Not quite finished by Memorial Day 2015 but it happened
So the concept of a budget was always more of a guide-line for Jan. We definitely went go over our allowance for this project - mostly on plumbing fixtures. The one truism is that there's no substitute for quality and they sure "don't make 'em like they used to", so the fixtures are the highest-end you'll find - after all, as Jan would say "who wants a faucet handle to come-off in their hand?" We heard that Grohe fixtures sold at Lowes and Home Depot are not the same as the standard ones and are made for those "big-box stores" with cheaper components. Of course we went directly to Grohe North America (in Canada) to make sure we got the real stuff. And the funniest part - the toilets? Some friends of ours are toilet aficionados (who knew) and they directed us toward the Toto E-max line - 3 times more expensive than your American Standard, but they're assuring me we can throw-out our plunger "cause it ain't ever gonna be used again". I wouldn't consider this a challenge but I am intrigued by the claim!
Feb 28 update: So we lost 3 weeks because of all the storms. Every street is now plowed to the asphalt except for ours. Luckily all the guys have 4WD trucks! We haven't had anything unexpected - whenever you open up the walls of a house this old we were warned that things could be found. We've been told it looks like the day it went up.... When asked if we can still make Memorial Day we've been told that if things continue without unexpected findings, yes!
April 24 update: They're telling me everything is installed and the acceleration after that is pretty amazing. The painters are finishing today. The refrigerator is arriving next week and the punch-list / final walk-through is next Friday (May 1). Jan is coming-out May 6 and staying for a while to make sure everything get's moved back-in and to do a bit of re-decorating. Many unexpected post-renovation issues are expected (how many renovations don't give-up some broken goods or furniture?), and we'll see how serious they may be. They're telling me no pictures before Jan shows up (the contractor has been seeing too many of those home make-over shows on HGTV I suspect). Jan will re-take the pictures room-by-room for a new gallery on this website and I'll probably update those some time in late May or early June...
July 2 update: For some weeks I had a punch-list with 10 items on it and I am happy to say that as of today everything is done. We're happy with the final result and can't wait to get in there ourselves! FYI Jan went over-budget by a whopping 25% - you guessed it, maybe half was over the allowances. You know, some things are just predictable ahead of time! The higher-quality upgrades, of course, are worth it.... Don't believe me, just ask Jan!
Enjoy the new Jan's Place....
So the concept of a budget was always more of a guide-line for Jan. We definitely went go over our allowance for this project - mostly on plumbing fixtures. The one truism is that there's no substitute for quality and they sure "don't make 'em like they used to", so the fixtures are the highest-end you'll find - after all, as Jan would say "who wants a faucet handle to come-off in their hand?" We heard that Grohe fixtures sold at Lowes and Home Depot are not the same as the standard ones and are made for those "big-box stores" with cheaper components. Of course we went directly to Grohe North America (in Canada) to make sure we got the real stuff. And the funniest part - the toilets? Some friends of ours are toilet aficionados (who knew) and they directed us toward the Toto E-max line - 3 times more expensive than your American Standard, but they're assuring me we can throw-out our plunger "cause it ain't ever gonna be used again". I wouldn't consider this a challenge but I am intrigued by the claim!
Feb 28 update: So we lost 3 weeks because of all the storms. Every street is now plowed to the asphalt except for ours. Luckily all the guys have 4WD trucks! We haven't had anything unexpected - whenever you open up the walls of a house this old we were warned that things could be found. We've been told it looks like the day it went up.... When asked if we can still make Memorial Day we've been told that if things continue without unexpected findings, yes!
April 24 update: They're telling me everything is installed and the acceleration after that is pretty amazing. The painters are finishing today. The refrigerator is arriving next week and the punch-list / final walk-through is next Friday (May 1). Jan is coming-out May 6 and staying for a while to make sure everything get's moved back-in and to do a bit of re-decorating. Many unexpected post-renovation issues are expected (how many renovations don't give-up some broken goods or furniture?), and we'll see how serious they may be. They're telling me no pictures before Jan shows up (the contractor has been seeing too many of those home make-over shows on HGTV I suspect). Jan will re-take the pictures room-by-room for a new gallery on this website and I'll probably update those some time in late May or early June...
July 2 update: For some weeks I had a punch-list with 10 items on it and I am happy to say that as of today everything is done. We're happy with the final result and can't wait to get in there ourselves! FYI Jan went over-budget by a whopping 25% - you guessed it, maybe half was over the allowances. You know, some things are just predictable ahead of time! The higher-quality upgrades, of course, are worth it.... Don't believe me, just ask Jan!
Enjoy the new Jan's Place....