Square One

After waiting a year, we finally decided to move forward with the bathroom remodel. A trip to the home show and we found The Good Guys. We met and discussed the plans. They seemed to understand our vision for a Euro-style, wipe down, quick clean bathroom. As you know, bathroom cleaning is not a Little Princess job but every so often the Little Princess has to go slumming. Herself would like the cleaning process to be as quick and easy as possible. The ideal would be to install a self-cleaning sprinkler system with a drain in the floor. Press a button, hose the room down and ta-da, all clean.

So if you in the cheap seats remember, this is the bathroom before the first remodel. 50's yellow tile and we added the pale blue accents for that UCLA look. Go Bruins!

Then we went through the remodel and this is how the bathroom looked when the son of a contractor "finished". I like to call this picture The Disaster. A very quaint and cozy slum look.

Today, the Good Guys arrived bright and early. Man, why can't they keep banker's hours and start at a decent time of the day! We had a quick walk through to discuss the project. Wonder of wonders a building permit was taped to the bow window in the living room for all to see! And the demolition began. Ink was not happy with all the noise and the company. He spent most of the day huddled under the sofa. There was a lot of banging, sawing, music from a radio, singing, and the tangy scent of solder. My only complaint with The Good Guys is they enjoy their work way too much. They seem to get along very well and make a good team.

I was frazzled most of the day. Waffled between nervous and excited. I had to move my car to Prissy's driveway. Her driveway was one sheet of slick as glass ice deceptively hidden under fluffy white snow. I had to call AAA to winch me out of her driveway.

We knew there was a possibility that the shower walls couldn't be saved. The carpenter made a vailant effort, but the walls came down in pieces. Not to worry, we'd just order a new wall kit. He did save the shower base.

Then there was the call that the Swanstone Artic Granite I wanted was not available. Stuck in the snow, what I had I can't get. I started feeling as if this project was doomed with a capital DOOMED. God must have really liked the UCLA colors and didn't want the slick Euro white bath with the mermaid mural over the sink. Deep sigh. Forlorn look.

One bright spot. The mural will be shipped from California tomorrow. It should arrive next week.

We were given other options, fiberglass walls, a tiled shower. Fiberglass dulls quickly over time and is difficult to keep shiny clean. Tile, though beautiful, has all the grout and crannies where mold likes to grow. Nope, Herself was not going to be happy unless she had the no grout lines, no mold can grow, wipe down, Swanstone in Artic White.

I surfed the Swanstone site and found Artic White has not been discontinued. And a list of suppliers who carry the product. Happy dance.

The bathroom was gutted and taken down to the studs. The carpenter roughed and the plumber roughed. The Good Guys are aware that the dollhouse only has this one bathroom. They are making a great effort not to leave us stranded without facilities. The tub base will be installed tomorow and temporary walls put up. The shower will be plumbed. A portolet will be delivered tomorrow, but that is for The Good Guys. A portolet is definitely not a Little Princess place to go especially when the outside temp is 11 degrees. Thank you, no. The plumber kindly reinstalled the toilet at the end of the day.

And so ends day one.

Seven

Seven things I accomplished this week

1. Met with contractor #1 to talk about bathroom remodel

2. Planned the color theory exercise

3. Met with contractor #2 to talk about bathroom remodel

4. Planned the 3 hole pamphlet stitch book exercise

5. Thumbnailed a new project

6. Drew and scanned in design for this month's ATC

7. Studied the Golden Mean concept and finally got it!

What was your week like? What did you accomplish?

Friday,The Building Inspector

As LDH suggested Himself called the town building inspector. He came to inspect the bathroom and brought a stop Work Order. He was very sympathetic with our plight and he would try to help us out.

He was not happy as we related the details of the job. Contrary to what the contractor told us, we were supposed to have a building permit. Like LDH, the inspector scowled and grimaced at the work. It was not up to state code. He became incensed when he learned the contractor performed all the electrical and plumbing work. His license doesn't allow him to do that kind of work. And the building inspector will see he no longer has a license.

We will have to apply for a building permit. Once the permit is issued, we can contact a plumber to take care of leaks the building inspector found and to call an electrician to check the electrical work.

As to arbitration, he didn't think we qualified because we did not have a building permit. I think we'll still try to pursue this avenue. What's the worse that can happen but that our request is denied. We'll wait to see what the building inspector turns up and then decide whether we should sue the pants off contractor.

Day 39 - The Crusader

I called Lambie's husband to see what we could do. He graciously offered to help us out of this mess and to take on the contracting. He even came over last night to do a walk through.

He looked. He scowled. He took photographs. The laundry drain ended in the bay over my computer workstation in the basement. Good thing we didn't move the washer upstairs! Wires coiled in the ceiling and not run to the circuit box. Fortunately, they weren't live. The news just kept going down hill. Shoddy work, work not done up to code. Poor LDH, he didn't want to make us feel bad. I'm glad he told the truth. Too bad more contactors weren't like him.

There were rays of sunshine poking through the bad news. The disaster was fixable. The contractor hadn't really done any major plumbing. The sink, toilet and shower were in their orignal spots and they work. He didn't think everything had to come down, but some might. The blueboard used is not rated for tile work so, tiles might come down and mold might grow behind. He might have to remove the shower, and no guarantee the walls won't crack. As I told him, in for a penny, in for a pound.

We felt a little better after LDH left. He didn't think it would cost as much as we already paid out, though this is one expensive bathroom for a little dollhouse. He could fix the bathroom, make it better, stronger, faster. Well, maybe not quite like that, but he said it would look nice which is all we wanted in the first place.

Day 38 - Options

Another day, no show from the contractor. No phone call, no explanation. No surprise, there.

I spent the morning researching our options. An online chat with a representative from the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulations was helpful. We got some options open to us. We will file a complaint against the contractor with the Board of Building Regulations and Standards. We also meet the requirements for arbitration and we were told to file a request for arbitration. There is no cost to file. If the request is accepted, we will have to pay a fee to the arbitrator based on the amount of our claim. We might be able to recoup $$ for some of our loss. Hopefully, the complaints will be a black mark against the contractor.

After much discussion, Himself and I decided we did not want this contractor to finish the bathroom. We were more than patient with his two hour work days and endless extension of when the job would finish. With skipping out with the half the job completed, it feels as if we were raped. No more.

We will find another contractor who will finish the work professionally and in a timely matter.

Day 36 - Disappointment to Anger

I had a very bad feeling yesterday when the contractor left after one hour. He also took his trailer he used to store our fixtures. I told myself I was just being silly. The bathroom is only half completed. He began work on July 2. It was only supposed to take 3 weeks to complete. 4 tops with problems. Since he was to finish up today, he has been paid on full. But he would be back to finish. It's always a gamble when a homeowner hires a contractor. Unless you know the ins and outs of the trades, you have to trust these people.

This morning we waited. We waited until 9:15am, an hour after his normal start time. Himself called the contractor's cellphone, got the voice mail and left a message. Was the call returned? You guessed it in the cheap seats! No! This is the third time he's pulled a no show and didn't bother to call or return our calls. No excuse! It wouldn't have taken more than a minute to call to say he wasn't coming to work today. We have been more than patient and more than fair! So the old adage holds. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me.

Fortunately, the state I live in has an arbitration process for homeowners to lodge a complaint against contractors. I have printed out the required form. Taken photographs which will be burned to a CD to be submitted with the form. I have his license number. There's no guarantee we will recoup any of our loss, but at least the process will make me feel better and maybe teach the contractor a valuable lesson.

Since word of mouth is the best advertising, I am now his worse nightmare. I would never recommend him to do any work. We had other work to be done down the road. This contractor won't even be considered.

Also fortunate is a back up plan. The major portions of the bathroom are installed and work. Lambie's husband is a contractor, and was the original person we wanted to do the work. But because he had taken a full time job, he didn't want to hold us up and take 6 mos. for the remodel, especially since we only have the one bathroom in the dollhouse. I'll call to see if he is available to work some weekends to finish the job. If he can't or doesn't want to, I hope he can recommend a reliable person to help us out.

Caveat emptor.

Still left to be done:

The wall under and over the window has to be tiled.
The 3 walls above the shower have to be tiled.
The wall between the shower and the laundry area needs to be tiled.
The hole for the dryer vent has to be cut.
The dryer vent has to be installed and run up through the crawl space and vented out the roof.
The shower fan has to be vented out the roof.
Tile in the laundry area needs to be finished.
All wall tile needs to be grouted.
All wall tile grout needs to be sealed
Under floor heating has to be installed.
Washer and dryer to be brought upstairs.
Medicine and storage cabinets need to be installed.
Laundry cabinets need to be installed.
Ceiling needs scraped, textured and to be painted.
Window clamshell and stool needs to be installed.
Window clamshell and stoll needs to be painted.
Bathroom door needs to be taken down.
New door needs mortises cut for locks and hinge and the door hung to swing from the opposite side.
New door knob to be installed.
Mermaid hooks need to be installed
Toilet paper holder needs to be installed
Join between floor and door wall needs to be tiled/grouted
Missing tile in corner where door will swing in needs to be installed
Outside wall in hallway needs new baseboard.
Construction debris needs to be removed from the driveway.
Wall sconces by medicine cabinet need to be installed and connected.

Day 34 - More of the Same

The bathroom looks the same except the tape and the sock has been removed from the sink. The water lines to the sink were connected.

The bathroom will not be finished tomorrow.

Day 33 - Moving Along

The contractors arrived this morning. When I asked if he would be able to finish everything by Wednesday, I felt like I copped his attitude. "We'll just have to wait and see" I figured they would be gone in two hours, so I left Himself to supervise and I went across the street to whine to my neighbor. When I got back, the contractors were gone. No surprise to me, but it was to Himself as he wanted to touch base with the contractor. The mural had been installed. The outlets for the washer and dryer had been installed. The wall under the window was given another skim coat.

So I puttered and cleaned up the kitchen. Made lunch for everyone. Was sitting in the bathroom contemplating the lint in my navel, when the door started to open. I thought it was one of the kids. "Damn it! Can't you see, I'm busy here!" The door instantly stopped moving and the contractor offering profuse apologies LOL

They went back to work, connected the faucets to the sink, glued the sink to the vanity. He'll hook up the water lines to the sink tomorrow.

Himself got to chat and the contractor is still convinced they will be done and out of our hair by Wednesday. From the contractor's mouth to God's ear.

Day 32 - Corner Correction

On Friday, the contractor removed the tile which had been set out of kilter. He scraped the wall down then applied the mud so they can retile on Monday.

He's assured us he would be finished by Wednesday. I can't really see how as there's so much still left to be done.

The wall under and over the window has to be tiled.

The 3 walls above the shower have to be tiled.

The wall between the shower and the laundry area needs to be tiled.

The hole for the dryer vent has to be cut.

The dryer vent has to be installed and run up through the crawl space and vented out the roof.

The shower fan has to be vented out the roof.

Outlets for the washer and dryer have to be installed.

Tile in the laundry area needs to be finished.

All wall tile needs to be grouted.

All wall tile grout needs to be sealed

Under floor heating has to be installed.

Washer and dryer to be brought upstairs.

Faucet needs to be connected to the sink.

Medicine and storage cabinets need to be installed.

Laundry cabinets need to be installed.

Ceiling needs to be painted.

Window clamshell and stool needs to be installed.

Window clamshell and stoll needs to be painted.

Bathroom door needs to be taken down.

New door needs mortises cut for locks and hinge and the door hung to swing from the opposite side.

New door knob to be installed.

Mermaid hooks need to be installed

Toilet paper holder needs to be installed

Join between floor and door wall needs to be tiled/grouted

Missing tile in corner where door will swing in needs to be installed

Outside wall in hallway needs to be sanded and prepped for painting

Outside wall in hallway needs new baseboard.

Construction debris needs to be removed from the driveway.

Wall sconces by medicine cabinet need to be installed and connected.

They average 2 to 3 hours per work day. I just don't see how they will finish all that is still left to do.

Day 31 - More Tile

Another day, more tile. The fan light in the shower was connected to a special switch. Will be odd having a light in the shower. The fan is ultra quiet.

The contractor thinks he will complete the job by Wednesday. Heard that one before.

Day 31 - A New Day

I was all set to do battle. I had rehearsed what I was going to say. I was going to say this and he would respond with that. Then I'd fire a warning shot across his bow.

The contractor asked, "So, what have you decided to do about the wall?" It wasn't the THAT I was expecting. I told him the corner molding wasn't an option and we wanted the wall redone. He said he'd get to it.

So what a difference a day makes. Maybe I read more into things than was really there. Obviously, what we had was a failure to communicate, but we were on the same page today.

He went up into the crawl space and his dad fed lengths of wire for the fan light, sockets and switches. There was almost a problem with the fan light not being able to fit into the shower because of the slope of the hip roof, but with a few inches to spare, he got it to fit.

I was out for most of the day, and when I came home was the switch had been installed and the tiny wall by the door had been tiled. The corner lined up nicely.

Day 30 - Tact

I should have known better. I forgot I was dealing with an artist. I know he wanted an "atta boy, the work is crushingly beautiful", but when I saw the corner. I couldn't say it. I don't know much about mastic or setting tile, but I do know grout lines are supposed to be even all around. Up, down, sideways.

Since I had to take Himself for a surgical procedure, I was not going to be in when the contractor arrived. I left a post it note. I thought it was a nice note. "Is there something that can be done to fix this?" Apparently, the contractor didn't appreciate my note. When I returned home to talk about what could be done, I felt as if I was ignored.

I would make a terrible poker player. I can't keep my thoughts from flitting across my face. He knew I was not pleased, and my note put him on the defensive. I confronted the issue and felt as if the problem was my fault. The wall wasn't plumb, the floor wasn't level in that corner. There were time constraints (which made me want to choke because according to him the bathroom was to have been completed last week!) I admit it. I lost my temper. I couldn't help it. Maybe it's watching too many Westerns. Once the ol' mare's leg clears leather, I fire. I said the corner looked like an abortion.

Why is it when a man is direct and to the point, he's applauded, lauded, admired? When a woman is direct, she's labeled as a b...witch.

I'm not looking for perfection, but I want things done right. I know in any project there are problems that crop up. He said he made that decision, but that decision wasn't his to make and we should have been informed. If the grout lines were mismatched to the bottom of the wall, in the corner behind the toilet, I wouldn't have made such an issue. But this is at eye level. This is the first area of the bathroom that is seen upon entry.

He didn't seem to want to redo some or all of the tiles on the wall under the window.

I left to take The Eldest to work. It's a 15 minute round trip. When I returned, the contractors had vanished like pixies. Two tiles were set and two spaces for electrical outlets were cut. Two boxes for the electrical stuff were inserted. Oh, and the top of the shower had buckled but hadn't been noticed. More glue and a brace was applied.

So while I simmer, I'm trying to work out how to tell him in a tactful way, he's working for us and not the other way around. If he can't do a certain thing the way I want, he needs to tell us why and offer solutions so we can make a decision. Only I know my feelings are going to get in the way and control my tongue

Day 29 - Vanity

Things are starting to move along quickly. More tilework was done. The random blue diamonds add a punch of color. The vanity was moved into place. The sink hasn't been connected yet, but it's going to look great.

Swanstone delivered the shower corner moldings on Fri. and they were installed in the shower. The shower wall held and didn't need to be taken down and re-glued.

It's starting to look like a bathroom. I love the clean, sleek lines though the Youngest commented with the theme it will look more like mermaids in the artic. Guess we'll have to get them fur lined bras for their macguffies.