Myringoscope Monday

myringoscope ~ instrument for viewing the eardrum

How do you spell stress? R*E*N*O*V*A*T*I*O*N

*sigh*

So . . . remember how when we had the cabinets delivered for our kitchen renovation that we were missing a box, the one with the over-the-range do-dad for the microwave? Well, we got a call a couple of weeks ago that it was going to be delivered within a few days.

Later that week we got a delivery – of a cupboard and a large flat panel of . . . something. The cupboard had doors on it so obviously it wasn’t meant for the microwave, and the panel was just puzzling. And there was no sign of the wider trim the contractor had ordered.

Of course the design guy at Home Depot wasn't working that day, and it took a while to actually get a hold of him ‘cause he tends to duck our calls. But he did check into things and confirmed that yes, the missing part of our order was still coming.

Meanwhile, despite already being on lockdown, there were indications that Ontario was going on super duper double lockdown, so our contractor stopped by because he’d heard we had some more stuff delivered. There really wasn’t much he could do with what little there was, so we’re supposed to call him when the rest of it arrives.

Between talking to the designer and talking to the contractor we were becoming very confused as to what was missing from our kitchen. A doorless cupboard for the microwave to sit in? A bracket the microwave just slides into? And what’s the deal with this vent thing?

Then we got another delivery. This time it was the wider trim and a really long thin package that looks like it has a really long panel of some kind inside it. No brackets or anything that might hold a microwave.

It turns out that we need a new microwave – an over-the-range microwave with built in vent. It attaches to the cabinets on either side of the stove and the one that will be above it. And because we have to order it online, it’s going to take at least another week until it gets here and then the contractor can finish the cupboard portion of the kitchen.

And don’t be fooled by the picture. The sink is just sitting in the space where it’s supposed to go, supported by a stack of bins underneath. And the flat surface on either side is just the wooden tops of the cabinets below.

While I can’t use the space for anything that requires cleaning up the surface after, we can still sit the toaster oven in the corner on the left, and the coffee maker on the right. Makes life a little easier at least.

But there’s still no word on when we’re getting our counters.

*sgh*

Muchity Monday

muchity ~ great size or bulk

I’m starting to think that this kitchen renovation is symbolic of 2020 – it’s just one thing after another.

Our new sink did not arrive before the guy came to measure for our counters, and apparently the printout of the specs taken from the website was not an adequate substitute for the real thing. When we received the email for the cost, it added that we’d have to either arrange to take the sink to their place of business for measuring, or have the guy come here again – at our expense. Oh, and the stone we want won’t be available until “early 2021.”

The design guy at Home Depot has been spectacularly unhelpful, and has started ducking our calls. For one thing, he told us we had to have the counters in before we could have the sink installed, however the counter people say the sink has to go in first because it’s an undermount. And we’re pretty sure there needs to be some kind of support in there too – which our current sink space does not have.

So, not only do we have to find an electrician to recess the wiring for the stove and create an outlet for the microwave, we also need to find a contractor to come in to build the support for the sink, and a plumber to hook up the sink and dishwasher. Which, seeing as it appears that everyone’s pandemic pastime seems to be renovating, is going to be a quest and a half.

But a little bit of good news, we finally got the cupboard doors back from the glass people:

The picture doesn’t really do it justice. Have you ever tried to photograph glass? That’s a leaf design in it, in case you were wondering.

And the hubby has finished the flooring in the kitchen:

I’m starting to refill the bookcases in the dining room that I had to empty so they could be moved for the flooring to be installed, but it’s slow going. The hubby had to patch a few holes in the kitchen walls, so that meant drywall dust. I’ve cleaned the bookcases, but everything going back in them has to be cleaned too. It’s a thankless task, I tell you what.

But at the same time I’m also weeding out a few things – knick knacks mostly – for the ever growing donation pile. I’m being cautious when it comes to filling the kitchen cupboards though because the contractor will be back in the new year when the wider trim comes in, and apparently the cupboards need to be empty for him to put it up.

So . . . in case you haven’t figured it out, there will be no Christmas baking this year. Even if by some miracle I have a working sink, I still won’t have counters. No counters mean no cookies - no place to put them to cool, no place to roll them out.

I wonder how many different kinds of fudge I can make?

Methomania Monday

methomania ~ morbid craving for alcohol

There’s no joy in reno-ville today.

It’s amazing how something that started out so promising went down the crapper so quickly. Where do I start?

I got a call last week from the company that makes our cabinets. We aren’t getting the missing cabinet, the trim, or the replacement doors until the week of, brace yourself, January 15. They said something about not wanting to pay the contractor to come in twice, despite the fact it was their error that the cabinet was missing from the original shipment.

And by the way, the proper doors for the cabinets will cost us an extra $450.

We were getting impatient about the counter guy coming to measure for our counters and finally called the company only to be told they were waiting for a deposit before he was sent out. This was the first we heard about it – this is something the designer at Home Depot should have told us about. So the hubby rushed out to make the deposit and the guy is coming some time today.

So in preparation, the hubby pulled out the sink we’d bought last year when we started talking about renovating the kitchen (the son-in-law got us a really good deal on it). Uh oh. There’s a problem. It’s an apron sink, which means it hangs over the edge of the counter, and our counter isn’t built for that.

Off to Home Depot we went yesterday to find a new sink but of course they didn’t have any copper coloured ones in stock so we had to special order it. The good news is that it’ll be here this week. The bad news is, the counter guy may not take our word for the measurement and decide to delay things until the new sink is here, which means the counters won’t be here until the new year.

Meanwhile . . . the hubby noticed that if you took out the spaces between the sets of lower cabinets where the sink goes, it would pull the side cabinets forward and we wouldn’t need to change the doors. So we called the contractor to see if this was possible and he said maybe, but he wouldn’t advise it, but we could get an electrician in to do something with the wiring for the stove so we could push it back further and then we could open the cabinet without changing the door. At least we get the satisfaction of calling the cabinet people and telling them to cancel the extra doors.

So in the meantime, I’ve continued filling what cupboards I could. The hubby suggested I use one of the two wide cutlery drawers as a tea drawer, but I found I needed a little more space than that:

Okay, to be fair there's a can of coffee and some hot chocolate in there as well, but most of it is tea. :-)

And my favourite (and the most expensive) cupboard is the pantry:

And there was one upside to the cessation of work in the kitchen, the hubby was finally able to start laying the floor in the living room, dining room, and kitchen. This shows the comparison between the old floor and the new:

And this one shows the living room with the new flooring. We almost hate to cover it up with the throw rug:

Now everybody cross their fingers that the counter guy has good news for us regarding the delivery date for the counters. Otherwise I won’t have a kitchen again until the new year.