Mezuzah

I have a home alarm system, and the remodel means moving a few things around. Motion detectors were on walls that no longer exist, or that would detect motion inside the closet.

In the past I've worked with one alarm company, but they've been just awful about responding to my phone calls, so I decided to look into a new alarm company. I Googled, and found a company. I called them last Friday, and I talked to the owner. We made an appointment for someone to come over this afternoon and check things out.

A guy named Sam showed up as scheduled. The first thing I noticed about him was that he was wearing a Star of David on a chain around his neck. This is Seattle, not New York, so while Jewish people are not thought of as a different species, we're still something of a rarity.

Anyway, he spent an hour with me looking over everything and figuring everything out. At the end he said he'd tell the owner to give me a good deal, and I said, thanks. Then he said, "You're Jewish, right?" I said, "Yes." I'm pretty sure the only reason he'd figure that out is from the Mezuzah on my door. (It certainly isn't from my last name.) He said that the owner is Jewish and he likes to give a break to Jewish customers. He asked me where I go to synagogue. I told him I'm a lapsed Jew. He said he is, too, but he occasionally goes to an orthodox synagogue.

I'm not sure how ethical it is to give favored pricing on the basis of religion, but I'm not unsure enough to reject it. I guess it pays to post a Mezuzah on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Day One

They started this morning, bright and early.

Yes, they were supposed to start last week. But they made up for it today with a great start on the demolition.

Lighting Redux

So I finally picked my light fixture of choice.

I settled on Number 5. It was a close call over Number 4, which was actually the audience favorite. I like them both a lot. In fact, I like all of the fixtures I was considering.

However, it turns out that I forgot to take one detail into account. There is a soffit, if that's what it's called, that comes down about eight inches from the ceiling and covers the heating ducts. You can see it best in this photo:


And in this photo, you can see how the existing lighting fixture, above the mirror in my ugly, soon-to-be-demolished bathroom, would extend up just a little higher than the bottom of the soffit.


And with the my fixture of choice, or, for that matter, any of the other fixtures, it would be much worse.

So I've decided to go with two sconces on either side of the vanity mirror. And as it turns out, there is a sconce version of Number 4:


I actually like this better than the above-the-mirror version. I like the way the two prongs extend both above and below the fixture.

So the actual starting date has been pushed back until this coming Thursday, the 21st. I'm excited, but also realize that it's going to be a noisy, dusty, inconvenient few months until this is done. The contract states 75 days, which puts completion into the first week of May. I am sleeping on the floor in my living room, and I can't wait until I have my bedroom back.

Vanity, thy name is...

I keep second guessing myself.

Here are samples of what I've picked out for the vanity wood and top and the floor and shower wall tile. I put them on the existing bathroom floor just for kicks. That hideous floor will be gone before much longer. (Click on the pics for close-up views.)

I really love the tile and the wood, but I might need to go back to the countertop place and look at some more samples, because I'm just not sure. I think I might like something darker.

The square tiles are 19 x 19. They'll be used for the floor. The oblong tiles are 10 x 19, and they'll be used for the shower walls. The shower floor will be a 1 x 1 version of the same tile. And there are decorative tiles that coordinate, and they'll be interspersed with the floor tile. There will also be a 4" band of the mosaic at eye level in the shower. And the backsplash for the vanity will have the same 4" band between two strips of the tile. It's going to be awesome.

The counter top is DuPont Zodiaq. The color is Antique Pearl. It's pretty much exactly the same thing as Cambria and CaesarStone.

I compared many samples of all three, and this seems to be the best choice to pull together the tile and the wood, but I just feel like there might be something better. It's so hard!!!

Onward!

I signed my contract today, so there's no turning back.

I met with Kevin yesterday and he went through the contract. I was surprised to see that the amount on the contract was $9000 more than the original estimate, and I asked him about that. He said it was based on some changes I'd already approved, plus the hot water heater upgrade. And that amount was increased by an additional $800 for electrical work that was not scoped out until I was able to provide the information on my electrical panel.

So when I got home last night, I did a line-by-line comparison of the original estimate and the new contract. There were a few things that came in lower than the original -- the plumbing fixtures I selected were about $700 less than the allowance -- and some things that were higher -- the carpeting was a little more than estimated, and the tile was a lot more. That plus the hot water heater accounted for less than $4000, but there was still more than $5000 I couldn't figure out. So I emailed Kevin and asked him to itemize the difference.

It's a good thing I did. Kevin called this morning and said that it was an error on his part, and he sent me a revised contract with the correct numbers. I mailed it back, and we're ready to go.

The final budget:

$57,406.56 + tax ($5109.18) = $62,515.74

At least the sales tax is deductible (because Washington doesn't have state income tax, we can deduct our state sales tax).

He's going to order the vanity and the fixtures next week, and we're scheduled to begin construction (or, I guess, demolition) on Monday, February 18.

Tomorrow I go to Fine Line Pacific to pick out the vanity top.