Ongoing renovations...

[VJ]

It has been a bit quiet regarding my renovations, so time for an update...

• Kitchen floor is in place, walls are finished, and everything is measured - furniture expected in 3 weeks
• Bathroom walls and floors are almost finished, installation of showercabine and toilet is pending - should be completed this week. We have to wait for the washbasin, as the size for the cabinet in which it will fit has to be determined first (once toilet and bathtub are in place).
• Corridor floor is being put, walls need to get a last coat of paint - floors expected early next week, walls shortly after
• Walls in the rooms need to be smoothed, and painted. We had to wait for some input regarding a construction needed to hide pipes for an airconditioning unit, but now all that has been settled. The previous guys did a horrible job with the sockets, so most of them have to be removed and refitted. So now work in the rooms can start, while a lot of work, I think it could go quite fast (they are with 4 people).
• Last step is installation of the airconditioning, which will require the removal of some panels in the loggia.

So still quite a list of work, but the end is in sight!

[Umfriend]

Dude, Rome was not built in one day, but your appartment was not renvated in one year!

:d

Good luck

[VJ]

Yes...

Current planning is to have the big works finished in 1-2 weeks, and then we have to wait for the kitchen and bathroom furniture. And that would be the end of it!

[Fat Tone]

Yes...

Current planning is to have the big works finished in 1-2 weeks, and then we have to wait for the kitchen and bathroom furniture. And that would be the end of it!

Then you'll start all over again...at least if my wife was living with you

[Umfriend]

Not sure VJ actually needs your wife for that....

[VJ]

Not sure VJ actually needs your wife for that....

This one had me laughing out loud...

[Dr Mordrid]

It has been a bit quiet regarding my renovations, so time for an update...
>
So still quite a list of work, but the end is in sight!

I'm with Fat Tone: if any females are involved the end may be in sight, but you'll never live long enough to get there

[VJ]

I'm with Fat Tone: if any females are involved the end may be in sight, but you'll never live long enough to get there

Haha... I'm quite sure things are not that bad with my girlfriend... but we'll have to see...

A small crisis occured when we did not have enough tiles for the corridor... The shop called around, and nowhere in the province could they find those tiles... Then it turned out the shop had 2 boxes, reserved for me and set apart, but forgot to deliver them.

The contractor actually expects to finish this week! This means: floors,walls, bathroom... I suspect there will be some minor things that will have to be done afterwards (e.g. clean the parquet), minor fixes in the loggia, connect the airconditioning... and we would have to wait for the kitchen (28/06), the doors (early July) and bathroomfurniture (middle of July). But the end is near!

Maybe now is also the time to mention that my girlfriend is in Australia for 4 months (one month has passed), and a professor has asked her to stay longer (he suggested 2 years). It is quite complicated (phd scholarships, ...) but it is the best place for her to do her PhD. And I don't want to hold her back, so if that would turn out to be the best option, I might have to consider joining her there (might be possible to get some deal at my current institute to work remotely)... But ... (somehow, I can hear Fat Tone and Umfriend falling from their chairs, laughing... "we said it all along")

[VJ]

Aarghh... last minute problems...
First a delay caused by the wrong colour of thing that goes between the tiles (luckily they noticed, and did not start).
And now it turns out the base of the showercabine has non-straight edges, making it impossible to install next to a wall (even though it is supposed to be installed like that). So tomorrow, we have to go back to the shop to complain, and then see what will happen...

[Umfriend]

VJ, I suggest you stop writing about this here and simply sell the movie rights to Hollywood. This has got to have value. There has to be some sort of higher meaning angle to all of this.

[cjolley]

VJ, I suggest you stop writing about this here and simply sell the movie rights to Hollywood. This has got to have value. There has to be some sort of higher meaning angle to all of this.

It's already been made.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091541/

[VJ]

cjolley beat me to it... :-)

But I might say that the renovations have helped me to meet my girlfriend... So perhaps that is the higher meaning to it?

[cjolley]

But I might say that the renovations have helped me to meet my girlfriend... So perhaps that is the higher meaning to it?

Just keep telling yourself that.

[VJ]

Of course!

The company of the shower cabine came and agreed to replace it: it is not straight and was a construction issue. So at least that gets solved.

I sometimes don't know what goes on in those workers' minds... this weekend, the boss told me: "we painted the living room, but noticed that a light switch box is not been installed nicely" (this was done by someone else before) "it makes it almost impossible to mount a switch.. should we fix it?" So I replied: "of course!" He replied: "but it is a lot of work, and we painted the room..."
I can't figure out why they did not wait with painting the room and fix it first. Of course I want it fixed! And it means they have to break open the wall partly, smooth it and repaint it. Which also will mean I need to buy more paint probably...

I'm also quite annoyed by many small damages they seem to do: a spare plinth (which will be needed) got buried under furniture panels, I'm quite sure it is now unusable; 2 roll-curtains are broken; the rail of a wardrobe they took apart is broken; someone decided to sit on the box containing my CAT6 cable, which of course could not take the weight, some plastic hinge covers on the window are broken, ... Many small things, but they brought me to the point where I would almost just want to shake them and tell "THINK MAN, THINK" and then just kick them out of the apartment. I'm reaching the point where I'm getting worried they might damage more than it is worth.
They basically have to finish painting 2 rooms, and I can kick them out for now. Then, when the showercabine arrives, the can return to install it and the toilet, and that is it... finally...

[VJ]

Ooh... the end is approaching...

The showercabine is replaced and is being installed today; this allows them to finish the bathroom. Also, today the doors are being installed and on Monday/Tuesday the kitchen... Later in the week the airconditioning... And that would be it!