As of last night, the punchlist of things I needed/wanted to get done at the new place before I move in is significantly shorter!
The guys I used, C and B, were highly recommended to me by several people. Even though they turned out to charge maybe a little bit on the high side, their work was totally worth it. Nothing fazed them and they got everything done and cleaned up after themselves. I KNOW, right??
So here's what's been done:
- The tub in the master bathroom was draining slowly. All of us presumed it was an accumulation of ... well, you know, the stuff that accumulates in bathroom drains, but it turned out not to be that at all. You know the toggle switch you flip up to keep water in the tub and down to drain it? Even when the toggle was in the open position, the little flappy thing under the drain wasn't opening all the way. Fixed? Check.
- Replace front door weather stripping? Check.
- Install gooseneck showerhead in master bath? Check.
- Re-place outdoor outlet that was sort of hanging out of the brick wall? Check.
- Install ceiling fan in master bedroom? Check. This was even more of a hassle than it would normally be because there had never been a light in that ceiling. He had to do into the attic and wire that up.
- Re-wire the switch by the master bedroom door so it now controls the ceiling fan and not the wall outlets which are now always hot like the others? Check.
- Raise 6 bi-fold doors by about this much so they don't drag on the brand new carpet every time they're opened/closed? Check.
- Fix the overhead light in the garage that didn't work? Check.
- Fix a floor lamp switch that didn't work (a "while you're here" thing)? Check.
And then I threw them a curve! The garage door opener quit working about 10 days after I closed on the house. NATURALLY. The motor itself still worked fine from the button on the wall in the garage, but where's the fun in that? I'm so stoked to have a garage for the first time in my life, and there was no question I would by god get that damn thing to once again open from inside my car as I'm driving up the street even if it meant going into debt.
Seeing that thing start to open as I approach still makes me giggle like I'm getting away with something. The idea of not having to go into the rain and/or snow and/or [insert inclement weather of choice here] similarly fills me with a feeling that someday someone's going to realize what's going and put a stop to that luxury.
Since the garage door is original to the house from 1988, I was braced for the worst -- that I'd have to replace the whole thing. But wait!! Home Depot sold me an aftermarket thing that's just a new receiver/sensor and remote. That's all well and good but I had no clue how to install that. So I handed it to C and B and asked them if we could arrange for them to install it some other time. Their response: "Why not now?" Ten minutes later, I heard that lovely sound: Clunk, whirrrbumprrrrrbumprrrr, thunk. Back in business!
I did manage to resist the temptation to sit in the car in the driveway and then from different places up and down the street and click the new clicker, just to watch it work again.
Ah, but not EVERYthing got done. There's a hairline surface crack in the sheetrock in the hall ceiling that needs to be remudded and taped and painted. And the trim - things like door frames, windows, and baseboards - could use a new coat of paint. I had no freaking idea how expensive it is to get things painted!! Holy crap, I'm in the wrong line of work, seriously! It was all I could do not to openly guffaw at the two estimates I've gotten so far. I'll get one or two more, but have almost decided that the painting is something I can do without for quite some time.
BUT. We now have identifiable progress!! We have no boxes packed yet, though. Note to self: Must start packing. Moving day is two weeks from tomorrow.
