and I still can't drive!!!
I was so hoping that I would be able to at this point but he said with the tendon we have to be careful. I go back to the doctors in two weeks and he will decide whether to put me in a lift for a shoe and then start physical therapy. The lift will be gradually decreased to a normal level. I am moving my foot around now to keep it from getting too stiff. What fun I will have ahead of me. I am just so tired of being at home by myself all day. There is just so much you can talk about with your cat..... besides he sleeps most of the day. See, I am by myself.
I can take a shower without the plastic bag and worrying about getting things wet. I can't take a bath to soak, which is OK because we don't have a tub. I just have to make sure I dry the area off real well, and put the band-aide back on. I need to wear the boot for at least two more weeks. When I wear it, I need to make sure the area around the incision is padded so nothing rubs against it. Oh, and I still can't drive!!!
I was so hoping that I would be able to at this point but he said with the tendon we have to be careful. I go back to the doctors in two weeks and he will decide whether to put me in a lift for a shoe and then start physical therapy. The lift will be gradually decreased to a normal level. I am moving my foot around now to keep it from getting too stiff. What fun I will have ahead of me. I am just so tired of being at home by myself all day. There is just so much you can talk about with your cat..... besides he sleeps most of the day. See, I am by myself.
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