That is such a huge milestone. Of course the dust is an inch thick on the subfloor, and everywhere else, and I have no idea how to get it all up, but it's a great feeling to know that the rebuilding process has begun. From here it's painting, installing doors and windows, installing appliances, cabinets and lighting. Then the stonework outside, stone steps, wooden roofing, lighting and fans, and we are pretty much at the finish line.
Of course I'm getting ahead of myself.
This past week or so was wasted running here and there for kitchen door quotes below $2000. Nobody had anything in stock we liked, which would have been the least expensive. Everything we liked was around $1000 with at least 3 weeks before delivery. Then Clint started searching on Craigslist. There are tons of doors there--the same doors we were looking at, but at half the price.
So on Saturday (7/27) our sitter played with the girls and we drove all the way to Beaver County, PA to to look at a beautiful door with oak frame.
The best part was making a plan with DH on the way there. "Signals for if we don't like it?" he asked.
"I will tell you I don't like it." I said.
"Good, don't blurt out anything positive. Point out things you don't like, even if you like it."
"I can't do that. If I like it, I'll be quiet so I don't ruin the fun of your negotiation."
"But then I won't know if you like it. If you like it, say 'the eagle has landed' (or something like that--I don't remember exactly what he said)" he said.
"Or, 'the chair is against the wall.'" I said. "How about if I like it, I just poke you?"
And that's what I did, almost as soon as I saw it.
Of course they made a little small talk (he made his own wine, and was selling the door and some appliances for a friend); then they negotiated for a few minutes. Clint offered $100 less than he was asking. In the end, they met half way and the guy even threw in a bottle of his homemade wine.
Yes, the door fit perfectly in my car. Then we had a nice lunch at a bistro on the main street, and then back home with our beautiful door.
The workers came on Monday and were impressed with our door. Since the other doors and windows weren't expected until 8/1, they fixed our leaky and rotten porch roof, and then moved on to another job until the doors and windows arrive.
What to do in the meantime? Paint.
A lot.
By the way, tray ceilings are really tricky to paint.
So, after two days of painting 3 different colors, it's finally done, and dry. And it looks beautiful.
We even painted down the hallway so that the old plaster walls had a new coat and looked better, plus all the imperfections were patched by the drywall guru, so we kind of had to paint in there. The hallway needs new lights too.
And we are ready for the wood floors to go in, which have been acclimating in the middle of the work zone for the past week. Can't wait for those to go in. But that's next week.
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