If you Want Something Done Right You Gotta Do it Yourself!

I am sure you have all heard it, if not used this phrase yourself at one point or another.

Getting the stairs prepped - removing stringers and rail

Well, I have been using that phrase this week and last. I hired a trade to refinish my stairs. He came recommended by someone I know and was told that he does a good job and is particular about his work. He started last Monday and was fired last Tuesday. Yes, that's right he didn't even last two days and no he is not particular about ANYTHING! From the moment he walked in on Monday, he was stressing me out.

Let me start by saying that we have been in our current house now for 10 years. From the moment we moved in we have been renovating and when I say renovating, I mean ripping up flooring, painting, installing new casing and baseboards, gutting bathrooms and redesigning and installing a new kitchen. Then that is where it stopped - at the kitchen. It's been probably about 3-4 years since we did any major reno here. I have wanted/desperately needed to get new windows for the whole house, but husband has been procrastinating for one reason or another, so they haven't been done. Our ensuite bathroom has been ripped to the bare walls for 6 years now and marble has been sitting in my garage for probably 5 years. You know the story of the shoemaker never having any shoes because he is too busy making everyone else’s. That is part of the reason here and the fact that we have lost steam and gotten to the point where I am tired of the DIY major reno and just want to hire someone to come in and get it done and then I can enjoy. Hence the stairs - this is where the story begins. I have wanted to refinish these stairs since the moment I saw them. I even tried to find someone to come in and do them. Do you know how hard it is to get someone to come and refinish stairs? Let me tell you.... Really. Hard. Even some designer friends I know couldn’t drop me any names. So a couple weeks before the end of school, I was talking to someone I know who told me he knew this really good guy that does really good work. So I called him up and asked him to come and take a look at my stairs. He gave me a price and said he could start the following Monday.Everything has been stripped and sanded

Safety rail put in place

We felt like the Swiss Family Robinson climbing up to our treehouse at night

To make a long story short, Monday he arrived and I was already stressed out. Tuesday he was taping and getting ready to stain - and just so you know, there are 13 steps and 68 pickets. He was no where near ready to stain and I told him so. He didn't want to listen or prepare them properly, so I fired him. I told him that if he didn't want to do the job right, then don't do it at all and I will finish what he started. So three weeks later I've stripped, sanded, washed and sanded and stained and polyurethaned and I am almost done. I am pretty much sick of doing this. For one, I wasn't even ready to have them done and second, I had no intention of even tackling this job by myself. It's a big undertaking and tedious work. Hopefully, by the end of this week it will be put back together and I will be able to enjoy the outcome, no thanks to the tradesman or the person who recommended him.Starting to stain all the stringers and stairs - the end is near... thank goodness!

If you are going to do any renovations in your home, the following are just some of the things you should know*:

A. Get at least 3 quotes from reputable tradesman - cheapest isn't always the best;
B. Do your homework and ask a lot of questions before you hire them;
C. Ask for referrals and then call them to see if they are happy with the work they had done;
D. Be on-site to supervise or make quick decisions, if possible.

*These are just my personal opinions which I have learned throughout the years of renovating and dealing with trade and do not necessarily reflect the position or opinion of any interior design/home renovation guidelines.

In between all that, we took a short getaway to a resort to kick off the summer. We had a great time. The weather was nice. The kids had fun and me and husband relaxed.

So needless to say there hasn't been much sewing going on in these parts lately. Not by choice either... I might add.

I am hoping to get back into the swing of things once my stairs are all done and the mess is all cleaned up. Do some fun things with the girls and try and squeeze a little work in.

!!Update 21/7/08: The stairs are almost done. The pickets have been reinstalled and we are slowly getting the rail back in place. The trim has been stained and needs to be polyurethaned. I am hoping to have it complete by the end of this week. Then I will have the walls to touch up with paint where some stain got on them and where the tape pulled it off.