house changes
Other than the home decor projects happening inside the house, I haven’t updated this category much in the past little while, so here’s an update on how things are coming along with our new house…
* we got our grass by the end of the summer
* in October we got our first tree
* in November, our driveway was paved
These milestones were exciting, although alongside them there came problems that had to be fixed! It seems our house somehow experienced what we jokingly refer to as the “Great Silicone Shortage of 2009″… nearly everything that should’ve been sealed with silicone seems to have been overlooked for this important step! Some of these areas were easily sealed up before any damage could be done (e.g. the powder room sink). But other areas were only discovered after there had been serious leaks, including the master ensuite shower and the kitchen patio doors.
Both of these two areas have taken many many many visits from the builder and their sub-contracted companies to diagnose the problems and fix them. Our shower was repaired earlier this fall (after several weeks of having it dismantled!) only to have the leaking re-appear because the shower door was not installed properly even the second time around! So presently we are waiting for it to be installed a third (and hopefully final) time. After escaping the “pleasure” of sharing a bathroom between all members of the family for more than a decade, it sucks to have to go back to it again. But I’ve been very thankful to have a back-up bathroom on the same floor because the bathroom renovation in the last house (with the only other bathroom in that house being in the basement) was just miserable for me.
It’s all a balancing act over here, and I try hard to remember all the positive aspects of having a newly built home. I enjoy them when things are going OK and I appreciate them even more when the negative aspects enter the picture. Sure the big construction trucks tend to shake the walls. But when I hang a picture on those walls, it’s a totally fresh canvas with no existing holes. And yes it feels gross to use your bathroom after so many tradesmen have tromped through it, but no less so than spending years showering in your apartment bathroom where who knows how many people have been over all those years.
Overall, I vote that a newly built home is still worth it! And I continue to hope and pray that things’ll work out so that our family is able to keep our dream home that we waited and worked so hard for!
December 02 2009 11:58 am | house to home and pics
