Carolina Livin': May 2011

On May 15th we celebrated (with tears) 9 months of this house project!! We have come so far and are thrilled with much of it, but 5 months after the project was supposed to be completed, we still have so far to go!! Much to be done as well as much to be re-done!!!

Our master bath is beautiful; much nicer than any bathroom we have ever had…. however, the grout in many places needs to be redone. I’m not sure what went wrong, but it is clearly different colors where they tried to touch it up!! So here is our bathroom floor more than 9 months into the project. We’re also waiting for a new glass shower wall and door. The wrong one was ordered and installed.

Apparently we must look stupid because on one side of the door trim in our bathroom was a piece of shoe mold. I thought it was just leaning there so I tried to move it. Nope, it was nailed there. Dave pried some of it off…. it was “hiding” a messy gap between the sheetrock and the door trim. Really, who does that?? So more than 9 months into the project this is what the trim of our bathroom door looks like.

Our bathroom vanity. The doors have been built, but they don’t have a finish coat of paint or hinges, so, more than 9 months into the project, this is what our vanity looks like.

We love having a full upstairs. Before we started this, we only had a loft. Now we have two bedrooms, a bonus room and a bathroom. I’m not sure what the thought pattern was when putting these stairs in. They need to have sheetrock that goes below the stairs, but for some reason it doesn’t. We still have not been given an answer as to how this will be fixed, so more than 9 month into the project, this is what our stairs look like.

It’s hard to see in this picture, but this is the ceiling at the top of the stairs. This is where the loft used to be. The loft had a textured ceiling, all of the new construction is smooth ceiling. Again, it’s hard to see, but the ceiling in this picture has two different finishes, smooth and textured. It’s the same way in the upstairs bath, half smooth, half textured. So, more than 9 months into the project this is what our ceiling looks like.

More than 9 months into the project we are still missing most of the grates to the air vents.

More than 9 months into the project the closets in both of the boys bedrooms are missing door jams and knobs so they won’t stay closed.

The sheetrock in the upstairs bath was so bad that dad got in there and added mud and sanded it for a few days. Looks like we’ll have to paint it as well, so more than 9 months into the project, this is what our upstairs bath looks like.

Our contract included 2 new HVAC units, all new duct work and 5 separate zones in the house. We have new units, patched duct work and no zones. We also have a couple vents that do nothing. As in, no air flows out of them. So more than 9 months into the project we have a window air conditioner unit in an upstairs window to help keep it cool up there and an electric bill that continues to soar because our new units are constantly running with no efficiency.

The slider in mom and dad’s living room. This door is supposed to be replaced with a french door. The french door was delivered and sat in the front yard for more than a week. Yesterday the door moved and is now resting on the screened porch. It still has several yards to make it to the spot where it belongs so more than 9 months into the project, this is what the living room door looks like.

Mom and dad’s bathroom…. this is where it really gets ugly. They were supposed to be “in” by Christmas. Here we are 5 months later and their linen closet lacks doors, their shower lacks, well, it lacks a lot. Like a shower head, glass wall, door, and finished floor. Currently it’s a mess. I think it has sat in this condition for well over a month now. They have a water closet with a toilet, but no knobs on any doors. They have a light in the water closet, but no lights in the main part of the bathroom. They don’t have any trim or faucets. So, more than 9 months into the project this is what their bathroom looks like.

Mom and dad’s walk in closet. No trim, and

the light switch never got moved (when the walls were opened to the studs and it would have made sense to move it.) So more than 9 months into the project, in order to turn the light on or off you have to walk into the closet and reach through the clothes hanging on the rack to the back wall to get to the switch.

Alyssa’s bedroom was gutted. It grew 6 feet on the end and 2 feet on the sides. Apparently straight walls and ceilings weren’t part of the contract. So, more than 9 months into the project, this is what Alyssa’s room looks like.

Our back slider was replaced with a french door earlier this week. It looks great and we love it, but instead of putting the trim back up and finishing that job (so I can hang pictures and blinds back up and put things where they belong), here it sits with no trim and it seems that we’re on to another job. So, more than 9 months into the project this is what our door looks like.

We had the skylight in our kitchen closed in. In January I was told to pick out the light fixture so the electrician could hang it that weekend. That poor fixture has spent four months sitting in a closet waiting. The hole just got closed in this past week and has just one coat of mud on it so it will be a while before it’s done. So more than 9 months into the project, this is what the kitchen ceiling looks like.

Mom and dad’s screened porch is lovely. We all love it and it’s sure to get a lot of use!!! However there is supposed to be a ceiling fan and light in the middle and there isn’t. The siders installed the ceiling before the wiring was run. There is also supposed to be lattice on the bottom, but there isn’t. So, more than 9 months into the project, this is what the porch looks like.

After seeing the window in the picture below sitting on our front porch we sent a text saying that we did not want that window put in the house. It is much smaller than the other windows, has a different sheen on the finish and is a different brand. It does not match! We arrived home later that day to find said window installed! Can you say angry??? So more than 9 months into the project, this is what the window on the front of the house looks like. On a positive note the correct window (same size, brand and color) arrived two days ago, so maybe, just maybe, we’ll get the right window soon.

Fortunately, I arrived home before the wrong window was installed in mom and dad’s living room. Unfortunately, more than 9 months into the project, this is what mom and dad’s living room window looks like.

Speaking of “wrong” things…. while we were out of town at Christmas time, the wrong tub was installed in our bathroom. When we got home we (Dave) insisted that it be replaced with the right one. Since then, the “wrong” tub has been sitting in our side yard. If anyone needs a tub, come get it, it just might the “right” tub for you!!! So, more than 9 months into the project, our side yard still boasts a garden tub that does not belong in a garden.

The yard, drainage, and brick parking pad were all destroyed during the process. This is all supposed to be repaired and fixed. We are also supposed to have sand and a vapor barrier laid under the addition. Outside electrical work is something we’re still waiting for as well. All of the outside lights were taken off months ago so if you want to go outside at night, you better have a flashlight with you. So, more than 9 months into the project this is what the outside looks like.

We love our new siding and we’re thrilled that more than 9 months into the project, we can say that our siding looks like this.

Dear Lord, please don’t let our house catch on fire while we’re inside sleeping, because more than 9 months into the project, all of our smoke detectors look like this…. covered with red plastic!

More than 9 months into the project, our hall closet does not have a rod for hanging things and our upstairs linen closet has no shelves.

The hall bath has no mirror, toilet paper holder, towel bar, etc, and it appears as though the tile was cut incorrectly next to the air vent. So, more than 9 months into the project this is what the half bath looks like.