It was not my intention to go another month without writing something here, and I guess it has not been an entire month, but I am only a few days shy of it.
I do have a few topics in mind, so maybe I'll hopefully get those addressed in short order and be here more frequently.
I've always found summer to be an odd season. People will ask me, "How is your summer going?" I don't remember anyone asking me the same about winter, fall or spring. I guess it's because of the school calendar and since most all of us went to school at some point in time, many of us still think of summer as a time of having a break in the routine, or for travel.
That's beside the point, other than to tell you that just as Wife and I entered the summer season, we found ourselves still in the midst of a house project that we had expected to be done long before.
Late last year we decided that this year we would do a renovation of our master bathroom. Our house was built in the 80s and while our bathroom was a nice size, it had a wall separating one of the sink/vanity areas and the true bathroom -- the area with tub/shower, toilet and another sink. There was also a walk-in closet on the other side of the sink/vanity.
Our vision was to knock out both walls and open it all up. We would reconfigure a bit and have a walk-in shower only rather than a tub with a shower.
We were mostly able to do what we envisioned, but ended up keeping part of the closet, which was a good thing. It all ended up very nice and we are pleased but oh my, it sure took a long time. Demolition started in February and the finishing touches did not take place until about two weeks ago.
Since I am not handy like my blogger friend Ed who regularly impresses with pictures of his home improvement projects, this was a hired-out job. The folks who did the work were great, but there were a lot of moving parts (and different crews for demolition, tiling, plumbing, etc.) that caused it to take so long. In addition, two fixtures arrived broken and had to be returned and replaced, and the first toilet did not fit. All of that set us back.
I got kind of tired of it along about month four, and when Wife would ask me a question about something like a paint color, I would tell her it did not matter to me, that I had lost interest! That's not entirely true -- I was just frustrated. And I should have been more cooperative when she asked my opinion.
But today we are about there. I say "about" because the bathroom is fully functional, but we're still putting things back in place. I put up shelves in the closet over the weekend and Wife is in the midst of filling them with sheets, linens and miscellaneous items.
Over the 17 years we have lived in this house, we have had a number of such projects. The owners from whom we bought this house would scarcely recognize it today. It definitely has our signature.
When budgeting time and money for such a project, my policy has been to triple the original budget in my mind so I won't go crazy when we only double it (that's an exaggeration but you know what I mean), and to have no expectations about a completion date.
That's easy for me to say, but when the budget is exceeded and deadlines pass, I still become impatient. To be fair, we stayed mostly on budget this time, but I did become a bit antsy when it ended up taking so long.
But now it's done. I just took a lovely shower in there. It was worth the wait.
6 comments:
The finished projects are always SO fun but getting there can be VERY frustrating. I'm glad you are just about finished and can enjoy it. I love when they are newly complete so still kind of surprise every time you see it. And I'm with you, in some respects it's harder when you don't have the control over the work as far as doing it yourself. On the other hand, if I were doing the work it'd probably never get finished. :)
Whenever I go about painting or such I've forgotten the look I'm trying to cover by the time I've finished.
Delighted to read you're happy with it.
You have my sympathies. Even when I do projects like this, the first 90% of the remodel goes fairly quickly. The last 10% drags on and on and takes forever. I'll have you know that despite having my bathroom remodel "done" this spring, I only hung the artwork a few weeks ago and there is still one spot that I have yet to touch up the paint. I'll get to it... someday.
We built our house in the late 80s, added on twice, changed some flooring and wall treatments a few times, and upgraded the bathrooms a bit a few years ago. I believe we must live in a house awhile to truly know what we want from it, and that can certainly change as our family situations change. I can think of a few things I'd still like to have done, but honestly.... I'm not sure it's worth the trouble at this point.
Glad to know your project is completed and was worth the wait!
Congratulations! Such projects really do try one’s temper.
Home renovation is always much more fun in hindsight. Tim and I have a strict rule. Okay, it's my rule, but I hold to it. Since he is the home renovation expert and I the step and fetchit sidekick, my rule is that he does not begin one home improvement project in our home unless he is prepared to set everything aside and get it done. Completely. Nothing will stand in the way of his project and completion.
Which is why, two weeks ago, he bought a woodburning stove for the library fire place. He began saying, "I'll just punch a hole in the wall straight through to the chimney and...."
And my reply was, "No. NO you will not."
20 years of varying home renovations = enough.
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