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Some 9 weeks ago, our landlord started to renovate the two bathrooms in our condo unit. When a year ago he suggested doing these renovations, we did not think of what it really meant. I thought well that will be nice and we will have new bathrooms, a new decor and surely it will go quickly given that bathrooms are not big rooms.

Well we are now on week 9 that is just under 63 days of work. Amazing how long it can take. We now have about 3 days of work left to do it’s the home stretch. The problem was that first the decorator was going to do a simple job but then she changed her mind and decided to do a more complete renovation meaning there would nothing left of the old bathrooms. So in the first week after demolition was done, she suddenly announced that the floor had to go to be replace by a new marble floor. That create a 4 day delay while workers had to take out the floor and she go buy the marble slabs for the floor.

We are living in the apartment has the renovations go on and the landlord has distanced himself for the work leaving me to supervise and assume sort of a daily liaison job with the contractor, workers (9) and decorator. How many tenants do you know would be this involved in such a project. The reason why it is taking so long is that the workers may work just 2 to 3 hours a day and then disappear to go work on other jobs. This week they worked on Monday for 1 hour and today for 45 minutes, tomorrow no one and then Thursday and Friday the final push with a parade of trades to finish putting it all together. One bathroom is in working order and it is nice though I hate the new shower head, rain type thingy, instead of the jet blast type. I also have to keep on top of things to ensure that the workers will be scheduled to appear and do the work, this means talking 2 to 3 times a day with the contractor who overall has been good about letting me know after I asked who does what when.

Next week when it is all complete and we will have our apartment back and cleaned, we may miss the workmen. They have all been nice and polite. Now the million dollar question is; can we extend beyond next year our lease. Landlord has been evasive on that question. I hope so because we really do not want to move with all the expenses that entails.

Ancient Roman toilet, it worked fine 2500 years ago, it will work today, though you loose out on privacy.

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