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?




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