May 18, day 16 of 45 Day Countdown

One of the key components of DIY home renovation? Adaptability. When things go wrong (and they inevitably do), it’s productive to pivot onto work that can be accomplished instead of focusing upon work that just can’t happen.

But sometimes, the snafus can be more than a little frustrating. Such is the case of the new kitchen windows.

Delays due to the supply chain hit home when the delivery date for the custom ordered kitchen windows changed from mid-May to mid-July. The delayed delivery date would mean a delayed kitchen installation and was thus unacceptable. Solution Part One? Cancel order.

Solution Part Two? Order windows from alternate source with a mid-May delivery date. Yet the mid-May delivery of Solution Two was thwarted when the windows arrived broken.

That snafu led to Solution Part Three: Finding two 31.5 x 53.5 inches new construction windows in stock in one of the big box stores. It turned out that this solution required hours of online searching and phone calls, but two windows were finally located that fit the rough opening specifications in Neshaminy PA—just forty minutes northeast of Philadelphia.

In the meantime, here’s the intel that those hours of online searching for windows in the greater Philadelphia area yielded. a) Big box stores may stock windows, but they primarily stock replacement windows, with just a handful of new construction windows in store. By mid-August, though, more new construction windows should be available. Until we successfully located two in-stock windows with the needed dimensions, that mid-August re-stocking date was more than a little troubling. While postponing part of the kitchen installation would have been inconvenient, thinking about covering up the kitchen’s 6 x 5 foot southern exposure would have been depressing. b) The local window resources recommended by several FB West Philly House Fixers were more than welcome, but it turned out that they, too, primarily stock replacement windows. The lead time for custom, new construction windows was similar to those of the big box stores. c) Finding two windows that fit the specifications was a fluke of good fortune!

The countdown continues:

1. Protect refinished floors on first, stairway, and second floor hallway with carpenter paper

2. Remove dust from upstairs bedrooms and bath; lay carpenter paper to reduce dust wherever possible

3. Install kitchen cabinets, plumbing, remaining electricity

4. Complete drywall — doorways, walls (kitchen, dining room, upstairs bathroom, Charlotte’s bedroom, closet/powder room), ceilings (dining room, living room)

5. Install bathroom — tile floor, bathroom vanity, medicine cabinets, toilet, etc.

6. Complete basement floor epoxy (CP’s office and laundry room)

7. Install doors and molding to one degree or another in all bedrooms, upstairs bathroom, laundry room, basement, stairway, and closet/powder room

8. Retrofit vintage hardwood door with 3/4 lite for front door

9. Install new window in kitchen

10. Build master bedroom closet

11. Landscape as much as possible

12. Do the least amount of harm to ourselves and to the twin!

13. Prime Ceilings and Walls (master bedroom, office, main bath, hallway, Charlotte’s bedroom, Theo’s bedroom, living room, dining room, kitchen)

14. Paint Ceilings and Walls

15. Tear down kitchen ceiling

16. Replace kitchen ceiling: why drywall when the newly exposed beams are so gorgeous?