When last Friday afternoon rolled around, I had a lump in my throat. Looking around, there wasn’t a lot of visual progress made in the house last week despite workers being on site every day. And being on month 7 of this (and 2 months over schedule), it’s not all rainbows of positivity.
That being said, we really do love our contractors and the work they are doing is attention-based and detailed and even though to the naked eye, it might not look like a ton, I started a mental list of the things that we have gotten done and I started looking at before photos (that feel like they were taken years ago, not just 7 months!) and I was able to shift my perspective. We’ve come SO far!!! And the end is in sight.
The second week of March we have a large, 20+ person crew coming to film for a week at our house so we HAVE to have this phase wrapped up and the house completely ready. When we signed off on the shoot, the work was supposed to be wrapped up long before March (See the original to-do list in November right here!) but now we’re down to the wire and I’m starting to feel the stress building.
We reached out to our head contractor over the weekend with a sense of urgency and a reminder about the shoot and a list of everything that needs to be done before the first week of March, including:
• Sheetrock on the window wall (they finished framing it out for drywall on Friday!)
• Patching ceiling in living room, as well as around some of the new windows and doors
• Beams added to ceiling in living room
• Beams added to ceiling in dining room
• New baseboard, door and window trim throughout house (we’re about 50% done here)
• Finish trimming out big window (outside as well as inside)
• Large arched door refinished and installed in the dining room
• Chimney built
• Remaining smart light switches installed throughout house
• Fireplace finished (this needs done by February 21st to ensure we have time to get the hearth templated and installed – we are working directly with a stone yard to make that happen)
• Fireplace burner hooked up
• Stair balusters installed
• Painting and caulk (walls, ceilings, baseboards, trim, stair railing, stair risers)
I get a lot of messages every day asking “Why is this taking so long?” or “When is it going to be done?” or “What’s the update?” I don’t know all the answers, but I do know we’re in the home stretch. We’re almost there. This list HAS to be done by the first week of March. It HAS to be so I’m holding on to that firm deadline and, as always, we’ll share progress as it happens!
I know how frustrating and time consuming renovations can be, I share your pain! I’m a handyman, so I know the roller coaster ride of renovation, but I still can’t stand when things get dragged out by complications. Best of luck guys, thanks for sharing!
“Why isn’t this project finished?” LOL
I feel like you are accurately showing the realities of the nature of the beast. One thing turns into another, a problem happens, someone gets sick or breaks their leg, and so on. This is homeownership. That was something my mom always told us when we were kids and they would do house stuff (and teach us things along the way). “However long you think it’s going to take multiply by two then add a quarter.”
I’m a lover of the deadline! I actually invite people over to my house when I don’t want to clean it, but it really needs it. So motivating! haha!
gosh! it’s taking so long because you tore up half your house and are putting it back together! i can’t believe some people would give you grief over that. i’m loving following every tiny detail along the way!!
As part of a Design Build Team I can tell you that this is the point in a project when things really start to speed up! So take heart, it is going to get better :)
The entire project is looking good.
You didn’t mention who the photo shoot is with, but, if the project is with a renovation-related group, the fact that the project is not done can be a good point. Life happens and sometimes things are not completed on time. Go with the flow.
Even if the good dining room – living room view is finished, let the cameras see the not quite finished spots. It’s life.
I want to do some things in my home and I am getting the idea that I need to adjust time frames. Better to be finished early and happy than late and stressed.