![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Remodel, month 3
Nov. 8th, 2007 08:10 pmSo close, and yet so far. A lot has happened, but there are still so many things to sort out -- not the least of which is the countertops, which have turned into this huge pain in the ass and which are now costing me more than twice what I had planned to pay, largely because the guy who was supposed to do them disappeared into the ether. We've all decided that he was probably in rehab -- either a program, or court mandated, or something. That's the only thing that really explains a monthlong disappearance with no returned phone calls to anyone, even me. Even when my sister was dying, I was able to make phone calls. So it's a disappointment in a lot of ways, not least of which is financially, but I guess at this point I just have to suck it up and move on.
I'm getting soapstone, which is very interesting. It's apparently impervious to liquid so you can't stain or etch it like granite, and there's pretty much no maintenance required -- all very good things for someone as clumsy and absentminded as me. But it doesn't have much in the way of color, and it doesn't have the depth of character that concrete or other materials can have. The slabs I picked out do at least have a slightly blue undertone, but when you put mineral oil on them, as they suggest for even darkening over time, they pretty much turn black, and it does have some slightly silvery flecks in it, which I hope will come out in the lighting. But it also has a greenish hue, as most soapstones do, and of course, you can scratch it easily, but I will be using cutting boards, regardless, so I'm not hugely worried about it, and small scratches buff out with mineral oil.
The worst part was that as I was waiting for them to pull the slabs, I walked around this high-end granite place, and I saw some granites that I actually loved. One in particular had these huge blue shimmery flecks of labradorite and I was kind of sad that I hadn't seen that in the first place, then I wouldn't have had all this trauma. Oh well, I'm sure it would have been even more expensive, and at least there aren't a ton of people who have soapstone, so it'll be unique.
They won't get installed till after Thanksgiving. We were initially expecting to be done by next week, but I think if we hit the beginning of Dec., we'll be lucky. I'm not going to know what to do with myself when he's gone! It's like we're an old married couple -- he comes in in the morning, says hi, I putz around in my robe like that's normal, we chat about whatever happened the day before, and spend the whole day with each other. I wonder if he'd feel weird if I invited him to the addition-warming party I want to have?
( Too many pics, I know )
The thing that's freaking me out the most, though? On Monday the guy's coming to refinish the hardwood floors. Which means I have to move all my video equipment into the kitchen, and I won't be able to record the one episode of Heroes I most wanted to see. I'm not even sure if I'll be able to watch it. I'm really worried about it. Brent hooked the cable up so I could hook up the TV in the kitchen, but I won't be able to come back to the house probably until right around start time. I'm afraid to miss is, so I might just stay at Dad's, I don't know. I'm more worried about this than toxic fumes! I need to see this episode like whoa.
I'm getting soapstone, which is very interesting. It's apparently impervious to liquid so you can't stain or etch it like granite, and there's pretty much no maintenance required -- all very good things for someone as clumsy and absentminded as me. But it doesn't have much in the way of color, and it doesn't have the depth of character that concrete or other materials can have. The slabs I picked out do at least have a slightly blue undertone, but when you put mineral oil on them, as they suggest for even darkening over time, they pretty much turn black, and it does have some slightly silvery flecks in it, which I hope will come out in the lighting. But it also has a greenish hue, as most soapstones do, and of course, you can scratch it easily, but I will be using cutting boards, regardless, so I'm not hugely worried about it, and small scratches buff out with mineral oil.
The worst part was that as I was waiting for them to pull the slabs, I walked around this high-end granite place, and I saw some granites that I actually loved. One in particular had these huge blue shimmery flecks of labradorite and I was kind of sad that I hadn't seen that in the first place, then I wouldn't have had all this trauma. Oh well, I'm sure it would have been even more expensive, and at least there aren't a ton of people who have soapstone, so it'll be unique.
They won't get installed till after Thanksgiving. We were initially expecting to be done by next week, but I think if we hit the beginning of Dec., we'll be lucky. I'm not going to know what to do with myself when he's gone! It's like we're an old married couple -- he comes in in the morning, says hi, I putz around in my robe like that's normal, we chat about whatever happened the day before, and spend the whole day with each other. I wonder if he'd feel weird if I invited him to the addition-warming party I want to have?
( Too many pics, I know )
The thing that's freaking me out the most, though? On Monday the guy's coming to refinish the hardwood floors. Which means I have to move all my video equipment into the kitchen, and I won't be able to record the one episode of Heroes I most wanted to see. I'm not even sure if I'll be able to watch it. I'm really worried about it. Brent hooked the cable up so I could hook up the TV in the kitchen, but I won't be able to come back to the house probably until right around start time. I'm afraid to miss is, so I might just stay at Dad's, I don't know. I'm more worried about this than toxic fumes! I need to see this episode like whoa.
