First, the Frustrated Post

Yeah, so, the bathroom guys were an hour late on Thursday.  This was because (they explained) they went to pick up the bull-nose tile (for the corners) and found it wasn't available, so they had to order it. 

(I did not think this fact would come into play later.)

Now, Friday -- in case you'd forgotten (or I failed to mention it) -- was they day that the contractor had originally said everything except the shower door would be done by.  I probably never mentioned it because I didn't believe it.  Not for a second.

A lot of tiling got done on Thursday, but not nearly enough.  The contractor himself (the boss guy) came by and yelled at everyone for how behind schedule they were.  "Why isn't the cabinet installed?  That should be in there tonight so we can put in the countertop tomorrow."  "Why isn't the green board replaced?"  "You should be finished with the tile so we can grout tomorrow."  He told me they'd come on Saturday to get back on schedule.  After he left, I told the guys I hadn't meant for them to get yelled at.  They laughed and said it didn't matter.  I guess he yells at them all the time.

And it kinda worked.  They stayed an extra hour Thursday to get the cabinet installed.  I mean, that's something, right?  And they replaced most of the green board in the ceiling.

I came home Friday expecting to see all the tile done and grouted (including the tile on the floor) and the counter fitted on the cabinet.

Ha ha ha ha ha.

No grout at all.  Some tile had been placed on the floor, but it hadn't been completed.  And the cabinet was still top-free.  And that one piece of green board was in the ceiling.  Pretty much all that had got done was a bunch of tile had been placed. 

But, y'know, the cat was still here, which was a big plus.  They'd run butcher paper and painters' plastic down the hallway to protect the carpet, and Jasmine had figured out how to rip it.  And go underneath it where she'd ripped it.  And she thinks running up and down the hall while under the plastic is tons of fun.  Scares me that she'll suffocate herself down there, so I've tried to pull up some of the weighted-down edges.  The result -- after a few days -- is shreds of paper and plastic, covered with cat fur and construction dust.

Saturday, I wake at 7:30 and am out of the house by 9:00.  I come back around 2:00 and park in my spot and think, "Hey, shouldn't the workers be parked in my spot?"  And I go upstairs and open the door and find that nobody has been here to work on my bathroom. 

I put a call in to the contractor.  He called me back a couple hours later.  Apparently that whole running out of excuses thing is totally forgotten.  Remember that the tile they'd ordered on Thursday? -- still not ready.  The store had told them it was in the warehouse so would be there on Saturday but when they went there that morning the store said the tile wasn't in the warehouse after all so they'd have to order it for real this time and (blah blah blah) it won't be ready till Tuesday.

I believe I actually screamed into the phone, "Tuesday?!  You mean nobody's going to do any more work on my bathroom until TUESDAY?!"

No, no, he explained.  He'd send someone on Monday.  The painter.

"Isn't it a little early for the painter?"  (And if he could work now, why didn't you send him today?)

No, no.  The painter can strip the wallpaper and otherwise prepare to paint.  It'll work out.  The whole job (except the shower door) will be done by Wednesday.  I promise.

This time, I know I said, "Come on."  I mean, I'd known that the whole last Friday thing was an impossible estimate, but the idea that they'd have everything done by Wednesday?  Puh-lease.  They won't even finish laying the tile until Tuesday.  If they grout it on Wednesday, maybe they can get the plumber out on Thursday.  And they still need the electrician to swap out the fan; and the painter to paint after everything else has been installed.  And, y'know, we still have that piece of green board in the ceiling ...

He agreed that maybe Wednesday was a bit optimisitc.  But "Friday, definitely."

And then I said, "Look, I just want you to be done by New Year's."

And he actually said, "New Year's ... maybe."

ARGH!!