Final Post

I apologize for the delay to put up the final posting with pictures. We moved into the house towards the end of February and have been unpacking, putting on the finishing touches and receiving all kinds of friends and families! The kids are doing great and love their new home. Its so nice to see them playing in the backyard or in their rooms, it really makes all the work worth it.

Overall the project took around 8 months to complete. It was a really nice feeling making the final payment to the Contractor and having all the headaches behind us. Of course right after I made the final payment it rained and there was a leak above the downstairs bathroom!!! Good thing that my Dad was in town a few weeks later and we were able to find the leak and patch up the damage it caused to the drywall.

Now like all homeowners I just have to mow the lawn and weed the garden. I'm hopefully done with any more big projects for a long time. Now I just need to refinance the house and try to clean up some of the debt I've collected from the remodel. Unfortunately the market here in DC has gone down since last July, so I may not be able to take out to much equity.

Thanks for taking interest in our blog, it's been a lot of fun sharing this experience.

Final two weeks?

Well we have officially passed the six month mark.  Nothing yet from the bank, but I'm sure they need some sort of extension soon, since the contractor was supposed to finish in six months.  

The good news is progress is being made and I think we may be able to move in the week of the 16th.  The bad news is we are still waiting to get power and gas connected to the house.  My hope is that tomorrow the gas will be connected and Friday the power will be connected. 

This week, the contractor started applying a couple coats of varnish to the staircase.  He should be finishing it in the next few days.  He also began painting the exterior of the house and has a few more coats to complete that job.

When I arrived at the house tonight I was pleasantly surprised to also find the granite countertops had already been installed.  The granite's color was even correct!  The only problem was that above the dishwasher a electrical outlet and light.

So here is whats left:

Buy appliances and install them(must have working alarm system first)

Finish exterior painting

Touch-up painting inside

Paint front and rear exterior doors

Connect HVAC system (power, gas, thermostat)

Staircase

Drywall small room under staircase

Gutters and Facia Board (rear of house)

Purchase/install 60" vanity mirror upstairs

Install 2 faucets in kitchen (sink and bar sink)

Install tub faucet (upstairs bathroom)

Install shelves in upstairs closet

Fix/Replace broken hindge on island cabinet

Relocate electrical outlet and light switch in kitchen

Install granite backplash over dishwasher

Install water heater

Some photos of the new staircase

Bathrooms done, now we need power and a kitchen!

Things have been moving along the past week.  Unfortunately last weekend someone broke in and stole several things including the contractors generator and tools.  Even with that setback, the contractor finished the bathrooms and Friday began working on the oak staircase.  During the weekend and various nights I spent time installing the lights and finishing up the alarm system.

 

 

The plan this week will be for the Contractor to finish the staircase and begin on installing the kitchen cabinets.  With the cabinets in place he can have the granite installed. Our BIG challenge this week will be to get the power company to come out and connect the power.  The problem is I had the Contractor move the meter to a corner of the house.  I was given some bad information from a power company representative who basically said we could move the panel since we destroyed the front wall.  Now after I called the power company they are telling me I need to pay a large amount of money to have their crew come out and install a new cable.  The other problem is I do not know how long it will take to get them to complete the work.  Without electricity I cannot complete the alarm and will not be able to purchase any appliances for security reasons.

Interior doors and more tiling.

  As we only have a few weeks left I figure it's probably time for another posting to show whats been going on. Each night I have been going to the house and verifying that some progress is being made each day. We can't afford any day without some type of progress if we want to finish by the end of the month.

 

During the first part of the week the contractor focused on finishing the bathroom tiling. Overall I am very pleased with their work. Both bathrooms turned out exactly like I had sketched them, so I can't complain.

 

Today the Contractor began installing the interior doors and trim. Nothing really special about the doors. Originally I wanted solid pine doors and the Contractor agreed that he would buy them. But after he realized that solid pine doors were twice as much as what he normally buys, he told me once again that I would have to pay more. I decided this fight wasn't worth it and let him install the standard 6 panel door. I also noticed tonight when I went to the house that they installed the fascia board in the front of the house. The fascia board is basically the only barrier between the outside and my tiny attic space. Thanks to my Dad's suggestions the Contractor installed several air vents along the board.

 

Paint, floors and tiles!

After a few reminders from a couple of friends I guess it's time to update. For the last month my family and I have been in Peru on vacation. During that time the Contractor was literally waiting for the paint to dry! We chose a off-white color for the walls and a classical white color for the ceiling. Overall I'm pleased with the paint job, a lot of touching-up will have to be done before we move-in but at this stage it looks good.

Once the paint was dry the Contractor began placing the oak flooring. The flooring comes pre-stained and went in pretty fast. When I got back from Peru on Tuesday the flooring was 80% complete, with the kitchen and entryway still left to be completed. Today when I was there they completed the rest.



Yesterday afternoon I received a call from the Contractor stating he wanted $750 additional to tile the bathrooms. Our contract was a little vague, but back in July before the project began, my Father and I confirmed verbally the tile design and he agreed that he would do the job. Now he wanted me to pay more because he said the tile was not standard and required additional work. So once again we had a long fight over the phone and I said he would do the work for free or he was fired. He said his guys would do the work, but I need to pay $250 at least, I said I would not pay anything extra. The conversation basically ended there, but when I arrived at the house this morning the tiling was already 70% complete. I guess he knew his guys had already started and was trying to get something out of me. At this point he knows he must complete the project since all his profit is tied in the completion of the bathrooms and kitchen. As usual he was just being dishonest in order to scrounge a few extra dollars.

Originally we thought the cabinets would be here and ready to install by now. The problem was I decided that I wanted to put some decorative trim on the top and base of the cabinets. I should have known that decorative trim means extra work and in-turn means I would need to pay more. At this point I don't want to pay this SOB anymore money and I will install the trim later on when my Father is back in town. On Monday I will call the cabinet store and cancel the decorative trim in order for the contractor to order the cabinets at no additional cost.

So the plan this week is for his guys to finish all the floors and tiling. Following those items they can install the doors and trim throughout the house. They should also be installing the new gutters and fascia boards.