Chaos reigns
14 August 2018 | Aurora, Colorado
Bill/sunny and warm
What we had tried to not have happen is about to happen. We were faced by two big jobs when we returned home. One was getting the wood floor fixed in the first fooor bath, dining area and kitchen and the second was getting the roof redone. The first from a water leak and the second from all the hail storms we’ve had since getting back. With all the work going on in construction here in Colorado, both companies told us back in mid July that they couldn’t get to either job till September and then they would pretty much be at the same time. Now we can handle one where the house was being torn up but not both at the same time. We badgered the flooring company to get the job done first(like right now) and they found a way to get started last week. The roofing company was still telling us that it would be mid September before they could start. Fine by us. Well in the midst of the Workman ripping out the ruined wood floor on Monday, we get a call from the roofing company asking if they can start NOW, not in a month! Our big reason from not having them done at the same time is that there is ceiling repair work inside that also has to be done and that means we have to empty the living room which is where all the kitchen and dining room stuff currently is residing. We talked it over with the Mike from the roofing company and he can do the roof now and the inside when we are ready. OK, that will work out fine so this morning a big rolloff dumpster is being dropped off on our driveway and we’ll have men swarming both inside and out ripping our house apart. It’s going to be like our stay in Trinidad when we had all our teak decks removed and the hull painted(twice). Gee what fun it’s going to be!
While all this is going on, our kitchen has been pretty well closed since everything this covered in plastic to keep the sawdust off and out of all the cabinets so we’ve been forced to go out for most of our meals. The insurance company is picking up the tab once we get past an “estimate “ of how much money we spend on our weekly groceries. We finally reached a figure of $50 per week and that seemed fine with them. So each time we go out, we save the receipt to forward to them. We’ve been saving coupons from assorted places so the bill won’t be to bad and we rarely ever eat at the “fancy” places that cost a ton. One thing we’ve found is that there is a restaurant “war” going on with just about every fast food restaurant putting out special coupons for really cheap food. My lunch at Burger King yesterday was $3.49 for two chicken burgers, a fry and a coke. Tracy’s was just $1.00 for a Big Mac from McDonalds. With workmen in the house, one of us has to be be here so I go out and bring food back(Tracy still has no drivers license) We do eat breakfast here before the workmen show up and many times have left overs from lunch for dinner. What can I tell you, we are a frugal pair. The cruising life will do that to you plus eating a big lunch and dinner will kill my svelt(I wish) waste line.
As for the kids, they are hiding out in the basement once the workers show up avoiding the sounds of the compressors, nailers, vacuuming and pounding that’s been going on since last Friday. Now it’s just going to get worse with workmen all over the roof and the sanders in the kitchen and dining area. Chaos will rule!
This picture is of our floor all ready for ripping out. Lots of black stains between the boards where the water sat.