It has been a long journey. One that has been filled with moments of doubt, one that has dampened our spirits, and one that has truly felt like it may never end. But, I am excited to say there is finally a light at the end of this very long tunnel.
In August of 2013, we purchased our house in Regent. We were set to close in September, but got delayed until October because The Title Company in Dickinson made several mistakes - including everything from misplacing the paperwork to wrongfully accepting a copy of the sellers signature. That should have been a great indication how the rest would proceed - however, despite the setback, we were still optimistic this would be a quick and painless process. After all, it was going to be a basic remodel - remove a wall, new windows, cosmetic upgrades - not to mention, we had successfully completed more than one remodel in our old house! Oh how wrong we were.
Once demolition began of the interior walls, we started to see how big of a mess we really had. While we were aware that we had to deal with crooked 2x4 walls, we never expected to find that the roof was unattached, and literally pushing them out from beneath it. That fix was an interesting process that involved jacks, cables, and a lot of scary cracking noises. Nowhere in the paperwork was mention of the fire, evidenced by the burnt rafters that had been reused as a money saver - oh and did I mention we found those under the three layers of sheet rock that graced the ceiling. One addition wasn't built properly, so that had to be jacked up - then built up - to removed the ramp that was my kitchen. The floor wasn't properly supported so we had to add extra floor joists all through the basement. All the wiring had to be redone, but because our power pole is overloaded, MDU refused to upgrade our voltage - unless we paid them to dig up our yard and bury the wire. The plumbing needed to be upgraded through the whole house - and of course that probably meant that sewer line from our house needed upgrading as well. Despite the city having absolutely NO IDEA where our sewer line ran, we found - after weeks of waiting for someone with a camera to come down - that it is in excellent shape. FINALLY, something good.
Despite all the problems, we continued. Although, truth be told, knowing what we know now, we should have dozed the SOB and started over. We added an additional 2x4 wall inside to thicken and straighten, connected the roof with enough hurricane clips to survive Katrina. Luke gave it all new wiring throughout. We replaced the 1972 Singer beast of a furnace in the basement, and the air conditioning unit outside. The ceiling is now vaulted, and we have all new windows - which involved changing sizes and locations for some. The bathroom has been completely updated, new flooring throughout, and every wall has new sheet rock and a fresh coat (or 6) of paint.
Then it came time for the kitchen! Over a year ago, I fell in love with some cabinets that were on display at our local Menards. No matter where else I went, despite 'liking' other options, I couldn't get my mind off of them. So, with minor hesitation, we placed our order on January 21st. I was so excited I could hardly contain myself - it was the first time in my life that I was designing what was to be the kitchen of my dreams (within the limitations of our budget and space). We were told 4-6 weeks, so imagine my delight when we got the call around Valentine's Day saying they were in! Delivery was set up, and we waited - not so patiently - for them to arrive! Imagine my horror, when I went over to inspect them later that night, and found that what I received was nothing short of horrifying. One cabinet was damaged by forklift, the drawer base was full of knots (please note, the display had no knots and no rustic appearance to it), the drawer fronts that weren't full of knots were striped like a zebra with different colors and grains not so conspicuously seamed together - and none of them were the soft close we ordered. Upon our first contact with Menards, we received apologies and guarantees it would be corrected - they ordered the correct hinges, and were getting in contact with the cabinet company to see how to proceed. When the new hinges came in, we drove to Dickinson to get them - only to find, upon getting them home, that they had reordered the same hinges that we already had. They reordered the cabinet that was damaged, no questions asked, but required several pictures and detailed descriptions regarding why the cabinets were not satisfactory - after sending those 3 times, they felt they may need a representative from the cabinet company to come out and look. Thankfully, we didn't have to wait on that, and based on my writing, they reordered them all. We started this process in January, and I finally received the final drawer front 2 weeks ago. I must note that they still have several issues, but at some point I had to accept that it was as good as it was going to get.
On March 4th, we ordered the counter top. We received the template 2 or 3 days later, filled it out and sent it back. The counter top came in the end of that month and upon removing it from the protective boxing, we found that the largest piece was damaged - beyond repair - on the seam. Menards agreed to reorder. Unfortunately, due to the delay of 3 weeks waiting for this reordered piece to come in, one of the other pieces warped beyond use. Menards then reordered that piece, or so we thought. Oh how wrong we were. We got the call that several of our ordered items were in (counter top, casing, doors - things they don't stock enough of in the store because they are always out) so we went to pick them up - it was going to be a quick trip to grab the items and get home to start install. You can imagine our surprise when they bring out back splash instead of counter top and we find that all our special ordered items have been placed on the shelf for anyone to purchase. That trip took 4 hours, and we came home empty handed on several items. Needless to say, we finally got the final piece of counter top on May 11th, and it has since been installed!
Most importantly - with the exception of the furnace install and tape/texture, Luke has basically done the work himself. Of course, I have helped along the way - and we have had some amazing family and friends put in some time when they are able. We are finally nearing the end, and Luke is back to his crazy gone all the time work schedule, so we have recruited some additional help on the finishing work. Did you hear that? I said finishing work. Yes my friends, the time has finally come. Trim is almost done, carpet is being laid, and we have doors!! There is finally light at the end of this very long tunnel.
Despite all the setbacks, this whole experience has taught me a few things. The first, is that it is ALWAYS worth it to spend the extra money on a custom kitchen. No matter how much money you think you are saving, the headache is not worth it - and we all know time = money. Secondly, if my husband says he can do it, he can. Maybe it isn't in my time frame, and I may not agree with the method or logic, but the end result is always fabulous and I need to have more faith that things will turn out the way he says they will. Third, I have some incredible parents. If it wasn't for them, putting up with us for so much longer than planned, none of this would be happening. It isn't easy to uproot your daily life to make room for short periods of time, let alone two years, but they so graciously accepted us into their home with open arms. Lastly, and most importantly, I'm pretty sure that we will be married until death does us part - because if we can survive this, we can truly survive anything:)
*Please Note: I say brief, because if I were to actually detail you with every issue that we have encountered, and every change we have had to make, you would be here all day.
