The Village Building Inspector returned my call early this morning. He told me that there was nothing that he could do, as Building Inspector (ie: refuse to pass the project, etc.) since mold legislation is so new in the state. However, he told me that if he were me, he'd definitely contact a Mold Remediation professional to determine just how bad of a situation we had.
While I was on the phone, the workers showed up to do the cleaning. They lifted boards, but when they saw the mold, they balked. In addition, the person at the mold center said that a square foot of mold can contain a billion mold spores and you don't want to disturb them. yikes!
The mold specialist came and looked at what we have, and said (in not-specificic terms) that we don't have a BAD mold problem, but that it needs to be sprayed (to kill), cleaned, and treated with a substance that kills the mold there and inhibits regrowth. His estimate was $1100. I thought for sure our contractor would balk (as he'd thought he could do the same thing for about $300) but he said to go ahead and do it. The one thing that the mold people have, that our contractor doesn't, and couldn't get, is a negative air filter, which will suck all the mold spores, etc. OUT of the house instead of blowing them INTO the house.
So they are coming on Wednesday morning to treat our upstairs. In the meantime, we need to get things as dry as possible. The spray that they use should dry for a day or more, so the workers will come back probably on Friday and replace floor boards so that our carpet can be installed next week.
The other thing that our contractor pointed out (AFTER he signed the paperwork to do the mold removal) is a section of our contract that reads:
"If the project, or any portion of it, is destroyed or damaged by fire, storm, flood, landslide, earthquake, theft, or other disasters or accidents, any work done by Contractor to rebuild, etc. shall be paid for by the Homeowner as an Extra and dealt with as herein provided, for under "Extra Work"."
Which essentially says that our contractor is doing this because he's a good, honest guy--not because he has to.
Oh, the things I've learned from this project!
Monday, April 30, 2007
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Summer Preview!
The weekend was absolutely beautiful! C. and T. each had a soccer game on Saturday and one on Sunday and other than muddy fields, it was perfect weather for watching games.
And today the high temp. was 83! The kids had some fun playing in the water with the neighbors:
And today the high temp. was 83! The kids had some fun playing in the water with the neighbors:
Remodel: Weekend Update
Lots to update!
First, the latest on the mold issue...
Our contractor is coming tomorrow (Monday) morning to lift up each subfloor board, suck out any remaining vermiculite, and spray (with mildicide) and clean each joist space. He is doing this himself--not trusting anyone else to do it (and I want to be there, making sure he's getting rid of everything). On Friday night, we ran the heaters upstairs, and we had the windows open all day and night on Saturday and Sunday (until the rain started to fall tonight), in hopes of drying out everything possible. It smells much better upstairs, but now I'm smelling mold/wet vermiculite in the hall outside the first floor bathroom! I sure hope they can reach it and get rid of it.
We started to do some of the work to put the rest of our house back together, since the majority of the remodel is now done.
They'd painted the walls in the stairwell, but not the trim:
So I painted that white (yes, I realized that I slopped all over the stairs, but they'll be carpeted, so it won't show)
In the stairwell we have this odd ridge... they painted the wall part, but not the ledge:
It's white now:
After numerous promises to put my linen closet back together, I got sick of having no room in my bedroom, so G. made me shelves, and I painted the inside:
And I got TONS of stuff out of my bedroom!
At the beginning of the weekend, the dining room was still looking like this:
I can't tell you how thrilled I am to return to this:
I even took the window apart, scrubbed the screens, and washed the windows inside and out! And, when re-stocking the linen closet, I found some sheets I never use that I'll turn into a nice, new valance. I'll have enough to make valances for the other two windows in the attached kitchen, too.
Unfortunately, no sooner did I get my dining room back, than I lost my kitchen! G. had been trying to fix the plumbing under the kitchen sink that involved the dishwasher. I got a phonecall while tutoring tonight, telling me that he was "in over his head" and that it was more than he could fix, so we needed to call a plumber. Unfortunately, the plumber isn't available until Tuesday, so that's a day and a half with no dishwasher and no kitchen sink to wash dishes by hand! I took a dishwasher's worth of dishes to my neighbors to wash, and I guess we'll do the paper and plastic for a day. UGH! Are we cursed when it comes to home repair and remodeling?
First, the latest on the mold issue...
Our contractor is coming tomorrow (Monday) morning to lift up each subfloor board, suck out any remaining vermiculite, and spray (with mildicide) and clean each joist space. He is doing this himself--not trusting anyone else to do it (and I want to be there, making sure he's getting rid of everything). On Friday night, we ran the heaters upstairs, and we had the windows open all day and night on Saturday and Sunday (until the rain started to fall tonight), in hopes of drying out everything possible. It smells much better upstairs, but now I'm smelling mold/wet vermiculite in the hall outside the first floor bathroom! I sure hope they can reach it and get rid of it.
We started to do some of the work to put the rest of our house back together, since the majority of the remodel is now done.
They'd painted the walls in the stairwell, but not the trim:
So I painted that white (yes, I realized that I slopped all over the stairs, but they'll be carpeted, so it won't show)
In the stairwell we have this odd ridge... they painted the wall part, but not the ledge:
It's white now:
After numerous promises to put my linen closet back together, I got sick of having no room in my bedroom, so G. made me shelves, and I painted the inside:
And I got TONS of stuff out of my bedroom!
At the beginning of the weekend, the dining room was still looking like this:
I can't tell you how thrilled I am to return to this:
I even took the window apart, scrubbed the screens, and washed the windows inside and out! And, when re-stocking the linen closet, I found some sheets I never use that I'll turn into a nice, new valance. I'll have enough to make valances for the other two windows in the attached kitchen, too.
Unfortunately, no sooner did I get my dining room back, than I lost my kitchen! G. had been trying to fix the plumbing under the kitchen sink that involved the dishwasher. I got a phonecall while tutoring tonight, telling me that he was "in over his head" and that it was more than he could fix, so we needed to call a plumber. Unfortunately, the plumber isn't available until Tuesday, so that's a day and a half with no dishwasher and no kitchen sink to wash dishes by hand! I took a dishwasher's worth of dishes to my neighbors to wash, and I guess we'll do the paper and plastic for a day. UGH! Are we cursed when it comes to home repair and remodeling?
Friday, April 27, 2007
Remodel: End of Day 29
Well, there's good and there's bad.
For the good, almost EVERYTHING is done!
The plumber came today and hooked up the water. He installed the shower heads:
The sink:
And the toilet:
Best news of all, we have enough water pressure that we won't have to pay the extra $700 to increase the size of the line from the city's water to our house! :)
The carpenters came and sided as much as they could, without the other window in place:
The drywallers patched up some stuff and finished trimming the closet door:
And they FINALLY replaced the floorboards that we'd seen mold on:
Which brings me to the bad part. Here's the underside of one of the boards they replaced:
and another:
And then G. lifted up the new boards to make sure there wasn't any more damage and he found this:
Which is even more mold, growing on the drywall/ceiling of the floor below.
I am just sick! It is obvious that this is a problem, as the mold I'd seen a week and a half ago GREW between then and now--even without any vermiculite or moisture in there. I have a call in to the building inspector and I don't even know exactly where to go with this. We have asked and asked and asked the contractor to remedy it and he continues to assure us that it's not a problem, that buildings get water and some mold in them all the time and that as soon as it dries out, it won't be an issue.
I just want to cry.
For the good, almost EVERYTHING is done!
The plumber came today and hooked up the water. He installed the shower heads:
The sink:
And the toilet:
Best news of all, we have enough water pressure that we won't have to pay the extra $700 to increase the size of the line from the city's water to our house! :)
The carpenters came and sided as much as they could, without the other window in place:
The drywallers patched up some stuff and finished trimming the closet door:
And they FINALLY replaced the floorboards that we'd seen mold on:
Which brings me to the bad part. Here's the underside of one of the boards they replaced:
and another:
And then G. lifted up the new boards to make sure there wasn't any more damage and he found this:
Which is even more mold, growing on the drywall/ceiling of the floor below.I am just sick! It is obvious that this is a problem, as the mold I'd seen a week and a half ago GREW between then and now--even without any vermiculite or moisture in there. I have a call in to the building inspector and I don't even know exactly where to go with this. We have asked and asked and asked the contractor to remedy it and he continues to assure us that it's not a problem, that buildings get water and some mold in them all the time and that as soon as it dries out, it won't be an issue.
I just want to cry.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Remodel: End of Day 28
More finishing work today!
The vanity is in:
and the marble baseboards are in:
The windows are framed:
look at the cool little ledge on them:
And all the doors are hung and framed:
It's getting so close!
The vanity is in:
and the marble baseboards are in:
The windows are framed:
look at the cool little ledge on them:
And all the doors are hung and framed:
It's getting so close!
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Remodel: End of Day 27
Lots of finishing work today!
Two of the three windows are in! Unfortunately, for the third one, we needed a 30x36 window, and they made a 36x30 window, so it'll be about two weeks before that one gets put in and therefore before the siding is finished. Inside view:
Outside view:
Here's a shot from farther away:
You can see how the new siding is darker than the original, so we'll definitely be painting this summer.
Here's the door into the storage area, and into the bathroom:
And the closet doors:
And the tile is grouted:
Finally, all the cracks that opened up after the water leaking (and some that were there before) were taped and mudded today:
Tomorrow should be most of the rest of the finishing.
Two of the three windows are in! Unfortunately, for the third one, we needed a 30x36 window, and they made a 36x30 window, so it'll be about two weeks before that one gets put in and therefore before the siding is finished. Inside view:
Outside view:
Here's a shot from farther away:
You can see how the new siding is darker than the original, so we'll definitely be painting this summer.
Here's the door into the storage area, and into the bathroom:
And the closet doors:
And the tile is grouted:
Finally, all the cracks that opened up after the water leaking (and some that were there before) were taped and mudded today:
Tomorrow should be most of the rest of the finishing.
Groceries 4/24/07
I should start by saying that I did make a trip to Sendik's this week, as it was their anniversary sale. I spent a little over $24, but their receipts don't show original price, so I couldn't post savings. Still, they had butter at 2 lbs for $3, and pineapple for $2.49 and homemade brats for $1.99 a pound and many other things that must have saved me at least $15 and probably closer to $20. Oh, and I got an entry to win an iPod! :)
But last night was:
Total: $61.16
Savings: $28.78
Number of Items: 49
Pick N Save
best deals:
Free mini diet coke; Pillsbury garlic breadsticks reg. $2.39 for $1; lots of buy one, get one free items (buns, muffin mix, hot dogs, kiwi fruit, corn on the cob)
But last night was:
Total: $61.16
Savings: $28.78
Number of Items: 49
Pick N Save
best deals:
Free mini diet coke; Pillsbury garlic breadsticks reg. $2.39 for $1; lots of buy one, get one free items (buns, muffin mix, hot dogs, kiwi fruit, corn on the cob)
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Stuff I sent out for the button swap
Although I mailed things on Friday, April 13, my swap partner didn't receive things until yesterday! ugh...
Anyway, here's what I mailed out to Karen from Simply June:
*a dozen buttons, most of them from my Grandma's buttons (she cut them off of every piece of clothing when she was done with the clothes)
*2 mason-dixon ballband washcloths
*a little Finding Nemo craft kit for her son
*some vintage-looking fabric from our old curtains (!)
*an assortment of funky yarn remnants
*some Milwaukee postcards
I received my package from Karen a week ago. You can read about it on this post.
This was SO much fun! And lots less stress than some of the knitting swaps! (stress that I put on myself, of course)
Anyway, here's what I mailed out to Karen from Simply June:
*a dozen buttons, most of them from my Grandma's buttons (she cut them off of every piece of clothing when she was done with the clothes)
*2 mason-dixon ballband washcloths
*a little Finding Nemo craft kit for her son
*some vintage-looking fabric from our old curtains (!)
*an assortment of funky yarn remnants
*some Milwaukee postcards
I received my package from Karen a week ago. You can read about it on this post.
This was SO much fun! And lots less stress than some of the knitting swaps! (stress that I put on myself, of course)
Remodel: End of Day 26
It's a short day (everyone out by 2:00 pm) but lots done!
They replaced the one overly-black tile (see here) with one that matched better (covered in the picture below):
The electrician came and put in the ceiling vent/light:
and the light over the shower:
He installed the ceiling fan for over the bed:
and the plain light on the other side of the room (anyone else think it's a good idea that we replaced one of those lights with a ceiling fan? Would I want two of that style in a row?)
He hooked up the three integrated, electric smoke detectors (those are so cool--if even one of them goes off, all three go off)
And I wanted to try to show what a great job the drywallers did, tying in the new drywall to the old plaster. What used to be this:
is now this:
I know this isn't technically part of the remodel, but I am SO excited at how nice the "existing bedroom" has turned out.
Old (tile) ceiling and old (hideous, square) light:
New (drywalled) ceiling and new (cool track) light:
I also went back and re-worked the carpeting quote so I could get it ordered. Unfortunately, carpeting comes in 12 ft. wide rolls and our room is 14 ft. wide, so we have to pay for a LOT of waste carpet... That means that we couldn't afford the nicer carpet that we wanted, and had to downgrade to a slightly lighter gray. I hope it looks okay--it's still darker than the paint.
Tomorrow should be a really busy day. The windows came in, so the carpenters will be back to install them and finish the siding and put on the gutters. The electrician is coming back to wire the heaters and hook everything up to the box (so there's electricity going through all the new stuff) and the drywallers are coming back to do some patching, painting (touch-up upstairs and my ceilings downstairs) and then possibly even installing trim and doors! Oh, and the shower door guy will come to measure for the new shower door! The plumber will be here to finish everything up on Friday. It seems like it's FLYING now. wow!
They replaced the one overly-black tile (see here) with one that matched better (covered in the picture below):
The electrician came and put in the ceiling vent/light:
and the light over the shower:
He installed the ceiling fan for over the bed:
and the plain light on the other side of the room (anyone else think it's a good idea that we replaced one of those lights with a ceiling fan? Would I want two of that style in a row?)
He hooked up the three integrated, electric smoke detectors (those are so cool--if even one of them goes off, all three go off)
And I wanted to try to show what a great job the drywallers did, tying in the new drywall to the old plaster. What used to be this:
is now this:
I know this isn't technically part of the remodel, but I am SO excited at how nice the "existing bedroom" has turned out.
Old (tile) ceiling and old (hideous, square) light:
New (drywalled) ceiling and new (cool track) light:
I also went back and re-worked the carpeting quote so I could get it ordered. Unfortunately, carpeting comes in 12 ft. wide rolls and our room is 14 ft. wide, so we have to pay for a LOT of waste carpet... That means that we couldn't afford the nicer carpet that we wanted, and had to downgrade to a slightly lighter gray. I hope it looks okay--it's still darker than the paint.Tomorrow should be a really busy day. The windows came in, so the carpenters will be back to install them and finish the siding and put on the gutters. The electrician is coming back to wire the heaters and hook everything up to the box (so there's electricity going through all the new stuff) and the drywallers are coming back to do some patching, painting (touch-up upstairs and my ceilings downstairs) and then possibly even installing trim and doors! Oh, and the shower door guy will come to measure for the new shower door! The plumber will be here to finish everything up on Friday. It seems like it's FLYING now. wow!
Monday, April 23, 2007
My darling brace face
When she left for school this morning, C. looked like this:
When she got home, she looked like this:
So far, so good. A bit of complaining about foods she can't eat and the fact that she still has to wear the headgear, but overall pretty good.
Cute, though, huh?
When she got home, she looked like this:
So far, so good. A bit of complaining about foods she can't eat and the fact that she still has to wear the headgear, but overall pretty good.
Cute, though, huh?
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