Yes, the end is near....in a good way!! The new house is getting to the point where it's looking like we might actually live in it in this lifetime. I know it takes time, but it seems like its been going on FOREVER! So, lets get to it....
The cabinets are in (mostly), stained and look great! I say mostly because there was some weirdness going on in the finish of several of the cabinet doors (if you want details make a comment or email me and I'll fill you in) and our builder basically rejected them, so the cabinet guy had to take them back, sand the crap out of them and see if they looked better. Some of them still did not pass our builder's muster, so about 10 or so will be replaced entirely! Glad I'm not the one having to climb up a subcontractor's tookus to get stuff done!! So, hopefully those will be done within the next week or so. Painting is also done. We are really happy with the colors we have chosen. You just never really know what its going to look like (even tho' a large swatch is on the wall) until the whole room is painted. Obviously, there will be touch ups later, but all in all it looks great! I also am super happy with the texture we chose for the plaster which I refer to as "cake icing", but I'm sure there is a more technical term for it - some texture, but not a lot (the only thing I knew for sure was I did NOT want that "orange peel" texture that appears to be so popular here....is it popular anywhere else? Non-Texans, let me know. It's a huge pain to repaint, this I know intimately).
We were out at the house today to meet with a landscaper so we would plan out irrigation and how much water capture we will want to put in. While we were there a couple of young guys were there putting in the light fixtures (listening to classical music, I might add - this is for you Aunt Dawn!!! They said it was relaxing). It's really funny because Chuck took the light fixtures out to the house last night (they had been sitting in our garage) and came home and said, "I don't think there is wiring sticking out of the wall in the guest bath for the light fixture we bought". I told him that maybe they put in a can light by mistake? After talking about it a bit it dawned on us that when they put up the extra plywood for it to be the safe room they did not make a hole and thread the wiring thru it. So, while out today, we pointed it out to our builder and I asked him if our guests were supposed to brush their teeth or put on their makeup by candlelight because that could get UGLY! Good thing he gets my sense of humor because I laughed my butt off when we realized what had happened. The builder assured us a hole would be drilled and the wire fished outta the wall! Some of the stuff that goes wrong just cracks me up! My builder also assured me that the problems with subs happen on each and every job.
Speaking of sub problems.....apparently the tile installer messed something up in every single room that had tile in it. There was not enough tile for the kitchen (Chuck and I got it online because the tile place we were using had nothing I liked well enough) because he put a large backsplash in the PANTRY! Really, Mr. Tile Man? We were out there on Monday and told you to finish the kitchen tile before doing the pantry and to adjust the height of the pantry backsplash accordingly! They ran out of bullnose tile in the master bath due to a measuring error - which doesn't surprise me since the sales guy they set me up with has been somewhat of a "dipwad" thru the entire process (my poor builder has dealt with him whenever he screwed up and has met with him several times to make sure things were ok). They neglected to join the waterproof board that is against the linen closet to the wall, so in time water from the shower could permeate and rot the entire linen closet?????!!!! So, all the tile on that waterproof board on the wall has to be torn out and redone! Yikes! Once again, unhappy builder! Seriously, I have to laugh or I'd be crying a river! I also know our builder will make them make it right! I can't even wrap my head around what went on in the pool bath.....
Countertops were an adventure. Not the fun kind. I find as I get older I really don't have an adventurous bone in my body - maybe that's the osteoarthritis is my back talking, but I've never been one to find roller coasters or bungy jumping exciting. Anyway, I have always wanted to use remnants in as many rooms as I could besides the kitchen and master bath - high use areas. So, I had been approached by a sales guy while I was at the tile place - yep, the tile place where I was dealing with the dipwad and you don't have to tell me that I should have known better - telling me the company he worked for had a huge inventory of remnants and he'd be happy to hook me up with a deal. Well, the dude was WRONG! Chuck, the builder (who had not had any contact with this particular counter top dealer - heck, I should name names because they were a huge pain in the butt, but I shall remain dignified) and I went off to the warehouse to check out what they had. I had looked at their website which had ALL the slabs online and had kind of narrowed down the ones to look at. So, we get there and we are browsing and I come across some Vetrazzo which is basically recycled glass busted up and mixed with cement and epoxy stuff to make slabs. It was BEAUTIFUL and about as eco friendly as it comes. Well, the counter people were unwilling to admit it was a remnant because it was so large - even tho' it was housed with the quartz remnants - and refused to budge from retail price (which is kinda ridiculously expensive!). My builder told them he'd give them the rest of the counters in the house to do and on and on. This continued for about a week and finally I just said "nope, not playing this game and holding things up" - this is why I am sure my builder loves me! So, off we went to another place, found some nice remnants for the guest bath, pool bath and pantry, no problems and under budget!!! So, all's well that ends well. Personally, don't put it in the remnant room if it ain't a remnant and please feel free to let that huge slab sit in your warehouse taking up space!!!! Sheesh!
Our pool is kind of on hold at the moment. It appears the city is giving the pool guy some grief because of our neighbors having pitched a hissy fit about drainage (I think I mentioned this in an earlier post that we had to meet with the city about this issue before getting a permit for the house) to the city something like 3 years ago!!! The pool guy said he had built pools in Argyle before and never had this issue. It appears our 70 year old neighbor lady has them wetting their pants! Well, I say, quit being wussies and stop pandering to one resident at the expense of another!!!! Apparently, they are not aware that "The Wrath Of Lori" exists! Cheez Whiz!!!!!
On another note, our current home went up on the market 8/2. We had an offer, which we accepted, within 36 hours!!! We still had several showings over the next few days (and kept them, in case the deal went south) and it kept us (and poor Doppler) on our toes! Spent very little time at home last Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The inspection was Wednesday and now we await their request for repairs. Cross your fingers this works out!! We have met the people who made the offer twice and I really would like to see them in this house. As I told them, this house needs a family. Chuck and I are just rattling around in here and don't need all these bedrooms. Just keeping it clean is a Herculean event!
I hope I have covered everything new. Honestly, I'm tired and my brain is a tad fuzzy, so please excuse typos and a wee bit of venting!
Take Care and Stay Cool,
Lori
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