Room for Improvement: Dean's progress
December 16, 2008
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Denise Holtby
SPECIAL TO YOURHOME.CA
It's the end of Dean's "honey-do" vacation week, and our bathroom reno project is really moving along now. With only one week left to meet out deadline, it's a little chaotic around here — I had to move a sink to open the refrigerator door — but the end result should be worth it.
In fact, I'm writing today's Room for Improvement dispatch while the re-coating of the bathroom countertop is underway.
The day started off slowly. The countertop guys were running a little late, due to the weather, but once they arrived they went straight to work.
Company owner Phil and his son Zack brought plenty of colour samples, so we had no problem choosing a charcoal shade that perfectly compliments the new Tarkett floor.
Of course, there's always time to chat when someone comes into your home to provide a service. It turns out that Phil's 20-year-old son Zack is the fourth in a family of 14 kids. The Hounsomes are not a "blended" family either — all 14 of them belong to Phil and his wife Cynthia. Very cool.
Within minutes of Zack and Phil's arrival, the old silicone was removed, the area taped and papered to keep the spray away from nearby surfaces, and the sanding and re-coating process began.
The entire job takes about two hours, so I've yet to see the finished results, but so far it's looking good.
In the meantime, let's take a quick look back at how Dean spent his vacation. As you'll see, he managed to squeeze in some time for relaxation, too.
Day one: Dean's birthday. In which Dean reads a book, naps, talks to his kids and childhood best friend by phone and then ends his day with a rich, decadent steakhouse dinner in the pleasant company of his sister and brother-in-law. Actual hours spent on reno: 0.
Day two: In which Dean patches the bathroom walls, watches coverage of Ted Rogers' funeral, naps, then cleans all the clutter out of the bathroom. Actual hours spent on reno: 2.
Day three: In which Dean naps (again!) until 11 a.m., then removes the bathroom door and begins painting the bathroom walls.
I am thrilled to be greeted by the smell of paint when I arrive home that evening.
I find Dean kneeling on the bathroom floor, painting the lower part of the wall. His first question is, "Are you sure about this purple colour? It's going to be dark in here."
"No problem," I say. "It's only one wall."
He replies with just one word: "Oh."
But the expression on his face says it all. I follow his gaze to the other side of the room, which he has already painted purple.
Seems that, like most married couples, we should have spent a little more time communicating. I assumed Dean was keeping up with the plan by reading these articles. I was wrong.
Actual hours spent on reno: 2. Hours spent repainting two of the three purple walls grey: 2.
Day four: In which Dean naps some more. After all, he is technically on holidays. Later, he removes the toilet, sink and shower doors.
Dean then decides that he needs a glass-and-tile bit for his drill, so he heads out once again to the store where they wear the orange aprons. He ends up buying not only a $7.00 bit abut also manages to justify buying a DeWalt drill to go with it. Actual hours spent on reno: 4.
Day five: In which Dean rises in the morning and realizes that he has only 24 hours until the countertop refinishing guys arrive.
In one day, he lays the new floor, repairs/realigns the plumbing, cuts the expanded opening for the new sink, installs the new baseboard trim and applies a final coat of paint. Oh, and makes another trip to the big box home supply store. Actual hours spent on reno: 10.
Stay tuned next week for the big reveal!