Never trust anyone who tells you "We can do it in a day"

Old Floor (looks pretty here, but so not up close....)











(New Floor: african walnut - chocolate brown)

Day 1
The flooring guys were supposed to be doing my flooring today. At 12:30 pm (after I woke up at 8:30) they arrive and say "we're going to drop off the materials and start tomorrow."

No question if that's even OK, and tomorrow is the start of Labor Day weekend. I don't even bother with the installer, who has nothing to say in the matter, and has weak english.

I call the company, and they say "We can't help it, two of the guys on the team are sick." This is after the guys told me they had traffic from Jersey.

I tell them that it's not a problem that it's a two day job, BUT THEY SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME IT'S A TWO DAY JOB." I can't believe that they just expect that people can just take two days off from work like that. (I'm not working right now, but still.)

So they're coming tomorrow. God help them if they don't finish, because then they can't finish 'til Tuesday and there's not way I can take tuesday off from work (it's the 1st day!!)

Day 2
When I called the manager yesterday, I said "Do you understand that if the job cannot be finished tomorrow, it can't happen at all. I have to go back to work on Tuesday, and no work can be done over the weekend." (building rules.)

David GUARANTEES ME that the guys are going to come, look at the floor, and if there's ANY DOUBT that the job cannot be done, they won't start.

Disappointing, but in two weeks I'm off for the jewish holidays. Two days to get the job done, and the materials have already been delivered.

The guys show up bright and early this morning, and get started right away at 9 am. They barely take time to snack on the breakfast I made them. They're working!

At 1 in the afternoon, one of the guys tells me that the floor is indeed NOT LEVEL like the salesman told me, and that a layer of plywood needs to go down in order for the floor to come out even.

Oh, there's NO WAY this is going to be finished by 4 pm, I'm thinking.

The foreman asks if they can go until 5, because if they don't finish today, their boss is going to kill them.

That is, if I don't kill their boss first.

Tuesday's my first day back to school. I can't take off next week. My cat, who I left in the apartment because she's such a scaredycat is OK in hiding for the afternoon (behind the counter in the kitchen) but if the apartment isn't done then I have to get her out so she doesn't walk around in the debris.

Atalanta was so gracious to offer to apt-sit when they come back Tuesday, but this means that she's relegated to the only part of the apartment that is untouched by the mess... my 10 sq ft kitchen.

Argh.