THANKFUL FRIDAY
Cindy Maddera
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We have been unable to take a shower in our own bathroom since last Wednesday. During the renovation there have been sink baths and trips to the gym at work to use the shower. Yesterday morning we took showers in the new tub and it was AWESOME! Well...the new shower head is just a standard shower head (nothing fancy), but the act of showering in our own home was pretty amazing. I can say that the bulk of this bathroom renovation is complete and now that it is all said and done I feel like I can tell you a little more about the whole experience.
When we decided that something had to be done, we made arrangements to listen to bids from three different companies. Jericho Home Improvement was the second company we talked with and after hearing their sales pitch, we signed the contract. They gave us three different renovation options with varying prices, starting with how much it would cost to just replace the tile and window and what it would cost to replace the whole dang bathroom. We went with the somewhere in the middle option which included a new tub, window, bath fixtures and tile. The guy who did the work on our bathroom did a fantastic job. It did take him a little longer then he anticipated due to structural issues found when pulling out the old tile. The wood framing around the old window was moldy and bad and had to be replaced. There was also an electrical outlet behind the shower wall that had been filled up with caulk. He fixed all of these things before putting in the new stuff and at the end of each day, he cleaned up after himself. We could still very easily get into the bathroom to use the toilet and the sink. I will admit that there were times when Michael and I looked at the progression of things and could not see how he was going to address some problem areas. There was a gap left in the floor from the old tub that he had to fix and some wall damage from the old tile, but by Wednesday afternoon, he had it all taken care of.
I called the project manager Thursday morning to tell him that we were more than pleased with the results. Of course that could just be our excitement from getting to use the shower that morning. The good thing is that all of their work comes with a one year warranty. If later on down the line, we notice something not quite right or a tile pops off the wall, we can call them and they will come fix it. It is pretty much a no brainer that I'm thankful to be able to shower in my own house again. I'm more than thankful that yucky moldy window and grossness is gone and replaced with clean new stuff. The thing I'm most thankful for though is how smoothly everything came together. I have heard so many horror stories of contractors not following though, leaving things unfinished, over charging for work not completed or taking weeks and weeks to even complete a simple task. Yes, it took Jericho weeks and weeks to actually get to this job, but that's only because they were busy with a lot of other jobs. I had to wait my turn. Once they started though, they finished in a timely manner with very little disruption to our daily lives. I am thankful to Jericho for not being a horror story.
Don't think for a minute that this project is complete though. I've taped paint swatches to the wall and I've pretty much narrowed down the colors I'm going with. This weekend we'll replace our sink faucet (nicknamed the Mensa faucet because you have to be a genius to figure out how to turn off the water) and maybe prepare the walls for painting. Michael and I both want it all done by the end of this month though, so we are motivated. Gah...I'm so thankful for the new clean bathroom. I just can't even tell you. I am also thankful that Michael has insisted on doing the painting. He's seen my paint jobs in the other rooms. I'm not saying I did a terrible job. I don't tape off, but I've got a great edge trimmer so I don't feel the need to mess with tape. Those few splotches on the ceiling come from me being too lazy to get on a ladder, but instead will hop up and down with the roller. Occasionally I would hop high enough to bump the ceiling. Whatever, it gets me out of painting.
What else? There's so much. Michael is over the moon with joy and gratitude that his baseball team, the Royals, are headed to the World Series. It's a big deal around these parts. I am thankful for weather that calls for chili cheese fries (vegetarian style, of course). I am thankful for purple mums and glitter face powder. And I am always, always, thankful for you.
Have a glorious weekend (Go Pokes!) and super Thankful Friday!