Day 14, Friday, January 28, 2011 Overall Summary

Slush, Slush, Slush and More Slush

The city is still digging out from yet another big snow storm. The weather and news anchors must have been very disappointed; they predicted a smaller storm. Had they know we were going to get another foot or so, they could have used their: BLIZZARD 2011! cartoons. But they milked it for all it was worth despite missing the biblical prediction.

So, a little info for my dear readers who are not in the city, (my site says I have over 90 hits, but I know someone must be hitting "refresh" a bunch, but thank you for being so kind ~ smile): Having work done in an apartment you own (whether it be a co-op, condo or condop, is sort of making a deal with the devil, a strict devil at that. All work must be done Monday - Friday, never on a holiday, and no work can be done before 9:00 AM-ish or after 4:00 PM-ish. So, I trekked up to my future home to check out the progress around 5 PM.

BAD NEWS (might as well get it out of the way:

• Packing.  God, I have a ton of stuff.  More books than I want to think about packing.  (Despite the amount of space, I will be ignoring my PPC (Posh Project Coordinator)'s advice to throw out "at least half of my books." Never.  They will have to pry them from my cold .... well everyone knows the rest.  

GOOD NEWS:

• Despite having been traumatized last week by the loud sawing, banging, hammering, pounding, etc. Owen did walk into the apartment without any puppy valium. So, there we were: Owen, my Posh Project Manager (I am going to call this person PPM from now on) and myself.

• Kitchen Appliances look great. I had to buy a regular depth refrigerator, which looks a little big in my manhattan kitchen, but it was either a regular depth shiny silver finish I could afford, or a white elephant "counter depth" or a teeny tiny college dorm refrigerator. So, I went with the regular size fridge. It's about 3 inches too big, but lots of folk think a couple extra inches is a good thing. Touché. Again, Kudos to my PPM for the assistance and haggling to get these super fabulous appliances. If you are in the mood for buying appliances, I am going to post a page in a couple of days entitled, "Buying Appliances, Haggling the PPM Way."

• The kitchen floor looks good. I like it more every time I see it. You may recall my PPM had referred to it as "country" which sent me into a panic. I know think it is very chic. I have a feeling Home & Garden or Martha Stewart will be asking to photograph the place, I know my floor is going to be the next big thing.  

• I like the kitchen cabinets. They are clearly wood, which works for me. I know lots of folks like to paint cabinets and furniture, but I always think, "it could be aspenite under there. Why bother with wood if you are going to paint it?" I know there are lots of reasons, but my first job in life was at a hardware store. When you memo,rize the Minwax stain numbers as a kid, it is kinda hard to shake that. (209 - Natural, 218B Ipswich Pine, 224 Special Walnut..... I could go on, but that would be a bit boring unles's you have a True Value apron in your closet).

• The kitchen backsplash is not up yet.

• The damn countertops..... ahhh, god, what to do? It is killing me to think about how much granite costs, especially in my little itty bitty kitchen. The contractor and my PPM both told me once I saw the floor, the cabinets and the backsplash, I would absolutely say, "I MUST have the granite." I'm not there yet, but it is close. I have to say, the idea of granite does seem more and more appealing every time I visit. I don't know. Advice anyone?

• Bathroom is completely gutted and ready for all the complicated stuff to make it a "wet room" (aka shower only, no bathtub, no ridge, just one level floor, so M.S. Woman doesn't slip and fall and more. Ever. (I hope). But as I said earlier, I picked out the tile, paid for it and my contractor happily picked it up for me in Queens. I think they will be ready to get going full blast on the bathroom Monday.

Wood Floors Look Great.  I love them!

• Paint colors have been selected by me and approved by my PPM. They have primed the ceiling and most of the walls. Why they didn't paint BEFORE they installed the appliances is beyond me. But, as long it gets done, I am going to be one happy camper.

• Wood floors: The floor looks amazing.  It is shocking how much of a difference a floor makes.  I went with real wood: 3/4" oak.  

• New "Bedroom / Living Room" wal

• The Light / Sunshine is not as fabulous as good ole 24-C, but few places are. But, I was at my new place yesterday, and there was still decent light at 5:30 p.m. So, all in all, I am pretty excited about this move. Now, I am off to pack. And pack. And pack some more.

• I have a ton of books to move.

Microwave Anyone???

Anyone need a perfectly good, nice, working white microwave? Now, that I am going to have fancy stainless steel one, my old one needs a new home. I'd give it to a methadonian, but I don't know where they would plug it in.

Day 10 ~ Monday, January 24, 2011 TILE, TILE and MORE TILE

Another frigid day here in the Big Apple. Owen and I took a cab to Nemo Tile; they were open today. (Note to anyone interested in Nemo Tile: there website lists incorrect store hours.)

Bathroom Tile ~ Nemo Tile

Nemo Tile is a fantastic store. They have an incredible amount of tiles available: ceramic, porcelain, glass, terra-cotta, stone ..... you name it, they've got it. For me, the idea of selecting tile is incredibly overwhelming. If you saw my post from last weekend, you'll understand the shock and awe I felt trying to select the kitchen floor and backsplash tiles. On that trip, my trusty Posh Project Manager accompanied me. Today it was just me and my canine companion, who, as frustrating as it can be, chose not to inform me of his opinion. (God knows I will be washing the salt off the prince's feet in this new shower, the least he could do was help select the tile.) So, there I stood, helpless, clueless, completely stumped. How could I be so overwhelmed? I have read tons of interior design magazines, books and websites. I should definitely be fine selecting bathroom tile.

But, not to fear, Michael Hoeft, was ready to help me. Michael is an incredibly capable and charming salesperson. I told him right away, I am horrible at picking this stuff. I have no idea what to pick. I really would like your very honest, brutally honest opinion." And amazingly, he gave it! I loved him.

Michael helped me select several possibilities. He was very honest when I chose something that was not particularly wonderful.

"I've never sold that tile once. It is not very Manhattan. See how it looks scratched? It's kind of dreadful."

Thank god! How refreshing to have a salesperson say,

"No. I would definitely say no to that."

Thank god! I had someone who would be honest, someone who would actually be truly helpful. What a great gift. Relieved I had found someone to help me select the tiles (if you are an educator, you might say I had found my "critical friend"), I was prepared to make a decision. Thirty minutes later, I had the floor tile, the wall tile and the grout selected.

Now, I am sure, if you are the Designing Diva I am not, Michael would be also just as wonderful. I can imagine him grabbing tiles left and right, as you explained exactly what yoo were looking for - but, alas, this is not me.


Michael explained the Purchase, Payment and Pick Up Process

~ Nemo Tile has a very small amount of tile on site, but they have a ton of tiles at their warehouse in Queens.

~ In many situations, the homeowner (interior designer, architect, easter bunny, fairy godmother ....) chooses the tile and then either pays for it themselves, or their contractor pays (depends on how you work it out with your contractor).

~ The tile would be ready to be picked up the next day at the Queens warehouse by my contractor.

~ Me or my contractor picks up the tile at the Queens warehouse. So, it is important to give your General Contractor a copy of the paid invoice. Again, Michael was fabulous. He gave me two copies and explained the whole thing to me.

It is important to know there are two prices: one for regular folk and one for contractors. So, its in your best interest to have your contractor pay for it or work something out.

I paid for the beautiful tile, thanked Michael and left with 2 copies of my reciept: one for my records, and one for my contractor to take to the warehouse to pick up my tile.

Price and Availability

Now, comes the question about price. Okay, fair enough. Here goes: tile seems to be expensive no matter where you go. I have gone to Home Depot, Lowes and Nemo Tile. Nemo didn't seem to be more expensive when you compare apples to apples. All three store had "subway tile" in black and white for about the same price. All three stores had mid-range stuff, it seemed like a comparable price. Nemo definitely seemed to have a lot more choice in the high end area.

Nemo has the largest selection available for next day pickup. I also love a store with a salesperson who actually knows their product and who will be honest and help you choose something great. I am sure there are lots of great salespeople at Home Depot and Lowes, but I didn't find them. Maybe they had the day off?

To be fair, Home Depot and Lowes did have a lot more tile available in that specific store. But when Nemo can get you tile the next day, it seems like a non-issue to me. (No, I am not on Nemo's payroll. I just like to tell the world about a great product or service when it happens.

So, to Summarize:
I bought my kitchen floor and backsplash tile at Lowes. I do like my the kitchen tile. We were on our own as far as selecting this tile. Owen got some canine affection, but I didn't receive any kind of human tile assistance.

Nemo Tile rocks! The price is similar (what I saw, I didn't compare everything). Nemo has great salespeople: honest, kind, patient and dog lovers. What more could you want? Most of the Nemo tile is available next day from their Queens warehouse. There was one whole wall which was "special order" or "made to order". I am not sure what that meant, because it didn't apply to me.

So, if I had to do it again, was it worth it to drive to Jersey to go get tile at LowesNemo Tile with superstar salesperson Michael Hoeft.

I would love to hear your experiences. Drop me a line at manhattanRenovation@gmail.com

Nemo Tile info:

www.NemoTile.com
Manhattan Store:
48 East 21st Street
New York, NY 10010
212.505.0009 voice; ask for extension 236 for Michael, the fabulous salesperson directly
212.777.9053 fax


To Reach Michael Hoeft, the fantastic salesperson who helped me choose some rockin' tile,

call 212.505.0009, extension 236

Michael's email address is mhoeft@nemotile.com

Day 9 and 2/3 Sunday, January 23, 2011

Home Depot, the Closed Tile Store and PC Richards


Well Sunday morning arrived quite briskly. NY1 taunting me with a frigid 7 degrees. But not to fear, my Project Manager (not to be confused with my General Contractor), Owen and I went to buy the tile at Nemo Tile on 21st (between Park and Madison). Being the diligent folks we are, we checked Nemo's website to make sure they were open on Sundays. Clearly the store hours announced they were in fact open on Sundays. But, apparently they need to update their website. We arrived to find the doors locked tight and the tile samples mocking me from the dark. Foiled again. (Yes, this is the second trip to select and purchase tile; I failed the first time, chalk it up to a lipreading malfunction.)

Onward we marched to the Home Depot. A throng of happy Do It Yourself New Yorkers bustling around, selecting stuff with a carefree, "I am such a great interior designer, of course I know exactly what I want" attitude. I could feel the pressure building. God, I hate shopping. However, this trip I had my trusty Project Manager by my side. We returned the shower body (the guts behind the wall and the simple faucet) as well as the fancy shower wand I had purchased a few days before. The fluorescent lighting in Home Depot depletes my brain cells; I was sure the bathroom faucet I had purchased at Lowes was a shiny finish. It was not. So, here we were on Sunday to return the shiny shower stuff for the right ones. Customer Service was surprising good with the return. Very quick and simple. Bravo Home Depot Customer Service!

We then ducked across the street to PC Richards to purchase my appliances. Being very clever, we had decided to purchase the appliances first, so we didn't have to lug the Home depot stuff around PC Richards. (Okay, I can't claim credit for this decision about buying appliances first, the credit goes to Project Manager.)

Who is my talented Project Manager you ask? Well, his name rhymes with the name of the clothing store sponsoring the Fashion Show where poor delusional Danielle's weave was the ripped out, right down to the root. And by weave, I don't mean a merkin. But I digress.

PC Richards was fairly painless. I had prepared myself for a couple hours of wavering between various refrigerators, stoves I won't use, microwaves and of course, searching for the perfect dishwasher. But, thanks to my very posh Project Manager, the experience was pretty simple. Lucy, our very capable, friendly and dog lovin' salesperson guided us through the array of appliances. We began with refrigerators. Then moved on to stoves, dishwashers and microwaves.

Here are the photos of the appliances installed:

Day 9, Saturday, January 22, 2011

So, this week a lot has happened. More than I expected. Two little hiccups. One my fault (I should not go shopping by myself, I can talk myself into anything. "I know I bought a shiny finish in the bathroom sink, which is too bad, because I like the Brushed Nickel." Oh wait. I am an idiot. I did buy the brushed nickel, which means the Home Depot stuff: shower body, shower faucet head with a nice long hose, (that sounds just wrong) will have to be returned and I will have to buy the brushed nickel.

The other problem occurred this week with the new bedroom/living room wall. It was framed out about two feet off. Which if you live in NH, might not be a big deal, but in a teeny tiny apartment two feet means the difference between watching tv on a couch, or sitting on a bean bag while Big Love is on. But thankfully, my renovation supervisor, caught the mistake and called my contractor, who is absolutely fabulous. He fixed it the next day. So now I will be able to have a bedroom I can walk around in AND be able to sit luxuriously on the couch while I watch Jersey Shore and the RHOEverywhere. Fun Fun.

I picked out the cabinets on Wednesday. They were delivered yesterday (Friday, 1/21/2011). How did I get so lucky to find this contractor? He is a miracle worker. He is ahead of schedule. Unbelievable. And everything looks really good. I am very relieved the whole process is going along quite painlessly (if you don't count my personal shopping screw ups).

It is incredibly cold here today. It was 18 F this morning here in the Big Apple. I shouldn't really complain. My iphone said it was below zero "upta New Hampshire." So I cancelled my tile shopping trip today. Tomorrow, we will be braving the elements and going to Home Depot and the tile store. Fear not: I will have a supervisor this trip, so I am sure I will purchase all the correct things.

A couple people have asked what has been happening day by day, so I've posted a page with a Day by Day, Detail by Detail explanation if you are dying to know all the graphic details. You can find it by clicking here. http://manhattanrenovation.blogspot.com/p/day-by-day-detail-by-detail.html

Day 1 - DEMO BEGINS

So, the beginning of the year and so does my renovation.

Today the demo began. And ended! Having a tiny apartment is a definite plus in terms of time.


Below:
The view of the living room (standing beside the kitchen doorway)








Below:
The bathroom minus tile and "Look! No wallpaper on the walls nor the ceiling!"








More Bath Room Demo Close-ups:










This is now a hallway to the bath (to the left) and bedroom (to the right)








Below:
Standing in the middle of the living room looking towards the kitchen (entrance with the light), closets and entrance (straight ahead).
You can see the kitchen entrance has been opened up. Yesterday it was a short, tiny doorway, now it's open to the ceiling. He will open up the width of the doorway a little bit more as they progress.






Below:
The kitchen (if you look closely you can see the lovely wallpapered ceiling. The wallpaper will be removed tomorrow. Thank god I'm not doing the wallpaper removal. My neck hurts just thinking about it.

Day Zero - Meeting My Contractor

So, I met with a great contractor. He comes highly recommended. Finding a contractor in NYC seems almost as impossible as a laundry machine / dryer in your apartment. No, sadly I won't have a laundry machine or dryer, but there are a bunch in the building.

So, the contractor was very nice. I explained what I wanted (you can see my list below, if you want a copy of my excel spreadsheet, let me know. Old habits die hard)

He was very nice, seemed responsive and had fabulous references. So, now I wait. He will develop a bid for my job.

A few days later we met again; we went through the apartment inch by inch to review the "scope of work" (see my "New Renovation Vocabulary" page). He showed me another apartment in the building; his work was gorgeous - beautiful finishes and he is obviously very proud of his work. Then he gave me his bid. I felt my heart sink to the floor. I knew the bathroom was a huge project, but i was shocked at the price. Went home, emailed some other contractors, spoke with friends "in the biz" and decided to go with this guy. He has great references which is damn hard to find.

A couple of days later, we met again. Downpayment and another meticulous review of the "scope of work". He promised I'd be able to move in by the end of February; but he reminded me multiple times how we must communicate, I needto order, buy stuff right away so he doesn't waste time waiting for materials.

Now, I have a lot of shopping to do. Finding and buying the apartment was hell. Finding the contractor was worse. But, the idea of shopping is completely overwhelming. I hate to shop. Can I buy floor tiles from QVC? How about ordering flooring from Amazon? Sounds like Im going to have to go in actual brick and mortar stores. Uggh. The horror.



"The List"

DEMO:
- rip out everything in the apartment (all the appliances, floors, tiles, toilet, sinks, bathtub, moldings and closet/ bath doors
- rip out one closet and make it a hallway

NEW BEDROOM \ LIVING ROOM WALL
- build a "wall" for the bedroom (because the heat/AC unit will both the living room and bedroom, the wall will only be six feet tall, so I can stay nice and cool; I can't stand the heat)

BATHROOM
- waterproof the entire bathroom so I can have a flat shower, not a bathtub - no bathtub to fall in or out off
- tile the bathroom floor and walls; install the sink, toilet, medicine cabinet, lights, shower body (see my "New Vocabulary" page for the explanation of "shower body"

KITCHEN:
- tile the kitchen floor and backsplash
- install the appliances
- install the kitchen sink and cabinets

OVERALL STUFF:
- hang new closet doors
- install ceiling lights (kitchen, entry hall, closets, bedroom and bath)
- install new wood floor throughout the apartment
- paint entire apartment
- install moldings throughout apartment
- hide the ugly cable wires behind the moldings (contractor asked me three times if I was sure I didn't want cable tv in the bedroom. He told me this was "very common in the city, but outside of the city "everyone" wants cable in every room. I wonder if people really need cable in the bathroom or closets? I guess I can understand the bedroom, but the closets? The bathroom?




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The Before Photos

So, here is the apartment in all it's former glory!

The fancy retro bathroom (you can't see the wallpapered walls AND ceiling in this photo. Yes, the prior woman wallpapered the walls and ceiling of the bathroom and the kitchen. Fancy fancy fancy. Glad I'm not doing the reno myself. The days of that kind of work have passed me by. Smile. The sexy bathroom wallpapered bathroom walls & ceilings below.

Everything is original from when the building was built. I believe only one woman lived here before me.




Owen frolicking on the luxurious parquet floor. (About 80% of the tiles were pick-up-able. No glue was wasted here). This will become our living room.





Here are the photos of the fancy "Betty Crocker" kitchen in all it's wallpapered glory.

Yes, wallpapered walls and ceiling in the kitchen too!

And not to be forgotten, the glorious glued linoleum.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The Blueprints (Before & After)

Here are
the blueprints (before and the planned layout) as well as photos of the apartment before.










- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Welcome to my Manhattan Renovation

I've begun the renovation of my new apartment. Several people have asked if I would share the progress day by day, so here it is - the good, the bad, the ugly and hopefully eventually the completed apartment.

Thanks for joining me in this big project! I'd love to hear from you, you can email me at manhattanrenovation@gmail.com