Remodeling not always dreadful

Ooh, a remodeling story? Bet you’re thinking this is gonna be a tale of horror.

After all, home remodeling contractors are second only to used car salesmen when it comes to deals gone wrong – or so “they” say. Well, read this tale. You might just find it encouraging if you’re thinking about refurbishing your home.

First off, this spring saw the undertaking of the hubster’s and my third major home renovation in four years. I guess the first renovation put us out of the mood for a while, although it could be argued we did a “twofer” that time around.

In 2005 a totally new heating and air-conditioning system was installed, which required running ductwork throughout the house. At the same time, the master bath got an overhaul, one that required several plumbing changes. So what if the place was torn up for six solid weeks? In the middle of winter. And expensive? Oh, yeah. But believe me, it’s been worth every penny.

Last year we decided the main bathroom needed work. This room was only out of commission 2 weeks while the walls and floors got tiled, and a new countertop placed on the vanity. And paint, of course, and towel rods and faucets and all that stuff. In retrospect, we wish we’d gotten all new fixtures, but heck, gotta leave something for later on down the line, right? (Note to self: Wrong.)

This year is the year of the kitchen. No change in the room’s footprint – not a thing wrong with the layout – but with the old oak cabinets icky and ugly, the Formica countertop cut and stained, and the floor (white Pergo) a disaster, something needed done.

Now don’t think for a minute the hubster and I actually do the work ourselves. Heavens, no! Our job is to pay the bills, and wish for a continuously flowering money tree. Be warned. When it comes to contracting a job, everything seems to be an add-on. And God forbid you run into problems. Except, there are always problems. Always.

This is the way the normal job goes.

Make up your mind to find a contractor.

Take three months to take bids and hire the contractor.

Sign your life away on the contract.

Set a date to begin work. Have an approximate end date written into the contract.

On the date the work is set to begin, there’s a delay.

Make sure you’re well supplied with blank checks or have an open limit on your credit card.

You begin with clearing the affected rooms. This is always my job. Apple and banana boxes stuffed to overflowing – and almost too heavy to move – are stacked anywhere and everywhere. Next step is demolition, where the contractors smash and saw and raise a lot of dust, then leave your rooms in that state while they go on work on somebody else’s house for a couple days. “Oops,” says your contractor, “sorry, but I’ve got to finish up this one little job. I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon to work on your floor.” So you break your doctor’s appointment, but nobody shows up. “Oops,” says the contractor, “sorry. My cell phone battery died and I couldn’t call.”

But back to our kitchen job and how it started. “We have got to replace this countertop,” I say, and then say the magic words. “Although I’d rather buy a new house.” Gads, you should’ve seen the hubster speeding along to the new Lowe’s store to check what’s up in countertops.

Somehow, and I’m still not sure how this happened, we decided it was pointless to redo the countertop and leave that awful white floor. While in the midst of looking at those two items, our old dishwasher went kaput. We were already in pretty deep, which is when it occurred to us, why not go whole hog? We’d seen this display of rustic natural maple cabinets that struck our fancy. Roll-out trays in my cupboards – oh, yes!

We’d never done the retail store route on our other projects, but this time we got some estimates. The budget said we might just squeeze this in, and before you can say, “remodel or move” the project was under way. The scheduling went just how they said it would. Yes, the project did take a little longer than planned. Yes, the project did cost a little more than planned – of course it did. That’s a given. Still, who’d ever have thought a remodeling project could go so smoothly? Or the hubster and I so thrilled with the result?

Except for repainting, which is the last item on the list. Dang slacker, anyhow. But wait. That slacker is me.