Fell off the face of the Earth

For anyone who might read this, though I am not sure if there are any - sorry for falling off the face of the Earth.  I found reading back, the blog was getting too depressing - for both myself and probably you as well.  So I decided to take a break.  There were many depressing things that happened in the mean time - but many now have passed.  Since the last blog - disasters that happened included:
- Cracked granite: The day before our exciting granite installation, we were called and told the very large piece for our island was cracked.  They attempted to make us accept this and have an island 6 inches shorter than originally ordered, leaving only a 6 inch ledge to sit under.  We did not accept this and after much complaining and threatening to cancel entire order, were able to pick out a new slab which turned out to be absolutely gorgeous and one of my favorite things in the kitchen.
-Front door handle was missing pieces which still have not been sent so that is extremely frustrating.  We literally have had insulation in the dead bolt top area of the door that is cut out waiting on the new hardware for well over a month.  Definitely not a company I would recommend.
-Flooring issue still has not been resolved.  We are still living with 1/4 of the living room being a completely different flooring.  We have been fighting it and fighting it and hopefully some day will find resolution.  With the furniture moved in most people will never even notice, however we do and for the amount of money that was spent on the floor, we should not have to live with that kind of mistake.

We finally moved back in my birthday weekend.  Things were not done yet but we were ready to go home so we did.  Upon moving home, we found our house to be a very ungrateful place.  After spending so much time, energy and money remodeling the entire first floor, it must have been mad at us.  We moved home on Sunday and on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday had flooding in the basement.  I had no idea the remodel included an indoor pool!!  The first two times was over 6 inches and such a mess.  I won't lie, I cried and was very defeated more than anything.  We had not even unpacked, still did not have running water on the entire first floor, felt so unsettled, and then had to spend days cleaning up and fixing a destroyed basement.  After we finally got those issues resolved, the furnace went out on the coldest night of the year so far on Saturday.  Turns out the electrician did not pull the wires correctly and never reattached the furnace, just the heat pump, into the new breaker box.  We paid to have the entire box updated and new wiring since the house was so old and ended up without a furnace - awesome!!

Eventually however, though things still like to stop working now and then, we are back in and starting to settle.  This weekend, almost a month after moving home, I finally got pretty much everything put away and cleaned up.  It was quite the task to say the least.  We felt like we moved to a new home.  Having to clean and find new homes for everything and find a new way to organize - especially with a 2 year old with way too much stuff - not to mention all of the new things she just acquired from the holidays.  Yesterday we had to cerrara marble backsplash installed and it is one of the most beautiful parts of the kitchen.  It just makes me smile looking at it.  It is gorgeous and pulls the whole thing together.  I could no be happier with it.  We also had quartz countertops installed in the laundry room which now, other than hooking up plumbing to the sink and putting some shelves up in the new coat closet, is also almost done.

The holidays came way too quickly and were exhausting.  After such a long 3 months living away from the house and all that came with moving back in the house, it seemed like a blur this year.  Couple that with the fact Madelyn has decided it is a great idea to wake up at 545 each morning, and life still seems like a blur.

However, the house is almost done and is completely amazing.  More than I could have dreamed for or imagined.  The finished product is one to be proud of.  So much hard work, years of saving and planning, being on the verge of divorce several times through all of the stress - we almost have the home we have always dreamed of.  I walk in and feel like I am living in a magazine - well until I enter the living room I had cleaned before Madelyn woke up but now is littered with toys and clutter.  We spent several hours at Ikea before Christmas buying every shelf and organizational helper they had - hopefully we soon will find a way to contain her belongings.  I don't that I ever recommend an experience like this for anyone else.  Yet, we have everything we could have ever imagined in details that are all ours.  Small little things that mean so much to me are everywhere.  That is something you can only get by experiencing something like we just went through.  It was not easy - I won't lie.  So many decisions, so much work - on top of an already filled, busy, life working full time and raising a child.  After the finishing touches, which seem to never end, are done however, I will hibernate the rest of the winter.  In spring, the inside of our house will finally rival the outside, where we spend every nice day enjoying our 8 acres.  Soon I will post the drastic before and after photos.  Even it being mine and living through it, I can hardly believe the transformation!

Was supposed to be a big week.....

Over the weekend, we finished the painting!!! YEAH!!!  Now comes the touch ups and cleanups which I also dread.  Sort of anything at the house I dread right now.  Just seems like such a never ending ordeal - I wish I could just twitch my nose and everything would be clean and perfect and moved back in and decorated.....  too bad I do not possess such a wonderful power.  Last night was a lot of fun.  Matt and I spent two hours on our hands and knees scrubbing the hardwood floors getting them ready for cabinet installation.  They do look beautiful which is exciting - however the bruises all over my legs are not quite as attractive.  Good thing it is pant season! ;)

Last week I was very excited to start this week.  We originally had scheduled all construction outstanding to be complete - finish the floors, install the toilet and sink in the bathroom, fix some minor blemishes, install the new front door, etc.  We were told originally cabinets would be installed Wednesday - Friday so we rescheduled that stuff for next week so they would not be in each others way.  Friday afternoon Matt and I headed out to Miller Cabinets for a walk through to see how our cabinets were built and a sneak peak at the cabinets.  After the tour we arrived at a pile of wood.....  Some empty boxes, a pile of door and drawer fronts all unpainted.  Matt seemed excited while I found myself bewildered.  Apparently it showed on my face as Matt asked several times what was wrong.  Um other than the fact I was told our installation would occur in 2 business days and there are dozens of unpainted, unfinished, not put together pieces of wood be described to me as my "cabinets", I don't know what is wrong?!?!?  We were assured they were next in line for the paint booth and were on time.  Come Monday, no word from the scheduler.  Tuesday after several calls with no answer, we were called back and told they were primed.....  not what I wanted to hear.  Wednesday still no call from a scheduler so we call again.  Still nothing scheduled though assured they will be installed but perhaps not starting until Friday now.  Awesome!  The granite people threatened to push back our date once again due to the fact our cabinets are not installed.  They are coming Monday to template the granite.  We lied and said they were installing tomorrow otherwise the granite install date will be pushed until December which is unacceptable!!!  We have been assured the base cabinets will be available to be templated by Monday and they better be.  I am just so sick of waiting and on a week that I was expecting so much progress, I have only found disappointment.  Sort of heartbroken by it all.  Hopefully next week will be better......

Painting, painting and more painting.....

Things are finally starting to move forward at the homestead and we are hoping to move home in a little over a week, the weekend of the 19th.  I cannot wait!!  Having my own house, or even better, a much improved house, back will be great.  Mom and dad have been wonderful and the living conditions are great, having our own entire floor, bedrooms and bathroom, but nothing compares to your own home - and a garage now that winter is approaching.  Everything that has been ordered and in chaos and on backorder is finally starting to arrive.  The pendants are in!  We have not seen them yet but they have arrived.  The front door came, and apparently we should never order products with glass again, because the glass was broken on it.  It has been reordered and hopefully will arrive next week.  Cabinets are supposed to be complete Monday and installed later next week.  I am so excited, however very nervous to see them as well.  We spent so much time designing, and even more money building them, I hope they are all we have dreamed they will be.  The granite is scheduled for the week of the 28th and our backordered backsplash tile should arrive that same week.  We finally got a good deal on a replacement cooktop and it should arrive on the 22nd.  Hopefully no more problems or delays with any of these items.  I am ready for this project to wrap up.  My hopes of having everything complete before I turned 31 is seeming less and less likely.  At least I will celebrate at my own home though...

Lately it seems like every spare moment is spent painting.  There was so much to do.  It is getting less and less overwhelming as the rooms start to be completed.  After painting until midnight on Saturday and 9 hours straight on Sunday, and whenever possible since, only the kitchen and brick room are left to be painted.  Thank goodness.  Thanks also to my dad who is a freakishly fast painter.  Without Matt and I getting in his way, he probably would have had the entire house painted twice by now!!  I will be happy never to see a paint brush again for a long time however once we finally finish!  The color choices have been made and I am pretty happy.  I spent literally almost 6 hours on a feature striped wall in the hallway from the kitchen to the living room.  I am happy with the way it turned out.  People are going to either love it or hate it which I am fine with.  I think it is a nice addition to our once all tan painted home!  Pictures will come as things start to finish up.

Once the painting is done - the house needs entirely bleached!!  It is so dirty and has not been lived in but was inhabited by smoking (not in the house of course) contractors so it has an odd smell.  Everything has inches of dust and the my upstairs bathroom has been destroyed by being used by contractors and ourselves for cleaning dirty paint stuff.  Hopefully this weekend the painting will be finished and everything will be cleaned up. Progress is being made which is encouraging.  Again, I am just so ready to go home.

Been Awhile...

Sorry I haven't written in awhile.  Life is super crazy.  Construction technically is done at the house.  There is some finishing work to be done but the regular daily construction crew has left.  The laundry list of things we are waiting for seems to grow daily and includes:
-Front door
-Cabinets - kitchen and laundry room
-Granite
-Backordered backsplash
-Resolution on flooring issues
-Cracked cooktop that had to be returned
-Installation of sink and toilet in first floor bathroom
-Pendants - yes you read that correctly, we finally ordered some - lets hope we like them

That is all I can think of off the top of my head but the waiting game is definitely not fun.  I am past the point of agreeing with Madelyn and our dog Max, I just want to go home!  I am so ready for EVERYTHING to be finished and settled back in, ready to enjoy some of my favorite times of the year - the holidays!!  Cannot wait to bake cookies and make meals and entertain in my new house!!  However, it just seems like it will never come.  Some days now I just feel defeated going into the empty house that is in such disarray.  It is so dirty and sort of smelly, not to mention empty and the entire 1400+ square foot first floor needs primed and painted.  The ceilings have finally all been repainted and slowly the walls, after a ton of new spackling and sanding to fix the damage of 35 years of wear and tear, are starting to get primed.  It is such a huge and overwhelming task.  I think I just need to take one room at a time because when I sit and look at the entire first floor that needs so much work, my heart races, I start sweating and have trouble breathing.  Matt, other than a bout with a fever, has been very good about working a lot at the house.  It is hard for us to both get there with Maddy demanding a lot of attention as always when I am not at work.  Hopefully this weekend we will complete the painting and I will feel much better about the entire situation.  Even just like a finished laundry and bathroom I think will make me feel better actually seeing progress.

Since I last wrote there has been some drama.  Some how we came up about 150 square feet short on flooring. We had to order 5 extra boxes and ordered from the same company the other 1000ish feet came from.  We installed brazilian walnut flooring which we have dreamed about since purchasing the house.  It was love at first sight when we looked at flooring.  It is an exotic hardwood so it is very strong and durable with two large dogs and a 2 year old running loose around the house.  Most of the pictures and samples we saw were a very dark brown, almost black and dark green tones to the floor.  When they installed the floor, it seemed redder than we expected.  We were assured it was brazilian walnut, all of the boxes were labeled the same and were showed brazilian cherry which is much more red.  Though it is beautiful, it was not as we expected.  Since we were assured it was the right wood, we did not push the issue.  When the next 5 boxes came and were installed, it looks like a completely different flooring.  The dark browns Matt wanted appeared in the new flooring.  This not only upset Matt because it is truly what he wanted, also 2/3 of the living room looks COMPLETELY different.  With the amount of money spent on the flooring and installation, this is not something we are going to let go.  We will fight until it is resolved because this is not our fault.  I cannot imagine with all of the money we have invested, time we have spent completely moving out of our house, to make it perfect, living with a floor that bothers me every time I go in noticing it is clearly two different colors.  We have filed a complaint and claim and are waiting on a resolution.

Second large drama comes with the cooktop.  We built in the ovens in the wall so there is no microwave or hood over the cooktop so we have to find a cooktop with built in ventilation system.  There are only 2 companies that actually sell a 5 burner 36 inch cooktop with built in ventilation.  The prices between ordering online and buying in the store is over $300 difference.  So where I was wary about buying online, after reading several great reviews, I figured the $300 savings was worth the shot.  The cooktop was delivered and when we opened it, the glass was shattered.  We filed a claim and actually were refunded our money, however the company we purchased it from no longer delivers to our zip code.  We checked two other online sites, and they are stating the same thing now.  This leaves us with no choice but to purchase from a store and pay over $300 more for the exact same product.  Makes no sense to me and I find it very frustrating.  $300 is like my sink for the laundry room, just another issue throwing the budget over.

The laundry room has now become another show piece.  After spending time with Lowes and getting ideas, their prices were more than our cabinet builders to install with hardware so now Miller Cabinets is doing our laundry room as well.  I think it will turn out very nice and functional.  JD at Miller Cabinets in Plain City has been so fantastic.  If you ever want custom cabinets, he is amazing, has great ideas, is easy to work with, and is one of the nicest people you will ever meet.  I highly recommend him.  The only disappointment however is the cabinets that were supposed to be done Friday are not going to be done and installed until "the week of November 14".  I say that because they call on Monday to schedule installation later in the week.  So it will probably take the entire week to complete it.  Sadly, this throws off our granite templating and installation so we will wait longer now for that to get installed.

We have also been in search for the perfect granite.  We picked out our steel grey but have still not found the perfect Alpine White - also called like 10 different things however it cannot be found.  I fell in love with it at a different granite store where the prices were much higher.  After scouring 4 different warehouses, we have yet to find what I originally fell in love with.  One of the manufacturers has a delivery that is late, was supposed to be there October 15th, so we are hoping it has our perfect piece.  This granite is for the 5 x 9.5 island which is the centerpiece of the kitchen.  I want to love it and it to be perfect so this is a bit of a stresser.  Hopefully it is resolved quickly as well.  The granite person we are working with has been helpful, always answers his phone or calls right back, and was significantly less than 4 other local granite companies.  I will wait until after installation for a final review and referral but so far have been pleased.  We are getting the granite for both the kitchen and laundry room - yes you read that right we are putting granite in the laundry room now - for the same price as granite alone at all other stores.

Paint colors are also an issue at this time.  This must be resolved quickly as we are hoping to finish painting this weekend.  I am very indecisive and colors I think I like in the store I buy samples of and hate on the wall.  I am pretty sure I have gone through 9 different samplers so far without really LOVING anything.  Perhaps I should just paint the entire first floor tan again.... seems an easier answer.  This is a boring copout however so I will push through and remain on my search for the perfect shades.

Well, I am sure I am missing things as it has been a crazy month and I lost track of everything. Luckily however I am yet to lose Madelyn - though I might have lost my mind.  Hopefully from here on out things go smoothly and we finish quickly.  My birthday is fastly approaching, one month from today, it would be nice to have everything done, installed, and settled back in at my own house as I start my 31st year of life!

So BUSY!!!

It has been awhile since I posted because life is so hectic - not to mention I am homeless! :(  Maddy and I - and now Matt since our electricity and water has been off for several days now - are all living with my parents still - oh and the dogs!  Cannot forget them.  It seems like even though we hired professional to handle the remodel for us, the task are insurmountable!  There are still so many decision to be made each day, things to find, decisions to be made....  I leave my full time job to go home to a needy 2 year old and another full time job of  co-managing - with the help of Matt - the reconstruction of our house.  It doesn't even feel like the same house any more which is pretty incredible in itself.  So much has been going on lately, I don't know where to start and probably will forget a lot.  To start, our taste is incredible.  Some how Matt and I can walk into any store - probably even the grocery store, and if we need to pick something out we always only like the most expensive things.  I think it truly is a gift.  If we got paid for every time we heard the word "premium" or "upcharge", our budget would start decreasing instead of increasing!

For example, the simple cheap half bath remodel.  We took everything out and were going to simplify with a pedestal sink and toilet.  Sounds simple and cheap right??  Apparently not.  We only liked the large pedestal sink and matching toilet by Kohler which of course were much higher than everything else.  Again, truly a gift.  After searching days and several stores finding nothing comparable, we just purchased them.  So next time you are at our house, take time to truly enjoy the luxurious new toilet and sink.

In the laundry room we currently have a large fiberglass double sink really deep sink that we love.  After many stores, we found they no longer make something like this that is that large and can be wall mounted, we would have to get a sink base and purchase a large kitchen sink to put in it.  Again, additional cost for large stainless single bowl sink PLUS now purchasing a cabinet to put it in.  Not to mention we needed other cabinets to replace the old ones we took down, and every laundry room needs granite countertops of course - right??  Apparently in our house.  We also built a closet into the laundry which is the first thing I notice when I walk in now, though it is also the only thing at all in that room, but will be very functional and was definitely needed after removing the hall closet.

The largest change has come in the kitchen.  After 6 months of planning and picking the perfect design, we have changed it.  At first we were going with a curved two tiered island.  The whole idea was opening the house up giving it a very fluid, open look.  Furthermore, with Maddy, the two tiered island I was contemplating a lot its functionality as she is so young.  After much thought, we changed the island to a very large single level rectangle.  It is lower so Maddy can do her art, eat her meals, just hang out at a lower level with me while I am cooking and working in the kitchen.  The change came about as well because when we went granite shopping I found a beautiful Alpine White though it is actually a marbled gray granite.  Matt wasn't sure how it would look with our cabinets so googled kitchen images.  In doing so found some pictures with different island and exterior wall granite.  So now, we are doing a dark gray cabinet on the island color with the Alpine White granite and a steel grey granite on the wall cabinets which are still white.  A little more modern and contemporary but very custom and unique and we enjoy it.  One other alteration we made which I love too much is the cabinet above the built in ovens now will swing upwards and we are putting a 27 inch tv hidden inside.  We had the cable and electricity moved to make this work.  I spend a lot of time in the kitchen and with the large island to gather around, I wanted a tv but not noticeable.  The hidden tv in the cabinet is going to be one of my favorite features of the remodel I think!!  For years when we moved in I had a crt old school huge 27 inch tv that sat in the corner and I loved it.  I have missed it ever since we moved it so I am glad to have this new addition.

One thing still lingering is the PENDANTS!  I hate pendants just to clarify.  Pretty much the only thing Matt and I argue about is the stupid pendants.  I pretty much have given up and don't care any more but Matt's taste is outrageous on the only ones he does like so I have had to step back in after conceding my opinion to at least regulate the costs.  We found something new today which comes out next week and is on order for us to view.  I am hoping it is the one and this horrible process of pendant searching comes to an end.  It truly has been one of the worst parts of the remodel.  If I knew it was going to be like this I would have just done all cans in the kitchen.....

Speaking of, the cans are looking wonderful!!!  Before the remodel we had no overhead lighting in the house!  It was awful!!  Both living rooms were horribly lit be lamps and the kitchen has several darks spots.  Our first floor now has 32 cans, 3 eventual pendants and under cabinet lighting.  We are not going to know what to do with so much light.  I hate dark though so it is going to be another wonderful addition.

Progress is being made at the house.  They have less than a week to be out, and I am more than ready to move back in.  Hopefully they stay on track.  It looks like we will be moving back in 1-2 weeks before the cabinets are done, then the granite will take an additional 1-2 weeks after the installation of the cabinets, but we can still be back home, just without a functioning kitchen.  So far however, so good.  I like the progress, am so happy with the open huge feeling the house has now, and just cannot wait to see it all come together.  Knock on wood, other than some minor hiccups, the remodel has gone pretty smoothly so far.  Hopefully it finished up the same way.

Moved Out

The last couple weeks have been insane.  A lot of progress has been made though and construction truly will begin MONDAY! FINALLY!!!!  So exciting.  What is not exciting however is that I no longer live in my house.  Last weekend was a very busy weekend of removing the flooring , furniture and cabinets from the first floor.  I personally chipped out all of the tile and sub floor in the hallway which was no easy or fun task.  However it did beat Matt and Eric removing 30 year old nasty stained pooped on too many times to count horrible carpet and padding and nail strips - so tile removal truly was the better option.  Once completed however it was very obvious the house was no longer child or pet safe so Maddy, Apollo, Max, Lola and I have moved in with my parents.  They currently are in Italy so we have the place to ourselves but they do return Sunday night so that should be interesting.  Hopefully we can move back in to our own home very quickly.  Things with the original contractor ended up not working out with scheduling issues so we have hired Shawn to do the entire project.  I am very happy with this decision as we have been very satisfied with him and all he has been able to do for us so far.  Furthermore, he claims 2-3 weeks and he will be completely out of our house which is fantastic - less time living with the parents!  This is just his construction - the demolition, moving of the walls, inserting the window, finishing work, new front door and installing the hardwood and new sink and toilet.  When he is done we still will have to paint, install the cabinets, granite and appliances and finish all of the trim work.  When his work is done however, we will at least be able to move back into the house so that is what is most important.  Madelyn has been suffering some anxiety issues with all of the madness in our lives right now.  We went on vacation so she stayed somewhere else for a week, and was with me 24 hours a day for 10 days straight.  After only 3 days home, she went and stayed with Matt's parents in Cincinnati for 4 days without us.  When she came back she was babysat by other people while we worked on the house, only to move her out of her own house completely now.  Furthermore, she is used to spending every day with my mom who she adores.  With mom being gone she has had different babysitters which has been confusing to her.  She has become a very clingy child constantly hanging on to me telling her sitter she misses me at all times.  My independent doesn't need me little child is starting to have issues.  So the sooner life gets back to normal for her, or for all of us for the matter, the better!!  Below are some pictures of the destroying of the kitchen we did this weekend.

Back to reality

Last week we headed to Destin Florida for a nice, very first family vacation.  Madelyn was super excited to go to the beach.  However the massive waves from tropical storm Lee scared her away from actually going in the ocean, and she stood on the beach screaming "Go away waves, I don't like you!"  Such a character she is.  It was very relaxing, with daily naps, laying on the beach and playing in the pool.  No decisions about pendants, wiring, cans, hardware, paint.... to be made.  A nice escape from what had become a very overwhelming stressful consuming remodel.  I asked Matt if I could become a vacation housewife - stop working and just hang out at the beach and pool with Maddy all day but not worry about cooking or cleaning, but he rejected my offer.  Perhaps it is time to find someone to support that dream lifestyle of mine! :)  Hard to come back to reality and work and the madness of the remodel.  Things are progressing along however.  Everything seems to be lining up and we are hoping to start Monday, September 19th.  We have to order the cabinets this week and finish clearing out the first floor, the cabinets on the first floor and all of the flooring.  Might be in for a busy weekend!! Progress is being made and Matt's precious budget has been blown, but he has stopped freaking out about it.  I have no idea when this project got so big or so expensive.  Hopefully in a very timely manner however our house is put back together better than we can even imagine and it will all be worth it.

Guest Post - Matt Windholtz

Hello,

Our gracious blogger, Katie, has allowed a guest post.  I thought it might be interesting to show some of the layout and see what people think.

To start out, here is a picture of the kitchen as Katie and I have come to hate :).

You can't tell in the above picture, but the side of the island (is that really just a peninsula?) has carpet that runs up the side.  The soffit will be yanked out.  Cabinets will eventually goto the ceiling.

Below gives a better perspective.  Nothing like having to vacuum the walls lol...

Another picture showing the inside of the kitchen a little bit more:

Of course here is the highlight of the kitchen.  A zodiac cutting board...

 So now that you have an idea of what we currently have...here is the new and improved hotness...

One of the nice things about the new arrangement will be the traffic pattern.  The entrance to the kitchen is located next to the fridge with another entrance to the right of the sink and a third doorway to the left of the wall oven.  Instead of congregating in the peninsula, we can now loiter around the island.  Additionally, it is the thought to put a love seat below the island which would be at the bottom of the screen where the picture is being perceived from.

So in the above, this is where the stove will be with the island removed for the purpose of the picture.  One of the major things that Katie and I wanted to do was open up the kitchen and first floor in general.  So here we have a pass thru that ties in the "red room" to the rest of the house.  Once everything is complete you will be able to stand in the red room and see through the kitchen, through the newly enlarged hallway and into the tv room.

The below picture shows us currently standing at the sink.  The remodel will demo the black "X" portion of the wall and will make the opening as wide as the black X along with the current doorway.  Going further in the hall, the red X is the wall in the hallway.  The opening will be shifted so that we will be able to see into the TV room from the kitchen.

Moving into the hallway, we are getting rid of the closet (hence the red scribbles).  The doorway is being enlarged to the back of the closet.  This enlargement of the doorway allows us to see all the way through the house.  Oh yeah, take note of the awesome tile in the hallway!  See-ya!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Old door:

New hotness!!!!!!!  At least that is what I like...we are still trying to track down all of the details on this one...

Moving into the TV room.  Good-bye awful wood panelling.

Good-bye bookshelves...

We are getting rid of the rustic beams along the ceiling

The mantle will be redone, somehow, someway, but we have no clue yet...

So what did I leave off?  1000sqft of hardwood floors and that means no carpet on the first floor.  All new appliances in the kitchen.  I did not include pictures of the laundry room which will be more or less gutted also.  The bathroom will also be modified.  New overhead lighting through-out the entire house.  Lastly, and most importantly, new white baseboards, trim and door casings throughout the first floor.  I can't wait for that part.

I think that about covers it.  I hand you back over to Katie's emotional rants about this process.

Cheers,
Matt

Way too much going on.....

Remodel supposed to begin next week and so much to do, I cannot sleep at night.  I lay awake thinking about the amount of things that still need to be done before we can start the remodel and am unable to get back to sleep.  Everything has gotten so crazy, so many decisions needing to be made, it is all very overwhelming.  I hope once the project starts it is much smoother with everyone else just doing the work for us and stopping bothering me about the 100 million details that go into ever small square inch of the remodel.  Progress towards starting is however being made.  This past weekend was spent cleaning out the basement and pantry, and the reloading both.  All of the kitchen cabinets, drawers, bookshelves, mantle, and walls have been emptied.  Other than toys, tvs and furniture which need to stay as long as we can, the first floor is pretty much empty.  For some unknown reason I do not understand, boxing up everything made me feel sad.  Again, I have no idea why this was.  Maybe finding the unopened wedding presents we have never used and forgotten about over 5 years later discovered in the pantry, tons of pictures and holiday cards I refuse to throw away because they have pictures of people important to me I kept stored in drawers that brought back memories, (including some of my independent 2 year old that seems so far from a baby  but I was reminded she really used to be one), or just the end to a large chapter of my life.  Though the house was never what we loved, I spent endless hours sanding and painting the cabinets, putting on new hardware, making it our house.  The carpeted island, zodiac cutting board built into the island, green odd shaped not available any more tile in the hallway and sub flooring showing in the doorway Matt installed, gave our house character.  As odd as it sounds they were all just quirky features that made the house uniquely ours.  The new house will be uniquely ours as well as we have made every tiny detail decision from the can lighting to cabinet pulls to placing new light switches.  I never knew so many decisions and details would have to be attended to or I might have rethought many years ago before ever buying such a project....

As for my last post, Shawn came through wonderfully in regards to the lighting.  He said us up with Fred at Northern Lighting in Westerville who came to our house, helped us decide on what kind of lighting, how much lighting, and where it should be placed.  He provided us with catalogs and detailed drawings for the electrician.  Last night we visited their showroom and the process of picking out the lighting became much easier, and UNDER budget.  That I must say was a first along this journey - but hopefully not a last.  From there we let Maddy burn some steam at McDonalds playground on 270 and Sawmill Road which is awesome for anyone with kids.  It will definitely be a great place for the winter when she needs to run and climb.  From there we proceeded to Lowes and narrowed it down to two exterior door choices and again, both were UNDER budget.  I came home with so much adrenaline I finished packing the kitchen and living room.  I went to bed feeling accomplished and managed to sleep pretty well through the night.

We have had other snags the last week or so which we are trying to work out.  Our contractor for some reason went MIA on us and we were unable to get a hold of him.  With less than a week before he is supposed to start and questions we need answered - this was extremely stressful.  He finally called today, though got Matts voice mail and now have been unable to reach him again.  I am pretty sure we are pushing the start date back a week....  Shawn is coming tomorrow with an electrician to work out the exact details of upgrading the electricity and where we are putting lights, switches, new outlets, etc.  I am sure that is going to be super fun!!  It will be nice to get done though because we need to make sure he is available when out contractor needs him so we do not have our house torn apart and sitting for weeks with no work being done between contractors.  I know there will be glitches and snags in the future, but as few as possible and completing this process once it begins in a timely fashion is my main concern.  In a house that is already crazy filled with a 2 year old, 2 wild dogs and a cat sure to get into as much as possible as that is her main goal in life, exposed studs and wiring is not really something I look forward to.

In final stress of the week, our cabinet final proposal came back about 30% higher from where we began.  We knew we had made some changes but didn't really expect that jump.  We are exploring out options there and hopefully it will all get worked out.

BREAKING NEWS: Just got confirmation, construction has been halted until further notice.  Relieves some stress, yet now with unknowns, not to mention all of the loss of sleep and hard work put in clearing all our belongings out of the first floor, kind of disappointing.  Just some lose ends that need tied up before we move on.  Hope to get those done quickly and set a new start date soon.....  Should make for interesting times living out of the pantry with most of our stuff already packed and put away.  Wonder if this project will be complete by the time I turn 31??? (December 2)

And Along Came Shawn....

In the search to wrap up the loose ends of our remodel, a friend of a friend was referred to me by the name of Shawn.  He owns a complete construction company that can take care of anything and everything from building from the ground up to anything in between.  Shawn arrived at the house with a binder full of photos from his project, a nice color brochure about his business and credentials, and a list of more than 30 prior customers, their addresses, the scope of the work he did from them and their phone numbers.  Each one had agreed to be a reference for his work.  Very impressive.  He was very warm and easy to talk to and understanding.  I think he saw the beat down dogs Matt and I have become when trying to get everything finalized so the project can get underway.  A big problem has not only been finding an electrician, but also someone to help us with a lighting design.  Many electricians will just install what you tell them to where you tell them to do it.  In a kitchen with a dropped ceiling with florescent lights and a single sad chandelier, figuring out cans, pendants, direct or indirect lighting and exactly where, as well as can placement in the brick room, living room and newly expanded hallway, can be a daunting task.  Shawn was very upfront that he does not do that on a regular basis, however he knew someone that would come out at no cost and plan that for us.  On top of that, he said he once the design was made, he would place the order for us as he gets a discount on the materials since he works with the company regularly.  The also horrible nightmare inducing front door was no match for Shawn.  With other contractors complaining about the size, age, brick surrounding the door, drawing up the prices to match the price of a door for installation, he stated a flat charge for all front door installation.  We allowed him to investigate the door, and the price still did not change.  The price, by the way, a small fraction of others we have had out, and we have had out several people at this point.  Furthermore, we have found pictures of doors we want but no one has helped us figure out the best place to buy it or best way to go about buying it.  We were told by everyone else, you buy and bring the door home, and then we will take Madelyn (our first born) as payment for installing it.  Shawn was fantastic.  He stated he gets discounts at certain stores, took the picture of we want and said he will find us what we want at a great price, not to mention then install it at almost $1000 less than our contractor we hired quoted us.  He almost seemed like a savior at this point.  Coming in with knowledge and answers and a willingness to help where no one else has.  I think I might have slept a little more peacefully last night feeling like finally progress might be being made.  We do not have all of the numbers or anything from him yet, however I got a good feeling from him.  Yes, I realize this post could come back to haunt me and bite my in the arse but for today I am feeling good, hoping Shawn will make the rest of this journey a smoother one.  After we deal with him more and see how these great promises pan out, I will post his company information because if he delivers as he promises, I would be more than happy to tell everyone I know to use his services.

So much to do, so little time....

To make a long story short, the latest contractor we brought in was significantly higher than the one we were going to go with but then wanted to make sure wasn't too high.  The installation of the front door is still way off, so we just told him we would find someone on our own for that.  We signed the contracts and he set a start date of September 7th.  Should be exciting as this is 6 years in the making, however there is so much to do!  We are going on vacation the week he set as the start date which I thought would be perfect.  He said the first week is going to be awful.  Dusty, dirty, exposed walls and ceilings, just not a place anyone will want to live.  So I thought it would be perfect to let him do this while we were gone and be super excited to come home and see so much progress.  However, there are still so many things to be done before he can start - and Matt just left for DC for work for 2 weeks!!!  Being a single parent working full time with a 2 year old, it is not going to be easy to get everything done and ready before the start date.

We still need to purchase our cooktop and microwave/oven built in combo.  I think we found them, but they have to be purchased.  Madelyn was not very cooperative with Matt and I both when we went shopping for appliances, running twice out of the store quickly when we were looking at something. So the thought of trying to finish that myself is daunting.  Furthermore, we are still in search of an electrician.  This has been a process. Many have come or been called and it just seems to be the task that will never work out.  The contractor said he is going to do demolition for a week then leave for a week while the electrician comes in since the walls will be exposed and ceilings will need to be accessible - then the contractor will come back and do all of the finishing work.  So now we have a 1 week window we need to find someone to fit into and complete all we need done..... this has been the head ache of the project and we cannot really allow the contractor to start until we get this in place.

We also need to actually place the cabinet order and get those started.  I am pretty sure we have all of the details now figured out on the cabinets, however every time we go there, there seems to be new decisions to be made.  Furthermore, we need to order a new front door.  We have pretty much figured out what we like, it is just a matter of finding it at a good price and ordering it.  Our problem all along this project is it seems like we always pick the most expensive products!  Not on purpose, but give us several options and it seems like the one we choose always is the most expensive.  Matts taste in front doors seem to be more on a caviar budget instead of our true canned tuna budget for a front door!!  Hopefully we find something we both like that does not cost more than the appliances!!

The final largest task of all is emptying the entire first floor.  This task in no way is something I look forward to.  There is so many toys, books, furniture, dishes, etc. it is unreal.  We basically have to move out of our entire first floor for a couple months  even though we will still be attempting to live there.  Perhaps this will be the perfect time to start living a more minimal lifestyle and donate things we have not used in awhile!!  I am sure once we move back in the though the collecting of stuff we don't need will just start again.....

So with the excitement of actually seeing progress being made, there is the never ending, always growing list of tasks that first need completed.  Hopefully Maddy will decide to be a really good helper and sleeper these next two weeks so some things get accomplished!!

First Injury

So the latest contractor came last Thursday - we still have not heard back but he said by today or tomorrow so I am sure I will have more about that later - and we were walking him through the project.  He asked about our dropped ceiling and I went to move a panel, which I have done a hundred times before without incident, and it crashed down on to my face!!!  Talk about pain.  It immediately swelled and was very painful!  The attached picture was 5 days after the fact so you cannot tell as well.  It is just the yellowing, healing shot.  It was pretty bad though, enough I was asked about my black eye by more than a couple people.  The contractor commented it would be the first of many injuries along this journey.  I told him no way, I am paying him to be the one getting injured!  Anyways, hoping for good news soon so will post as soon as we hear some news.....

And the drama continues.....

Last week the contractor who we thought we would be working with over the next couples months came over to finalize all of the details of the project so there are no surprises along the way.  We added and clarified some items with him.  It was a long detailed process making sure the entire scope of the project was completely understood.  Maddy was feeling neglected with all of the business being done and attention not being given to her and threw herself down the stairs.  Ok, not really.  We are not sure what happened exactly but we heard boom boom and then cries burst out as she landed on the tile in the hallway.  She was fine, nothing some gummi worms could not fix, but it was scary.  Crazy enough in 2 years, that was the very first time she has ever fallen on the stairs - and lets hope it was the last!  So during the meeting we got a timeline, he predicts about 8 weeks start to finish which would be incredible and I was getting very excited hoping to start soon and get it hammered out before the cold comes back and we are stuck inside a house in complete disarray.  The next day we received the revised contract to be signed.  It seemed many things we thought were included in the original bid were not and became additional costs.  The several costs ended up being like $300 here, $400 there but several extra lines.... the additional costs were a surprise and left us with a bad feeling.  The worst was the front door.  The proposal had stated $1300 (includes $1000 door allowance).  We had gotten a quote from Home Depot and they said door installation was $300.  One of my insureds quoted me the same and the original construction company we had brought out was $325.  (Their quote stated $1000 (includes $699 steel door)).  So we thought he probably was the same and was $300 to install and was giving us $1000 allowance to find a door.  Not so much!  When we clarified he stated $1300 was labor and the $1000 allowance meant it might be up to $2300 if the door was damaged and some wood or moldings needed replaced....  When Matt told me this I made him forward me the email because I was in disbelief.  When I saw it with my own eyes, I won't lie, my heart sunk and disappointment began to set in.  My excitement from actually seeing a start and worked out timeline vanished quickly with doubts and questions.  If the door was so much higher, was everything else??  We thought we had done a good job finding someone reliable, with a good reputation and comparable prices to others.  However now there is so much doubt - and sadness.  I won't lie I am ready for this to be over.  Not just started, but completed.  The sooner the better for me as this has been a long time coming and I don't want another winter to come and go with the house still in shambles.  So on to the next contractor....  We have not completely written off this one as we like him and I supposed could always just have the front door installed by someone else however with the doubts and questions we are now bringing in yet another contractor to make sure we are not being taken advantage of or over paying.  We have the detailed exact written contract so it at least will be able to compare as I have just deleted the prices and hope to get an exact quote from this next contractor to compare.  Just another bump in the road on a journey we have yet to really begin.....  My fear now is the appliances will be delivered (which we set to be delivered over 2 months out) and the work will not even have begun yet.

First Appliances Ordered

After many long months of research and endless trips to stores we had narrowed down what we liked it terms of styling and appearance.  We have been doing a lot of research, reading reviews and watching prices on appliances for a couple months.  I was not quite ready to purchase, however JD tells us he needs the exact dimensions of our appliances before building our cabinets.... so finally we needed to make our order.  Home Depot was having a Red, White and Blue sale over the 4th of July.  We went to store and looked at the sale items and pretty much figured out what we wanted, and after comparisons found the prices were great on the refrigerator, dishwasher, washer and dryer we wanted.  Yes, I said washer and dryer.  In the massiveness of the project, apparently the laundry room is now getting gutted as well....  Matt feels front loaders will more match the newly designed first floor and feels a granite countertop built over the washer and dryer would be a nice touch.  This project just keeps expanding...  The appliances ordered were http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100679670/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053&superSkuId=202717104, http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100641732/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053&superSkuId=202717155, http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202070581/h_d2/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&keyword=MHWE200XW&jspStoreDir=hdus&Nu=P_PARENT_ID&selectedCatgry=SEARCH+ALL&navFlow=3&catalogId=10053&langId=-1&ddkey=Search and http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202070579/h_d2/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&keyword=MEDE200XW&jspStoreDir=hdus&Nu=P_PARENT_ID&selectedCatgry=SEARCH+ALL&navFlow=3&catalogId=10053&langId=-1&ddkey=Search.  If anyone has negative experiences with these items, please do not let us know as they have already been paid for! :)  They allowed us to schedule a delivery date out to September 17 so hopefully everything else will be done then and ready so the appliances do not sit around for too long.  The ordering process was a big mess.  We decided to order online and waited until literally 2 hours before the end of the sale on July 7 at midnight.  We did not purposely intend on waiting that late, just ended up that way after a busy 4th and some migraines issues.  So we planned ahead and each bought 2 $500 gift cards from Giant Eagle for gas points.  For those unfamiliar, Giant Eagle offers $.20 off a gallon of gas for every $50 in gift certificates you purchase from them.  You are allowed to purchase up to 30 gallons for each redemption of the value.  So we just take the gas cans and make sure to get our full amount.  By doing this, we will save $240 in gas - every little bit helps with such a big project.  Moving on.... apparently many people also waited until the last minute to purchase items at the Red, White and Blue sale.  The web site was extremely slow and kept erasing our cart and timing out.  Very annoying.  Even more annoying - the instant rebates were not coming off our products.  We noticed this of course as well after we were ready to check out, had entered each gift card with its 20 digit code and 4 digit pin followed by having to type in the correct letters to verify after each card was entered.  So we went back to make sure we had qualifying products, which we did and of course then all of the gift cards that took forever to enter, had disappeared!!!  We did a live chat asking why the rebates were not being removed and were told to call an 800 number.  We called and after 13 minutes finally got through to someone who went to check for us and disconnected us.....  We called back, waited about 20 minutes to finally get through to someone who told us she could not help us and put us on hold.  She came back a bit later and said there was an unusually high call volume - I am pretty sure we were not the only ones having issues - and the wait could be over an hour!!!  By that time, the sale would be over. So we placed our order and immediately emailed customer service regarding our rebate.  A day later I got a lovely response stating to call the 800 number.....  very annoying.  I did however, got through much more quickly this time and was greeted by a friendly man who offered me a $50 refund or $60 Home Depot gift card.  I figure we will become regulars there over the next couple weeks so I took the gift card.  I got the gift card emailed to me in less than 30 minutes too which was nice, however the ordering process was not necessarily positive.  The exact appliances are significantly higher priced now on their sites, as well as others, so at least we got a good deal... I think.  The cooktop and microwave/oven built in combo are still be searched for.  I think I have found them, just need to order them now.... thinking about purchasing from an online site.  The site gets great reviews, mostly, and it is a $700 difference so I think I might take my chances...

The journey so far...

Hopefully what has happened so far is not foreshadowing for what is to come.  We started this process a couple months ago bringing in the first contractor.  He came to the house, gave ideas, talked about many things then left never to be heard from again....  We left messages and sent emails but apparently he was not interested in our project?!?!  Not real sure but that was not the start we were hoping for.  The next company came out right away, was very friendly, had great ideas, left and after some calling and emailing over a month later got back to us with an estimate.  In communications, it is very hard to get a response in less than two weeks - or ever - from them so we do not take this as a good sign.  Another not so great start.... (Ironically enough these all were referrals as well....)  Finally our neighbors recommended the contractor they used to completely - even more than we are doing - remodel their home.  He came quickly, had estimates prepared in a week and is easy to get a hold of.  Next week he is coming to finalize the plans and set a start date - probably 1-2 weeks.  Another bonus - Madelyn loved him.  She kept bringing him her own tools and trying to get him to play with her.

As for the remodel, it started off as a kitchen remodel, but has now turned into a complete first floor makeover.  We are adding a look through from the kitchen into the brick room which has never been well utilized in 6 years so it will be nice to open it up.  We are also taking out the hall closet, expanding the hallway, and moving/enlarging the door opening into the living room to open up the first floor.  When the work is complete you will be able to see from the brick room all the way into the living room which will be nice and make the first floor seem much more open.  We are simplifying (or bringing up to date) the living room by removing the wood paneling on the walls, the beams on the ceiling and the built ins.  The laundry room and bathroom are getting slight makeovers but all the details are not quite worked out just yet.  The entire first floor will have brazilian walnut wood floors which are absolutely beautiful.  (They were purchased at a great sale months ago and are patiently waiting for their new home!)  A new front door is also being put in and new shiny white trim all throughout the first floor.  Much needed as well, the electrical wiring and box is being updated so hopefully when we use the microwave the entire first floor will no longer lose power!!

The kitchen will still be the biggest project of all.  The entire kitchen, sadly including everyones favorites, the dropped ceiling and built in zodiac symbol cutting board, are being gutted.  Can lighting will be installed, as well as new cabinets and appliances.  For the cabinets we started working with a free consultant at Home Depot to quickly find what we wanted really would not work through standard built cabinets.  My parents and brother have both used Miller Cabinets in Plain City to custom build their cabinets.  Both had great experiences and incredible quality.  We have been working several months now with JD to design the kitchen, custom island and actual design of the cabinets.  I never had any idea how much went into designing your own cabinets.  The possibilities, and questions from JD, are endless!!  There are 5 different ways just to mount the cabinet door, not to mention then you decide from a million different cabinet doors.  Since we are custom building these pretty much anything goes.  Same for color, pretty much anything you could imagine.  They have multiple doors and drawers and you can pick what you like from one and add another detail from another.... the whole process gives me a headache and is an overwhelming process.  When we thought we had it all figured out, we took Maddy for our last color consultation and then JD was like what kind of crown molding do you want, what kind of hardware do you want, what are the exact dimensions of your appliances????  I was like seriously, I came to pick out a color.....  We finally, at least as far as I know, think we have all the details with the cabinets finally squared away.  It is just stressful knowing they cost significantly more than the car I just bought from mom, really wanting to make sure we love every detail about them.

So that is my story so far.  It is going to be a very long process filled with many decisions (off the top of my head I just realized we will have to pick out all new paint colors, new door knobs, not to mention if we have any money left we might need to furnish it as well.....  so many details).  Some days I think it might be easier to just start over - move and buy something move in ready.  But when Matt weeds, cuts the grass and everything is trimmed, I know why we love it there.  It is peaceful, a great setting and there is plenty of room for the dogs and Madelyn to run out their abundance of energy!  More than anything, it is where we started our lives together, took wedding pictures and brought Madelyn home for the very first time.  I hardly notice the carpeted island in the kitchen or missing tiles in the hall any more because it is home and that is what is most important.  However, when it is a beautifully remodeled up to date home, it might be loved for more than just sentimental reasons!!

About to begin.....

Almost 6 years ago Matt and I, about to be married, bought our first home.  We were wide eyed kids with no idea what we were getting into.  We fell in love with the land, 7.5 acres, the location and the potential for something great.  We had no idea what life would have in store for us to come, how long things would take to complete and how expensive our great dreams for the house actually were.  We had big dreams but not enough money to accomplish them all.  FINALLY - six years later our remodel is about the begin!!  After lots of saving, planning, designing, and more decisions than I ever really wanted to make - with hundreds more probably ahead that I am unaware of - we are about to begin our journey.  This blog will follow our journey, experiences, crazy stories and progress in what I hope to be a quick, painless process (I am not naive however so know there will be bumps along the way).  I will post before and after pictures in what hopefully will be a drastic beautiful transformation of a home in need of some sprucing up.  Hopefully this will be a short painless process! ;)