WEEK 12 - OH SHEETROCK!!! IT'S SNOWING AGAIN!

Monday, January 24, 2011

Wayne and I spent yesterday afternoon emptying the first floor.  We made room on the back porch for the furniture.  The old table is the only piece that did not make it out to the porch.  It was much easier getting the furniture through the new French doors.  The tile is now on the porch and the plumbing fixtures are all stacked neatly in one area of the garage.  I am trying to keep everything together and sealed in its original packaging.  Of course I have an inventory of everything that has been received into the house.

We were able to clear this room!

Isaak is surprised when he enters the house this morning and finds the living room empty!  He now has room to maneuver when it comes time to sheetrock the living room ceiling.

Today Isaak and his helper finish up the walls and ceiling in the kitchen/dining area.  There are a few wavy spots in the ceiling and walls, but that is expected in older homes.  These areas were easily concealed when the walls were plastered.    Isaak has reassured us that these uneven areas will become minimal when he is finished taping and spackling. 

You can drive the contractor, designer and yourself crazy if you scrutinize every detail, but in my book as the client and designer that is ok.  We all want it done right the first time!  Many times we have to reassure the client that there are more steps to come and when it is all done it will be beautiful.  As said in the beginning, good communication is key!  If something bothers you as the client, speak up right away, otherwise it will fester and eat at you.  By the time it reaches that point it may be too late to correct.  Fortunately we have Isaak!

The entire house is now very comfortable with the insulation and sheetrock installed.  The heat loss has been minimized and the furnace can go back to working a normal schedule.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

6:30AM and no truck outside our window.  My first thought is concern for his dad.  The phone rings at 7:00AM.  It is Isaak…he is calling out sick!  The first time in the 12+ years I have known him.  He says it is actually the first sick day in 20 years.  When you work for yourself you do not have time to be sick!  Rest up and feel better Isaak!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

There are predictions of more snow to come today.  We are expecting 6”-9” to start sometime after 4pm.  Today the guys work on the living room and complete the ceiling!

Wayne notices that one of the a/c vents has been covered up.  We then go through the rest of the space to make sure nothing else has been covered.  Everything looks good and is accounted for.  We make a note in our communication log to remind Isaak about the a/c vent.

The snow starts earlier than expected!  It looks like we may be working from home tomorrow.  I’m not sure we will see Isaak tomorrow.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Oh it snowed throughout the night!  Our 6”-9” turned into 19” of snow on top of everything else we have had so far.  I believe the news said we have now had a total of 56” of snow for this month alone!  That’s close to what we get on a regular season; and we still have 2/3 of winter ahead of us!

I did shovel last night before bed; and I was so glad I did!  I was out at 6:15 clearing a path for Isaak, as well as a parking spot for the truck.  Isaak showed up around 7:30am and Wayne gave him a hard time about being late!  All joking of course!  Isaak was stuck in the snow 2 blocks away.  It took him about 20-30 minutes to maneuver the truck out of the snow and get to our house.  Meanwhile he had called his helper and told him to stay home; and I spent another 2 hours shoveling and clearing cars.





It took a while, but I carved out a spot for the truck!

I asked Isaak about the covered a/c vent and he chuckled.  He had already marked it on the wall, and Wayne and I did not notice.  Nothing gets by Isaak.

Isaak is still not feeling that great and looks tired.  Last night they had to take his dad back to the hospital.  Because of the weather the ambulance was not able to get his dad to the NYC hospital, and opted for a local hospital.  We both tell Isaak to head out early today. 

We are excited to get an e-mail from John.  He has sent us pictures of the cabinets with the doors and drawer fronts on the boxes.  Our snow delay in sheetrock and flooring is creating a storage issue for John’s shop.  He was expecting to deliver the cabinets this coming Monday, but since the floors and sheetrock are not fully completed we have pushed John back another week.

Wow...can you believe it!  That's our kitchen!

Isaak stays busy making most of the wavy areas of sheetrock disappear.  The dining area and kitchen are filled with lots of sunshine.  The addition of the snow and sheetrock make the rooms extremely bright and amazing.  Wayne and I stand there and smile with excitement seeing it all come together so nicely!

Finally around noon Isaak decides to head out to the hospital.  Wow this man is amazing being able to juggle all of this at the same time.  Fortunately his entire family all works well together to make sure his dad has around the clock care.  We continue to keep Nachum in our thoughts and prayers.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Roads are clear and a typical day is expected.  Isaak and his helper are here on time.  Isaak’s dad is now suffering with pneumonia and had a very hard night.

The last piece of sheetrock is planned to go up today.  So we wrap up yesterday’s paper and hide it in the walls for a future homeowner to discover when they decide to remodel.  I try to encourage my clients’ children to create their own time capsule to bury in the walls before the sheetrock is complete.  It’s always fun to get them involved.

Wayne is not feeling well and decides to work from home today.  So I leave all the dogs home with him and head to the design showroom.  When I get home I find that the last piece of sheetrock has been attached!  I see the beginnings of tape and spackle on some areas of the room.  We are another step closer!  Time to toast to another successful week….Whoo hoo!!

Oh I forgot to mention the attic windows arrived today.  However I do not see mullions!  We may have to order them again!

Our hope for next week is to have all the tape, spackling and sanding to be completed by Wednesday so our flooring guy Dave will be able to install the new wood floor on Thursday.  He will also be refinishing the dining area, living room and both staircases.  Then on Friday we will experiment with stain color.  Even though we are planning a water-based clear coat, which dries within 2-3 hours, I think it is best if Wayne and I pack up and take the three dogs away for the weekend.  Then that Monday we’ll be ready for cabinets!

Fred doing the Happy Dance!

Despite the snow…

PROGRESS PREVAILS ONCE AGAIN!

WEEK 11 - TEXT IN...TEXT OFF!

WEEK 11

Monday, January 17, 2011

Nothing to report today.  Isaak is coming back tomorrow!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Weather has been quite the challenge lately.  Today we awoke to rain and ice.  I woke up early to clear the sidewalk and driveway.  As soon as I cleared the area it all became a big sheet of ice as the rain continued.

Isaak was here on schedule, but his helper “texted” that he was not going to chance an accident and stay home.  Yes it was icy out there, but I planned on going to work.  I just consider it a delayed opening.  I gave the roads a chance to defrost and then headed to the office.  I wish his helper would have considered that option.  And what’s this with the “texting”…doesn’t anybody dial the phone anymore?  I must be getting older, I’m sounding like my parents.

Today the side door gets installed.  Isaak does not have luck with the weather.  It was snowing the last time he installed the windows and today it is freezing rain as he plans to install the side door.  He is definitely more reliable than the postal service.  Rain, sleet, snow and hail does not stop Isaak!  Unless the hail is really big!

After the door was completed, Isaak began installing the insulation in areas that would not interfere with today’s pending framing inspection.

The building inspector showed up as planned.  The little bit of ice today did not stall him from doing his job.  And of course we passed our framing inspection without any issues!  Go Isaak!!  You Rock!  Add another sticker to our window!

After the inspection Isaak continued to install insulation for tomorrow’s insulation inspection.  With every step we can feel the difference in the temperature of the room.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Everyone is here today!  Isaak’s helper is filling up the kitchen with bales of insulation as Isaak and I have a little chat.  Last night as Wayne & I inspected the work, we noticed that there was a temperature change in one specific area of the floor.  Checking from the basement area it appears that one of the floor bays in the crawl space did not get insulated or it fell out of the bay.  Looks like the sub-floor will be coming up once again.

Having the expected hands today, the remainder of the insulation goes up fairly quickly and just in time as the building inspector returns to approve the insulation.  No extra sticker today on our window, just an added signature to the building sticker.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

This morning Isaak and I talk about next week’s schedule and the expectation of flooring.  The living room and dining room are wood floors already, and we will be adding wood to the kitchen floor and tiling the powder room.  So the idea is that the wood floor in the kitchen will be installed after the sheetrock, and then all three rooms will be sanded, stained and coated with one layer of polyurethane.  Many people ask about saving money by not installing flooring under the cabinets, but I prefer to have the floor installed under the cabinets.  This will ensure a level surface for cabinets and appliances, and prevent any chances of an appliance getting locked into placed by having flooring installed in front of them.

The issue with flooring right now is what to do with the furniture that is still in the living room.  It will have to be moved around as the sheetrock is completed, but we cannot put it outside in the snow while we wait for the floors to dry.  I suggested to Isaak that he completes the sheetrock in the powder room first.  This will give us another area to store plumbing supplies and possibly some furniture.

Isaak and his helper head out to buy over 45 sheets of sheetrock today!  Wow sounds like a lot!  The guys at the store are surprised that he can fit all the materials in his truck.

Just a little bit of sheetrock!

Today they guys unloaded sheetrock and completed the inside walls of the powder room!  Many times the installation of sheet rock makes the room appear smaller, but for us it did not.  In fact the power room appeared larger since we have been so accustomed to a small room.  How exciting to come home and see walls and rooms being completed!

Friday, January 21, 2011

Another morning we awake to snow!  Isaak and I shovel the sidewalk and driveways in order to get the cars out today.  Thank Isaak for your help shoveling!  Yes…I mentioned only Isaak!  His helper “texted-out sick” today.  Hmmm???  And just as Murphy’s law predicts…the plow comes down the street and fills up the driveway once again!

Isaak continues to sheetrock the ceilings by himself; not an easy feat!  He’s got this wonderful contraption that holds a sheet of sheetrock and then jacks it up to the ceiling level so it can be attached.  I imagine that cutting the right sizes and holes for recessed lighting can be quite time consuming, especially when he is doing this all by himself.

Today the back hall and outside of the powder room are completed and the room takes on more definition.  A couple more days and everything will be sealed up!



Introducing Cooper...He's visiting for a while!



Wayne & I spent the late part of the afternoon shopping for bar stools and new dining room set.  We found some great options, but I am getting concerned about going too retro-contemporary.



These were the top three choices.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Today, Wayne and I head into the New York City to search for living room lighting and check out more cabinet hardware.  It appears that some of our ideas are getting too contemporary.  I’ve been selecting more traditional styling with contemporary undertones to keep more of a transitional style with a period twist.  Wayne has been heading more retro contemporary, which I like a lot and is very fun, but may not mesh with some of the other items we have already selected for the kitchen. 

We may have to wait until the cabinets, lighting, countertops and faucets get installed before a final cabinet hardware is agreed upon.  My styling for the kitchen has been influence greatly on late 1930’s – 1940’s; and our living room is more late 40’s to 1950’s with sleek tailored lines for the furniture.  The challenge with the dining room is to bring these two rooms together and create a great transitional space.

Still we feel great about our progress as we approach Week 12.  We are able to cook and eat great meals and maintain our normal standard of living in the house.  The biggest challenge has been doing dishes in the slop sink.  Normally at this time for a standard kitchen remodel we would be done and out of the client’s house, but since we had all the electrical redone and the also the addition of central air conditioning it is taking a few additional weeks.

Next week:

• Completion of sheetrock
• Installation of wood floors
• Possibility of Powder room tiling to begin.

PROGRESS = Still seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Happy 7^th Birthday

Plumberry Designs, Inc!

Thank You!

WEEK 10 - OVER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS...

Monday, January 10, 2011

This was an early morning for me.  I was out before Isaak got here.  I was helping to get my niece and nephews off to school in the morning.  So Wayne was the contact man this morning.  He said the house was vibrating this morning as they took the “saws all” to the back door and cut open an area for the new French door.  When I got home today it was finished and installed!  Hooray!  This will make getting to the porch much easier and the doors will not crash into the furniture.

Old Door

New Door!  One very HEAVY door as Isaak will tell you!

Even Fred and Roxie are excited to use the new door!
The back porch has been sealed in plastic and is currently
being used as a storage center for attic items. 

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Another morning that I was gone before Isaak got to the house.  Today we are expecting the rough plumbing inspection.

Of course we passed with flying colors!  Isaak called to let me know the news.

Once the plumbing inspection passed, Isaak was free to insulate everything in the crawl space area.  His helper spent a good deal of his day on his back in the dirt of the crawl space insulating between the floor joists.  Not a fun job, but greatly appreciated!

He spent the rest of the day running ductwork for the powder room exhaust fan and our hood in addition to completing all the fireblocking throughout the first floor.  This was orange foam was sprayed into any open drilling or hole.  Closing up these open drillings and holes with the foam prevents fire from having an easy access to the next level of the house, whether it is basement or upper level.  Everything was plugged up and blocked!

Not much more that Isaak can do until he gets a framing inspection now.  Unfortunately he cannot schedule the framing inspection until the rough electrical and rough plumbing passed.  Therefore we will lose the remainder of the week.  But Isaak will be busy as he heads off to complete a backsplash for another one of my clients.

We hope to see Isaak next Tuesday when the building inspector is scheduled.



Orange foam...fireblocking



Friday, January 14, 2011

I receive an e-mail today telling me the “re-ordered” side door has arrived!  Yeah!  Isaak can get this in on Tuesday before the inspector comes by.  Now that all the windows and doors for this area will be completed he can start on sheet rock.

Our new side door has arrived!

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Today was another exciting day!  Over the river and through the woods to the cabinet shop we go!  Wayne and I took a ride to deliver some of the accessories that will be installed in to our cabinetry, i.e. waste cans and special lazy susans.  We got to visit with our cabinets! 

Most of the boxes were finished and the doors were drying awaiting another coat of paint.  John and his team, Joe, have done a wonderful job!  The custom detailing is amazing and exactly what we were hoping for.  It’s sinking in!  It is a reality coming true.  The kitchen is no longer just a dream.  We are looking at our kitchen cabinets and doing a happy dance! 

Our kitchen cabinets boxes!

Doors drying in the spray booth.

Wainscot paneling for peninsula.

Our custom detail on a valance.  Very cool detail!

Drawers and components on a drying rack.

We hope to see them again on January 31^st.  But this time it will be in our house.

Only one week off of schedule, but this was expected with the pending inspections.

As we head home, Wayne and I review what is next:

• Framing inspection
• Insulate the walls and ceiling
• Insulation inspection
• Sheetrock
• Wood floors with one coat of polyurethane
• Cabinet delivery and installation

REALITY = PROGRESS  onto WEEK 11