Remember how I had to cancel my first flooring order and go with another company, because my sub-floor was so terrifying and "softer than concrete - I don't want to alarm you, it's not that it's unsafe or anything...." the first installers basically lied through their teeth to get out of the job?
The Handsome Smiling Italian came back today, to do the tear-out of the tile flooring. It took him an hour. He didn't even need any real tools, he just slid a thin trowel under and popped them out. I could have done it myself if I had the spare time. Removal of the tile was the dreaded, scary thing that would require the most prep work, and it all popped out neat as you please, He'll have to smooth a few high spots where the grout didn't pop out like peeling off old nail polish, and fill a few low spots in the gypcrete (so small that seriously, it probably would make no difference if the low spots were left alone). We had a good laugh at how easy it was, and I told him I was sorry he'd rearranged his schedule for such a minor job - I should have tested it last night, I'd have had it pulled out in an hour, just as he did!
Interestingly, this floor had no hollow spots I could detect, and no tiles were loose, and the grout was solid. Now I know - a solid floor is not always an indication of a difficult removal job!
The plumber came late this afternoon, and HE really earned his money. It took hours to center the pipes for the master bathroom sink - the new vanity will have one sink, centered, and lots of storage on either side, instead of one sink, off-center, and that wasted mirrored vanity space that was only good for leaving the hair dryer plugged in out of sight, and wasted about six square feet of storage potential.
Tomorrow, electrical rough-in. Then a three day weekend of sandwiches and sitting by the pool after peeling some random patches of wallpaper hidden behind the old cabinets. Next week, more prep - electrical inspection and drywall patching - then the installation can begin! After the cabinets are in, my cheerful flooring guy will come back and install the floor, the new lighting and appliances will go in, and then we wait for the countertop, which means no kitchen sink. That's right - I won't have a kitchen sink for two weeks AFTER the other stuff is done. I'm cursing myself for going for solid surface, but I'll love it when it's finally all done.
Tomorrow I get to spend a fairly normal day at the office - only one sub, the electrician, and he'll be glad to get me out of his way so he can turn off the power as needed without asking permission, and I won't be driving back and forth from the office to the house three times a day. The last few days have been exhausting, and I NEED this weekend!
No comments:
Post a Comment