RENOVATIONS
For sometime, now – it's been weeks -actually months that we have been “camping in” at our house.
We decided earlier this summer to make a few changes in the home where we have lived for ten years.
It all started off lightly. We were going to re-arrange the kitchen and dining room areas and put new vinyl flooring there and in the two bathrooms. The carpeting needed replacement in the living room,hall and two bedrooms,as well. The plan was to do what we could afford to get done at the time.
The mistakes we made were small,I suppose, but they came to be more than just bothersome. Events which followed may serve you well as a “How Not To...” text.
We decided to get some estimates. That,in itself, was a wise thing to do,but it went awry. After a few phone calls and visits it became apparent that all the carpenters and painters - as well as contractors in the area were busy building new houses and could not take on “renovation” jobs.
We did, however,get a few bids. One was sky high and totally out of reach,and one of the other was tempting but the idea was for the workers to moonlight,in a sense,and do the job in what they called “four week-ends”. That would mean a whole month of a torn up household! We were impressed with work he had done elsewhere, but we said “no” because of the “four weeks-ends” clause.
We were still confident we would find someone to do the job,and in looking ahead we found that much of the cost might be eliminated if we, and family members, could remove the old carpeting and padding, take up some of the linoleum floor covering dislodging glued-down wooden tile sections from the floor of the dining room kitchen areas. We kept telling ourselves how much we were saving by doing the prep work ourselves.
Some cuts were made. The idea of all new kitchen cabinets had crept into the plan from somewhere but that was eliminated in favor of simply painting the existing ones a fresh, clear white to brighten the area. So, the flooring was ripped up and hauled away; off came all cabinets doors, and the hardware put aside carefully for refinishing. Then, “to get ready for the painters” everything was removed from the cabinets, drawers, bins and from china presses in the dining room. Furniture, too! Out!
Everything packable was put in cardboard boxes as if we were moving to the comparative calm of somewhere in the Mid-East. The marked boxes were then consigned to one of three locations: the attic, our former two-car garage, or downstairs to the large rec room and utility area. The pool table became an overflowing mound of stuff and things and the old computer desk came to look like a yard-sale display table several layers thick.
Surprise! One painter showed up. He did most of the walls of the smaller bathroom and had to leave for a planned vacation trip. Later two painters showed up for two days. The second visit was largely to do a second coat and touch ups. They had previously contracted a church painting job and had to go to that job,which was agreeable with us. The irony of it all was that it was the Fellowship Hall of our own church which they were to paint.
It become evident, by that time,that we were not going to get the professional help we needed. Members of the family children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, great granddaughters, sons-in-laws - a former one and and one to be - some friends and, perhaps, a stranger or two did the painting, and cabinet restoration.
The brighter side! We had excellent pro help on the carpet and vinyl floor installation. It was marred by extended delays when they received two damaged shipments in a row from their supplier - rolls of vinyl broken in the center. They treated us very well, indeed!
The house is taking shape once more and we have often thought how nice it could have been if we had accepted that early bid of with only “four week ends” of camping in.
Camping out is fine! Yes.
Camping in? No!
A.L.M. October 3, 2002 [c717wds]
