Journal of a Remodeling Warrior

I am pleased to introduce a 'guest blogger': Warrine Coffey, a client of On The Beam Remodeling. She is not only a remodeling warrior par excellence, but also a journal-keeper who is willing to share with the world her experience up-close and personal of going through a substantially large kitchen, bathroom and laundry room remodel and addition. Here is the first in a series of excerpts:

"I think it was fortuitous that we chose to visit colonial Williamsburg and Richmond with its civil war era sites. We got to see how our forebears lived. I especially paid attention to the kitchens. They did not have running water. They walked to the river or the well (which they dug) and hauled water. They did not have electricity to heat food. They chopped wood and made a fire and cooked over that fire. They didn't know any different and I doubt that they complained about it. It wouldn't have done any good. We both thoroughly enjoyed the vacation and visiting with old friends. We arrived home April 28, relaxed and ready to face what came next."

"We got home around 3:00 p.m. Monday afternoon, April 28. Most of the demolition had been done. There were two bobcats in the backyard removing dirt. The ugly concrete walls in the backyard were gone. The interior areas had been stripped to the studs. A temporary balcony had been constructed off the dining room and a laundry sink installed with cold running water and drain to the sewer. We had a countertop there, too...One can do a lot with cold running water, sewer line, electrical appliances and extension cords."

"...I go to the laundromat once a week with a roll of quarters....It doesn't take long to get used to it. Now we have the dryer operating in the basement, so I can bring home clean, wet clothes and dry them here. I don't expect to get the washer operational until the new laundry room is completed. It's quite okay. After all, our ancestors took dirty clothes to the river and pounded them on rocks or else used a scrub board at home. I bet they would be delighted to have a car and go to a laundromat."

Stay tuned for the next installment of "Journal of a Remodeling Warrior".