She Said

It’s been two weeks since my Silestone measure (Why Silestone?  Check out the FAQs!) and the day has finally come….

Actually, it’s come and gone; the installation was supposed to be yesterday, but I received a call from Latitude (the installation company) last week; they send their installers from Toronto and it seems they must have booked too many jobs on one day, so they wanted to reschedule to today.  No problem – really, in the grand scheme of things, what’s one more day, right?

Especially when it only occurred to me yesterday to double-check something with Joanne, the master planner of this Home Depot project….  “Just wanted to make sure, Joanne, that the Silestone installers won’t arrive tomorrow morning and say, ‘This sink is supposed to be dismantled’?”

Tick.  Tick.  Tick.

“Yes.  It needs to be dismantled.  Can I call you back in ten minutes?”

Poor Joanne.  And Mari.  And Didi.  And everyone else at the South Keys store.  They’re all in the throws of a computer system “pilot” changeover.  I can feel that it’s a disaster, and I’m a complete outsider!  In the end, all I can say is, whoever developed the system should have seconded an associate from that store to do some click-stream testing in advance of launching this system.  Duh.

An hour later, Joanne calls me back.  No problem.  Eric will be here first thing in the morning, in advance of the installers.

And he is!!  Bish, bash, the sink and temporary counter are out and he’s off to his regularly scheduled programming.

The installers arrive within the projected window of time and here I sit, on pins and needles.  I’ve been patiently sitting here at my computer, listening to drilling and smelling hot glue….

Oh, I can’t take it anymore!  It’s like being ten years old and not checking out the closet where you know your parents are hiding the Christmas gifts….  I’m compelled to go and see!!

I know you’re probably going to think I’m just messing with you….  And if you really knew me, you’d have every right to….  But there’s a problem with the backsplash….

The backsplash, as it turns out, is an odd shape, possibly due to the difference in floor heights now that we have the slate down.  But, the measure was done after the floors and cabinets were put in, so maybe it’s the window sill that’s crooked.  At any rate, looking at the window above the sink, the floor, and therefore the counter, is higher at the left end.  And the measure guy got it right, but presumably inputted the measurements in the wrong order in his software programme, so the backsplash has been cut to measure, but is wider left to right instead of right to left….  In other words, it’s cut backwards.

The installers realize this just as I’ve entered the room.  There’s a gap that gets progressively bigger the further you look to the right under the window.

There’s nothing they can do.  As I understand it, they can’t fix this piece and they’ll have to take it back to Toronto and fabricate a new piece.  They’ll be back “next week or the week after”.

Umm.

Okay, realistically, can I have my faucets installed, or will they be in the way?  Because Eric’s going to be here to install the sink, dishwasher and fridge next Wednesday (!!), whether the backsplash is there or not.  As it turns out, they’ll slide the backsplash in from the left, so as long as there’s nothing on the left end to impede the re-install, it’s fine to have them put in.

Meanwhile, however, we have no sink….  Sometimes, I just get so freakin’ tired of eating out.  But I digress….

Now, I know I was just crappin’ on about how, in the grand scheme of things, a day here or there doesn’t really impact things too much….  And as Mooby pointed out at this juncture, we don’t, as yet, know when the tile backsplash on the oven wall is going in.

True, except it’s my understanding that we *could* have had the tile backsplash done any time after this Thursday (once we finally have the electrical done)….  And this does require that the Silestone be installed.  So if it takes another two weeks….  Have I outlined the fact that the tile backsplash, which will span an entire wall (exclusive of our cupboards), is required before we can install our new hood fan?  And this has to be done prior to installing our range.  And as of today, we’ve already, officially, spent the last four months with no appliances!!

And it’s not summer anymore.  But I digress….

So I say to one of the installers, “I know there might not be much you can do with regard to putting a ‘rush’ on this, but…”.  He advises me to speak with my kitchen dealer.  She can do more than he can with regard to rescheduling.

What a comedy of errors!  But as they say, “if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry”.  Poor Joanne.  I’ve left a message to have her call me.  I hope she’s in a laughing mood….

Stay tuned!

~ One of Seven