(Post 166 of 263)

Just bla bla bla today because I’m not happy with the video.

It was decided to continue work next week because phase I is done and it made no sense to bring out a crew for two half days as there would have been a late start today because of my early Pilates class. I was happy with that because it’s a lot of people time in a week now since I have the Pilates. I also have a bottleneck to get through at work, so two solid days to just scope will be a gift. All the big stuff is in — fans, ACs, and, yay, the upstairs toilet (my contractor finalised that today) so I don’t have to keep using the one downstairs, which is very far away in the middle of the night! I’m going to do a good clean so we can start fresh Monday with painting!

We settled our accounts for Phase I. I had a budget range of $8,000 to $12,000 as the expected total for both labour and contractor-provided materials for Phase I, depending on how many surprises we got. By last night, I was thinking the $12,000 because the AC had to go to the repair shop. Labour and his costs came to $9,600, and then I paid a further $2,300 for contractor-provided materials, for a total of $11,900. That includes getting the AC compressor repaired! So we were spot on. I’m definitely not going to be nervous going forward doing projects with him that don’t have a fixed budget, especially if he keeps using that electrician and plumber.

In other good news today, the insurance company has come up with a number to reimburse me and it is several thousand pesos higher than I’d dared hoped for! I’m still out money, but not enough to cry over. I still have to go to the police station on Monday to get the reports to finalise the file, but I think this might actually resolve in my favour!

(Post 165 of 263)

A late start did not impede getting a ton done. The mezzanine was a tack-on project thanks to the fan I wanted being in stock and on sale, but, boy, it is the star of the show!

(Post 164 of 263)

The word of the day is BLISS.

(Post 163 of 263 — 100 posts left, I’m finally making progress! Thank you again to all the sponsors!)

(Post 162 of 263)

Part of the reason I’ve taken on so much at this time is to keep my mind occupied because Sunday was the 1st anniversary since Bast died. “Her absence is like the sky, spread over everything.” The only way forward is through, as the saying goes.

Today was the Home Depot run with my contractor. He said to me after that I am so organised and decisive that I’m the only woman in his life he’s not afraid of going shopping with, LOL! He picked me up at 9:00 and by 10:00, we were already on the way home. The Home Depot run includes just about everything I need to pick out that I’m not having delivered or need his opinion on, plus things like plumbing hoses and paint brushes. Finishing materials like wiring, caulking, and cement are included in his hourly rate. He’s really good at curbing my spending and making me think objectively. For instance, I needed taps for the bathroom refresh. Last bathroom project, he let me buy pretty expensive taps because I don’t expect to redo that bathroom again. This time, he had me buy bargain taps because I’ll be redoing that bathroom in the next five to ten years and that’s how long the cheap ones are supposed to last. But he also paid attention to the expensive ones I liked and found a similar style in the cheaper version, so I always feel heard. I really like working with this guy.

Work starts tomorrow and should last about seven or eight days, so probably through next Friday.

This afternoon, I walked up to Comex to order paint. I had settled on on a two-tone look for the new guest room, so I needed two gallons of the main colour, one of the accent colour, and one of white for the ceiling. I also needed a litre of purple for bedroom touchups. SURPRISE, Comex was having a buy a gallon, get a litre free sale! The fine print was I had to get four separate litres (not a gallon) in at least two colours and from a set selection of colours. Not only was the purple on the list, but also the dark pink for my exterior! So I picked up 3L of that and should be able to do the planter at the rear patio that is still orange. That free paint was at least a $750 value!

spoiler!

The paint will be delivered tomorrow. I just have one more thing incoming that my contractor will need, but it should arrive on Friday, a semi-custom wooden medicine cabinet with a mirror that I found on Mercado-Libre. Semi-custom in that I could pick the finish and from a couple of different interior shelf layouts. I couldn’t find anything locally I liked (Home Depot’s only option was badly rated) and I didn’t have time to actually have something custom made, so this was a good compromise.

I have a very full Amazon cart waiting that has bedding, towels, and a few other things, but I’m waiting to see how the labour is going to turn out before I go on a shopping spree. It was hard to give me a project quote so we’re just going off a rough idea of his hourly rate times the number of days, plus what I paid for the AC installation last summer. We did it that way with the bedroom last year and our numbers were spot on, so I’m not concerned, but I may decide that new furniture and accessories should wait till the next guest.

I can’t wait to get started tomorrow. The new AC in my bedroom should be in by late morning!