Elizabeth Weintraub • Sacramento Short Sale Agent • Land Park

I have 3 cats. Or rather, 3 cats own me. One has kidney disease, and he just turned 17. He's a grumpy old cat, but I love him to pieces. He was flown to Sacramento from Minneapolis, and he almost missed the flight because ground temperatures can't exceed maximums on arrival, and we all know hot Sacramento can be in the summer. He's lived here six years now.

The other two are Ocicats. I got Pica from a breeder in Orange County. She was ready to let him go because he was marbled, and only spotted Ocicats can be shown. I thought Pica would make a good companion for my older Somali. But my Somali thought Pica was a young whippersnapper who required too much energy to entertain.

Enter the picture: Pia. She was a breeder, 18-months-old and finally spayed when she came to live with us several years ago. She keeps Pica in line and rules the roost around here, even though she's about half his size.

Pia has always been her daddy's cat. She loves my husband. She sits on his lap every chance she gets and sleeps with him at night.

This remodel has been hard on her. Everything is moved around in her Land Park home; little is familiar to her, strange men have come into the house, and none of them is her daddy. He's gone. She doesn't know where he is or when he is coming home.

As a result, she has cuddled up to the electric knife sharpener that I have so carelessly tossed on a chair. If she can't have her daddy, she can have a piece of equipment he has touched. Poor kitty. Isn't she sweet looking?

The countertop guy came back today to measure again because he was wrong yesterday. When I examined the spots he marked for me to cut on the front of the cabinet, I realized his math was off. So, I made him come back out. Turns out I was right. Which is kinda scary when you think about it because if I hadn't double-checked his math, my countertops would not fit my cabinets -- not to mention, I would have totally screwed up my cabinet base.

The electricians came and finished up the trim work. They were a bit astonished to discover I had already moved two of the receptacles that were in the wrong spot, but at least I fixed it. They put in my pendants, too. The entire kitchen now has power. Yay!

Although I haven't yet heard from my contractor buddy, and I left him a message, he knows I will call him again tomorrow morning to make arrangements to move the refrigerator and my washer and dryer back into their respective spots.

The not-so-surprising development was the painters did not return. They were supposed to come back on Monday, but I imagine the scenario went like this: "Oh, man, I have a hangover this morning; I don't want to go to work today." Then, his painting buddy, whom he probably picked up hitchiking on Highway 99 says, "Me, too. But you know we are under the gun to get this done."

So painter dude says, "Yeah, she'll be really mad. What kind of excuse could we use? Hey, I know, I've got it. I'll say somebody died. Somebody in my wife's family. Yeah. That's the ticket. I'll say we have to go to San Francisco."

Of course, the painter promised to be here today at 2 PM. I called him at 2:30 and left a message. He never called and never came over. Now, I don't care if somebody really died or whatever his reason was, he made a promise to be here and he never even called me when he didn't show up.

So, I fired him. I left him a voice mail saying I'd pay him 50% of what we agreed to since he was 50% done. I hired another painter who works on Land Park homes and will be here at 8 AM tomorrow to finish the second coat and repaint the baseboards that #1 painter dude messed up.

My hood vent and dishwasher, which had to be reordered because they were damaged / wrong style on receipt, will be delivered tomorrow. At last. I called them 3 times a day since Friday. Except hood vent install guy's voice mail is full. I don't know when he'll get here now.

Never heard back from the Kitchen Design Center. I sent them two emails and left two voice mail messages. I do expect they will send the cabinet installers to cut out my sink area, but god knows when. If they don't handle this properly, I will post a less-than-desirable rating on Angie's List. See, this is the thing -- even if you can't handle a customer's request, you owe the courtesy of a phone call to say you are working on it. When nobody responds and nobody calls back, it is irritating. I would never in a million years do that to my clients.

Apart from showing one of the strangest homes I've ever seen in my life near the Med Center tonight, today has been pretty good overall.

So, how do you like the pendants and under cabinet task lighting?

The countertop dude came yesterday to measure for the installation of the Quartz Cambria counters. I had considered granite, but it's so trendy and doesn't appear to be as strong as the quartz. First thing the guy said was "Whoa, your base cabinet is 32 inches and your sink is 33-inches." Well, I told the cabinet designers my sink was 33-inches!! "It won't fit," he declared. My heart sank. So, I asked the obvious question: How can we make it fit?

By cutting the cabinet on the sides. The front needs to be cut anyway, because I bought a farmhouse-style sink, which means the front is exposed. It's really heavy, too. 15-gage stainless steel.

I called my contractor buddy to see if he could come over and cut out the sink. It will be tight. From the right side of the sink to the right side of the dishwasher, the distance in width is 24 1/4 inches. Fortunately, my dishwasher is 23 7/8ths wide. But it will work, I believe. We can put a firring strip along the back of the cabinet to support the back edge under the sink's lip. It has fasteners, which I figure must attach to the counter top somehow. I've never installed an undermount farmhouse sink before.

The contractor does not want the liability of cutting the sink, he said. According to him, the cabinet installers were supposed to cut out the cabinet for the sink. I emailed the design people who didn't seem certain as to when the installer would be back in the Land Park neighborhood. They suggested I call the demo guy. Yeah, right. No, I want the cabinet installer to come back, and it must be this week. It's a 10-minute job. Three 90-degree cuts. I'd do it myself, but if I messed it up, I'd have to buy a new cabinet. If the cabinet installers mess it up, the liability is on them.

Of course, either way, whether I screwed it up or the installers did, it would mean a new cabinet, which would delay the counter top installation and delay the entire job. So, I'm going to be positive about this and figure the installers will show up and they will do it correctly.

What do you think my odds are?

I spent most of Sunday putting away dishes and pans -- and god knows what we have collected over the years -- into some sort of semblance in our new cabinets. We have more cabinets than we've had before, but less space. Know why? Because the old cabinets were like big boxes, and you could cram stuff into every corner. Land Park homes have a lot of original cabinets that are spacious. The new cabinets come with sensible pull-out drawers, the things they can charge extra for. And they take up valuable space.

Fortunately, I found a spot for everything, even if some are out of my reach. You know what goes into those cabinets, right? The things my husband uses.

But I fear the bad news is we are down to one "junk" drawer. Sigh.

Photo: Elizabeth Weintraub

One of the reasons to hire professional painters is because they are supposed do a better job than you would, right? Because if I wanted a lousy job, why, I'd do it myself. Except that I am a fairly good painter. I carefully tape off the walls . . . roll slowly enough to avoid "vacation" lines . . . sand between coats and have, on occasion, used a make-up brush for minor touch ups. This might sound a bit obsessive to you, but I believe a job worth doing at all is a job worth doing to the best of one's ability.

Ordinarily, I would have hired my usual painter for this job, but he was busy this week. So, I took the recommendation from my excellent drywall dude and hired his son, who's been painting about 10 years. In hindsight, I should have asked what he's been painting because the job he did looks like he practiced on cats -- on moving targets, not a stationary wall. This kid agreed to do two coats of paint and a coat of primer. When I talked to him yesterday, however, he was suddenly adamant about one coat of primer and one coat of paint.

I explained that you really do need two coats of paint, especially when using a white primer. He disagreed. He promised me that one coat of paint would cover the job. Where have I heard these sorts of promises before? Oh, yeah, right. This car was only driven on Sundays by a little old lady to church. This house is easily worth $50,000 more than what you are paying for it. Interest rates will definitely decline next month.

I stewed on this for a while and then went back into the kitchen to say, no, I really need two coats of paint. All of a sudden his tune changed, as though we were meeting for the first time. (Hello, do I know you?) He would do a primer coat, let it dry, then follow up with two wet coats of paint. If he missed anything or needed touch-up, he'd come back to fix it because, after all, customer satisfaction was important to him.

Last time I checked, the ride on a turnip truck is sorta bumpy, which is probably why it's easy to fall out of it.

Here are photos of his "finished" but before "touch up" painting. Was this monkey swinging from wall to wall and painting with a banana? Perhaps he was admiring his armpit as he scratched -- which could explain how he ended up splashing paint on my baseboards and trim.

Well, when he gets here on Monday, he will not only touch-up his screw-ups, but he will be giving all the walls a second coat of paint. This is the advantage of not paying workers until the job is finished. Often, I will give a sub-contractor a deposit check when the job is initiated and 50% or so when the job is about half-way through, paying the balance upon final completion. I am glad my instincts warned me to hold off handing over any cash at all, especially since I supplied the paint. Call me silly, but I'm thinking he's not going to get a bonus like his father received

After the kitchen is finished, I may repaint the walls, myself. I'm not certain I like the color in the light. I'm using Oat Straw by Behr. It looks fabulous in the sun room and family room, but it's a slightly different hue under the CFL lights in the kitchen. I'll hold off on making that decision until the countertops are installed and the task lighting is hooked up. Fortunately, paint is inexpensive and an easy thing to change.

Photos: Elizabeth Weintraub

Of course, I have a week to wait for that. The countertops won't be installed until August 4. But the cabinets are in. Whew. It was no easy job.

First, the diagram given to the cabinet installers differed than the diagram I agreed upon in one small but important way. The microwave was to be installed at the entry to the family room and NOT to the right of the floor-to-ceiling cabinet. I noticed the installer had them switched.

He showed me the drawing he had and, sure enough, it was transposed. That meant the side of the lower microwave cabinet was exposed; however, we can order a sheet to cover that. I actually like it better the way he installed it. This way, I can transfer whatever is in the microwave directly to the kitchen table (which will be under the hanging chandelier).

The installer had to move two of the receptacles to accommodate the switch, though. Good thing I did not opt for under cabinet lighting in that area, or that would have been a huge nightmare. Because I did not, it was a fairly easy fix.

Next came the second floor-to-ceiling cabinet that would not sit flush with the wall. I hadn't noticed my wall by the refrigerator was not plumb. It's off by 1/2 inch from the top to the bottom. My cabinet installer had the answer: shave off the trim side of the cabinet to make it fit the wall, and then the trim molding fit perfectly.

Except for the part where I ran around putting towels under the cabinet installers tools and tool box, warning him, "Do not scratch my new floor," and I suppose he thought I was a royal PITA and secretly hoped I would plant myself back in front of the computer, yet it turned out beautifully. Adding the double crown molding made the cabinets pop and look luxurious, as did adding the molding around the bottoms.

I have drawers that pull out for trash and recycling, all my big cabinets have pull-out drawers and, next to the stove, is a pull-out spice cabinet. I hope my husband loves and appreciates this.

You will note the ebony glazing on the light mocha cabinets. It picks up the hue from the lava flooring.  I also thought the reed glass doors added a special touch to the upper cabinets over the sink. I wanted to paint the interior of those cabinets black, and install lights inside instead of under the cabinet, but even that idea seemed a waste of money once it was tallied up.

On the still plus side, the baseboards and door trim were installed yesterday.

The photo above is of the adjoining room where the washer and dryer live and our CDs reside.

Ah, but fresh hell awaits this morning, Day 6, when the painter comes to paint. I can't hang around to monitor and yell at him. I have to go show property all afternoon. In the midst of all this hoopla, work still comes first.

Photos: Elizabeth Weintraub

It's been an exciting day. First, I threw on my sweaty old cut-offs and t-shirt from yesterday, pulled my hair back in a tangled mess and dashed out the door at 6:25 AM. I had to meet a home inspector at 6:30 and let him in to inspect a home in Land Park for my buyers.

Riverside Boulevard was backed up, bumper-to-bumper cars, so I took a shortcut zig-zagging through the neighborhood. Jumped out of my car, grabbed my display key and headed for the lockbox. Oh, I had a few showings yesterday, my key said. Hmmm. No time to think about that. Punched in my code, held it up to the lockbox and FFBBZZT. I hate that sound. That's the sound of a display key that is not working properly.

Then it dawned on me. Why-oh-why didn't I think of this yesterday afternoon? Grrrr. Of course my display key is not going to work because lockboxes are on timed access. They won't open before 7 AM.

You'd think I would have learned this the time I stood out on Vallejo Way shivering without a coat in January. The production crew and on-air talent from Good Day, Sacramento! were there at 6:30 in the morning to film one of my Land Park listings for a live program. That's when I discovered I couldn't open the lockbox. The seller lived 10 minutes away, and I had to get him out of bed to come with a spare key.

I swore this would never happen to me again. But oofda. That's what happens when I'm sidetracked with this glorious kitchen remodel.

I dashed back home, grabbed a shower, changed my clothes, dried part of my hair and went back to let the inspector in, which left me a whole 20 minutes to go back home, eat breakfast, finish drying my hair, put on makeup and zip back to meet the home buyers. Whew.

Day 4 -- More Mudding, Sanding and Finishing Floors

Some spots on the ceiling are requiring four coats of mud. After all, I had removed several vents, and those left huge holes. The drywall guy used hot mud, which dries fairly quickly, but we still need to do a little touch up tomorrow morning before the cabinets arrive.

It also means we didn't get the painting done, but I knew that would be a long shot. And it's OK, really. It will save on paint because I won't need to buy an extra gallon of paint. Most of the walls will be covered by cabinets and don't need paint. If the painter doesn't paint a clean line along the cabinets, I will be a very unhappy camper. He says he can do it, and I believe he can. No sense thinking negatively about him at this point, now is there?

The flooring runs through the kitchen and into the adjoining room, which I affectionately call the sunroom. It's really a large room with a side door to the back yard deck. It serves as a place to put the washer and dryer, and I have two pantries. One wall is covered with built-in cabinets that are flush with the wall and perfect for holding our massive CD collection.

I'm really jazzed about tomorrow. The drywall guy will sand one more time, bright and early before the cabinet installers arrive, the flooring guy will install the baseboards afterward and, in between, I'll get a coat of primer on the walls and maybe one coat of paint . . . if I'm really, really lucky. So far, I've been pretty lucky.

Photos: Elizabeth Weintraub

Day 2 -- Electricians, Plumbers and Framers

Put a power tool in a framer's hand and wield that power tool with authority, and I swoon. There is something remarkably appealing about a young man clasping a reciprocating saw tightly in his left hand with his right forefinger firmly depressing the power button as he masterfully cuts a perfectly straight line through the wall. But, sshh, don't tell my husband.

We now have a 36-inch wide by 30-inch high pass-through in the wall to the living room. I've been talking about cutting a hole in the wall for the past six years. My husband kept saying no, we are not cutting a hole in the wall. I let him say that enough times to get it out of his system. I guess I wore him out.

I offered to email my husband photos of the lovely plumbing work when I spoke to him today, but he declined. Yet, the plumbing is beautiful, simple and perfect. All of the awful, twisted contraption that some nitwit jerry-rigged under the sink is gone. Gone also is my blind-man plumbing job on the washer and dryer connections and drain.

The electrician, plumber and framing guys all showed up on time on Tuesday and performed magic in the kitchen. It was refreshing to watch professionals. We had only one little glitch. As the electricians were cleaning up the floor and picking up their tools, I walked into the kitchen and said, "So, where's the switch for turning on the under cabinet lights?"

They looked at each other with that stare that told me somehow the head dude forgot to tell them we were also installing under cabinet lights. So, they had to work overtime, but the job got done. See, if I wasn't here, I would have had no task lighting.

I called my countertop people to get the template date booked and was informed that they can indeed measure for the template on Monday, but they could not install the countertops until August 7. That would not do. It must be August 4 because my husband will be home on August 5. The kitchen must be finished by then. Nope, they said, no can do.

Fine, said I. Then I will select a different countertop product from another company who can be here on August 4th.

Ten minutes later my phone rang. Why, they were able to reschedule a couple other clients and now have time available to do my install on August 4th. Isn't it funny how that happens? See Day Two photos below:

Day Three -- Sheetrocking and Flooring Install

On Wednesday, the Sheetrockers showed up at 8 AM with a boombox. Well, ya gotta rock and roll when you rock. I understand that. Talk about professionals. I was blown away. The seams were tight, corners intact, and like lightening, they zipped through the kitchen. By noon, the kitchen was Sheetrocked, taped and mudded. I want to kiss my walls, I'm so happy.

Soon as those guys left, my flooring guy appeared with boxes of Marmoleum. I am using the Click product, which are planks about 3 feet long and a foot wide. It's a green product, but the color is Lava, which is black with a bit of a gray design. It's designed to last 40 years.

The flooring guy said that last week he hauled a bazillion cartons of maple flooring up to a second floor in a home in Land Park, and when he opened the box, the homeowner took one glance and sniffed, "I don't like maple anymore. Take it back. I've changed my mind." I'm glad that I could never be that kind of person.  It's not in my genetic make-up. More photos below.

Photos: Elizabeth Weintraub 2008

The cats are very upset. Everything is not where it's supposed to be. Not to mention, two of them were locked in the bedroom all day yesterday. The other cat spends most of his time in a 4 x 4 pen because he has kidney disease, plus a touch of senioritis. He was pretty oblivious to the goings and comings around him. After all, he had cat food, clean water, fresh litter and occasional pets. He was in seventh heaven.

Which is where I wished I could be. But not. You see, you absolutely cannot do a major home remodel and go away on vacation. At least I can't. I have to be home to say, "That doorway is too narrow to fit that piece of furniture you're trying to jam through." Or, "Hey, you better put a bucket under that leaky shut-off valve or you'll be replacing my flooring."

No job is without its surprises. Such as wow, wood boards are behind the sheets of glass of my walls, and all that wood has to be removed. Didn't count on that. But then, I've never owned a home where the walls were covered in glass.

The demo crew wasn't thrilled with that development. OK, I have a hammer and a crowbar, I'll help. I took out a wall and a half by myself. Get with the program, you guys.

Oh, so that old water heater vent in the ceiling I asked you to remove is covered with asbestos? Well, look, don't keep chipping away at the asbestos. Now it is airborne and you could all die a slow and painful death. (Well, wishing won't make it so.)  No, don't yank it out from the roof and leave a hole in the roof. Just cut it off at the ceiling.

Ouch, is that a live wire? Why didn't you save the little screws and fasten the outlets back on the wall instead of leaving them dangling? How am I supposed to turn off the kitchen light? BTW, do you have Workers' Comp?

Hey, where are my baseboards from the laundry room? They were sitting by themselves in the family room. Did you throw them away? Well, thank goodness I bought extra baseboards because I know what I'll be doing on Tuesday -- painting them.

Yes, folks, somebody has to stay behind and make sure the work is done correctly. My lucky husband is away on a two-week vacation. This is my vacation. Staying home and yelling at contractors.

But I have to admit, there is a certain sense of accomplishment after everybody has gone away and I'm left to vacuum up the mess because they say, "The drywall guys will make a mess so we aren't cleaning up too much. Besides, we don't have a vacuum." Guess what? I do. I vacuumed up the mess and washed the floor. And then I retired to the Jacuzzi to sooth my aching muscles after hammering and yanking and tossing wood all afternoon. 

I'd say yesterday went rather well. Despite the little annoyances, so far I've managed to avoid the Top 10 Do It Yourself Mistakes.

Of course, the cats are getting treats and attention. I know who really rules the house.

I would not walk into a listing presentation without a properly prepared CMA, which includes not only the active listings that will compete with this home, but data on the pending sales (even though they have not yet sold, I can generally weasel the price out of the listing agents) and, of course, the sold comparables. I adjust each comparable by adding or subtracting values to arrive at a price in line with the subject property. I also pull the expireds, canceled and withdrawn listings. By the time I sit down with the seller, I am fully prepared to discuss pricing.

Yet, when the demo crew hit my house this morning to tear out the kitchen, they arrived without a dolly, they were tearing the glass sheets off my walls without wearing gloves and smashing at cabinets without wearing protective eye wear. These are professionals. This is what they do for a living.

I suppose I sounded like a mother hen, prodding them to wear gloves, asking them if a sledgehammer would make their job easier.

Imagine if a seller had to tell me how much the home down the street sold for?