Jerry and I had been talking about either remodeling our home or selling and buying a new home. After much thought and a few years of looking around we finally bit the bullet and decided we would start the remodel.

We had decided what all we wanted to change and did have to go back a few times and decide if we wanted some of the changes. We started asking our friends for recommendations for the job. We contacted a friend of mine who used to be in the remodeling business but has since concentrated on building custom cabinets. We made an appointment with Wendell and waited for his bid and plans.

Wendell sat down in mid November to show us the plans for the cabinets and we told him we wanted to get started. I started packing because he thought they would get started right after Thanksgiving but no one started until January.

Monday, January 20, 2003, Wendell's guys came in and started the demolition in the kitchen, eating area, and the guest bathroom. On Thursday, January 23, 2003, they started the demo job on Toby's dressing area of his bathroom. The plan was once they had a bathroom completely back in service they would come in and do the demo on the master bathroom.

On Thursday and Friday, January 30 & 31, 2003, the guys came back to hang the sheet rock in the kitchen and eating area. While here they installed Toby's bathroom vanity. Thursday, February 6, 2003, Wendell and his guys installed the cabinets in the kitchen. The tile guys came on Friday, February 7, 2003 to lay the tile in the kitchen, eating area, back hall, laundry area and guest bathroom. We decided to do a border in the eating area and we think that it turned out really well.

We had the skip trowel done in the kitchen, eating area and bathroom before Wendell's guys came in and hung cabinets on Thursday, February 13, 2003.

Monday, February 17, 2003, it was time for the demo of the master bath. At this point we were down to two partial bathrooms in the house. Toby's bathroom had the only toilet in the house. We had two showers that were accessible and working, one being in Toby's bathroom and the other in the guest bath. We did have one lavatory that worked out of the three, that being in the guest bath.

During the week the guys did finish installing the crown molding in the kitchen but we were still waiting for the granite and painting to be done in the kitchen before the appliances can be installed. The painter did come in on Friday, February 21, 2003 to start painting but didn't think the paint was right....it wasn't. So, he had to start again on Saturday. He did get the two bathroom vanities painted.

On Thursday, February 27, 2003, our granite counter tops were installed in the kitchen. Jerry went ahead after a week of waiting for Wendell's guys to show up and installed some of the appliances himself. I was finally able to cook on our new ceramic cooktop.

Our remodel seemed to sit at a standstill for a good while before we finally got the guys coming back out. The master bath didn't need as much done as the kitchen but it still seemed to take an awfully long time to get anywhere. I understood that Wendell had a job to do as far as building other cabinets but we seemed to have been forgotten so I started sending faxing to Wendell's shop with a list of things to be done. We did finally get them moving.

We had the master bath walls skip trowled like we did the other walls. It took a long time to get the painter back in here. Finally, Wendell's guys came in and installed the vanity with hutch in the master bath. The guys who did the granite counter tops came in and installed the granite top in the master bath and then did the marble shower.

The electrician did come in and got the new jacuzzi tub installed and new electrical wiring run up into the attic for it but he stopped there and didn't run it across to the breaker box. Apparently he works by himself and didn't have time that day to get it pulled across so we were waiting another three weeks for him to get back out here to finish that up and then get the wiring for the lights in the hutch done in the master. Wendell ended up finding someone else to come in and finish up the wiring.

In the meantime the mirror and glass guy came and brought some samples. We chose the glass from those samples for the shower and then the master hutch door. We didn't care for any of them for the kitchen hutch though so we visited his website and found some of his work. He did great work.

We had also decided on plain mirrors for the master but ended up changing our minds and going with the beveled mirrors. They turned out wonderful! We also decided to do plain glass with some etching for the kitchen hutch doors. They turned out really nice. We have been very pleased with the glass and mirror work, not to mention the cabinetry. The only gripe we have had which has been many was the fact the painter never seems to work more than two hours a day! He did finally get ticked off at us wanting the job finished. He started out doing a really nice job but the end was not so good.

Jerry had talked about having Brian, the painter come back to do some more painting but we have decided against that and I doubt he would return!

Initially we were going to do all the floors along with the rest of the work done but then decided to wait on the wood floors and carpeting. Then, one day we both decided we may as well do it and get it all over with. We had hoped to have all the remodel finished before the flooring got started but the electrician had to come out and finish and Brian did too. They ended up working around the floor guys.

We went down early April and started looking at flooring. We made our decisions and talked with the contractors, got our bids and got ready for the next mess.

On Monday, April 21, 2003 the wood flooring guys came out to pull up the carpet in the living area, bar and computer room, plus the tile in the front entry. It took them a good while in the bar and the front entry. They were pulling up chunks of concrete with the ceramic tile. They had to float the front entry and bar quite a bit. It took them three days from start to finish. The floor is fabulous!!!

We had planned on having the carpet guy come the day after the wood guys finished but soon decided we had too much work to do in getting things moved back to the wood and then packing up and moving things from the carpet so we put it off until Monday, April 28, 2003.

The carpet guy planned on being at the house at 1:30pm. He got here and he and his helpers got started. He thought they would finish the job in one day but toward the end they realized they were off on the amount of carpet they had sitting on the truck. They finished up with what they could and had to order more carpet and then come back another time to finish up.

The only room completely finished that day was the master bedroom and bath. There wasn't enough to finish the hallway, Toby's closet, two linen closets, Toby's bathroom, the front bedroom closet and Rona's room and closet.
On Friday, May 2, 2003, Marcus came back with the remaining carpet and finished up the installation. We love the new carpet. We have been putting things back together and I'm sure it will continue for quite a while.

Jerry, Toby and I are so happy to have our house back to normal....whatever normal is!!!