Basement

The thing that has (unfortunately) been occuping all of my time and brainpower has been the finishing of our basement. We had it framed out before Lily was born, and it kind of sat on hold for a while. When we found out Tessa was coming, we knew we needed more room, and it really couldn't wait much longer.


So, in the few months leading up to Tessa's birth I (with the invaluable help and cheerleading support of my dear friend April) managed to get the rough plumbing, rough electrical and insulation done. My goal was to have it that far before the baby came, so we could finish it off while I was on maternity leave.

Lesson #1: Maternity leaves are given to new moms for a reason, and home improvements are not it!

With my work experience, I really thought it wouldn't be a big deal to manage this little project. I have managed construction projects before, and wasn't completely oblivious to the process. However, the timeframe I was trying to get this done in may have been a little unrealistic... AND, trying to care for a newborn and a 15-month old while juggling contractors, phone calls, trips to Home Depot, crisis after crisis doesn't bode for a speedy delivery recovery (nevermind the fact that having a big baby in the first place throws everything off anyway!)

It started with the sheetrockers. I hired a great crew, but they got delayed when the main boss guy got sick and then his cell phone broke. That threw off my carpenter, who does great work but is flakey about coming when he says he will. He did eventually come for one full day, left his tools, and disappeared the second day he was supposed to finish up. After a few pointed voicemails I found out his sister had overdosed and he had been at the hospital with her all day...

Carpentry eventually got done, and while the carpenter was here, I wanted him to build out shelving in all my bedroom closets. I especially wanted him to rebuild my Master Bedroom closet - that poor thing has fallen out of the wall way too many times. He did a great job building the shelving, but didn't put in any poles to hang anything... go figure. So he needs to come back after the painting is done and the carpet is in to hang all the doors, so he said he'd do it then. In the meantime, NONE of my closets are functional - pretty much every item of clothing is in a massive pile in Lily's bedroom, and I get the choice experience of plowing through it on a regular basis. Good times.


I found a great tile guy, who did an awesome job. We used a Samoan painter that our friends had used, who also did a good job, but overcharged us, and left a HUGE mess. He was on time though and always showed up when he said he would (apparently NOT a common thing for contractors, which I have learned).

The major problems came with the bathroom. We used a recommended plumber, and I had even gotten comparable bids, but it was a big job. They had to jackhammer underneath the footings and relocate all the stubs.


When he set everything originally, I had worries about the placement and spacing. I was assured everything would be fine. Well, when it came time for the plumber to come back and finish everything off, he informed me he doesn't install showers. WHAT??? If a plumber doesn't install a shower, who does??? I ended up having to call another guy to come out and install the shower walls, only to have him tell me that it's not going to fit right. Mr. Plumber Guy had to come back, tear up my tile, re-jackhammer and relocate the toilet. Plumber Guy did, only to move it too far the other way, so my vanity doesn't center under the plugs and lights anymore. AND when he installed the fixtures in my shower, we discovered that it's leaking, and I need to call Shower Wall Guy back to fix that. In the meantime, we pulled up the covering that had been on the floors from the painter, and discovered that there's a big gouge in my tile from when Plumber Guy jack-hammered the second time. GRRRRR!!! As of today, Shower Wall Guy is supposed to come back tomorrow to fix his walls, and Plumber Guy wants to come back yet again to inspect (and hopefully pay me back some of the extra money I had to spend to get Shower Wall Guy here).

One sign of progress today though is that my carpet is in!!! It is gorgeous, and even though I still need the carpenter, electrician, plumber, Shower Wall Guy, sheet rocker and painter all to come back, we have made progress!!!