Just bought a condo in Chicago, or Chiraq, for my daughter

[Melensdad]

Yesterday was a long day. Drove up to Chicago to install the last base cabinet and the last of the pantry cabinets since both of those finally arrived. Finished all the baseboards EXCEPT a small portion inside the office because I ran out! Installed the toe-kick under the kitchen cabinets. Did a bunch of trim work.

I still have a couple 'floating shelves' to install in the pantry. About 8' of baseboards. Ceramic tile backsplash also needs to be installed but I'm waiting for the counter top to be installed before the ceramic goes up.

Melen has to paint. Did I mention 100 times that I don't paint?

Left the condo about 2:30pm and drove back to Indiana to the fencing club, private lesson day for the kids, then home about 8pm.

 

[NorthernRedneck]

Nice. We're going with the same style cabinets in our kitchen but different colors.

I can relate to the paint issue. I don't mind painting but I have my Achilles heel as well when it comes to renovations. Mine is electrical. I can do basic household electric work like wiring a few plugs and light switch in a closet with open walls but when it comes to changing the lighting around and installing pot lights in the ceiling, I hired an electrician.

 

[Melensdad]

And we now have counter tops. Need to install the kitchen faucet. But the counter top guys said wait 48 hours? Never heard of that before.

Wednesday a guy is coming in to finish the crown moulding.

I'll be doing a tile backsplash for her, but have been waiting for the counter tops.

 

[Ross 650]

Lookin good!!!!!!!!!

 

[NorthernRedneck]

Looks great. Is that quartz? I recall us being told the same thing after installation to wait 48 hrs. I think it's to allow the silicone they use to glue it down time to fully cure.

 

[Melensdad]

Looks great. Is that quartz? I recall us being told the same thing after installation to wait 48 hrs. I think it's to allow the silicone they use to glue it down time to fully cure.

Yes, Quartz.

They are coming back out tomorrow at 9am to install the faucet. That is good for me, I hate doing plumbing. When my kitchen was remodeled it was installed the same day, we have quartz in our house. Bathroom remodel several years ago has granite, they also installed the faucet same day. So I was concerned when she sent photos without a faucet installed.

 

[Melensdad]

I tore something. Bicep? Rotator cuff? Both!?! Did it about 2 months ago on the first day I started remodeling the condo in Chiraq. I was dropping 3 tramadol and a dozen Advil a day to deal with the pain for the first 3 weeks. Down to maybe 4 Advil a day now, and about one tramadol a week, maybe 2. But I'm still in a good bit of pain.

The lovely Mrs_Bob can't take any more of my bitching and moaning anymore, she made an appointment for me with an orthopedic surgeon. That is 2 weeks away. Somehow I doubt I'll be healed by the date of that appointment. I really don't want surgery.

Oh, and she staying with Melen for a couple days and painting.

I'm probably going up there on Thursday to start the tile work. . . I may delay it until next week.

 

[PGBC]

Pull your shirt over it, and nobody will care.

You probably broke the speed limit driving there, so why worry about that stupid law.

 

[Melensdad]

Started and finished installing the kitchen wall tile today. Still needs grout.

 

[pirate_girl]

Beautiful Bob, and might I say . . you're looking positively trim.

 

[FrancSevin]

Nice job Bob!

 

[Melensdad]

Drawer and door pulls installed.

I'm at the trim and detail work stages now.

Photo below after the grout was done, but before the drawer & door pulls. You can see there is still paint to do (I do not paint).

Grout was done a week ago in the same areas.

There is an area under the kitchen island top that she wants drywalled. Approximately 1" tall. I had intended to trim it with a piece of wood. She doesn't want that. Her option is a P.I.T.A. and will take time, but it's basically just a bunch of drywall compound, sanding, more drywall compound, more sanding . . .

There is a piece of wood needed to fill the gap between the dishwasher and the counter top. 2 hallway light fixtures need to be replaced. Some caulk on some of the baseboards in the extra bedroom. I tend to go up, work for a few hours, then come back home to go to fencing, physical therapy or something else at home that needs to be done. It's nice that she is 'close enough' to do part time work at Melen's condo. A bit different than Dasha's apartment, which is a solid 2 hours away, on the interstate, plus a time zone change; for her I plan to work 6+ hours. But for Melen's condo, with it being 45-ish minutes away, I can actually justify going up, doing a couple small things, and then coming back home.

Excuse the debris and clutter, I didn't clean up or put things back into place before taking the photos.

 

[waybomb]

Is one of those pulls off a millimeter?

 

[Melensdad]

Is one of those pulls off a millimeter?

YES, but which one?

 

[pirate_girl]

Bob that is absolutely breathtaking!!!

 

[Melensdad]

Bob that is absolutely breathtaking!!!

I had nothing to do with the decorating. Just the building/installing. She picked out (and is now paying for) everything from the light fixtures to floors, plumbing fixtures, cabinets, counters, etc etc

We got an astonishingly good deal on the condo. Could not have been better. And the location is amazing, it's in a limited access (1 road in/out) private neighborhood with private security inside the city of Chicago but with easy walking access to restaurants, shops, etc. Smaller 2 bedroom units have sold for more than I paid for her unit, which is one of the larger units in the building. Even with what she is spending on the remodeling, the total price is coming in under budget. I got contractor bids to do basically the same work for 3 times what it cost me to do the work. Got to admit the contractors would have been done by now.

Park below her, Sears "Willits" Tower out her window.

This is the area under the counter top that I wanted to trim out with a piece of wood moulding. I was outvoted. It is getting drywalled up to the top. Total PITA.

New TV hung on the wall, wires run inside the wall.

Recycled two matching vintage glass doors to use as her office and her master bedroom doors. They are VERY HEAVY. Of course we had to build custom frames and reinforce them to hold the weight of the doors. But we got the doors in and that was the best part. They also let light into the dark central hallway so that ceiling light is unused during the daytime. That hallway was not there when I bought the condo, we built that too because the office was the passage to get to the master bedroom, building the hallway gave her an office and a private master bedroom. (Original wall on the left side of the hallway, new construction on the right, and obviously for the door, which has all been completed after this photo was taken).

 

[m1west]

Half joking and half not, Brian should have had you do his kitchen cabinets, it would be done without the delays and drama.

 

[Melensdad]

Half joking and half not, Brian should have had you do his kitchen cabinets, it would be done without the delays and drama.

Who said there wouldn't have been any drama???