Yesterday, the contractors did a lot. Actually, a lot more than I think was in the original plan. As it turns out, the morons who built this house liked to cut corners..with everything. Therefore, what I originally thought was going to be "put a stud here, and hang all the drywall there", turned into "we have to take these electrical outlets and switches apart, and re-wire everything because it's not done properly". Great. All I could see were dollar signs flashing before my eyes.
Our original estimate was about $2500, which then turned into about $3000 when we turned around, and asked them to finish sheet-rocking the "particle board" wall. We figured Matt wouldn't be able to get around to it anytime soon, and the contractors might as well do it while they're here and doing everything else. HOWEVER, now that most of the time has been spent on electrical work and wiring, I'm terrified to know what the final cost is going to be. There really isn't expensive electrical parts to buy, but it's rather the labor. And trust me, from what I've seen, it's very frustrating and labor-intensive. Especially when the wiring is majorly fvcked up to begin with.
Just to give you an idea, some outlets/switches are double wired, neutral wires are live and giving shocks, and (my favorite) an outlet in the living room somehow was connected/circuited to an outlet across the room, by Matt's dad's computer, which ran the cable router for the internet. They were trying to figure out where the second circuit went to, so they un-wired it, and nothing in our apartment or living room went out. So we figured it went to God-knows-where upstairs. Well, as it turns out, we went to use our lap top, and the internet wasn't working. Matt checked over by the router, and everything was out. BINGO - at least we didn't have to go searching for where it was connected to. Now, I have no idea how this stuff works, or what should be normally done, but by listening to them talk among themselves, it doesn't sound good or done right.
Within the first few hours of being here, they had all the framing done - for both walls, and the two closets in the living room. It was when they got to the closets that they were spending the most time. Although it was already framed, most of the beams had to be replaced. And then there was the outlets and switches. I think once they got there, they realized that all the wiring was going to be a problem. Long story short, from about before lunch time to when they were ready to leave at 4:30pm, they spent all that time on electrical-related stuff. The wiring and electrical in this house, or at least in the extension (which is our apartment and new living room) is extremely done wrong, and it's kind of scary. I'm glad we are having a professional fix everything, because it will at least be a little safer, and done correctly. Even if it does cost more money.
That brings us to this morning. They got here right around 7 am, and have been working on...yup, you guessed it...electrical stuff. However, before they can start sheet-rocking what they've framed, they have to have all the wiring done properly in the wall. They are adding a new outlet and cable wire hook-up for us in the living room, as well as dropping all the outlets they can. For some reason, most of the outlets are up higher, like belly-high. So where ever they can, they're bringing them to the floor where they should be. I'm assuming when they're done with all the wiring (hopefully by lunch), that they'll start sheet-rocking, and everything will start to take shape.
I had my breastfeeding class last night. It was ok. I took Laureen with me, because Matt had to stay back while the contractors were finishing up for the day. I felt like I knew most of the stuff already. It turned out to be a 3 hour class (was supposed to be 2.5 hours), and we only got one break the entire time. It was extremely uncomfortable, as we had hard, plastic chairs to sit in. So basically, I felt like it was a waste of time. It started at 6pm, and we didn't get out until 9pm, and then I had to drive all the way home - the hour and fifteen minutes. By the end of the class, I was tired, cranky, and in a rotten mood. We didn't get home until about 10:30pm, and Matt was already in bed. It was a long night.
I plan on updating with pictures of the renovation progress as soon as it's all done. I'm just really looking forward to having everything finished so we can move all our furniture back to normal, and set up Cael's nursery. Just a couple more days.
:::I love you Baby Cael:::
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