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!