It’s been over 100 days since we started our renovation and there is finally a glimmer of light

Back garden showing dirt holes and house under construction

It’s actually been 103 days since we started to be precise. I’ve gone around the roller coaster of emotions so many times now I’m bored of it. Or numb. Or maybe I’ve actually learned through the process how to manage what I can control and what I can’t?

Regardless, we are in the final stretch of our house renovation where a bunch of things are slated to happen and we can finally see a date when we can move out from my in-law’s place. I’ll document them here and let’s see how close we still are in a couple weeks shall we?

Behold, THE PROJECT SCHEDULE FROM NOW UNTIL MOVE IN DATE!!**

  1. Week of April 18 – kitchen window done and additional plastering done
  2. Week of April 25 – kitchen fitted, appliances installed, template for kitchen counters done, bedroom doors and cupboards started
  3. Week of May 2 – flooring complete, bathroom tiling started, bedroom doors and cupboards completed
  4. Week of May 9 – bathroom tiling completed, internal electrical fittings completed and tested
  5. Week of May 16 – countertop installed, misc kitchen finishing, internal painting started
  6. Week of May 23 – internal painting done, carpets installed in bedrooms
  7. Week of May 30 – ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Start to move back in? 🤞🏼 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

**This is completely expected to change but goddamn if I’m not pushing hard as hell to make it happen. Also, this timeline doesn’t include a bunch of external work like the construction of the porch, back patio, exterior rendering, the exterior electrical stuff, etc. All that will continue to be done in parallel as my builder feels like it the weeks go on. I’ll add those details in to a future update. 😉

🗒 Sidenote: Here is what the exterior design is going to look like (using Siberian larch, not oak as mentioned, for the wood):

I’m learning how to communicate and engage better with our builder now. As you might expect, I’m using Notion to document and share my weekly notes/issues for discussion and track progress. We’ll probably be a well-oiled machine just about the time we’re done.

I’m also learning that I could have saved myself a lot of pain two months ago by putting on my project manager hat a lot earlier in the process. Part of me didn’t want to have to do that, but now that I have, I feel better, even if I still don’t really have control over what happens.

I’ve gone into full detail and note-taking mode now. Here is my latest sequence of shots and notes I sent over to the builder this week (along with the timeline above) to give you a sense of how much you probably wouldn’t want to be working with me on this project:

Kitchen cupoards in spaces that are too larger for them.
What are we going to do with these cabinets? Not sure how the heights were off on these, double-checked the kitchen order and these appear to match what was ordered but they should be extra tall. Kitchen company messed up I think.
Door in door frame partially open
This is the back bedroom door closest to office, door isn’t fit properly
Outlet on the wall with a question mark written above it
This wasn’t in the electrical plan, what is it for?
Door with clear glass center showing not centered in door frame
This door is too big for the door frame, so now the glass isn’t centered. Why did we buy the wrong size door for this space?
Sliding door on wall showing a lot of space between door and wall
Lots of space between this door, is there a threshold/barrier we can add? Also the foot piece doesn’t seem finished.
IMG 9888
The pocket door wall doesn’t seem square to the adjoining wall here.
Small crack on bottom of door
Some pretty big chunks out of some of the doors, this is the main bedroom door
Plumbing coming out of unfinished floor with arrow showing where it should be moved
Where is the sink plumping and drain? The sink is positioned under the right-side of the window so this needs to move
Unfinished wall next to a window with outlet and cables showing
This socket/cable next to the back kitchen window needs to be removed
IMG 9885
Exterior light here should be placed evenly between the openings
IMG 9882
Soffit and roof verge finishing?
IMG 9881
IMG 9880
How are exterior windows getting finished? Will this get filled in by rendering?

I know, this looks like a crapload of work still needs to get done and that’s true. But things are moving and even these photos taken a few days ago are a bit out of date now so you’ll have to trust me, there is light visible at the end of this tunnel.

103 days and counting. All eyes on May 30th!

One response

  1. Even with the best builder in the world you have to be on top of it all. All those pics make me feel very stressed out for you!

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