You mean, did I panic when we discovered that in order to do the Master Bath, I had to do the kitchen reno first, because of the kitchen walls we were going to blow out, and the demo would have cracked any finished tile in the bath? Or when I came home to find the GC had boxed up my kitchen contents without me, and his workers put tomatoes and onions in boxes with my dishes? Or when we discovered, during the process of blowing out the kitchen walls, that there was no structural support in the basement for that side of the house, and I was going to need an engineered beam in both the kitchen AND the basement? And when the GC tore half the basement ceiling open, raining plaster dust on everything I stored in the basement (which was a lot, because, hey, my kitchen had been gutted)? Or when we bit the bullet and tore out the old pine kitchen floors because we couldn't get level with all those bumps and dips? Or when the GC called in a panic that the measurements didn't match the install for the windows and doors, and that our cabinets wouldn't fit, and he was going to have to rip the new windows out and move them two inches? (I talked him off the ledge on that -- I reworked the design and ordered a narrower cabinet) Or when the demo work started dozens of leaks that made the rest of the basement bathroom ceiling cave in, putting a hole in an irreplaceable and pristine 1930's china sink? Or when the plumber said they couldn't guarantee any work connected to the 70-year old brass piping because it was corroded, brittle, and paper-thin and so I had to replace virtually all the plumbing lines in the house? Or when all of it comes in well past your hundred-thousand-dollar budget?

Yeah, I panicked. I have now panicked so many times, I can't get worried any more unless there's blood or the police show up. I panicked, and I paid. Lots and lots and lots. That is how a two month, $30k bathroom remodel became a ten (or eleven, who's counting?) $140k kitchen-and-bath-and-two-other-baths-and-plumbing replacement remodel. Phew. I think I'm getting tremors just thinking about it.

P.s. Don't tell my husband about the budget. He thought we were at $120 k.
I don't know how you get through. I get through by gritting my teeth and learning how to do the floors and tile myself, and hiding the extra costs from my husband and paying them myself.

I guess I just hijacked your thread to vent. My apologies.

Are you kidding? I panicked so much I actually cried. My DH said "yougottabekiddinme we're just getting started!".

Oh, and in the beginning, he'd rip out drywall and I'd follow behind with the vaccuum to "keep things tidy." Yeah. THAT lasted.

Now, in the basement? Rip it out, mere child's play.

Deep breaths, it will all be worth it.

buddyrose - don't feel bad, you're not alone! I'm sure most of us have had at least one moment (if not many!) of panic during remodeling projects. I think I've been in a constant state of low-level panic the entire time (approx. 7 months now) and I've survived so far - haha. The only advice I have is to take a deep breath and keep telling yourself it will all work out in the end! A little wine probably wouldn't hurt either :)

buddyrose - I just had a panic attack last night!! LOL and I came here for comfort and received plenty, so now I offer mine :)

We are in week 4 of our remodel. DH had this home built in 1982 or so but we were still holding our breath over what would be found. We had our drop ceiling raised, we had a load bearing wall opened up and a new header put in, we had some plumbing taken out of our pantry and routed out to the garage (that involved quite a bit of manuvering in the crawl space due to air ducts being in the way, but he got it done)

I know I have a little more expense for some things we changed, but after the carpenters fixed the builders mistakes and shortcuts we are finally on the way to getting it put back together so I hope the expensive surprises we feared are past us now.

BTW, I don't know how others do it. The mess, the plastic sheets over the doorways, the dust, the intrusion of workers...... and ours is a relatively quick renovation!!

Good Luck! Wine and a good nights sleep and my hanging out here helped me get past it :)

evilbunnie - I had to smile at your story of your kitchen contents being boxed up (with potatoes and onions) while you were gone! I can SO identify with that! Our GC isn't the best at projecting what's going to happen from day to day, so there were plenty of times that I'd come home to find similar things had happened. If we'd listened to him though, we'd have been completely without a kitchen for the past 5 months (or more), but instead we insisted on waiting until more of the new kitchen is done BEFORE tearing out the old (the kitchen is a completely new addition).

pirula - I almost fell off my chair laughing at your statement about following along with the vacuum since I did the same thing! I tried to vacuum things up every single day for quite a while, but now, at approx. 7 months in I can't muster up the energy to care :) There's about 5 inches of dust on everything and it's just going to have to stay there until the end!

katiee511 - I've only survived 7 months so far by imagining how to kill and bury all contractors who cross my path without being caught - haha, just kidding! :) I am so tired of plastic, dust (because the plastic doesn't keep it out), and people in my house every single day (and my dog barking constantly at the people in "her" house). I will literally jump up and down with joy if this is ever totally finished!

I would tell you about all my moments of panic (and there were MANY!!!), but at this point, I think I'm blocking them all out. All I can say is that this forum is a godsend - I can't tell you how many times these wonderful people talked me down from the ledge!

As for the vacuum - I actually went out and bought a cheap Hoover on sale at Sears so I wouldn't muck up my Dyson with all the plaster dust!!! (On my third replacement filter with that Hoover, too...)

You will survive. It won't be easy (and feel free to check in here frequently for moral support!), but you will survive. :-)

I walk around in a constant state of panic and excitement. The excitement didn't set in until we started replacing all the stuff we tore out though. Once the building starts, you'll have something good to balance out your mood.

This forum is definitely turning out to be my pacifier.

Did I panic when our bathroom "con"tractor, after being here for 10 days, only working 4.5 of those I might add.. and we did the demo, decided we needed more lumber...10 days later he hadn't returned.. AT ALL! Not one phone call returned, was never at his home, wife avoided us, and it was-27 celcius, we had no hot water(for 3 weeks), no floors, no insulation and a toilet straddling the joists over the crawl space (as a favour to us..thank goodness). Already over construction costs, I needed to find a new guy.

Did find the new guy, who talked and talked and talked.. and whistled, and got the dog barking 345324332 times a day, dumped drywall mud/grout/thinset/whatever slurries off my front porch over my rosebeds (only done at night when he was leaving, so the snow would cover it). Parked his van with a leaking gas tank in my gravel drive for days (after being asked repeatedly to move it). He sanded the drywall mud, and painted right over the dust (while I was out walking the dog! I lived here while all this was going on.. not like I wasn't here to keep an eye out). Oh and he talked some more.. usually along the vein of "just think how nice it's going to be.., or "You can't rush progress"...etc etc

When my brand new washwer/dryer were finally stacked (after the contractor forgot to remove the packing pins, and the set bounced around the alcove space, smashing walls, and chipping the shiny new dryers red paint)in place, and I realized I'd never be able to fit past the support post holding up the roof, into my laundry room? Yep.. I panicked, and cried, and waited for hubby who works midnight shift (construction was being done during the days)to hold my hand, and never once say to me.."just think.. !" We made it through, barely, and yes we love the bathroom, and the continuation of the progress in the hallways etc, but I am still vacuuming drywall dust, looking at "Your outside walls aren't straight, so I can't make this straight!!!" issues with some sadness, and vow, next time, I'll do it myself. Granted some of the mistakes were mine as I rushed some of decisions, just to be able to have a shower after 3 months (this is our only bathroom), but I still harbour some panic that it's all going to come back to haunt me.

I guess we all have our panic buttons that get pushed, generally around 3 am as you contemplate just how hubby/wife is going to take the news that______, and just how are we going to pay for it?? lol. Breathe, drink (LOTS! Water, wine, beer, coffee.. arsenic for the contractors), and remember.. we OPTED for this chaos! LOL.. sad I know LOL!

One evening during our 10-month remodel (just finished), DH and I were poring over a deck design problem at a restaurant, stunned by the news that a simple deck required by the city was going to cost $17,000. This is how we spent rare "date nights" together...could we get the deck low enough so handrails weren't required?

We ran into some friends who'd finished a remodel a few years back. My friend asked, "Have you had your meltdown yet?" like it was a foregone conclusion. She said, "For me, it was about the knobs. The ones I'd wanted turned out to be $30 each...it sent me over."

Her words rang in my head again and again. Have I had my meltdown yet? The wrong pattern on the living room window, the patio door that opens on the wrong side, the vanity cabinet that's far too dark for a kids' bath, the square-set instead of diagonal-set shower tile....definite blues, but meltdown?

Then a few weeks before we were to move home, my KD called and asked how I felt about an overhead-blower range hood instead of the remote-blower hood I'd practically planned the whole kitchen around. Our contractor hadn't expected a remote-blower hood, and now the appliance installers couldn't fit it.

Then I knew what my friend meant about the meltdown. I called my husband at work sobbing, half-screaming, ready to snap. I'd already accepted, gotten over, lived with and settled on SO many things, that this was just too much. Fortunately this particular problem turned out to be resolvable -- some re-roofing and a little carpentry inside -- but my sanity took a serious hit. If so much as a window handle came in the wrong color, I was going to lose it.

It's hard, but you DO get over stuff at the end. During the process, you're so vulnerable; you can't respond to problems by themselves, you have to consider them within the context of the entire project ("if I insist they fix that misplaced tile border then that'll delay the painters..."), and you are completely commited to the expenses. It's incredibly stressful, and there's no break, because if you don't keep pushing, it'll never be done with.

You WILL get better at handling the panics and low moments and learning to "get over" stuff. And once it's all done, most of the troubles fade away.

(p.s. Another thing I wouldn't recommend: planning your project in 2007 and paying for it in 2009. A huge recession starting while your house is a construction zone...really, don't do that.)

well you all had me laughing because I didn't even mention some of the stuff that was mentioned above:

yes, my 5 lb toy poodle is barking at all 5 workmen every time they walk in and out of the house... which is constant. I'm so tired of saying: "shhh, no barking."

After they ripped up the floor only to tell me it was horrible THEY THEN REALIZED ONE AND A HALF WALLS WERE CROOKED ENOUGH that the cabinets wouldn't hang right. So part of the walls got knocked down. That wasn't expected either. That's new since I first posted.

evilbunnie, you didn't hijack my thread. You made me laugh out loud.

pirula, I took my dog for a walk to get him to stop barking and I cried while I walked him. I kept thinking what if I run out of money. I'm single so don't have any other income to help with the costs. And when they ripped out 4 floors, so much dirt, wood fragments, nails etc. fell down thru the sub floor into my basement and into my washing machine WHICH WAS CLOSED and on top of my dryer and dehumidifier. So I was sweeping and covering everything with plastic. Thank goodness, because more crap came down again. I'm living in dust. I told myself I would have a cleaning company when it was over and do a major clean up. I'm just sweeping when it drives me crazy.

traci29: how long into the day do I have to wait for that glass of wine? HA

katiee511: I'm praying that their time estimate of 3 weeks stays on track. And the dog seems to enjoy jumping thru the plastic covering the doorways. I don't!

charlikin: while my painter was sanding and skim coating the other rooms, his partner used MY NEW VACUUM to clean up!!!! I was so ticked off. They have their own damn vacuum, why use mine?

bwaibel: you're right about this forum helping.

countrycottageklutz: no one is whistling, thank god. And my GC is a good guy. He replaced 26 windows and I'm very happy with him and his guys. He's turned me on to a great plumber and electrician, too. Very happy with them all.

richpoor: the only good thing for me is I started this house renovation during the recession so I'm getting good deals everywhere. but recessions are scary and I think "what if my next job falls thru?" I'm self employed. yikes.

so they're done for the day. Here's what my kitchen looks like now.

whoa, that really is gutted!
My timeline was 3 weeks for a minor remodel and we just entered week 4, but I was warned way ahead of time because the cabinet painting took longer than estimated.

My beagle took to getting locked in rooms for the first three days. But she is an escape artist and will take every opportunity to run the neighborhood. She loves the contractors now because she has made it past the plumber, the drywall guys, the painter and last night the carpenters while I was out picking up pizza. My carpenters, bless their hearts were the only ones I wasn't around to reassure and they ran the neighborhood while the other followed in his van to catch her!!

My dog is not the brightest in the bunch. She would get in through the DR where there was unattached plastic, but then would come out through the kitchen which meant busting through taped plastic..... which I had to "fix" 3 times........ LOL

katiee5ll: I know it is sooooo gutted. Originally all I wanted to do was "spruce the kitchen up"! HA Too late to go back now.

Yes, It's gutted! But, it's "tidy."

; )

buddyrose - just start the wine at breakfast and go right into dinner and nothing will bother you - haha :) Good luck - I'll keep my fingers crossed that the kitchen is done VERY quickly!

katiee511 - that's hilarious about your dog. My dog also managed to tear down many sheets of plastic - she'd just barrel right through. At this point, there's already so much dust everywhere (drywall is done) that we're not even putting up plastic anymore - it's easier not to since we're constantly having to walk into the area.

I'm panicking a little inside all the time. My house is old so I suspected there would be some major problems once they started gutting. Now my kitchen/powder room remodel has turned into an almost whole house electrical and whole house plumbing project as well. Oh, and some HVAC systems too.

Hey, it's the perfect opportunity to replace all this stuff while the walls are open, right? Every time I hear that from my fiance and my contractor I cringe a little inside. I know he's right, but eep! I feel like a cartoon character with little money symbols rolling over and over in my eyes every time something else comes up.

I don't think I've had my 'official' meltdown yet. Couple of tears here and there, but that's been mostly related to the lack of sleep from sitting up nights worrying about all these little details. I can not wait until it's done and I can sit in my new kitchen, not fretting over faucets and light fixtures and vent hoods and toilets, oh my!

But we can make it through! We're a team here, right? One very kitchen obsessed, stressed out, going broke team! Woohoo! ;)

traci29 - who knew the day the plastic came down would be a highlight day for me! LOL. The stuff is needed but oh so annoying. Our drywall is finished also and I am slowly cleaning up the dust as I go along room by room. Yuk!

What is it with dogs and plastic?? My cats totally left it alone, go figure.

Oh, and the dust! OMG...I told everyone at work that I was going to look like crap for the next month or so because I can't walk out of my house without getting covered. I'm taking my plastic sheets down too. They're just a formality at this point, which I must rub up against on my way out of the house so dust gets transferred to my clothes. I have never been so perpetually congested in my entire life.

Thankfully, so thankfully, it turns out my dog is a watch dog and barks at everything only when me and the fiance are at home. We've been putting her in the bedroom when we leave for the day and the contractor actually asked, after 3 days of working, "What are you doing with the dog during the day?" I was floored. She barks when a car drives by when I'm home, but all day with banging and strange people, not a peep!

My fifteen-month-old son is the one tearing at the plastic. I will say that the workers have been topnotch during my total kitchen gut and remodel and have taken some extra steps to keep my toddler safe.

Hang in there buddyrose.

Wow, looks good! (When my bathroom was gutted, I emailed a photo around work with the caption, "My New Bathroom." Got back a number of responses saying, "Nice! A little rustic though..." LOL!)

Back to the vacuum. The Dyson-which-was-not-to-be-used was in a closet that was taped shut to keep the dust out. The tile guy (whom I otherwise adored) actually pulled the tape off the door to get the vacuum out to use it! (How did he even know it was in there?!) Fortunately, I was home at that moment to stop him (usually I wasn't).

After seeing what all that plaster dust and debris did to the cheapo-Hoover, I can't even imagine... 20% BB&B coupon or no, that Dyson was expensive!!

Don't they have shop vacs???

charlikin, you guys are so funny. I love it. I'd much rather be sitting here in dust and plastic laughing than crying. I cannot believe he pulled the tape off a shut door to use your Dyson! OMG! That's so damn funny. The nerve of him.

My painter guy used my new cheapo Hoover and I was still pissed cuz it was filed with fine white powder from sanding. Thank God my Dyson is in my Co-op and not here. And you're right, they all have shop vacs. The GC's guys were vacuuming up their own debris. (I, of course, was still sweeping....Like it made a difference in dirt!)

I will live thru this but it's really nice to laugh about it here with all of you.

chachashea: Thank u for the kind thought.
And donka you're right about dogs barking when they're owners are home. When I'm gone, he's too scared I think. He just curls up on his blankie.

And yes pirula my guys are neat and tidy. The weren't so good when they replaced the windows and I let them know about it. I guess they listened!

traci29: the wine is uncorked!!!!! Tomorrow is another day with I'm sure more horror stories.

Hee hee I'm only here becasue of the "snowball". That is what we call home repairs because one thing turns into another and then it is rolling downhill like a giant snowball out of control. I just wanted new granite countertops but when we demoed our old tile we found water damage and rotted post. It was a mess. We had to rebuild an entire wall so we decided to pour slab and make the kitchen bigger. :) Now we realized we don't have enough of the existing floor. My husband does all the work so trouble with the workers isn't my issue since I'm sleeping with him. ;) I am a stay at home mom however and the money part is super stressfull to me. I say drink that wine and enjoy these funny stories. Your kitchen is going to be so GREAT when it's all done. Just look at finished picturs and keep your chin up. It will be worth it!

I don't know what I'd do without reading the stories of others! It's good to know I'm not alone in remodeling hell :)

Dogs are such funny creatures - they act as if they are going to tear someone up with all their barking, but my dog will then go running to hide in a corner if a contractor so much as looks at her (she keeps her distance while barking)! And she also only barks if we're around, so not sure what's up with that. We had someone painting once while we were gone and he made the comment that he didn't even know she was in the house because she didn't make a peep!

Let's all chant together "It will all be worth it in the end...it will all be worth it in the end.." Haha!

Buddyrose my kitchen looked like that a few weeks ago. Once they get everything fixed, it changes rather quickly. ... In my case it then stopped short.

Yesterday I learned that I still won't have a counter this week. Counter is ready to be installed but one cabinet is MIA. It is at the end of a run so it needs to be in place for the granite install. They templated using a substitute but not matching cabinet (hey maybe I can start a new trend). The thing that ticks me off is if they said we can't get that size at the beginning, I would have designed that run differently.

Oh and my niece is here (from Maine) next weekend. I am supposed to have 12 people here for dinner. It was going to be a rustic pot luck affair. But forget it now -- without a sink and a dishwasher there is no way I am carrying that many plates to the basement sink.

DH tries to understand but doesn't really get why I have a difficult time doing anything else while the kitchen is in such disarray. I am supposed to be working on my masters project to finish my degree but I can't focus enough to do it. I go to work to feel better!! Yikes what has it come to. More wine is all I have to say!

maria410 - I know exactly what you mean about being unable to focus!!! This probably sounds crazy to a lot of people, but if a space is cluttered or disorganized (or just plain dirty!), I can't concentrate on doing anything! Over the past 7 months, it's been hard enough just keeping clothes clean in order to go to work and impossible to do anything about the chaos in the house. I feel drained all the time!! On the other hand, my husband could care less about dust, dirt, or clutter - he actually works from home so has been there every day during all the construction. There's NO WAY I could do that. I think it's finally beginning to get to even him though, so I really hope it's not much longer!

Yep, gotta get the wine...

Oh I'm so glad everyone chimed in, and took my post as a funny/desperate offering. I think the first post hit a very touchy nerve, especially having just done the final number crunching and having a fairly unpleasant heart to heart with the contractor on what went wrong, and I was feeling less than generous, less than humorous.

But you all touched on a hundred things that drove me nuts, not panic-nuts, but persistent, ongoing, Bataan-death-march-nuts -- the dust, the plastic, the moving my stuff and using my things! I shudder to think how the contents of my basement were moved three and four times, so I can't find a damn thing anymore. My husband and my contractor both look at me and ask "D'you know where the ____ is?" dozens of times, and my consistent response is "I don't know where anything is anymore." My tub of spackle is missing when I want to fix a crack caused by demo. My shower is dripping, but I can't find my plumbing tools. Where is my shop vac? Who opened my japanese pull saw?

Who left a bottle of glue out that fell over and GLUED THE NEW BEDSPREAD TO THE BED and ruined it? That one actually made me cry. I don't know why, it's been a tough month.

In the end, though, the kitchen is looking great, the first floor bath is shaping up, and I look forward to finding some time after Easter to start the tile in the master bath. But all that stuff that was displaced by the remodel has been homeless and nomadic and constantly moves from one room to the next and never gets put away properly.

Perhaps the best thing I ever did was call in the cavalry after the worst of the dust-making activities (and that included demo and the plumbers and electricians, because they stir up all the settled demo dust) and get a cleaning lady to work with me to organize and clean the dining and living rooms which had been the overflow and staging areas for the kitchen. If I had it to do over, I would have locked up my tools, or at least labeled all of them (I can't even remember which are mine, which are his). I would have bought separate brooms, dustpans and brushes for the contractor, because you can't sweep the rest of the floors with a broom full of plaster dust (and they always like to use the best broom, not the cruddy ones). I would have demanded that the drywall debris that they threw on the back lawn be picked up BEFORE it snowed and thawed and iced up and became cemented to the ground, and that the sinks and toilets that were "salvaged" be moved out of the yard before my neighbors learned to hate me for creating a mini-Sanford Junk Lot. I would have insisted that construction be delayed while I packed up my own kitchen. I would have demanded to know in advance before a room would be reorganized-against-its will by the contractor. I would have put a sign on the new stainless sink that said "DO NOT WASH CAULK/PLASTER/PAINT IN THIS SINK." And I would have demanded that all his tools be stored in the basement in the evenings.

I don't think I would have believed someone who told me how strangely violating it is to have people in your house all the time, virtually every day for nine months. I know I asked for this, but I didn't know what I was asking for. I put up with things along the way that I should have nipped in the bud immediately because I couldn't see that a little dust here, and a little not-picked-up stuff there, and a few tools left out, would eventually snowball into a GIANT FUTHERMUCKING MESS that would make it impossible for me to think straight, be remotely organized or live a normal life.

OK end of rant. I'm sure I'll be sane soon, and I'll get through this.

And thank you to everyone here on Kitchens Forum, because you get it, you understand, and you can properly sympathize and offer cogent advice to those of us panicked, desperate, worn-out, worn-down remodelers.

Buddyrose,
Take pictures. It seems crazy but take pictures even
with every little step.

And start collecting your dream pictures or ideas
in a little binder. When you start to panic about
the kitchen go to your binder add some pic from the
web, magazines, advertisments and daydream your worries
away. Imagine your favorite new dishes, or light fixture
or granite or maybe floors, appliances or maybe just
imagine yourself drinking a glass of wine with friends
in your NEW kitchen.

Somedays it will seem like forever
but it will transform into your beautiful new kitchen.
~boxerpups

Maria410 I had something like happen with my 1st kitchen renovation. One wrong cabinet so I had to order another cabinet which slowed things down. 1st kitchen took a couple of months... so many problems... like others above - fired 1st GC etc. etc.

This time it's going much better after my first day's panic attack. It's Day 2 and the plywood floor is in, the sheet rock is up and some thinset is on to level out the floor. My GC and his guys rock. I don't think the first days work will cost me as much as I thought it would because by ripping uneven things out, the rest of the job-- SHOULD PULEEZE GOD -- go without any hitches.

boxerpups: I have a binder filled with kitchens and furniture etc. for this little cottage. I love doing the research and collecting photos. This site plus the finished kitchens site has been a huge help too although my kitchen is so much smaller than most and definitely won't look as fantastic like so many on these threads. But this is a second home for me and I'll be very happy with my end result because it won't be the original kitchen!

evilbunnie: I have a cleaning service "at the ready" for when this is done. It's a tiny house but the mess is HUUUGE!.

Here's a photo of Day 2 of the process:

So glad to hear you're feeling better. And you're right, getting things level and plumb may cost some up front, but it makes a huge difference in the finished product, and can save you money (and certainly time) in the long run.

Keep us posted!

the porcelain floor is in. not grouted but all there and I love it. I didn't realize until I saw it all laid out that it looks a bit like marble. cool. I'll put some photos up after tomorrow when the cabinets start going up rather than drive people crazy with a photo a day!

Ummm....we like a photo a day! So...post today!

you're so funny buehl. I didn't want to seem CRAZY posting the progress every day... like I have nothing better to do. Guess what? I don't! LOL

So this is Day 3 in my renovation and I don't know how much it will actually cost but I'm not panicked any more because I'm soooo happy. Mind you the floor is dirty but you can see the color.

You're right! It does look like marble! It looks very nice. What color grout are you planning to use?

Buddyrose, Glad things are moving along -- I love that tile btw. My cabinet suddenly arrived after I had a major hissy fit -- my poor DH (he was the deliverer of the bad news) - LOL. I think after that fit DH explained to the contractor that he better find the truck that had the cabinet. The granite was installed late yesterday. I will post pictures later today after the sink and the dishwasher are hooked up. Still have a fair amount to do not the least of which is getting the wood floors repaired (where the wall was removed) and refinished. Hopefully early next week.

buehl, I didn't pick out the grout. the tile woman did. It says: marble beige and the color swatch on the bag looks like a beige sand color. She actually came to my house to see two floor tiles against my existing appliances with a piece of the granite etc. and basically I let her pick because she was so into her thing! I like when people go that extra distance to make sure everything looks good.

maria410, early next week is soon. thank goodness the cabinet arrived. my cabinets just got dropped off this morning so the guys are beginning to install the uppers today. I hope I still like everything I picked and paid for. Probably will but it is nerve wracking. looking forward to your photos.

Ok, gonna hijack again for some more panic. Yesterday I was just waiting for Mike Holmes and a camera crew to pop out of a closet and yell, "SURPRISE!!" Plumber came to assess the situation, it's worse than expected. Not a single drain in my house is vented, all the water and drain lines are a mish-mashed frankenstein of different sized pipes etc. Explains all the weird plumbing issues I have, but now they have to remove the plaster from one of the walls in a bedroom upstairs to run the vent lines out to the roof. Great...all this because someone (me) wanted a prep sink in my island and to move the main sink over 10 feet.

So, now the kitchen/powder room reno has turned into a kitchen/powder room/spare bedroom reno. Not to mention the ceiling in the basement which had to be removed, or the other bedroom where they had to move the heat duct so now the baseboard needs to be replaced, or the squirrels which took up residence in my attic due to a busted window which I didn't notice and started digging through the ceiling in one of the bedrooms. Lol. Really, it's all starting to be humorous. Or is that just me going crazy?

Donka - I know exactly how you feel. You basically just have to take a deep breath and don't even act as if you see those things or think about it until the end when it can all be repaired. We knew when we began our renovations that the plumbing, HVAC, etc would need to be "updated" - well, I didn't realize that meant holes in EVERY freaking wall in EVERY room of the house!!! So basically along with refinishing all the floors, we also need all the holes patched and walls repainted in every single room.

Yep, you just have to laugh about it - and yes, I think we actually have to be a little crazy to deal with all this! :) Hang in there!

You have to laugh. Crying is too damn boring and makes your eyes puffy so then in addition to money pit issues, you look fugly. Nope, only laughter to deal with panic from now on.

And guys and gals, you really have to pay attention to what workers are doing. Today when I thought the laid tiles would be grouted, the upper cabinets went up. Ok. Not worried BUT THEN THE LOWER CABINETS WERE BEING PUT OUT. I'm like "excuse me, but what about grouting the tile under the cabinets." "Oh that's not necessary." WHAAATTTT. I was like, "oh I don't think so." So they removed the base cabinets which were just sitting there so not that big a deal and grouted ALL the tiles.

HELLO!!!! Must remember to stay alert at all times (NOTE TO SELF.) In all honesty, I did say I wanted the job done as quickly as possible and as inexpensively as possible so they're trying to cut corners, I suppose, is to be expected. But not that corner!

No photos today because white painted maple against white primer on walls on top of white-ish marble-ish floor tiles equals PAINFUL. I feel like I should be doing a WHITE EXPLOSION thread with katiee511!