Kitchen Cupboards

Well we're getting closer, upper cupboards are now installed in the kitchen & we're starting to narrow down the decisions on counter top; too damn many choices, materials & colors.
Then there's the wall stove & cook top vs. standard oven w/cook top attached. Do we want a glass topped gas cook top w/an electric oven?? Standard gas cook top with gas oven? 4 or 5 burners? Convection in oven or microwave?? What we thought was definitely going to be a 36" stove (remember we moved all the cabinets?!?!), might now be a 30".
I'm telling you right now, the little 24" apartment size gas oven in the pantry we've been using for the last 10 months works just fine! But what do I know??? I only bake cookies & pies & scrambled eggs.
So far we've decided on the dishwasher (didn't take me anytime at all), the flooring and the back splash.
But come Sept 7th all interior work stops & we have to focus on the exterior while we still have the weather to do it. So, any decisions not made by then will just have to wait...

1 comments:

Grama Colleen said...

Looks marvelous darling !!!!!

6:22 PM

THE WINDOW

Well, finally..the scaffolding arrived on the 21st of August, so the window with the wrong size grids could be removed & the new one installed.
This is the same window, if you remember; back in January, I told you not to get too excited about finally having all the windows in, because this one was going to have to be replaced.
What is the big deal with this window you ask???
If you click on the photo grid above to enlarge the photos you'll see that the small grid work in the center of the arch does not line up with the grid work in the window below.
So, replacement was tentatively set for sometime in the spring.
Believe it or not Ripley...in the late spring the factory rep arrived & took measurements. He sent the measurements to the company to build the window without faxing them to us to approve & sign off on. (OOPS!) The window arrived & was the wrong size!
So...the sales rep for the company that distributes this product is obviously not too pleased, we won't describe the frustration Tom & I are dealing with because I can't print those words on this blog & I'm sure that company rep did not get a glowing evaluation.
A different company rep comes to measure in June; seemed to know his stuff & we finally had a comfort level that this wasn't some rookie. The new window (now #3) arrived in early July. Since the framer we had used to install the first window was not interested in reinstalling the new window, the distributor sent an installer they use.
Tom , the sales rep & the installer, look; measure the new window; uh-oh, apparently a question...call the factory, talk to the engineer....all is well!!! YEAH!
We Have A Winner Monty!!! We'll Take The Window Behind Door #3!!

The scaffolding arrives on the day I went shopping-doesn't it figure...the one day I go play 'cause I'm not needed & I miss the Kodak picture spot.

Didn't know the window installer was coming...apparently neither did Tom, he ran out to pick up a couple of parts & came home to scaffolding in the family room. Surprise!!!
By the time Tom got home the installer had started to remove the moulding around the window and before he removed the existing window, double checked the measurements of the new window. Thank God for mature installers who do what they are supposed to do & not just assume everything is fine. By double checking the measurements, he found the grids were still off.
THE THIRD WINDOW IS THE WRONG SIZE!!!
The new installer calculated the measurements, sent them to the factory rep, where they matched the the factory reps #'s for window # 3. So the #'s match, apparently the manufacturing team dropped the ball this time. Sadly, more performance evals that are not glowing. Needless to say, this company is not making any money on this job.
Damn...I would love to be in charge of the Quality Assurance dept for this company!
(Hmmmm....note to self....send resume....home office in Maine-if we ever get the windows in & the house done....???? Nice area to travel to..)
So-the new #'s are in to design the window on ...will some one call us?? will someone fax something for our approval?? Tom is still holding payment on the windows...maybe they don't need our money??? Perhaps they're just as frustrated with us as we are with them...don't know...but we'll definitely keep you posted!

2 comments:

Grama Colleen said...

Remind me that I need to buy stock in hair color products....cause the Medaj family is going to be buying lots and lots (cause ALL their hairs will be grey when this saga is over!) I can see the profit margin rising already !!!!! Going to the bank already !!!! Got to love construction...details details.... details..... See ya soon !!! LYL

2:33 PM

The Fipps family said...

Maybe you can hang a swing on the scaffolding to entertain Eva (since we'll all be there a WHILE!)... or we can wrap it in Christmas garland... maybe the fourth time is a charm this time!!

6:03 PM

Eva's First Shopping Trip w/ Auntie Martha

Eva was such a sweetheart to shop with! (Obviously her mom has already indoctrinated her).
We had a great time & are definitely going to do this more often (like every week). We found some great treasures on clearance, but our greatest purchase of the day was Auntie Martha's new broom! No I can't fly on it, but I can guarantee that the workmen will not be taking it! We had our choice of Leopard print, black w/red polka dots or multi colored stripes. I let Eva pick-tough decision but she went for the most colorful, as you can see in the top photo!
(you definitely want to click on the last photo to enlarge-the "OK-I'm done NOW"photo)
My "house broom", the one I use for the living space is bright yellow, so I thought it was safe. The brooms used in the construction area are red & black or push brooms. Well the painters took the handle off my broom repeatedly to use it with their rollers. I found the guy who's doing the retaining wall using the bristle part for cleaning off the cement blocks. When the two parts were actually together, the drywall guys dropped globs of drywall goop on it. Not to mention drywall dust, sawdust & anything else you'll bring in unawares. So we found this funky broom & have a good feeling we won't have to share! Who ever would have thought you'd have to worry about a broom?!?!

1 comments:

Grama Colleen said...

Little Eva learned her "shopping skills" from her mommy who learned them from her mom and her Aunt Donna..It runs in the family.....SHE certainly will grow up to "GO SHOPPING" and keep it in the family...glad you had FUN !!!!!

6:36 AM

This whole building a house thing.......

This whole building a house thing is getting kind of old... I'll put it in perspective for you...
I'm spoiled, (no news there) and in all honesty; I get bored when Tom & Mandy are working so diligently in trying to achieve our goal. Sometimes I actually feel guilty that Mandy is spending so much time on the day to day construction of our home & I'm spending so much time with Eva.
I think about how Tom & I took classes last fall at the local vocational school for finish carpentry & I was so psyched! We were doing this together!!!
How exciting....Tom bought me a 12" chop saw-what more could a girl ask for??
OK Ladies...when was the last time you used a 12" chop saw??? Do you know what a chop saw is?? Do you realize how big a 12" blade really is?
(& how bad we really look in those safety glasses?)hmmmm...note to self....new business venture...chic but functional (we put the fun in functional) safety glasses.
(Mandy....no comment here please)
Anyway I digress...I'm a little anal ( OK, OK maybe more that a little). We had a great instructor & everything he said I took at face value. I'm very careful-I like all 10 digits intact, Tom gets good back scratches that way. I wear my safety glasses (I have a history of scratched corneas), I double check (& OK triple check) all my calculations.
Then I watch Tom & Mandy play with my saw... they shout out measurements to each other like it's another language...no one double checks...they don't wear safety glasses all the time....this comfort level may come with long term use; but hey, I have the basics & that's enough. I know I can do it if I have to.
So, on the days when Eva & I do not HAVE to be here to make decisions on what goes where...or the placement of porcelain tile, or color choices, or outlet placement, or any of a hundred other decisions we make on a daily basis as Eva straddles my hip;
(which are token questions since once I pick out the tile & colors, we all know Mandy & Tom no longer need me) but since I'm the Lady of the Manor & Auntie Martha-they humor me.
So what are two girls going to do when they are no longer needed on the job site????

GO SHOPPING!!!!

2 comments:

Grama Colleen said...

YOU GO GIRLS !!!!!!!

6:40 AM

The Fipps family said...

Don't worry about me!! I love working on the house- and I have my mommy daughter time, too! I'm so glad that Eva loves her Auntie Martha so much- she's a little spoiled- but what girl doesn't love to be spoiled! You guys spoil me too- we're family now- I expect to be working on your house for a while... months... maybe years... (don't worry- it'll get done SOMEDAY!) HaHa!

10:42 AM

Kitchen Layout Changes Again!

There are some things in life that are guaranteed, death, taxes & Tom changing the kitchen layout one last time before they are actually bolted down. The island is not quite as long now, only 9 ft instead of 10 1/2. We'll be installing a 36" stove instead of a 30".
We found another necessary connection was still covered up under the drywall & the drywall had to be cut out. It was the water hook-up for my dishwasher.
(First they leave the outlet for my dishwasher covered & now the water hook-up-I'm detecting some passive-aggressive tendencies toward me by this drywall crew).
P.S. The bird feeder in the picture is not really for the kitchen. It was a gift from our neighbors & the birds are just thrilled with it!

1 comments:

Grama Colleen said...

I thought the bird feeder was a nice touch....NOT everyone has one in their kitchen and the MANOR seemed like the perfect place to start a new tradition...... Thanks for the updates !!!!! You crack me up !!!!

6:42 AM

Are cabinets are really going in????

My brother Dan came over to help Tom move
the kitchen cabinets out of the family room & actually place them in the kitchen where they should be. For those of you that have wandered thru the house this will sound strange, but...the kitchen looks so small now & the family room is huge! These are of course the kitchen cabinets that came home from the auction. Enough said. So, they are laid out & tomorrow we'll bolt them down!

(OK,OK, Tom & Mandy will do that too...I of course, must watch Eva; who by the way had her Dr's appt Friday & she is in the 92nd percentile for height, 40th percentile for weight ; she'll be tall & skinny just like her Auntie Martha (used to be)! She weighs 18.5 lbs & is 29 1/2 inches long and almost 10 mos.) OK Moms-doesn't this bring back a lot of memories? Who ever would have thought you'd hear me spouting these statistics?
But I digress...since this was about the house & not Eva. Next Post -Kitchen Cabinets.
I Promise-No Rambling about beautiful nieces & nephews .

1 comments:

Grama Colleen said...

Beautiful BABIES are always a good topic.....WHAT Kitchen cabinets ???? I didn't see any kitchen cabinets..... :=) You had kitchen cabinets in your construction zone ??? kidding of course..Can't wait to see them next month when I arrive..You should be working on the GUEST BEDROOM !!!! shame on you ! LYL

8:55 AM

More Drywall & Painting......

Drywall has been repaired to our satisfaction (well almost, there comes a point when you stop fighting & say "screw it, we'll do it ourselves!" (OK, OK; Tom & Mandy will do it.) Since you now know, if you bring up "The List" for drywall repair, you'll get pushed to the back of the repair line. The time it will take for them to fit you in will push everything else out to a time frame that is now being referred to as a "Martha Meltdown".

Not a pretty sight when Martha has a "Meltdown".
Tom was actually overheard saying good-bye to her one evening & trying to leave with the drywall crew....hoping she'd never notice.
So....little repairs-no biggie-we can handle it. And we do.
Now it's time for the painters to come back, prime the repairs, repaint some areas & just touch up others.
You all knew it wasn't going to be that simple-didn't you???
We have damn smart family & friends for a reason. You were right!
The paint Tom chose was an excellent paint with a guarantee-High walls(23 ft...remember), don't expect to repaint too often, so we go for top of the line-looks great-eggshell finish-one small issue that they forgot to mention when they were extolling the virtues of this paint, you can't just retouch it up.
YOU HAVE TO REPAINT THE WHOLE DAMN WALL !!!
Not happy us, we have to buy more paint; not happy painters, they have to paint the same damn walls over again; not happy Mandy-we have no work until the painting is finished; not happy Eva, she doesn't get to play with Auntie Martha: not happy Martha, she actually has to work & can't use Eva as an excuse!
Silver lining-we don't have to pay the painters for additional hours...one price until we're happy. PRICELESS!

1 comments:

Grama Colleen said...

Not happy Grama Colleen...Cause Auntie Martha, and daughter Mandy, and grandaughter Eva, ARE NOT....you guessed it HAPPY !!!!

8:58 AM

Drywall & painting

Pictures of outlets & duct work that the drywall crew covered

We're so so looking forward to the completion of the drywall & the painting. It means we can go on to the next phase. Cabinetry & a dishwasher, flooring & a dishwasher, accessories & a dishwasher. Not that I have a one track mind..
The painters have finished, now, there are issues with the drywall you don't see until there's a layer of paint on the walls. Call the drywall guy ( the one we haven't been able to get ahold of) & he comes in, very responsive, gonna fix it all. Wonderful, just wonderful...except, there are multiple days involved in drywall repair..you mud..it drys, come back the next day & sand & re-mud..come back the next day & sand & re-mud, etc., etc., etc. Now we had a couple of issues, that if it wasn't for the fact that I'm a camera junkie for photos of the on going process, we would have had a hell of a mess.
We're in the kitchen..drywall's done, painting's done & Tom is looking at the kitchen...something's not right...we're missing 2 electrical outlets in the wall(& one of them is for my dishwasher-Not Good!) & a duct vent in the ceiling. Apparently they were in too much of a hurry & missed a couple of things. Now we have to find them...my photos are a life saver. Unfortunately there are enough stab marks in the drywall in both the ceiling & the walls to remind you of Psycho before they found the duct in the ceiling & the outlets in the walls. More repair work.
Like I said, there are some drywall issues, once they're fixed then we have to repaint.
So we are once again , a little more behind schedule than we planned. But really, let's put it in perspective-who's schedule? If we use the drywallers schedule we're on target, if we use the painters schedule, it doesn't matter,they just paint, whenever & wherever.
I have to assume our schedule is quite immaterial and really has no bearing on this project whatsoever.

1 comments:

Grama Colleen said...

OK.....that sucks.......

8:59 AM