The Hole Where Our Sink Should Be

It was supposed to be the dawning of a new era.  We should have returned to a newly renovated bathroom, complete with high-end tile, fancy-shmancy faucets, and someplace to hang a roll of toilet paper.  Our weeks away from Casa de Cheeky would render the transformation invisible to us, and the only thing we'd notice would be the steep increase in our debt/equity ratio.

Instead we got this.  This is a lot of things, but it's definitely not a sink.

You see, sometimes, in the world of home renovation, "yes" actually does mean "no."  For example, "Yes, we'll delivery your counter top," actually means "no, we don't deliver it to you."  "Yes, I'll be there tomorrow," could just as well mean "no, I can't make it until Friday."  And "Yes, I can install recessed lights," means "no, I cannot install them in a place where the light would illuminate anything you need."

In all fairness, "yes" does sometimes mean "yes," but in a qualified manner:  "Yes, the toilet works," may actually mean, "Yes, it works about half the time.  That counts."

Why must these things always be such a pain?

I'm exaggerating a bit, but after moving our for three weeks and investing the financial equivalent of tuition at Notre Dame you shouldn't have to deal with this crap.

It looks nice and all...the tile is great, the fixtures work, and it no longer smells like a wet dog.  But it's not done.  The contractor won't come back until the counter-top is delivered, and he still has to install all the towel racks, shelves, and...um, what else is there...oh yeah, sinks, which are all sorta useful when you're using a bathroom.  Meanwhile the toilet keeps running running running loud enough to distract us while watching our favorite shows, and we've got razors, toothpaste, and deodorant strewn pell-mell around the kitchen.  It looks like someone robbed a Walgreens and used our apartment as a hide-out.

Supposedly everything should be finished tomorrow, but I majored in skepticism in college and won't believe it 'til I see it.  I don't know what we're going to do in the meantime (Oodgie doesn't like my suggestion) but lamenting our fortunes seems like a good start.

So...how is your week going so far?

Wednesday Morning Update:  The counter-top arrived last night, and the contractor made arrangements to come in and install it.  One problem though...IT'S CRACKED!  REJECTED!  Yippee, we start again!  Estimated completion date will now be in two weeks.  May God have mercy on our filthy hands souls.

Comments

[L.A. Daddy]

Yeah, home renovation is always a pain in the ass. It always takes longer, costs more, and ages you more than it should. Since it's not an exact science, you're lucky if the whole process ends with your bank account and your nutsack still in place.

[Peter]

Deep breathes and patience will get you through.
It shoud be done soon. When I say soon I mean someday.
We did our addition over a year ago and the exterior still isn't completely painted.

[Kemp]

Welcome to the wonderful world of home renovation.

We went through this last year with our kitchen and dining room. Granted, while the annoyance is HUGE... the end result will make you forget about all the hassles...

Ok, it really won't, but I wanted to try and say something positive instead of something like; "It gets so much worse than this..."

Sorry T.

[whit]

I can't believe you used that photo of me on the can. You said there wasn't any film in your polaroid!

[TheOtherCW]

HA! That is all.

[Mitch McDad]

I'm good with dimmer switches---if you need any help.

[thordora]

Thank you for reinforcing my desire to gut my bathroom and redo it myself. That way, I can only blame me.

[JayMonster]

Thank you for giving me a reason to forestall redoing out bathroom just a little longer.

[the weirdgirl]

We keep saying we're going to do some "minor" upgrades to the kitchen, but we keep putting it off because of the very situation you describe.

My deepest sympathies.

[AdventureDad]

I find it amazing that contractors can keep doing this year after year. Nothing seems to change. Dealing with this while being single or a couple is freaking annoying, but with a family things get so much more complicated.

Good luck

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