Monday, November 19, 2007

I am so SICK of remodeling!!!!!


Will it never end?? Last May before we headed north, we decided to redo our Florida Room which is attached to our trailer. We put in a new ceiling, new B Board on the side of the trailer, new shelves, and brand new windows long the whole 32 feet on the side as well as two windows on the front.


When we got back this fall, we knew that we had to paint and get window coverings and flooring. So off we went to Lowes to take a look. We weren't too impressed with what we found so we went across the street to Home Depot. We found exactly what we wanted with very friendly and helpful "experts". Of course we had to have one person handle the flooring part and another person handle the blinds or "decor" part even though their desks were next to each other divided only by a divider. So we found a laminate flooring that we loved. Using it, we picked out vertical blinds to go with the flooring and paint which matched the blinds. So, we picked up the paint and went home to get that part done. It took several days to get the painting done but we were very satisfied with the color. So up went our collection of pictures and paintings and our new wall light.

Two different guys came out to measure for the flooring and the blinds. The guy measuring the flooring was a bit concerned about the moisture level in our floor. Unfortunately our room is not on a cement slab. But, he went ahead and measured. The guy who measured for the blinds announced that he could put verticals on the side windows but there was no room for brackets for the ones on the front! I asked if we could use pull down shades and he said that there was no room for brackets at all. He said we could go with mini blinds in front and verticals on the side. Ugh!! So, back to Home Depot to possibly pick out different window treatments. We talked to Rosa again who had worked with us on our first trip. She showed us pictures of rooms that had both verticals and mini blinds next to each other and they didn't look to bad. Sooo, we decided to go that route---but we can't even order the mini's until AFTER the verticals are installed.

The flooring was delivered in about a week but there was one piece of trim missing so we had to wait several days before it arrived in the store before we could call the installers. So, when I finally was able to call the installers to set up a time, the guy told me that he refused to install laminate because of the moisture level and the fact that we are at ground level in a flood area. Argh! So, BACK to Home Depot yet again. (Did I mention that it takes a half hour or more to get to Home Depot??) We picked out ceramic tile thinking this might be better. Our neighbor across the street put ceramic tile in his place all by himself so heck why couldn't we use it. So, we canceled the laminate and ordered the tile and set up an appointment to have them come out and get the laminate which had been delivered.
Next day, Home Depot calls again and says that they will not lay ceramic tile in a mobile home or in a room attached to one especially since we have no concrete pad. You guessed it---BACK to Home Depot. Yolie who had worked with us on the laminate and tile was the one who called us and she apologized profusely saying she had no idea that there were rules like this. She wasn't going to be there when we arrived but turned us over to Eddie. Along with Eddie's help, we cancelled the tile and picked out indoor/outdoor carpeting. Surely, they can't not lay indoor/outdoor carpeting in a room that doesn't have a cement pad!!! We convinced ourselves that we really liked the carpeting and it was probably the best route to go afterall.

OK, after more than a week of waiting and waiting---and waiting for them to call and say something (blinds, carpet, whatever) was in and ready to install, I decided to call them. Last Friday, I finally get ahold of Eddie again and he looks it all up on the computer and says he can't find our order!!!!! At this point I am ready to strangle the nearest Home Depot Employee. He says he will check and call me back. No call. I wasn't able to call them on Saturday and of course no one was around on Sunday so today I call again. Well, Eddie is on vacation and Yolie isn't there so I talk to Lisa and try to tell her the whole sad story. She had problems finding things too so she said she would report it to the Flooring Manager and have him check it and give us a call. I love Home Depot but this is getting nuts! We had to work at the CROW giftshop today and about a half hour after I get there, Willy calls on our cellphone . Apparently he is the manager. I've never met Willy but his "phoneside manner" leaves something to be desired. So he tells me that Eddie never placed an order and we had to come back in to HD to pick out the carpeting AGAIN!!! I told him we had to work until 2:00 but I would be there at 2:30. About an hour later the phone rings and he says he found the order and we don't have to come in. Then when we got home about 3:00 there was a message on our home phone saying that Home Services in Tampa has our order and they will call in a day or two. Sure, right! I'm not holding my breath here folks.

Oh yeah, I did find out today that the blinds are due in this Thursday--Thanksgiving Day--so I guess I will have something to be thankful for, huh :-) I'm not holding my breath here either. And don't forget, we can't order mini blinds until after the Verticals go in.

Anyway, that is it up to now. I had hoped to have this all done by Thanksgiving. At this point, I will be glad to have it done by Christmas, or Valentine's Day, or Easter! Check back for further developments--if there are any.

Oh yeah, did I mention that when they remodeled the room last spring and put in the new ceiling, they did something to the overhead fan so it doesn't work anymore???? HELP!

6 comments:

Shama-Lama Mama said...

Oh, Mom, I'm sorry. I can't say I have EVER heard of a remodeling story that went smoothly, though. Its always enough to make you crazy.

As for the miniblinds, is there enough room to put in some kind of curtain to minimze the look of the lines going from vertical to horizontal? There ARE curtain rods that are spring loaded and can be put within the window frame and not above it.

Sorry its so stressy.

Come to California! Relax!!

Snowbird said...

I thought of curtains and may still go that way but all I want to do now is to get a carpet and some blinds so we can stop living in a plywood floor fishbowl!

As for California, when can I come??

Best of Sanibel Captiva said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Best of Sanibel Captiva said...

I vote for strangeling the nearest HD employee!
-Kim

Neptunesmuse said...

Snowbird,
Have you thought about planatation blinds or shutters? Both should work well in your Florida room.
In a pinch you can do mini blinds and tab top curtain (Target is a good place to get them -inexpensively).
Good luck. Remodeling never goes smoothly.

Snowbird said...

Linda,
Good suggestion. Hadn't thought of shutters. I kind of like that idea.