99%? Done

It's pretty common to say that you are "99% done" with a project - there is always those straggling tasks. But, we are all way too optimistic - saying that there is only 1% of the project left is underestimating the effort. Say my kitchen had 1000 tasks - that's a lot! I know it was a lot of work too, and I suppose if you break it down to each nail, screw, or board, then it's well over 1000 tasks, but let's just say general tasks - like "install the faucet". So, if 99% of those tasks are done, then that means that I only have 10 left. Well, my list is over 25, and growing.

Not only that, but those lingering tasks are seeming to take double the amount of time that the other ~975 tasks have taken.

The problem (challenge?) is life. Normal day to day life just doesn't leave much time to devote to these tasks. By the time I get home from a busy day at work, make dinner, and clean up from dinner, there isn't much time or energy left - it's so easy to blow off the tedious work of emptying boxes, reorganizing cabinets, and sorting through piles of stuff to determine what stays and what goes.

Tonight I sorted through 2 boxes. I brought in all the boxes that were still in the garage. I figure if I have to trip over them, I'll have to do something with them.

Some of the tasks on my list are no small thing. We were left with a large section of the back of the house primed but not painted. Russell has been helping me with the painting, and we probably have ~6 hours so far, and it's still not done. Some are not a high priority (making throw pillows for the living room), but they all, in my mind, contribute to the "doneness" of the project. For now, I'm trying to have a goal and select tasks that work toward that - right now that is to be able to pull in/park in the garage. So, there are a million other things to be done, but if the task doesn't help me with my current goal, it keeps getting pushed to the end of the list.

So, the next time someone says (or maybe even you say), "I'm 99% done.", have pity on them :-)

Wow, where is the time going?

Yikes, a whole week since I last blogged. Well, activity has slowed down quite a bit. I actually managed to stay out of Home Goods and Target last week :-) I am a bit overwhelmed with everything that is left to do, however.

I've been slowly trying to put everything back together and put away, but it is difficult. Most nights, I am now cooking dinner as before, and I am trying to get the usual life things done - grocery shopping, laundry, etc. That doesn't leave me much time or energy for even emptying a bin.

On Friday I worked from home because Gwen was sick. Between meetings, I made a list of things that had to be done - it number 21, and that wasn't without a lot of the sublists. I was able to check off some items after this weekend, but there is still SO much to do, I could work for a week straight and not have it all done. But, I would have a good dent in it, and that would feel good!

On top of all this - school is starting next Tuesday for Russell and Tess, and that is stressing me out because I'd like to be a lot more organized before it starts. I have tried to prioritize what has to get done vs. what can be done later, but it's still a lot.

It's all coming along, though - I got the china unpacked and the liquor cabinet organized (high priority!). Each bit feels good. I'm definitely running out of space, though, and that is concerning me. I have 1 more full bin of bottles and boxes - Worcester sauce, vinegars, corn starch, vanilla, etc. I don't know where it is going to go. The 2 12" wall cabinets on either side of the oven are not big enough for all I want to store there. I may have to do some more rearranging, but I'll figure it out.

Details

I figured I'd add the detail, you know, for posterity. Now that you've seen the pictures, I'm sure you all have lots of questions :-)

Details: Total gut renovation with removal of non-load and load-bearing wall. From demo to functioning kitchen with all the large items completed was 8 weeks, which included 2 weeks of which we were on vacation, and at least 2 weeks (somewhat overlapping) when there was NO activity.

I had budgeted $50k based on the amount that I wanted to spend. When we took out the HELOC, we had to pay off the 2nd that we already had, so that left us with approximately $42 to spend. When the estimates came in, and I added up what I budgeted spending, I figured just over $35k for the project. With a 20% contingency, it came out to be just over $43k, and that's about what we've spent. I still need to do the final accounting, but out of the gate I was over $1k for the cabinets, we went over on the refrigerator ($1k), and there were additional costs to the project ($3k), and there were miscellaneous budget busters or unbudgeted items that brought us up to the ~$7k contingency.

Cabinets: Kraftmaid Maple Hunnington in Biscotti
Counter tops: Julia soapstone
Floors: red oak, matching dining room and living room
Hardware: Restoration Hardware Marston cup and strap pulls
Lighting: Hinkley Lighting small pendant OBF, from lighting universe with no problems
appliances: all existing except for refrigerator and disposal:
DW: Kenmore
OTR MW: Maytag
Stove: GE
Refrigerator: NEW Electrolux IQ Touch FD CD with ice and water in the door Black. Bought from AJ Madison with no issues - excellent customer service when I pushed out the delivery date 4 times.
Disposal: Insinkerator Compact Evolution
Sink: Blanco 511-710 Blanco diamond Single Bowl Kitchen Sink, Biscuit
Faucet: final faucet will be Elements of Design Tempa 2 handled in ORB, but currently have cheap temporary is Kingston Brass Victorian twin handled faucet.
Paint color: SW Milk Pail (a Martha Stewart color, which is discontinued, but they will still make it for you)
Bar stools: Boraam Industries Ming bar stool Glass in cabinet: wissmach hammered
Patio door: outswinging Anderson french door with retractable screen.

The moment you all have been waiting for . . .

Oh, I'm sure you have just been sitting at the edge of your seats. :-)

Well, one of the final details was completed today - Dave switched out the door and strap pulls on the pull out cabinets. Also, the cleaning ladies came, so I figured it would be a good night to take a bunch of pictures.

I won't keep you in suspense - this is all about the reveal. Feel free to visit my Shutterfly photo site for more detailed pictures. I still need to photo the dining room and living room, but I'm not quite done with them yet, so that will have to wait.

Above is the "before" kitchen is on the left, the new kitchen is on the right.

Above the "window" wall before and after.

Below is the before and after of the "buffet" area.

And here is a close up of the new door. I'll have to try to take some pictures in the daylight.

And the final shot of the doorway into the kitchen and the newly covered stairs:

The Chairs

Remember the wing chairs from, oh, about the 4th post? Well, 3 people have mentioned that they miss them :-(

But, I am not going to get hung up on it - I didn't really have anywhere else for someone to hang out, but I will, and we'll see if they still miss them after that.

Gotta get the living room done. I brought in the rug tonight. If I can do one or two things every night, I should be close to having things settled on the 1st floor - then I have to move on to the other rooms that got completely trashed while the reno was going on.

It's going to be a lot tougher to make progress now that the kitchen is functional - that means I have to make dinner and clean up - I'm usually done for the night after that.

Got to stay motivated . . .

I have a dream . . .

I had a goal this weekend, it was to be able to make, serve, and eat dinner in our dining room. It doesn't sound like much, but I had to do sooooo much to make it happen. I decided that the dinner would be spaghetti and meatballs to boot.

I am here with the last 5 minutes of energy left in my body to tell you that I achieved my goal!!

I spent all of Saturday painting. I got up early and painted quite a bit before the kids were even awake. Unfortunately, all the last minute work by the guys left me with more priming to do. So I primed, then I did 2nd coats where I had done first coats last week, I did touch ups, then first coats, then taped and painted more trim - well, you get the picture. Lots of painting.

In the meantime, I also emptied a few boxes. I wanted to get things ready to make the spaghetti and meatballs, and so I needed my pots and pans. I also needed some of my food items.

On Sunday, I again started early - about 6:30 - but today was all about clean up, set up, cooking, and serving. I started with cleaning up the paint stuff. I had rolled out the dining room rug the night before so it could flatten. Chuck helped me with hanging the curtain rod, and I hung the panels that I bought. I'm happy to say that they look really good with the paint and rug.

You can see the newly-covered chairs in this photo too.

By then, the kids were starting to get up (Tess), and so I made pancakes, and they ate at the bar. It was challenging because we don't have our 3rd barstool (it was sent without the swivel assembly, so we are waiting to see if they can send us one). But the girls actually shared a seat, and it was pretty cool.

After cleaning away all the paint stuff in the living room and hall, I cleaned the table - 2 months in the garage had not been kind to my dining table. It probably needs the top refinished, but after I cleaned it, I gave it a coat of Restore-a-Finish. Once it was in the house, I concentrated on the chairs. I have recovered 4 of them, but there are 2 that needed the seats repaired, and 4 that may need complete refinishing. Chuck had been taking a break until this point, so I asked him to make the seat boards that I needed to replace, which he did. Unfortunately, he didn't have the nails needed, so I had to run out to Aubuchon. Got back, built and covered the 2 seats - yes! We will all have a chair at the table.

From that point, I finished making dinner - cooked the spaghetti, made the salad, and served everything. I must say, while I am still getting used to certain aspects of the kitchen, I mostly feel very comfortable in it. I really liked working at the peninsula. It worked well to have the stove near by, and the trash right underneath me for vegetable peels and eggshells, etc. I think it is going to work out pretty well. There are some cons, but I'll talk about them in another post. This one is for all the pros :-)

After dinner we cleaned up, then Chuck helped by installing the towel bar, paper towel holder, and the can opener. There is more to do, but I just couldn't even think of it, I'm so tired. I have 4 boxes on the kitchen floor needing to be unpacked, but I just cannot do it. Must sleep . . next goal: The Living Room!

1 more day?

Well, count down says 1 more day to finished kitchen (as defined by a functioning kitchen and all the big items - door, window - being done). I think we will make it!

I know there are another million details - siding on the house, finish painting, putting all the kitchen stuff back in the kitchen, etc. But, the kitchen is functioning (ok, I found out the dishwasher isn't draining, but I'm assuming that can be fixed.), the door and window are in (needs trim, but I believe they will get to that today and tomorrow. So, for all intents and purposes, it is done! It took 8 weeks. About 2 more than I had thought, but that can be explained by the floor delay and the door mix up.

Wow, I can hardly believe it.

So, for the next week or so, I'll be busy trying to finish up everything - get furniture back into the house, etc. I probably won't be blogging much until the big reveal. I guess that depends on how it goes :-) I might need to vent!