restoration begins

I haven't been home since Tuesday morning. A lot has changed, not as much as I would have hoped - but at least the place looks better and cleaner.
They have put down the underlayment on the first floor. The plywood being covered is a vast improvement. Not to mention I am hoping that will take care of the downstairs nail and staple problem. It doesn't appear that anything downstairs has been painted including the ceiling, which, upon examination seems to look pretty good. Certainly it doesn't seem like it has been patched.

But, regarding patching, they haven't done anything on the inside wall of the living room and that stupid light switch on the fan is still buzzing and sparking. I suspect I am going to have to address that myself tonight. I don't know what electrician told them he had fixed things but he must be really oblivious. There is fire and smoke coming from the switch when it's turned on. How much clearer does it have to be?
My sister says they painted the hallway - that explains the plastic on the stair railings. Certainly it looks that all the painting that occurred was in the hallway or the bathroom. I get the feeling that contractors work really short days. At least all of their day isn't spent at the site in question. They arrive after I leave for work and are gone long before I get home. Seems kind of like a 6 hour day actually. I guess there is time spent picking up materials and so on. I find it interesting that they covered my railings but not my stair carpet. I should inspect it. If I'm lucky they spilled some paint - but that really is too much to hope for I guess.
The master bath is looking much better. My toilet is no longer in my shower and it is attached and working.

I like the color of the tile and I like it with the wood. I'm glad I selected it. I'm still glad that I have the white in the other two bathrooms and laundry room (just the way they are decorated - although it would probably be nice in the half bath) but it's nice to have something slightly different in the master.

It appears that when putting in the baseboards or painting or whatever today that they broke a few tiles off my wall. These are the gray shower tiles that actually wrap slightly outside the door. Also, I'm also not terribly impressed with the toilet to wall hose their plumbing contractor chose.

Ironic since that's where this whole mess started.


On my spreadsheet of things to watch I am noting the tile, the place where the tile is missing grout and the place under the cabinet that is either missing tile or grout. Not sure what needs to be done to fix it, but it sure wasn't like that before now.
There's a little hole where you can see under the wall there. It looks like the wood, but that small brown line there where the wall meets the floor is actually the wall NOT meeting the floor. That's something we will have to discuss if they don't take care of it on their own. I can't imagine what kind of funk could get under there in a bathroom. I sure don't want to figure out how to get it out of there.


No sign of carpet. No sign of flooring. I'm taking a wild guess, but I'm thinking there won't be any tomorrow either.


Cosmo and Tsu were crammed into the wicker cat basket together. This is actually an improvement as the last time I was here they were fighting over it. The basket is sitting on top of the dryer and they appear to be fine with that as long as I don't use the washer or the dryer. Bad news for them but I'm going to have to use them tonight and it's their own fault since I need to use them to wash the sheets that they have taken to piddling on in front of the washer / dryer.
The new underlament in the dining room is all down. I kind of wonder what they found when they pulled up the last of the laminate floor as that was Cosmo's favorite pee spot - and I think it became a favorite of Widget's too. On the other hand, I don't really want to know and I rather think I would be quite embarrassed.

This is one of those times that it's good that a lot of the workers don't speak English. They can talk about the smell amongst themselves but most of the supervisors can't understand them. right?

between dryout, demolition and restoration...

It's the 15th, which means that this has been going on for 18 days. 3 weeks since the initial damage.

I've been mostly staying with Dan (who, it turns out is a Saint) and living out of a suitcase in my car which I wash weekly. My clothes are mostly packed in these plastic storage bags (see left) as my dresser is gone. There is still clothing hanging in my closet, but suits and dresses don't travel well when you're living out of your car and I suspect none of those pants fit - but that's another story.

The problem with coming home is that I don't end up sleeping much. As I look around my house all I see are things that need to be done, things that are dirty, things that are out of order. Cat potties to police, counters to wipe, dishes to do, things to dust (those terrible fans put a nasty, thick layer of dust on about everything in the house from what I can tell).


There is still too much stuff in the kitchen but the other night I cleaned the kitchen when I was home. As my sister will gladly admit, she's not much of a housekeeper. Counters wiped, dishes done, things sorted and placed against the walls. Sink scrubbed, trash out, stove cleaned, microwave and toaster oven wiped free of the afore mentioned nasty dust layer...

If you didn't look at the floor, it didn't actually look so bad. Note I've been meaning to repaint my kitchen for years now. The purple doesn't really go with anything anymore, but I just haven't ever managed to get around to it. I had planned to last weekend but Dan had his first Saturday off in months and honestly, I wasn't that inspired when it came down to it.

At least things were clean(er).

I was down in the kitchen earlier tonight and it appears that a cleaning is in order again. Apparently they moved the fridge today and laid a lot of 1/4" wood to prepare for the flooring. That resulted in all the baskets I keep with medicine and such being moved on to my counters. Which I doubt have been wiped since I did it a week ago.... I haven't been home in two days - a lot has changed, but not really enough I think. I'm starting a spreadsheet with outstanding items so I don't forget to point various things out.


My sister says that Dexter, the kitten, has been very upset by being locked up every day. It's a shame and I hate it for all of them, but none of them need to get outside. Especially considering someone around here has taken it upon themselves to shoot my pets with BB's.

Tucker seems unfazed by Sadie's absence. It might help that Ash is around. But, after 5 1/2 years she might have been sick of fighting with Sadie for attention. On Monday some friends were over and she was jumping on the couch and getting her belly rubbed and basically everything she wanted without the worry of Sadie sticking her head in the middle of things.


Cosmo seems OK, after his ordeal. He finally moved out of his apartment and is now living in the laundry room with Tsu during the day. The wicker basket my parents sent home at the holidays is now living on top of the dryer and provides a sheltered hole to hide in. Unfortunately the sheets at the base of the washing machine and the dryer seem to provide an alternative to the litter pan...at least in their opinion. I even suspect my good girl Tsu is using the sheets. I'm not sure how to deal with the inappropriate elimination issue in regards to the new floor. I hate locking Cosmo up - but I'm really sick of him ruining my house. Unfortunately I can't let him outside with the BB guy around here somewhere and I feel that leaving him in the garage isn't the best solution for him either. But that may end up being his daytime option. Here he is eating and drinking on the coffee table. The other night we pulled out the sofa in front of the TV and made things workable, at least for that night. I can't put food on the floor because the dogs eat it - and Tsu and Cosmo are definitely cautious around the dogs these days. I can't blame them.

On Tuesday I made my final selections for flooring and carpet. Carpet was pretty easy as I just needed it to match what I already have as closely as possible since all the upstairs rooms aren't being replaced. The flooring was more of an issue, especially since they no longer make my flooring and the exact color didn't seem to be available. The cherry was a little darker and the beech a little lighter. I took a few pictures with the shelf that usually sits on top of one of the dining room credenza's next to each sample with a piece of trim and a piece of the old flooring next to it. Ultimately I ended up at the flooring store to look at the larger sample of beech.


See, my house doesn't get a lot of light, but I love my wood trim and the cosy feeling of the house. Yet, I want it to feel larger and open and the lighter color seemed a safer bet as I think the cherry would have just added to the whole 'cherry cave' thing my downstairs seems to have going for it.

I've selected the beech. Not sure how long it will take to get here. I don't know if it was in stock or if it had to be ordered. I think it will look good, I hope it will look good. I hope. At least it will be new....

and the emotional damage not covered by your homeowner's poicy..

On Tuesday they finally took the last of the fans. Later that morning I met with the project manager that would be managing the rebuild. They have taken samples of flooring and carpet and are waiting for results on the value so that I can select materials. I went to Lowe's to look at tile and there really isn't anything I like more than what I already have - but I'm going to try it in a beige instead of a white and use a light gray grout instead of the marble.

Unfortunately this hasn't progressed quickly enough and the pets have all been in varying difficult moods.

On Monday, Sadie attacked Tsu. Tsu was in shock, hyperventilating and all of her lower teeth had been knocked out. There was blood. I rushed her to the emergency hospital where they started to work on managing her pain and making sure she had no internal injuries. She has 3 teeth left. She probably needs to go back for a little dentist surgery about a week from now. You can get the idea from the picture.

When it first happened no one was there to witness what led to the attack. Sadie is 5 1/2 years old and was raised with cats, including Tsu. Tsu is 14+. They have always gotten along well to the point where they could share a sofa cushion. So I assumed that something else had happened, perhaps another injury like the staple she got in her foot over the weekend? On Tuesday I moved Tsu to her regular vet.

On Wednesday night I got home from work and immediately went upstairs to let the dogs out of their crates. As usually they came running out of their crates and down the stairs. I was behind them. At the bottom of the stairs Sadie made a beeline for Cosmo.

Cosmo is 13 years old and was also here when Sadie was just a puppy. I couldn't get her off him, she wouldn't listen to me when I told her to stop, sit, crate...she broke away when I grabbed her collar...she chased him all over downstairs and had him in her mouth several times even with me twisting her collar.

Sadie is an English Bulldog / Boxer mix. She's a strong dog. Cosmo was crying out and there was blood in the dining room. I finally managed to get the dogs outside. Sadie looked as sweet and happy as always. But, suddenly I knew that Tsu had been attacked and it wasn't just an accident.

There has been a lot of stress here. Cosmo and Tsu had been 'living' on the dining room table until the furniture re finishers came and picked up the furniture on Tuesday morning. There had been fans and dehumidifiers on for over a week. There is no flooring. Dust is everywhere. The ceiling has been cut away.

Add to this the dogs next door that keep getting out and breaking into my fence. They have also chased me from my car, trapped me in my house and cornered my dogs under the deck furniture.

I know that these things all contributed to Sadie's snap.

But, I could never trust again that if she was left alone and under stress that she wouldn't go after another animal. Or even a person. I was afraid I was going to have to put her down. I had my sister contact my ex and ask if he would take her (she was originally his dog even though we haven't spoken in a year and a half). He agreed and my sister arranged to drive her to his house after she got home.

I packed up all her things. I did my best to say goodbye. She was just excited that she was going for a ride in the car and had no idea that I would never see her again. She was my sweet lovey dog with the doe eyes. She would lie with me on the couch, put her head in my lap. I cried all last night, I kept breaking down at work today and I am crying now. But it was the right thing to do. But I blame the leak. And insurance can't cover the fact that I had to give up my dog because this situation became too much for her.

Tsu came home on Thursday. She's having some trouble walking but her x-rays were good so right now I have to assume it's just bruising. I know she's in a great deal of pain. She only has 3 teeth left so I was feeding her canned food but in the last few hours she has taken to gumming dry kibble. I can see it's hard for her to lie down, I hope she heals quickly.

Cosmo isn't bleeding and he finally came out of the closet he had moved into on his own. My sister said that he was fine, but had decided that he had a new kitty condo and liked room service. I hate to break it to him but they will need him out of there to put the new flooring in.

Before the last humidifier went away Dexter had taken to sitting on it. He seems to be the only member of the household not affected by all this disorder. Personally it's wearing hard on me. I had to give up a dog I love because it caused her to snap. I almost lost two cats I love because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. I've been staying with Dan for a week and I am sure that is wearing on him.

Tonight I am at home. I haven't been able to sleep. First, my bedroom is rather in disorder, at least it is without carpet or a bathroom. Second I've been obsessed with cleaning up what I can control. There is a thick layer of nasty dust on everything and this included the kitchen (which also had a fair amount of gross food stuff that should have been wiped up when it was spilled). I gave the kitchen as thorough a cleaning as I could and removed a lot of trash. It does look better down there and I am feeling a tad more relaxed.

I am told that drywall can begin on Monday, so I guess that means ceilings and walls will be repaired. Hopefully they will finally look at that light switch in the living room that was smoking. I have been planning to paint my kitchen for years and I am trying to make sure I do that on Saturday. It would be preferable to paint it while the floor is up in case there are spills. I need to remember to speak to the contractor about repairing the hole I made in the wall while he is here. I will have to cover that myself, but I've been meaning to have someone do it and this sure seems like the time.