Renovating During COVID-19
/There are a lot of times I’d recommend NOT renovating a kitchen and during COVID-19 is one of those times. We’ll work it out, and we’re grateful we have the privilege we do right now, and this will all be over one day (hopefully). But it’s still less than ideal. Many of you kindly have reached out to ask how we’re doing, so I’m here to share with you what’s going on and how we’re moving forward with this project.
Now. Let me be clear. This post is not me complaining - it’s just me sharing what’s happening. I am FULLY aware that what Ross and I are experiencing is NOTHING compared to what so many people are going through right now. We aren’t worried about losing our house, we aren’t working on the frontlines of the medical crisis, we aren’t trying to school our children at home while still working, we aren’t experiencing another medical challenge right now, we aren’t displaced or separated, we aren’t worrying if we’ll eat tomorrow. I’m very aware of the privilege we have and that’s why I wrote a post with a list of things we can do to help folks struggling right now.
I hope that disclaimer is super clear. We’re so grateful for what we have and realize that we’re so lucky we get to try to move on with this renovation. So, let’s get into what’s happening now.
Is your crew still working on the project?
We are still at the rough-in stage of the project which is when we rely on seasoned and licensed tradespeople to do the technical work like plumbing and electrical. While I have many DIYs up my sleeve as the renovation moves along, we’re very reliant on tradespeople to do the necessary work to move forward.
The State of California has a shelter in place order requiring everyone to stay home unless they are doing essential work. Construction is considered essential, so we’re allowed to have the crew continue working during this time. I’ll admit that I’ve had a hard time accepting this because I’m taking these orders very seriously and want to do anything I can to benefit public health. When this order started, we offered (nay encouraged) the crew to stop working and go home. One of the guys decided to do this, and he stopped work on the job. The other guys all wanted to keep working, and we get it. So many people are experiencing financial hardship right now - Ross and I didn’t want to be responsible for preventing people from working when there was essential work to be done.
Our kitchen renovation does feel like a luxury so I do feel guilty calling it “essential” work during a public health crisis. Our temporary kitchen is working alright but it’s definitely not great being limited in what we can cook at home when food availability is uncertain.
How are you and the crew keeping distance?
We take the social distancing order very seriously and because of this, I’ve been trying to avoid the crew and even avoiding going into the construction zone as much as I can. We’re pretty lucky that the construction is very separate from the rest of the house. There’s a door into the master, a door into the den, and a door into the dining room. But all of them have been taped off with two layers of plastic. Originally we did this to keep the dust down, but now it’s a health barrier for us and the crew.
None of the crew come into the main part of the house because there’s an entrance into the kitchen from the backyard. They pull into the driveway each morning, go unlock the back door, and get to work. We wouldn’t even notice they were here if it weren’t for the construction noise and the classic rock they jam out to. This setup keeps us separated from them as much as it keeps them separated from us.
How is the crew keeping safe?
Our construction crew was already pretty small with many of the guys working on other projects and having limited hours on our jobsite. But now it’s even more of a skeleton crew with just one guy working by himself. When the GC comes to check in on things, we stand 6 feet (or more) apart and we avoid passing receipts and paperwork back and forth between each other. Admittedly, not all of the people that come over are taking the distancing as seriously as we feel that they should. I’m not going to pretend it’s perfect. But Ross and I keep our distance and I remind them of the 6’ rule as much as I can.
How are you getting materials?
Hardware stores are an essential business, so they’re open, but they’re enforcing social distancing. Our local Home Depot is allowing only 100 people in the store at a time, so there’s a line of people (each 6’ apart) wrapping around the building for hours. This is definitely slowing things down when the crew need to go to the store for supplies. They’ve managed to find smaller stores that still carry the necessary materials and are focusing on shopping where lines are more minimal.
Are you experiencing product slowdowns or shipping issues?
This is where we’re feeling it the hardest. Many of our products for the renovation simply aren’t coming. At all.
Our cabinet company went completely out of business. The company where we were ordering our plumbing materials went out of business. Things that I thought were planned are no longer and I’m working on finding alternatives. I feel so horribly for the folks at those businesses that are losing their jobs, so I know not having cabinets is nothing compared to their experiences. But it’s definitely a bummer to start the cabinet hunt from the beginning again.
Other products are still on their way but there have been slowdowns. I ordered some antiques that are on the other side of the country and they aren’t shipping out right now. Some supply chains have slowed down and there was a small delay on the french doors but they’ll only be a few days later than planned.
Are you changing your design or plans because of a loss of products?
Losing our cabinets that I planned on for over a year is definitely throwing a wrench in our plans. I had found a company at a great price that I looked forward to sharing with you! Now we’re faced with spending more money on custom cabinets, or changing the design and getting cheaper cabinets that don’t fit the design we had envisioned. We have indeed been financially impacted by COVID-19, but (hopefully) not so much so that we need to make dramatic changes to the kitchen budget.
At the end of the day, this kitchen is being designed to last decades, but the financial hit we’re taking during COVID-19 should be much more short term. We want a kitchen that we won’t look at in 5 years and say, “yeah, we compromised on that, and now I’m reminded of the horrible time that was the coronavirus outbreak.” We still want to install a kitchen that fits our historic home, our home’s value, and our goals for an important part of our home. We’re going to try to keep to the existing design plan.
How are you doing during a remodel that’s taking place during a stressful time?
We’re hanging in there. We’re trying to make the most of the time at home just like you all are, and we’re trying to plan our self-employed financial futures like many of you are, too.
I’m a natural homebody, and while Ross loves work, he also adores not being on the road. But our home doesn’t feel like our home right now. The kitchen is an integral part of our daily lives and without it, there’s a definite void. Additionally, we’ve have a tradesperson at our house every single day for the last several weeks. It doesn’t feel like our private escape from the world when someone else is here. Having strangers in the house, hearing the construction noise, being without the “heart” of the home, and the general anxiety of what’s going on all combine to a pretty weird feeling. The best way I can describe it is this:
I feel homesick in my own house.
It’s home and we’re grateful to be in a house we completely love. But it doesn’t feel 100% like home. There’s a longing of what it once was or what it one day will be. It feels like a weird limbo place that I probably would feel even if it weren’t for COVID-19, but it just feels compounded because of the circumstances.
What’s next and when will you be done with the remodel?
I don’t know when we’ll be totally finished. The plan all along has been to have the trades do their work and finish with an empty drywalled box. Then, I’d take over and do my own projects installing the floors, cabinets, hardware, appliances, trim, fixtures, and finishing details. This is all still the plan, but boy am I anxious to get to that stage!
The idea now is to have the trades wrap up their rough-in work next week, get it inspected, then install insulation, get it inspected, install drywall, get it inspected, and then breathe a sigh of relief. After that, we’ll be finished with the trades and we can make the space function more like a kitchen. I’ll be able to install the hardwood floors and then we can move in the range and fridge, get a temporary utility sink, and set up some temporary cabinets. From this point, I can bake bread, set up a kombucha station, and cook more normally than we are currently doing in the temporary kitchen. Once we get to this stage it will feel a little more like our own house and we can take it day by day. Cabinets will arrive when they arrive, but in the meantime, I’ll be able to add trim and install pocket doors, and do the handy things I like to do with the comfort of having a functioning kitchen and without tradespeople being around constantly.
Here’s a rough rendering of what we have to look forward to. We’ll get there one day! I hope this post was helpful for giving you an idea of what’s happening. These are the facts, our experiences, and some of my emotions - and that’s what this blog is: our experiences. But we know our experiences are different from others, so let me reiterate that I’m so so grateful for what we have and we feel so much for those that are really struggling. This post may feel like a bit of a downer, and it is. I’m not a “positive vibes only” person - not one bit. This is what’s going on, it’s a bummer, and I’m just plain sad about what’s happening in our world.
I hope you’re hanging in there and look forward to getting back to some normalcy. In the meantime, the crew will keep working on the renovation, I’m going to try to find a new cabinet solution, we’ll keep staying home, and I’ll try to find ways to keep blogging without coming off as insensitive to the bigger situation. Be well, folks.
