I feel like a LIAR

My last post indicated that I would be moving back into my condo that was destroyed by the flood of 2013 last June.

Well, I guess I lied. In fact, I was lied to, which is worse. The really horrible part is that the condo is so close to being done. The even more horrible part is that the contractor pretty much ruined the hardwood floor and it now appears that there are too many damaged boards and the whole floor will probably need to be ripped out and a new one installed. I met with the flooring trade and the contractor to inspect the floor and he pretty much said it is no good. The floor needs a really good cleaning so that they can see the floor and not all the dust and construction grime to get a better idea of the extent of the damage, but I'm convinced it will need to be ripped out and replaced.

This means I don't really know when I will be moving home. If I owned the construction company, I would put as many people as possible on to this to get it done. By not doing so, only increases the chances that the owners and the condo corporation will get litigious. In my estimation, it should not take them more than a day to rip out the damaged floor and then another day, maybe 2, to install the new one. But that would be if I was running the crew. It took them all weekend for a painter to run through and do the remaining touch ups that were to be done, so I can tell that getting this floor redone is going to be like pulling teeth. They did install the closet shelves, because that was apparently soooo important, but they did not clean the floor as far as I can see.

It should be a fairly interesting meeting tomorrow morning. I am curious to hear what convoluted story they will have to tell.

My sister and brother in law are going through a similar hassle. Their condo is getting stucco and new windows for all units. They are also expecting a baby any day now. The new windows for their master bedroom are apparently going to be installed pretty much around the time she has the baby so they will not be able to stay there until they are done, but with the lack of speed on the trades side, who knows when that will happen. They were going to spend a day or 2 at my place, but with that up in the air, my guess is they will be at my parents house.

On the pottery front, the Fairview Pottery Sale will be held at the Canyon Meadows Community Centre on Saturday, November 22nd this year, so if you are in the area and you are looking for unique, hand made gifts, this would be an excellent event to check out.

Condo Restoration News

It would appear that there has been some movement on the condo restoration front. I was called on Tuesday to arrange to meet with the flooring company and pick hardwood and tile for my unit and I went over yesterday afternoon. I have picked it all, and it came in a little under budget, so hopefully I can use that extra money for something else that might cost a bit more. I ended up going with a hickory hardwood. It is dark, but not too dark. It is a really warm colour and I am sure it will be nice.

As for the tile, I only need a bit of floor tile in the bathroom and the laundry “room”. The laundry room is actually no more than a closet big enough to hide the stacking washer and dryer. I ended up going with a ceramic tile with a warm but neutral “marble” look to it. I was also picking tub surround tile and kitchen backsplash and went with 6x18 subway tile. The bath tile is a high gloss white tile with a raised repeating texture, reminiscent of upholstery tufting. There will be a plain un textured tile running about 5 rows up from the tub all the way around. The kitchen backsplash is also a white gloss with a raised pattern of miniature rectangular tiles.

I am NOT an interior decorator by any stretch of the imagination. I have always lived with 2^nd hand, hand me down, or just plain old cheap/inexpensive furniture and all the choices in fittings and fixtures etc were already made. I have never been in the position to choose my own style. I don’t even know that I have a style. I just call it shabby lazy, not to be confused with shabby chic.

In this picture, the wood floor is the darker brown right in the middle, not the paleer wood to the left of it.