Wednesday, September 12, 2007

The Bathroom Saga

Entry 1: 9/12/07 8:22 am
This past week, Doug and I decided we were going to work together on a home improvement project and picked the downstairs bath. We figured a quick change of the vanity/sink, the light and accessories, plus a coat of paint would be inexpensive (under 500) and a weekend job - even with the kids around.

Thursday we hit Lowe's and picked up everything we needed. Friday night Doug started demo and found bad plumbing (I would explain it but then I would have to look up some big words and details on the class action suit...). We still thought we could do this.

Yeah, not so much. So Lori-Anne was having some work done on her house by one of the Dad's of one of her old daycare kids - and one of Aubrey's favorite friends. He came by on Tuesday and he and his team started work today.

Did I mention Doug leaves for Maine today?

What began as a simple, can you help us with the plumbing became redoing the entire bathroom - moving where the sink was and tiling and full plumbing redo of the entire bathroom (shower, toilet, sink), plus the outside drain that is connected in there, PLUS putting in drainage in the driveway near the garage, plus the kitchen ceiling and a few other small things that needed fixing.

Did I mention Doug leaves for Maine today?

Last night we hit Lowe's again - we had to return the vanity we got because it was too wide for where the new sink is going. We couldn't find anything we liked that was 24 inches so we ended up with a pedestal sink. I think it will look great in the end. But the stress of quickly finding all the accessories and everything we needed in the 2 hours we had... YIKES.

Did I mention Doug leaves today for Maine?

This morning at 7am 3 guys, 3 trucks and A LOT of equipment showed up. They have pulled out all the drywall in the bathroom, dug most of the drainage area in the driveway - and Doug is talking to Patrick now about adding scope to the drainage project due to concrete and sunken hole syndrome (I made that one up... but no other way to describe it).

my under 500 dollar project has become a several THOUSAND dollar project and is for a bathroom we DO NOT EVEN use - BUT it is the right decision and needed to be done for the house. And maybe we will use it :) So stay tuned to this station for continuing updates and pictures :)

Entry 2: Day 1 8:46 am So the 6 inch drainage area in front of the garage is now a 2-3 foot ashpalt demo across the entire front of the house due to concrete under the asphalt that is cracked and water damaged. New concrete to be poured...

Entry 3: Day 1 9:30am It is a GOOD thing we did the drainage/concrete thing in the driveway. There is a BIG hole under the foundation due to water damage - when they re-concrete they can fill it in!

Entry 4: Day 1 2:10pm Patrick (contractor) just said, "you and your pyscho camera"... I just scared him because he didn't realize I was there and he thought the flash was an electrical "issue"... OOPS. Bathroom has been unearthed and the only surprise is that we do need a new fixture so I will head to Lowe's later today, otherwise we seem to be within original scope (HA: if by original scope we are not talking about the under 500)

Entry 5: Day 1 9:51 pm
Lori-Anne came over for dinner and after Molly went to bed we painted my upstairs bathroom :) Well the entire bathroom except for the wall behind the toilet that needs one more coat of "mud" and sanding... I love the color :)

8 comments:

Jessica said...

And this is why I never EVER let my husband take on home improvement projects more complicated than hanging pictures/shelves/curtains. Good luck :-)

Jessica said...

Pocket DVD Studio is your friend (when you want to watch 90210 on the Treo). http://www.pqdvd.com/watch_dvd_on_pocket_pc.html

And I have Seasons 1 & 2 on DVD and would be happy to loan them to you!

Unknown said...

Poor Craigs - lol. I can only laugh b/c it isn't me and I know that I want to do some projects by myself later this year - wish me luck!!!

Kelly said...

I can't wait to see pictures!!! The great thing(s) about this story is (1) you no longer have to do the work yourself, and (2) you'll have a wonderful, new bathroom!

Rollingthunder said...

A lesson that water drainage is important!

Polybutylene. The suit is way over.

I am proud of my wife for being brave and handling it while I am away.

Unknown said...

Congrats Em! You did a fantastic job!! Doug, keep her happy!! haha

Jessica said...

ROTFLMAO!! How many years did you take off that poor contractor's life??

Jenny said...

ugh....