Has it really only been two weeks?
There is a saying that if you ask a contractor how long it will take the answer is always "Two Weeks." While that might not exactly the case there is an element of truth in it. Enough so that it stopped being funny for a bit. I'm thinking it might come from the thought that when I ask how long I have the scope of the entire project in mind and He is thinking of only the two or three elements that he is working on right now. I'm not complaining. Robert Stimple and crew did a fantastic job at a very reasonable price and it turned out wonderfully. I wouldnt' hesitate to recommend him & anybody who can get onto his schedule is pretty fortunate.
It was pretty miraculous coming back to the house after the floors had been finished. The floors for the entire house matched. Areas where there had previously been a wall or a closet or nothing at all were all woven into the existing flooring so that it looked like they had never been there. Tranh really was a wizard. Here it is, March 25th and it seemed like the house is actually going to be completed.
The floor finish has only been curing for three days. While that is enough according to the print on the side of the can, Bob thinks it is better to be careful so everybody walked on soft pads when they needed to cross the floors for the next few days.
Of course there is still a lot more work to do than I realize. There are no baseboard, no fireplace mantle... But it looks good, I'm ready to sell it!
And look, The floor in the family room flows seamlessly into the kitchen and living room! Amazing as if it was built that way! The kitchen floor was originally linoleum and my parents had oak flooring put in during the 80s. Those fellows didn't do half the job that Tranh did and they could have. Tranh put in the extra effort to get the tiny details right and it came our beautifully!
While Tranh was woking magic on the floors, Robert & crew were starting to put in the new, big porch. Unfortunately the city of Redwood City made things much more complicated. There are new regulations for decks in Redwood City. They now have to be constructed so you can park a tank on them. Bob had to pour more than a dozen footings. Bridging across those are 4"x 8" beams.
Over the 4" x 8" beams you have 2" x 12" joists on 24" centers. and then you can lay down the 2" x 6" decking. That is a whole lot more work than what anybody expected. And so it took longer... and now Bob is having to juggle finishing this house with other projects. Geepers, his job is pretty complicated. ... and he has to deal with whining clients.
It is March 29th, only a week after the floors have been finished and most of the baseboards are in.... wonderful! The Finish is harder now & they can protect it with paper.
That's Augustine installing baseboards in one of the bedrooms. This is looking down the hall from the master bedroom.
The new siding is in too ...and it is painted. The next kids in those rooms better be careful when sneaking out at night!
April 12th. (two weeks later) They are getting down to finishing touches. When you walk in and see these big empty floors... OK I'm ready, let's sell this thing. Lets go!
This is a view that didn't exist before and don't the floors look great? You can see through the wall to the back hard and all the way to the corner of the family room. That's the corner where my mother had her easel set up. She'd feel a bit bad about getting oil paint splatters on that nice floor. But that wouldn't stop her. Art requires sacrifice.
This is about where my mom would sit to paint. Now she could see who's ringing the doorbell. Is that package for me?
Yep, it's a mighty big deck and is still isn't done. OK I guess we can't sell the house quite yet.
Missing the stair rails, the treads aren't quite finished... It's about this point where "two weeks" stops being funny. But please notice... the yard jockey has come in.Trim all the plants up so you can see their feet. Throw a bunch of bark-mulch to create the negative space and the illusion of tidiness. I know what is just about to sprout up under all of that.
Two weeks later.... Really... It's April 26th. The deck is finished. The yard is done. if you walk through the house you will see a few bits of blue tape here & there. These are little details that still need tweaking. But there aren't a lot of them. This is a185° wide, panoramic image. Yikes.
A Giant-wide image of the new master bath. You can start every day with a tough decision... "Do I take a Shower or a bath?"Marble floors white tile on the walls. Just like the Romans! Those floors suck the heat right out of your feet.
Look, it's a big empty deck! Sturdy enough for Godzilla to do the Lindsey-hop with King Kong. The city of Redwood City wants us to be prepared for anything! ...And there are stairs ...with rails! And, yes, I am ready to sell this place... They have moved in some of the staging furniture. OK, so open house isn't this weekend... sigh. Next week, Right?
I have never seen the garage this empty. I'lll bet it will never be this empty again once there are new owners. I wish I had taken a picture of the floor, Bob did a great job. First he put a couple of coats of textured grey epoxy then he sprinkled these white & blue flakes over that I sealed it up with a couple of coats of a transparent gloss. I am so tempted to change my oil right now.
Has it really only been two weeks?