When One Door Opens...You Replace It

Apparently, in order to be code compliant, the framing crew had to remove the exterior door from the basement and install a different header.  Somehow, the end result of being code compliant was that the door no longer fit. Ugh.

This resulted in a trip to Lowe’s to pick out a new door.  All in all, not a bad trip. We have a cute new door. It has little blinds inside the window so the dogs can’t mess them up and the kids can’t mess them up and, BONUS, I don’t have to clean them.  I’m sure they’ll break the first month, because I’m optimistic like that. And because the salesman assured us if we had any problems the company would send a representative to our home to make the repair. He seemed to be speaking from experience.  

The door did not require a ton of decision-making effort. ”Do you want white or colored?” White. “Do you want this lovely nine-light or this wickedly-fun-to-play-with model?” Ooh…I’ll take the blinds encased in glass…totally fun to play with. Done. Load it up! (The big guy is making use of that ice cream truck).

New basement door with encased blinds- so much fun!

The plumbing appointment on the other hand, was an overwhelming nightmare. It was a decision-making marathon. We started with the master bath, because that is the fun one.  “Let’s look at sinks. Do you want a decorative bowl, drop-in,  under-mount, or integrated two-tone one-piece?” Uh…  “Do you like the oval, clam, round, square, or diamond shape?” Um… “How about faucets? Are you looking for a single or double handle?” Hmmm… “Finish? Stainless steel, oil-rubbed bronze, brushed nickel?” Oh for the love of all things. “I want it to not hold water around the edge because I’m short and fat and I don’t want the front of my shirt to get wet every time I bump my belly against the counter. I don’t want it to be shiny. Not shiny. Easy to clean. No grooves to get all gunky. Definitely not shiny. Can you do that?” The saleslady scribbled something on her paper. I'm sure it was a derogatory comment. 

We pored over samples and walked the showroom and laid our paint chips on every single slab of marble/polymer/acrylic/whatever surface. Aargh! There is still so much to pick! We haven’t picked the carpet. Or the tile. Or the appliances. Or the lighting. Or the interior doors. Or the rest of the exterior doors. We have lots of samples though. That’s a good thing, right? 

We also got new garage doors this week. I kept forgetting that we needed new garage doors. Apparently, when doors do not open, firefighters open them. And then you have to replace them. 

I used to think people became firefighters so they could play with fire. Not true. They become firefighters so they can break stuff. I mean really, how many jobs would encourage you to bust down doors, tear down walls, throw appliances around, bust out the windows and spray water into houses? Firefighters are awesome. Too bad I'm terrified of fire. 

Anyhoo...    

Ta da!

One new garage door. 

Nice, huh? No more plywood doors. And when I visited the house this week, I found this:

Temporary thermostat.

It's a temporary thermostat! I get so excited to see new things between the bare studs. It makes it feel more like a house than a construction zone.

So, that is the big accomplishment this week. New garage doors, some rearranging of things already built to meet 'code', a new door, and a temporary thermostat. Oh, and more new plumbing. And a whole mess of samples to stare at. Fun, fun stuff.