Teacher Learns Some Lessons in Redoing House

Back in the early ‘70s when we purchased our second home, we were very excited because it was much bigger (3,000 plus square feet) than our original home. We anticipated the thrill of buying larger furniture and having plenty of room for storage in the numerous closets with lots of space left over. Now, after a divorce, and with the kids living on their own, having lived in the house for close to 20 years, I felt it was long overdue to paint, fix up and modernize certain parts of the house.

The closets were now bulging and the Christmas-red Franciscan tile in the master bath was out of date as was the harvest gold tile in the entry and kitchen; besides my youthful taste in colors and styles had changed.

Also, my daughter’s stall shower had water damage that was eating away at the walls around it and needed to be replaced.

And although she and I had labored one whole summer vacation installing the gold entry and kitchen tile, I left sentiment behind and decided to have a professional change it all.

I contacted Jim, a contractor who had built a beautiful redwood deck for me. He agreed to paint the interior of the house, create a storage system in the master bedroom closets, install lights in the kitchen and some closets, plus make needed repairs. He recommended Sal, an excellent and reasonably priced tile layer, to do the bathroom showers and floors and the entry/kitchen floors.

I explained to Jim that as a teacher, I wanted the remodeling to start the beginning of June while I was at work so that I would have the brief summer vacation to get the house back in order and do additional decorating. He agreed.

When June arrived, Jim was behind in his schedule and could not start. We were unable to reach Sal to start the tile. Frustration set in and I got more tile-setting estimates--they were all far more expensive than Sal’s but I began to believe that we’d have to settle for someone else. Now school was out and the project hadn’t even started. In one last attempt I phoned Sal and lo and behold, no more answer machines! He would begin work July 12.

I spent the early part of vacation choosing tile. I wanted something that was pleasing to me and neutral, so that it would satisfy a future owner. Sal pointed out those of good quality and with durable glazes. I selected one tile for all the floors, a 12-inch by 12-inch white with a pale rosy/beige abstract pattern.

On July 12, the big day arrived. The demolition of the old kitchen and bathroom floors and tile began. I had no idea what a mess it would create. Despite the fact that I covered the furniture in the rooms closest to the installation areas, white dust blanketed the whole house. I should have covered everything, especially the beds! For two weeks I coughed constantly and had bloodshot eyes--an unanticipated side effect of remodeling.

While this work continued, I made frequent trips to the big home improvement warehouses. They were by far the cheapest places to purchase light fixtures and hardware. I found beautiful bathroom faucets and handles that rivaled the high-fashion designer ones at a fraction of the price.

I discovered that the middle of the day was the best time to shop these centers. That’s when they were the least crowded--when the “homies,” as Jim called them, and the contractors were at their regular jobs, so I got the best service. I learned never to shop at these discount warehouses on the weekends or late afternoons unless I was willing to wait for the help of a salesperson and stand in long checkout lines.

On July 16, Jim and his wife, Pam, began to prepare for painting and installed the lights in the closets just as the tile men were finishing.

One morning I walked into my daughter’s former bathroom to admire the tile, which had been grouted the afternoon before. Was something wrong with the lighting? No, two different colors of tiles had been installed. I couldn’t believe my eyes; neither could the tile men. Now that the grout was in, it was obvious that some tiles had white glaze and some were white with a gray cast. I was in shock. All that time, energy, money and dust!

I phoned the company where I had bought the tile and spoke to Joe, the manager. Within an hour he arrived at my home. To his dismay, two different glaze lots had been sold to us. He was very apologetic and said his company would pay Sal to redo the job with new tile. It was a relief to know that the error would be corrected, but now the dust and mess of the demolition would start all over as the shower had to be torn out again. The second tile batch was sent out and we discovered again that there were two different glazes.

I phoned Joe, who assured me that I could change to a completely new tile, which I decided to do. I chose the same tile that I had used in the master bath. It was more expensive but the tile company would pay for it.

I bought new Department of Water and Power-approved 1.6-gallon toilets for the bathrooms and later received a $100 rebate for each. In the meantime I chose new fabric to upholster the dining room chairs and for bedroom drapes. My estimated cost of $15,000 was zooming upward and so although I wanted to replace the kitchen cabinets and the front entry doors, I had run out of cash. The spending had to stop.

What did I learn from my remodeling adventure, which filled my whole summer vacation and more? First, even minor remodeling takes much longer than one imagines. Second, cost estimates will go higher than expected. Third, unthought-of projects evolve out of the process. Fourth, be prepared for a mess beyond one’s wildest imagination----remodeling is far worse than moving. Fifth, some of the inconveniences can be fun--the refrigerator was relocated next to the dining room table; to remove food I simply pivoted in my chair and reached for it as it was within arm’s length! Sixth, be prepared for losing or misplacing possessions. Seventh, it is normal to feel disoriented and confused at times. Eighth, remember as my mom frequently advises me, “this too will pass.”

Above all, look forward to knowing that when everything is installed, a feeling of satisfaction will be released.