First Decisions

Like I mentioned on the previous post , after two long weeks of waiting ,only  two contractors got back to us with quotes. They were two very reputable and well established companies in the area. Since their quotes were not that much different from each other, it wasn’t really a super easy decision. But  after some consideration and research we decided to go with McCamy Construction. They have done some work downtown and ultimately the fact that they said they could deliver what we wanted a bit faster than the other company tipped the scale in their favor.

We have been so pleased with them so far! They handled all the permitting issues with the city. And believe me, there were some silly bureaucratic issues that delayed the start of our renovations for another 3 weeks! 

Due to the scale of the project - basically gutting the entire thing! - we are doing our reno in phases so that our savings don’t get totally depleted. In this initial phase all the floors in the apartment, with the exception of bathrooms and kitchen, will be removed, walls are coming down, new walls are being built, electrical is being rewired, the popcorn ceiling is being covered with new sheet rock and we are getting all new doors, trims, baseboards and crown. 

So while we waited on the permitting process, we already started making some decisions, starting with the floors. I’ve always been a fan of very dark hardwood floors, but since we’re talking about a small space, we agreed that light would be the way to go. After visiting a couple of flooring showrooms we decided on this Natural Maple:

You'll be glad to know the floors are ordered and on their way!

We've also picked our crown molding:

And we are hoping we can get 3 panel doors like these:

Working on these first design decisions definitely helped me cope a little better with the delayed beginning of construction and kept me sane during the "limbo" phase. And by the way, thank God for Pinterest and Houzz!

So, just when I had adapted to living in the midst of boxes and suitcases and sleeping on a mattress on the floor and eating dinner lying on the living-room rug seemed perfectly normal   and acceptable behaviors, we got good news! On May 3rd, a Friday, we heard from McCamy that we had gotten everything straightened out with the city and demolition would start on Monday, May 6th.

Well, time to pack....again.