2/14/2004

Day 7 Friday 2/13
I hadn’t realized it was Friday the 13th and the day went reasonably smoothly. The tiles and Gregory showed up as planed a little after 2pm. The tile man is Sasha and he has less command of the English language than the rest of the crew. Between Gregory, Sasha and myself we came up with a plan for getting around the medicine chest and I have asked for dark baseboard or “saddle” that matches the floor to go over the white tile on the sink/toilet wall. It’s a little unconventional but will look finished when it’s all done. Even with no language between us Sasha and I convinced Gregory it was the right solution. So Gregory is off to other jobs and Sasha starts the tile. I am thrilled to see this phase started.
It is great to see the choices I made in the show room look good together. I stuck my neck out when choosing the floor tiles they are a green and black sort of “agate” look. They have a bit of texture so I won’t go sliding across all five feet of bathroom floor. Did I mention the bathroom is tiny?

Day 8 Saturday 2/14.
Sasha has got most of the whole pieces on the wall of the tub surround by noon. After his lunch, they all carry Tupper Ware lunches and tea, he is starting on all the cuts around the faucets and nozzles.
I spent the morning at the container store and Bed Bath & Beyond scoping out new towels, storage boxes and shower curtains. I should have a scrap of the floor tile to take with me in the next day or two. I managed to get out of both stores with only a $5 trash can but will have to bite the bullet soon and buy all the stuff when we get closer to completion. With the green of the floor I think the towels, rug and shower curtain will be sage or celadon. The wall color will also be celadon with the wall opposite of the mirror staying white. Of course I’m getting ahead of myself. I think the walls and floor will take through Monday.

2/12/2004

The Walls Came Tumbling….UP!!!

Day 6 Thurs. 1/12
It’s 12:30 and walls are all closed up and the cement board is going down for the floor tiles. It’s so much better now that the walls are closed I can almost sense that a bathroom will exist here in a few days. These boys don’t mess around.
There is of course plenty to do. Next the floor gets tiled then the tub surround and sink wall gets tiled and then all the “accessories” get placed. Each tiling job has wait times involved so things will speed up then come to a sudden halt. I decided to put a grab bar in the shower. I may not need it now but I think it will be a safety feature that is better added now rather than latter.
There is a little delay in that the floor tiles will not be delivered till tomorrow at 1pm. They could have started the floor today but all is well and the half day wait won’t hurt that much. It’s a bit anti climatic, the room still looks like a construction site and the hallway into the apt. is still piled with tools, plaster, workmen’s cloths and the pieces and parts yet to be installed, but today was a good day.
On another note it is freezing here in NYC but a small ray of summer just showed up in the mailbox. The mooring permit arrived for ”Peregrine”. This is always a welcome sign that Oyster Bay will indeed thaw out and sailing and lounging about in the sun is coming.

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2/11/2004

Ah… The life of a home owner.

The following is brief description of the remodeling that will go on in my apt for awhile. Since it is a major factor in my life I’ll let it take space in the blog.
The remodel includes a total redo of the bathroom from the floor up and just the floor new counter, sink and appliances in the kitchen.

Remodel Diary

Day 1 Thurs. 2/5
The Russians have landed!
Gregory said they would show up at 8:30 so of course they showed at 7:50 while I was still in the shower. I let them in and they started covering the floor and taping up plastic while I finished my shower.
The ordeal has begun!!
By the end of the day the bathroom was rubble with all the walls exposed to the studs and the ceiling out.

Day 2 Fri. 2/6
One lone Russian had the sad task of finishing the demo by himself. The job was done by 3pm and Gregory showed up and pronounced the job “good” the bathroom however looked like a bomb went off. I am now living in a wrecked bathroom and the rest of the apt encased in plastic to keep the dust at bay. It will be a long weekend.

Day 3 Monday 2/9
The plumber showed up and started to rough in new copper with new fittings and cut off valves. All was going well when the super Adam shut off the water to the toilet and the pipes were cut. When Adam restored the water we had a flood from above. The toilet in 5A overflowed when the water went back on. Adam had to break into the apt and fix their toilet that was not draining before they start work again. My bathroom was soaked but since the walls were out there was nothing to get damaged. I worried about the apt below because she has worked so hard to make her apt a showcase.

Day 4 Tues. 2/10
No issues with the apt below so work continues the plumbing is roughed in and the new framing is starting. It’s great to see the new work starting. After another discussion about putting the medicine cabinet in the wall I pull the cabinet out of the box and insist that be set into the wall. I ran off to work at noon and let the Russians do the work.

Day 5 Wed. 2/11
I am now staying with friends as the bathroom has little or no function. I returned this morning to find just one workman putting up the cement board. It is 10am and the ceiling is up and the tub wall is rocked. The GFI plug is in the middle of the blank space I want to put shelves in so after a bit of explanation it will be moved next to the medicine chest which is in and set well into the wall. It’s important to see each detain so changes can be made easily as you go.