Upstairs, Downstairs

The good news about my assault on the pipe was that the wall wasn't waterlogged beyond an approximately six-inch radius around the hole. So, we wouldn't need to re-do any of the tile or replace any significant amount of sheetrock. All that was necessary was a patch. The bad news was that because the damage was strictly the result of my own stupidity, I was in no position to be picky about the quality of the spackling. Idiots can't be choosers, or something like that. Anyway, the wall was repaired within a few days, and once the paint dried I managed to install the towel ring without creating any more geysers.

Monday, July 20th. The new staircase for the foyer is delivered. The next day the crew returns to install it, and after angling it several ways they determine it's about two inches short on either side. That would necessitate an awful lot of moulding and caulk, so the more than two hours the stair guy took for measuring was obviously not time well spent. It will be at least another week before new steps can be built.

Tuesday, July 28th. The new steps arrive and they actually fit. We're no longer relegated to the kitchen stairway like the hired help.

Meanwhile, during the same week they start to replace the front door. The old door had two adjoining sidelights, and we'd decided to change this look - shared with every other house in our development - by replacing it with a door and a small window on one side. The crew removes the door unit and discovers that the slab underneath has crumbled. Somebody makes an emergency run to Home Depot for some quick-drying cement so that the floor can be patched in order to support the new door, after breaking up about three feet of the tile on the foyer floor. Quick drying doesn't mean an hour - it's more like four - so for about half a day we could have driven a car right into the foyer. The house resembled a car showroom. But, eventually the floor dries, the framing is completed and the door and window installed. So we have a beautiful pre-finished door, surrounded by raw plywood walls and a partially-broken-tiled foyer floor. But, it's a look.

The next week the dining room windows are delivered and installed the next day. The one in the front is put in about six inches higher than it needs to be, as the stone veneer under the windows along the front of the house needs to be the exact same height across the entire length. So, another day is spent moving the window, but when it's done the addition is now more or less closed in. And, as we thought, the new picture window overlooking the back makes the room.