Happy Wife, Happy Life…read more
No seriously, it's true. Although with Suzie an empty glass is full. Always Happy. I also refer to her as my Mellivora Capensis. She relentlessly, subtly and telepathically reminds me of things that need doing. Especially so during our Covid Cocoon this year. Me, as a typical silver back gorilla, is somewhat oblivious of my surroundings, as long as it doesn't include feeding time. Then I'm on that like Donkey Kong.
Some quiet powerful signals came my way from my sweetie and before I knew it, I was agreeing that a remodel during this time would be a great idea. So, off I went looking for a contractor to remodel the master bathroom. BTW, this started a year ago and after several bids, from different folks all of them wildly different, I managed to temper my little badger's enthusiasm and we entered the quiet period. My wallet breathed a sigh of relief. However, the seed had been planted and somehow, by the grace of all things Karmatic, I run into Philip a year later at my local. A very old friend and ahem... a contractor. We had consulted with him originally. Some how out of nowhere during our brief chinwag, I blurt out, "Hey I'm ready to get on that remodel." Maybe it was the Suzie voice, I was by myself, reminding me out loud, that I had promised to make this happen. Or the Jameson.
Philip is an affable Irish bloke. You cannot help but to be drawn in with his great laugh and melodic Irish brogue. An appointment made to come by the chateau again to review the job. This earned me a kiss on the cheek from the Misses. 1 Star. He outlined the process, consulted with Suzie as to wants/desires and provided us an estimate. He provided us, sorry Suzie, with design ideas and what he felt would look best and what the current trends are. 2 Stars. He was direct with the time schedule and length of the job, potential hang ups and what to do now. He dealt with my anal retentiveness as being curious and answered all my questions/grunts without finishing the sentence, "You Burk". 3 Stars.
During the job, Philip was here pretty much every single day and let us know when he wouldn't be. He always returned text's and phone calls promptly. He kept us in the know of who would be in the house, when and what they were doing. He introduced us to the crew before they started doing anything. He masked off the bathroom to maintain dust control. They cleaned the work site up at the end of every day. He and his crew were always masked as well. He let us know when there would be a great deal of noise, so I could plan my work schedule appropriately. When an issue from pipes coming up under the vanity, he had a solution and went the extra mile to trim out with a little box to hide it and make it look aesthetically pleasing. This was a builders error when the home was originally built and there is a vanity that is going to cover it from view. I mean who does that? He got about his work efficiently and apparently kept my "Bathroom Whisperer" in stiches with laughter. For me, for every laugh booming around the house, the wallet cried. His estimate for completion was about 6 weeks, he got it done in 4ish weeks. 4 Stars.
Result. Hello "GORGEOUS" in your best Streisand voice. Suzie proclaimed. From my perspective, everything was well appointed, especially the faucets which was my contribution. My concern with all the whiteness of tile, floor and vanity making the room feel like a morgue, was unfounded. It also earned me a kick in the leg for voicing that concern in the beginning..... and barred from being in the bathroom till completion. The textures of the tiles and patterns were perfect. The work was done correctly without being sloppy. The colour choices for the walls were on point, big time. Since the master closet was part of the bathroom, that got a refresh as well, with new lighting. Brilliant, no longer a dark cave where we discovered a pair of crocs I thought I had lost. Suzie officially christened the shower last night, which resulted in a chorus from Al Green's, "Let's stay together". Big Win for Harambe. 5 Stars.
Philip's price point was on par and fair from my research. Well deserved for the quality of the work. The time to complete was on point and better than expected. If you can get on his schedule, he has got to be your man. Phase one done, onto phase two and three.
