Renovation time is here!

I did make it through last week without taking anyone's head off or having a sobbing marathon. On to this week - our home renovation project is finally on the official docket. The contractors are showing up tomorrow at 7 AM to get started! I am beyond thrilled. Allegedly they will even finish this week, so I can get started on the interior finish work if I wind up home without a baby next week.

Hopefully the contractors are better at framing than I am with Paint

This is like Phase 3 of our 4-Phase attic renovation.

Phase 1 was to completely refinish one third of the upstairs into a bedroom. That was completed two years ago, down to the trim. The only thing not done was the heat and the flooring (we left the old asbestos tile down).

Phase 2 was to gut the remainder of the area we wanted to finish for bedroom #2 and hallway. That was completed last year, with new wiring, ceiling and walls drywalled, leaving just one wall unfinished - the one that the new dormer window is going into this week!

Phase 3 is these windows. We are not knowledgeable enough to cut holes in our roof and frame in dormer windows.

Phase 4 will be finishing bedroom #2, the hallway, and fixing up the interior of bedroom #1 post-dormer framing (it is also getting a new window, so we'll have to do some touching up drywall and painting, and probably some flooring as well).

So when we're done we'll have FOUR bedrooms instead of the TWO we had when we bought the house. Also, T and E will each have their own room upstairs. Until Baby #3 is old enough to move up there and share with one of them.

Updates to come tomorrow (hopefully good ones!)

Weekend Waiting

So, Thursday evening we got two estimates finally - from Contractor #2 and Contractor #3. Contractor #4 was actually a no-show... apparently this is normal contractor behavior. We immediately emailed them to our agent, who emailed them to the buyer's agent... and we haven't heard a word since.

I am hoping that either the buyer or her agent is simply on a vacation, this being the weekend of the Fourth and all, and that we'll get a "let's sign stuff!" call on Tuesday.

So it's more waiting and praying all weekend... and it's a LONG weekend... with my husband and his cracked rib moaning and groaning on the couch.

Contractor Hijinks

My contractor is allergic to giving estimates. I resorted to begging his voicemail for the estimate, which seemed to work as he called me and discussed the estimate he was about to send with me... and then the estimate never appeared in my inbox.

Having given up on this particular contractor, I have recruited three more to come - tomorrow morning, tomorrow night, and Thursday evening. Hopefully between the four of them (Contractor #1 with the allergy, Contractor #2 who was previously a no-show, Contractor #3 who was hard to understand on the phone but seemed nice, and Contractor #4 who called... and then emailed to confirm his appointment!) we can get an estimate THIS week.

And our no-daycare-imposed deadline of August 1st creeps closer, and closer, and closer...