Remodeling

Demo Day

A whole lot of banging and sawing went on today. The main bath was being gutted so that we can get a really nice titled true flat floor walk-in shower instead of the stained fiberglass one we had.

We had the TV in the living room up pretty loud listening to Radio Paradise while we worked on a jigsaw puzzle. But at times it was so loud that Donna requested to borrow my over the ear headphones to play Radio Paradise via the app on my cell phone. From this photo it looks like they are almost finished with the tear down.

The loud noises will continue tomorrow at 10: 00 AM.

What’s New?

New Windows

Notice anything different in this photo? No I don’t mean the snow, we get this level of snow every couple of years. Don’t believe me? Here is a picture from January 10th, 2011:

Old Windows

Now what’s different? It’s not the green door. It’s not even the new “carport.” Yesterday before the Snopocalypse hit we had replacement windows installed. They did the 7 windows you see on the front of the house and the three on the back in 4 hours. Tearing out the old 55 year-old windows was short work. Putting in the new ones didn’t take too long either. Putting in the outside flashing took the longest part of the job. Cleaning up the mess they made was the second longest part of the time.

Behind The Green Door

Green Door

We finally broke down and bought a new front door.

The old one (left) has been serving as the axillary entrance for us since we moved into the house 24 years ago. For all we know it was the primary entrance for the 34 years prior. It had a crack in the upper right wood panel that when the sun was going down it would cast a thin bright line on the back wall of the living room. When the summer humidity set in the door would swell up making opening and closing a job that required a lot of force. The top hinge on the storm door in front of it was broken so that closing it required lifting on the handle to get it to line up with the frame. Because we normally come in and out of the house using the garage door it didn’t bother us too much, but the effects of the newness of the kitchen has made us realize that some other things really, really needed updating too.

The new door (right) is made of foam filled fiberglass and weighs about half of what the wood door did. It will keep the winter chill at bay much better and only allow the setting sun to sneak in through the very small peep hole. The storm door is a neat full view door that has one bar across the middle, so that when the top half of glass is lowered and screen unrolls from the top. In spite of the kitchen remodel we bought and had the door installed through Lowes. This time it went off without a hitch.

What goes on behind this green door is nothing like what happens in its famous movie namesake from 1972. If you don’t know what I’m talking about you can read about it here. And if that peaks your curiosity, you can watch the first 53 or so minutes of the 71 minute film here.

Not Done Remodeling

Garage Door Remodel

Yesterday the garage door got a makeover too. A $3.43 closeout special at Home Depot for six pieces of thin black metal and 14 small screws gives the illusion of carriage doors. A straight vertical line in the middle with a black magic marker completes the “trompe-l’oeil.”

Started down went up, went down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 1232

Ship To Store (Act 1: The Beginning of the End)

early February…

When it came time to buy the microwave for the remodeled kitchen, Amazon had it available for $130 with free shipping, but Wal-Mart online had it for $100. If I had the microwave shipped to me it would have cost $15 and then I would have to worry about the UPS man leaving the package on the doorstep at home or having it come to work and then toting it home. I could save that shipping cost by having it delivered to the Wal-Mart just down the street and get it at my convenience.

When the microwave got to the store I received an email letting me know I could pick it up. So after dinner one night Donna and I made the short trip. When I walked in I was unsure exactly where to go to pick it up, so I started at the Service Desk. Of course I was first in line, but both CSRs were helping people. They were already helping them when I walked up and they were still helping them after 3 or 4 minutes. Finally the one closest to me has to page a supervisor, so when she puts down the phone to wait for a response, I butt in, “Excuse me. I’m here to pick up an internet order. Is this where I should be?” “No,” she says, “It is in the back of the store.”

As we walk to the back of the store we see the giant lettering on the back wall “e-Store” or something like that. There is a big alcove back there that looks like it used to be used for Layaway. Unfortunately it also looks like it used to be used for the “e-Store” as well, as it is vacant. Attached to one of the cash registers is an 8-1/2 x 11″ sheet of paper with the phrase “Pick Up Internet Orders In Electronics” hand lettered on it.

When we get to Electronics there is no one manning the desk, so we hover for a minute or so when we notice a lady just standing there. Eye contact is made and she offers up, “He’s in the back checking on something for me.” After a minute or so the store employee shows back up and when his short conversation with the women is over, turns to us and asks how he can help. We’re here to pick up an internet order.

“What’s the order number?” I hand him the email. “I don’t see the order number on here. What’s your phone number?” I give him our home phone number. “I still don’t see anything.” I volunteer my work phone, still nothing. “What’s your last name?” I spell it for him. “Email address?” I’m not sure if he found anything or not, because he asks what size box is he looking for. I say, “Small microwave,” and off he goes.

We wait for his return. We wait. And we wait. Finally after about 5 minutes (which seems like 15) he comes back with our box.

Here We Go Again (Part II)

Flag Stone Floor

The day after the tardy, sans writing utensil, carpet estimator showed up to measure the room, I received a call from Lowe?s, my estimate was ready. $445 and change.

Huh? Mentally doing some math in my head, carpet 144 sq/ft at $1.28 per plus 52 cents a sq/ft to install is around $250. With tax I should still be under $300. So I asked the girl on the other end could she break it down for me. There was 156 sq/ft of carpet (I asked for this so we could cover a little step going into the kitchen) so that is and additional twenty bucks. There was an additional $47 for the extra labor of covering said step. That seems a little high for amount of work, but that still leaves us in the middle $300 range. Then there was an additional 35 dollars for floor leveling compound and $45 for adhesive. I told her that my floor didn?t need leveling and she said she would have a Mr. Howard from the installation company call me.

So Donna and I started whittling away at some of the costs to get the price down to a manageable level. Forget the extra foot of carpet, I’ll just paint the step. No leveling and a favorably installation date & time and we would go for it. And WTF, the installation cost didn?t already include the glue? For the 52 cents a sq/ft they were basically trimming 5? off two sides and laying it down in the room? I?m betting the installation cost you see advertised in the store for wall to wall carpet doesn?t include the tack strips either.

Mr. Howard never called me, but the Lowe’s girl left a message on my work phone the next day to the effect that she had spoken to him and he said if the floor wasn?t leveled we ran the risk of seeing or feeling the joints in between the flag stones of the existing floor through the carpet.

Because I never got to speak to Mr. Howard I never got to explain to him that it is not real flagstone, it is some sort of hard vinyl outdoor flooring from the fifties that is a fairly convincing simulation. There is a difference in height between the ?stone? and the ?grout?, but it is measured in thousandths of an inch and in no way would be felt through even the thinnest carpet applied over it. And had the mental midget who measured, looked down at something besides his tape measure, he would have noticed the swirly glue residue left behind from when we had pulled up the previous carpet and maybe realized that the floor didn?t need leveling.

So what now? We are into Lowe’s for $51 for the measurement visit, but thirty-five of which we would get off the install charge if they did it. The other $16 was for an asbestos check that was spent on our estimation guy using his Jedi mind powers to look for this problematic material. Either that or he can smell it because we didn’t see him do anything except unfurl his tape measure twice.

So we did the smart thing, cut our loses with Lowe’s, found some commercial carpet we liked at Home Depot for 85¢ a sq/ft, bought a tub of glue and some fresh blades for my box cutter. Total cost, is under $200 because my labor is free and that even includes the $51 we threw away.

(coming soon: Home Depot carpet buying experience & Lowe’s Ship to Store fun)

Here We Go Again

We decided that it was time to update the carpet in the “computer room.” It was put down at the same time that the carpet in the kitchen was, probably 15 years ago. It had two circular spots matted down in two of the four corners from the computer chair sitting on it for long periods of time. A couple years back we broke down and bought a chair mat, not so much to protect the carpet, it was too late for that, but to hide the most worn spot.

At first I was going to do it, then we thought maybe kitchen contractor guy would do it, but in the end a Lowe’s sub contractor will be doing it. They want just 50¢ a square foot, which in our case amounts to less than $75. Cheap enough.

They charge $35 to come out measure the room or in our case $50 because our house was built before 1978 and they need to check for asbestos. That cost will come off the installation charge as long as you do get them to install the carpet. We hope this guy is better at measuring than the last guy.

We scheduled an appointment for measurement today and was given a time range of 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM. We went into work a half hour early for three days, so we could make up the 1-1/2 hour off we left the plant today to make it home in time for our appointment. Three o’clock. 3:15, 3:30, quarter to four, 4:00 PM, nobody shows. Ten after four Donna starts calling numbers to find out where the measuring guy is. At 4:13 a red pickup pulls in our driveway.

He comes in and apologizes profusely for being late. Two quick measurements and he’s done. Pulls out his pad and starts patting his pockets. “Could I borrow a pen?” he asks. Sure you can, Donna hands him a pencil and I roll my eyes.

At least he didn’t leave a mess…