Bringing our 1936 home into the 21st Century

After a frustrating day yesterday, our neighbor accidentally cut our internet fiber optic cable, on which we rely as we work from home. It was an accident; we don’t blame them. We contacted our provider after business hours and, to their credit, they showed up today before noon! The tech was very efficient and suggested…

At VERY long last, the subcontractor to install our new gutters arrived today to “measure” the roof. I put “measure” in quotes because he took nary a measurement. He asked me if we wanted the garage to have replacement gutters as well. I refrained from answering “yes, it’s in the contract.” Then he suggested that…

Glenn and Agda’s house took about six months to build. Our reno of their house is much, much, slower. I should acknowledge that building from scratch is easier than rebuilding and adding on to the structure. At the same time, we can see after 15 weeks on task that what should be a few days…

As we get ready for our 15th (ugh!) week of reno, we have some hints that we will have a functioning new kitchen and bathroom in two to four weeks. Here are some glimpses of our cabinet crown molding (that echoes that in the rest of the house) and our new handles: That progress is…

Nearly a month after the discovery that the kitchen hadn’t been measured accurately—which caused delays that continue—our new counters are installed! The counter installation was a pleasant surprise because we had been told they wouldn’t be available until Friday. Then the truck showed up in the early afternoon. This is great news on its own,…

Three weeks to the day after my wipeout on our sidewalk, from which I am finally recovering, Dan misjudged the width of the temporary stoop outside the back door and injured his foot, ankle and leg in a fall. (He’s doing better 24 hours later.) We’re now three for three for construction-related injuries and apparently…

We are now about five weeks behind the tentative plan for the renovation of the kitchen and 3/4 bath. Some of that delay is just normal, some is because of the original bad measurements, and some of it is for various reasons we don’t know about specifically, such as competing projects and vacations. The tile…

That was Dan’s first question for me this morning when he walked outside. The smell is smoke from wildfires in Canada that have caused poor air quality for many days this summer in the Midwest and East Coast. Today was our strongest blast yet: The intensity of the smoke—it smells horrible, our eyes burn, and…

At the start of our third month, rain is asserting its reign over early summer and it follows our mood. After a major set of errors and negotiations over fixes, we had no activity for three days. That wasn’t terrible to us after the stress of fixing problems. Today, two workers did major work on…