Reassure me - It's Worst As The End Nears

the end is definitely the worst part. makes no sense as i think about it, but certainly the experience that we've had. perhaps its about delayed exhaustion ...also perhaps a little feeling of "the party's over!"

i will reassure by telling you it will eventually end -- my problem is that when it appears that you are (at first blush) 90% done -- DO NOT GIVE the final 10%. The last 20% takes 80% of the time. trust me -- keep the incentive hanging. Type your punch list and make it extraordinarily detailed. Mine was 7 pages single space typed. Have both parties resign it!!!!! It was to be finished in 3 weeks. 4 Months later (after many no shows) my contractor walked -- with about half of the loose strings untied. I kept my balance -- I am sorry that I am not buttering you up here -- but an ounce of prevention is a pound of cure...

awww, you're like a nervous bride ;)

A wise man once said,"when the job is done and you only want to kill your contractor but, not his extended family then it went pretty well".

perfect....it only takes a couple of years and then magically, you're buddies again. and, if you're really crazy, ready for the next one.

there is a reason bottled booze is the same price as bottled water.

Thank you all for weighing in. Spending the day in the apt (had to be there to ok some things) watching almost a dozen people whirring around and ending with a meeting that ran 1.5 hours with another 4 was just too much. Set me over the edge which is tough to do. Will see how the light of a new day clears away the fog.

Stiff drink. Long night's sleep. Fresh perspective tomorrow. You'll be cooking in your beautiful new kitchen before you know it. Chin up!

i agree don't pay until ALL of the work is done. your original contract should've been 1/3, 1/3 a 1/3.

if not, then hold back whatever the last installment is.

you'll be fine. they'll get it done. avoid screaming at them. don't be too crazy or they will walk.

just make sure they show up every day. that will be down to your creativity and influence over the workers and foreman.

Ah. Morning. Feel bit more balanced. Thank for advice and concern.

The contractor has actually had crew at the job every single day since it began (except holidays banned by building) without fail. The contract also was divided into six payments (not thirds), with the last payment equal to about 10%. With 1.5 weeks to go (plus what appears to be emerging as a relatively short punch list) I have yet to be asked for the last 2 payments.

Kyle - definitely withhold the final payment until everything is done. Allow for a few days after the walk-through, because there will always be a couple of other things that you notice then and you cannot go back to them.

Congratulations (and good luck)!

A B-I-G hug to you, KW, everything will be fine. It's always darkest before the dawn (AND the moon has been full, too, you know). Perhaps you're also suffering from something I've often noticed which might actually be akin to ennui. Once the project is coming together, I experience not rapturous joy but rather more a ho-hum feeling & I think that is because I've been visualizing it for so long that the reality of the creation is a shrug; "Of course, that's it", but there's no W-O-W!!! That reaction is disappointing but I've come to accept it.

A little late in the process but here's another article from House Beautiful. I don't like the way they formatted it & it's not amazing info but here it is. http://www.housebeautiful.com/decorating/confessions-of-a-contractor?click=main_sr

drdrd, i think you hit on something. thank you for putting it into words. i'm sure when everyone clears out and we begin to move in and have friends and family view it all with fresh eyes, just how great a job it was will be more what we see and feel.

Update: calm again. When a number of problems cropped up at once and there wasn't a game plan in place yet to fix them I went over the edge a bit. Kitchen counter templates are at the shop, and the refrigerator will actually fit and not have to sit between a sofa and end table.

Biggest development of the week: the lighting fixtures were all installed and the overall lighting design could be seen for the first time. All that planning of where to put recessed 4" lights, to place fixtures, switches, types of bulbs, type of and amount of under cabinet lights...it all came together. And it looked amazing! Can create lots of variations of different spaces and feels by playing with dimmers. And no areas were inadvertently left in the shadows. A LOT of time spent on the reflected ceiling plan really paid off. Thrilled! So there is apparently fun left in the process. 2 more weeks to go. Can't be over soon enough though.

Kyle I really hope when its finally done you will be able to share some photos with us. The apartment sounds truly amazing and I wish you and your partner all the best in your beautiful new home.

Kylewest,

Maybe I have missed a previous post with the details, but I would be intersted in hearing what you did and how it went from beginning to near end.

Thanks!

Congrats, KW. Hang in there!

Hi, memito. That is like asking a grandparent to talk about a grandchild. I talked about the job more at http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/talk/discussion/8985-tips-on-successfully-renovating-an-nyc-apartment . It is a renovation of a Greenwich Village jr-four built around 1950s. It was updated perhaps 30 years ago and then lightly done again perhaps 10 years ago. Overall it was worn, and other than the bones and floors, nothing in it was worth saving. It was essentially an estate sale.

But in brief, on a scale of 1-10 for a jr-four, I'd say we did about a 7.5 or 8. The reno, started the day after Thanksgiving weekend and winding down now with all done in 2 weeks. It involved:
-gut bathroom
-gut windowed galley kitchen and replace with custom cabinetry & new appliances
-reconfigure kitchen to partially open it to living area
-reconfigure entry area by removing three closets, rebuilding two of them in different configuraiton
-reconfigure entrance to bedroom and reconfigure interior to create large walk-in closet
-substantial electrical work in ceiling and walls to increase lighting, add small recessed fixtures, add outlets and hide all cables, move 220 line for a/c and upgrade main power supply to increase available voltage
-patch and refinish floors
-replace all doors and some frames and all hardware
-custom radiator covers
-new base and crown mouldings and door casings
-window frames, sill, entry frame and door all stripped and refinished and replaced if necessary

I'm probably leaving something out. We used high-end finishes and materials which increased the labor involved substantially. With simpler finishes and materials, I suspect the job could have taken 1/3 less time.

We used an architect for all phases, went with a contractor recommended by the architect (after getting bids from 2 others as well), and a kitchen company that has its own millworking shop, so there was no middle man.