Not that there isn't a lot to deal with during construction. We spent three days with no ceiling in the kitchen, which was open to the attic over the garage and therefore stinkin' cold. Then the ceiling and new thermostat were installed, but somehow the pilot light in the furnace went out, so we had another night of freezing. There is a panel of switches in the living room that have shocked Brad and me both, making it so that none of us really want to turn off the lights anymore. Some of the lights and outlets in the basement don't work. And the entire house is in a general state of upheaval - the stove spent a day in the hallway blocking the stairs, the piano is diagonally across the living room, and we spend so much time in the family room that it is a constant mess.
There are some good things, though. The boys' basement bedroom is missing a ceiling so they trade off sleeping in the craft room, which they love. They also think they've died and gone to heaven because we eat every meal in the family room, with the tv on. We are finally the family they've always wanted us to be. The best, though, is that I haven't had to cook dinner all week, and that is awesome. It could be 4:45 and I'm sitting on the couch, reading a book, and when I think about dinner there is no stress at all - it's just a matter of do we want Arby's or Subway tonight? So we are spending an obscene amount of money and time renovating the kitchen top to bottom, when really all we needed to do to make me happy was rip out the old one and eat out every night for the rest of our lives. I wonder if we would have saved money that way...
I thought you might be interested in some pictures. Here's the "before" picture, and true to before pictures in magazines, we went out of our way to make the kitchen look as bad as possible. We staged the kitchen with piles of crap and boxes and garbage, you wouldn't believe how much effort went into making the old kitchen look bad.
If you believe that I actually spent time making the kitchen look messy, I've got a sub-prime mortgage to sell you.
And here is the "during" picture. The ceiling was raised, the pantry removed, and the plumbing moved so that the sink will be on the end of the counter, instead of under the window. We had recessed lighting and a ceiling fan installed, or at least they are ready to be installed, and outlets inside the new pantry, which I'm so excited about. The electrician was also able to install an additional phone jack in the family room since the walls and floor were open already, which is just so cool.
Ryan asked the kids if they were tired of eating out yet, did they miss mom's cooking yet? "No!" was their answer, which I'm not taking personally, but as much as I don't miss cooking dinner, I do miss having a sink, or the ability to cook when I want to. We were invited to eat dinner on Sunday at a friend's house, but Zack started throwing up like crazy, so it looks like we'll be home. (They are good friends - they'll be delivering us some dinner anyhow!)
So the schedule for the rest of the work looks like this: Monday the guys come back to do more drywall stuff, mud and texture, but not until the plumber comes back to remove some pipes that were uncovered when the cabinets were removed. When the walls are ready, we paint. The new cabinets will be delivered somewhere around the 25th, hopefully installed immediately thereafter, and then another week before the countertop and sink come in. Two more weeks, or so. If anyone has any fast food coupons, send them our way!
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