Did We Survive Hurricane Katrina or Not?

It has all been a blur since that day back in October 2006 when the grant check arrived. A great massive swirling blur of paint and tile and grout stain... Missed deadlines, forgotten promises, long waits... But all rather satisfying in the end.

That's just it, though. It isn't really the end. The repairs to our kitchen have resulted in an incredible transformation. It has been such a transformation that it's hard to keep in mind that, as of this writing, those repairs are still only half-completed.

Even the slow pace hasn't been enough to bring me back down into those post-Katrina doldrums... Just knowing it was all changing made the snail's pace bearable...

But tonight I have that old familiar sick-in-the-gut feeling. I have the wide-eyed stare. I'm not hearing what's going on around me. I've lost a tremendous amount of emotional ground in a matter of hours - and you know something? I'm really darned tired of losing a tremendous amount of emotional ground in a matter of hours. I'm running out of emotional ground.. and I'm not even sure what that entails....

It's all because of a simple phone call and a nagging feeling. Not necessarily in that order.

If I'm honest - the nagging feeling started several weeks ago with the myriad delays on the kitchen... and the sloppy excuses that went along with them. It grew stronger every time I heard the guys working on our house (including our contractor) refer to some other house they were working on as 'the big job' -- as if our home was nothing more than a side-project. Then again when WE had to make first contact with our contractor again after the holidays... By the time he laid out the 'bad news' about our cabinet doors and drawer facings that have been in his possession for almost two months now - the nagging became an obsessive feeling that something was wrong... The pebble before the rockslide...

The phone call did me in.

It was Dave who called to tell me he heard from Dean with the figure for Phase II repairs. He explained that everything wasn't included because he was still working up some of the figures -- and, more importantly, that there were some things he really couldn't give us a price for right now. Thousands of red flags sailed through the air and hit me in the head when I heard this.

The items left out of the estimate are significant: the replacement and repair of the front door, sidelights, and surrounding panels and trim; the replacement of the fireplace insert and tiled hearth surround; and the tub surround and tile. As a matter of fact, these were the most significant items in Phase II considering the cost of those particular materials and labor for tilework.

The price: $14,000

Maybe I'm overreacting based on my previous gut-feeling... Especially since I have not yet seen this estimate in writing and am unaware of exactly how he has broken down each item...

However, I know what we went over in the walk-through... and I know how much work is NOT included in the price...

Fourteen-thousand dollars for:

1) Installation of trim and baseboards (the cost of materials is not included as we have already purchased all trim and baseboards). We received a verbal estimate for this aspect of the repairs for the ENTIRE HOUSE (including the kitchen which is not included in this estimate) from Dean verbally several months ago for $1800.

2) Installation of eight pre-hung interior doors and one pre-hung exterior door. We previously received estimates from two different contractors for just installation of twelve pre-hung interior doors (the other estimates again included the kitchen - which is not included in this estimate) for a total of $2000.

3) Painting of trim, bathroom cabinets, baseboards, and the entertainment center. We previously received three estimates from different contractors for painting THE ENTIRE HOUSE (including all interior walls.. AND including the kitchen, again) for $8000 - which we have been told is ridiculous. This current estimate does not include painting any walls... does not include the kitchen, and does not include crown moulding or exterior trim.

If we were to accept Dean's estimate for $14,000 for just these items... and add in the cost of materials not included.. plus the cost of the three major repairs left out of his proposal... and the cost of minor repairs (including refinishing the dining room floor and painting the interior walls & exterior trim) just to complete what we're calling Phase II... Then the Phase II price tag would come in around $25,000 - and with a lot of work left for us to do ourselves.

This will leave us with around $19,000 for Phase III -- if there ever is a Phase III. Let's take a look at what Phase III entails:

Repairing/replacing eight exterior porch columns; installing carpet on stairs; installing carpet throughout approximately 1800 square feet upstairs; repairing several hundred square feet of ceiling in three rooms; replacing eight water-damaged ceiling light fixtures; replacing damaged sub floor in two rooms; removing, replacing, and finishing one 20-foot water-damaged wall of sheet rock; removing and replacing insulation in said wall; removing and replacing water-damaged flooring in upstairs bathroom; removing and replacing water damaged insulation throughout 2500 square foot attic; painting 75% of upstairs walls; replacing baseboards (including painting them!) in one bedroom; painting the garage; replacing door and rotted frame on exterior of garage; reinstalling shelving in garage.

I type all that with full knowledge that I have left several things out....

But what really makes my head spin (360 degrees) is that the grant amount we asked for was based entirely on Dean's estimate for ALL of these repairs.... Yet... At this rate.. we will not have enough money to finish.

Oh but there's more!! Dean's estimate included many major items which are not included in these lists... For example - his original estimate included the removal and reseating of all downstairs showers, toilets, and tubs... It included the removal and replacement of the kitchen countertops (which we paid for outside of Dean's kitchen estimate)... It included the replacement of all interior and exterior doors - while we have now opted to only replace three exterior doors.. and at least three original interior doors are remaining... It included installing sheetrock in several closets and all of the garage -- which we have since had done by another contractor. It included the replacement of the wood floor in the dining room. It also included the replacement -- read: not the refinishing -- of all of our cabinetry... and of course it included all of the painting throughout the house -- which I am now doing myself.

A logical person would deduce that a) if we received a grant for a total estimate including such items and b) such items were then removed from the project that c) there should be money leftover from the grant when the repairs are completed.

Since instead - there arises a real possibility that there will not even be enough money for the repairs left on the list - the same logical person would then deduce that something just ain't right.

Of course I'm taking it personally since I trusted this person... since I sung his praises from debris piles because his estimates were always so honest and reasonable. I feel I've been snookered. I've been reeled in.. baited with decent prices for little jobs... Hung out to dry with an impossibly low estimate resulting in an impossibly low grant amount... Knowing the chances of finding anyone to do the work for what this guy originally quoted are slim to none. Knowing that I haven't been all that satisfied lately with what work he has been doing -- even at a lower price.

I feel cornered and irritated tonight. Of course I don't want to give up actually having a contractor. Of course I don't want to start calling and begging and getting other even more ridiculous estimates for these repairs.

Oh but I really, really don't like to be had. I also don't take kindly to being forced into any position.

You see, what Hurricane Katrina taught me is that one thing we have in this world is time. She taught me that there's no reason not to wait for what you want as long as you have what you need.

The entire situation makes me nervous and that doesn't mix well with my share of the post-Katrina mental health crisis. The high quote makes me wonder whether or not my cabinet doors are being held for ransom now. I'll give it a few days. I will sit and think. Calculate. Meditate. Pray. Breathe. I will be diplomatic. I will hand out the benefit of the doubt as if I have plenty to spare....

And when the time is up... I'm gassing up the Suburban and storming Agricola to rescue my cabinet doors.