Anyone who’s been in my bathroom has had a sinking feeling about the place – because you sink into the floor when you get in. Yup, I’ve got a water damaged floor in my bathroom. So with a CD maturing (well, matured as of today), I decided to remuddle my bathroom this summer.

After B-WISER and before my Chicago trip, I had the first estimate from Re-Bath (through Home Depot). I liked the fellow who came, but his company is, first & foremost, a bath liner company. He said they could also repair the floor and put in a shower and waterproof the window, so I put his company down as a good maybe.

When I was back from Chicago, I got back into the estimation mode. I went to Lowes hoping they’d have someone like Home Depot, but they didn’t. The loudest salesman ever recommended a plumber who does free estimates and remodeling, so I wrote it down. But I couldn’t find this person in the phone book, so I guess I was a bit leery of the place. In the phonebook, however, I saw two ads which promised free estimates. I like free. I called both places and scheduled the estimates.

First place that I called, Aurhause, booked the estimate later that day. Works for me! Rych Haynes (lots of ys), who owns the company, answered the phone and did the estimate. (I believe the owner of the Re-Bath place in estimate #1 was also the owner.) We talked about what all needed doing (and about cats – he is a cat owner too) and he said he’d be back the next day with an estimate. I liked Rych and hoped that his estimate was reasonable.

The other phone call was to Home Re-Modelers. The person who answered the call was, again, the owner of the company. However, he called me “dear” too often and even asked if I was married. Right away I was on the defensive (not a fan of patronization). But we scheduled an estimate the following day. After we’d talked about the bathroom and he saw its foibles, the first thing he asked was what my budget was. Unlike the first two companies, he didn’t write up a formal estimate detailing what they’d do, he just wrote a ballpark figure on the back of a business card. I had pretty much decided before the meeting was over that he wasn’t the one.

Thursday, I joined mom & dad at the Lake for an overnighter. We talked about the various estimates and they agreed with me – #2 was the one to try. So Friday, I called Rych and made arrangements. (He didn’t answer at first – apparently he was roofing when I called. But he called back shortly afterward.) He says they can start on Jul 28 – yay!

I chose Aurhause for a number of reasons. Yes, it was the lowest bid of the three, but mainly because he just bid the labor and support materials (new subflooring, cement board, etc) and I’ll buy my own fixtures and stuff. Yay. I like having that freedom. So does mom – means she gets to help me pick stuff out.

So Friday, on our way home from the Lake, mom came with me and we went to Home Depot. I found pretty much everything I wanted there, recorded the prices, and stuck ’em in my spreadsheet. Yesterday, mom, dad & I went to Lowes where I found a few things for less (or, as in the case of the floor tile, more preferred), and then Menards. At Menards, I found a vanity that I liked more than the pedestal sink we’d seen at Home Depot. So I might get that instead. They also had sconces that I liked.

Tomorrow, I’ll pick up the mature CD and deposit it into my savings account. And I might start buying the things. Rych says that I can buy the materials and tell them that Aurhause will pick them up for me. So that will be nice. I’ll do that with the Home Depot stuff (since there’s more of it) and bring the Lowes & Menards purchases home with me.

I’ll get a few “before” photos posted before they begin work, and then I’ll be sure to take lots of “during” and “after” photos. I hope I’ve chosen well with Rych and his company. Mom & Dad hope so too – they’d got a couple of jobs they’d like to put his way. Lucky me, being the guinea pig. Heh. 🙂

I’ve just realized I haven’t taken a photo of my freshly paved driveway yet. So I shan’t be able to post that tonight (you lucky so&sos!) But in addition to a new driveway, I also got new outdoor carpet for my front porch & back stoop. The green outdoor carpet was looking pretty manky, so it needed to go. I replaced it with a tan/green/maroon mottled carpet which I rather like. Home Depot did the job (well, contracted the job). And, as often happens, they buggered things up. I explained a few times that I wanted both my front porch and my back stoop done (plus steps). For some reason, that never seemed to compute. When their contracted measuring guy came, I explained to him as well, front AND back. He duly measured and gave them the measurements. When the contracted installers arrived, they only had the directions/measurements/carpet for the front porch. ARGH!

He called Home Depot who later called me to apologize. They were able to book the same fellers to install the next week, which apparently was unusual. The fellers arrived the following week & installed the back stoop. And I’ve got tons of carpet left over cuz Home Depot are idiots and didn’t listen to the contractor when he told them he had enough for the stoop and only needed 5′ for the steps. Home Depot = idiots, I’m afraid. Still, the job is done, the cost was reasonable, and my front & back look all the better for it.

Want Proof?

The Front Before.

The Front After.

The Back Before.

The Back After.

As you can see (for those of you who peeked), a vast improvement. Oh, and if you looked carefully in the back pictures, you probably saw Linus & Lucy looking out the sliding doors. Heh.

As far as home-ownership goes, I suck. I mean, I own a home and pay the mortgage on time and all that. But as far as upkeep, I suck. Still, I have put a new roof on it and had the exterior painted in the past couple of years. Oh yeah, and there was the time when I remodeled my kitchen. But this summer, I’m upping the ante a bit. My goal is to do a few improvements. I’m replacing the outdoor carpet on my porch & back stoop (or rather, I’m paying Home Depot to do that). I’m having my driveway repaved (by Patriot Paving). And, while I’m kitty-less for the time being, I’ve decided to uproot my carpet and go back to the original wood floors.

When I first bought the house, the only floors with no carpeting were the kitchen and den. The carpeting in the reading room was so hideous that we pulled it out, only to discover the floor there was as nice as the den floor. I had intended to eventually do the same in my bedroom, where the carpeting was nearly as hideous, but I never got around to it. Well, thanks to a few Leo indiscretions, the main carpeting needs removing too. So I’ve decided to pull it out. All of it bar the bathroom (because the flooring in there is worse, I believe, than the rest of the house).

The carpet & padding both come out easily, but the tack strips are a pain in the ass to remove. They’re the bit the slow me the most. Still, I’ve gotten my hallway pulled up. Yay! Will need to scrape some sticky stuff up and there are still some nails/staples that need removing, but I think I’m making good progress.

So, onto some photos of before & after thus far.

The hallway before.

The hallway after.

The grossest part of all of this, however, are the Carpet Crumblies. Eeewwwww! How gross! They’re everywhere under the carpet. You think you’re doing a good job vacuuming the floor, but no, the Carpet Crumblies get underneath! And I think they breed! I’m very glad that I’m getting rid of my carpet – I think I shall be anti-carpet for quite a while. At least until I forget about Carpet Crumblies.

And now, a photo of Carpet Crumblies to gross you out too…

Beware the Carpet Crumblies!

I’m pretty sure I won’t get the carpet all pulled up by the time judiang arrives on Thursday, but since we’re staying at the Lake (mom & dad’s cottage), that’s OK. Still, if I can, I’ll get her to help me pull some carpet up! Yay Judi! 😉