Aaahh!
When N and me moved into K's apartment, she said that there was a window renovation coming but it was very unlikely to take place during the winter when we were living there.
So of course they picked November for the renovation. Last two weeks have been absolute madness with all the drilling and hammering and glass breaking and whatnot. This Monday it was our turn. We had K's mother and her friend over last Friday to take down the Venetian blinds that K wanted to keep and that would have been thrown away with the old windows otherwise because we didn't have the tools for it. It took two hours and lot of work but off they came.
On Sunday evening we cleared all the furniture away and what a workload that was. 1,5 metres from the windows is a lot of space considering most rooms aren't more than a few metres square. Then we had to drag cardboard and plastic covering up three flights of stairs and spread them on all floors and furniture to protect them from dirt and harm. What a joy that was, took like an hour of sweating and crawling on all fours.
And of course the crew couldn't be bothered to let us know when on Monday they would be arriving. The notice we received in the mail only gave us the date and since they had started the ruckus previously at eight, we got up at seven thirty. Guess who showed up at ten?
The next seven hours were unforgettable. N and me both had a day off and were trying to get some work done but of course it was all for nothing. There was absolutely no concentrating in the horrendous noise, not to mention the temperature dropping to 10C (50F).
Oh, and apparently the cardboard they had provided was too slippery to work on so they had to take it off and replace it with some rags they brought along. The floors look horrible and I'm certain K will not appreciate it after she returns. I just hope she won't blame it on us.
When, at five, they were done, the dust settled literally, and everything was covered in dirt and dust. The plastic covering had protected most of our stuff but since it was impossible to make it airtight a lá Dexter, there was a lot of dust. We had a real picnic first getting rid of the cardboard and plastic and then vacuuming and dusting off everything.
And they aren't even done yet. There will be someone later on to do the windowsills. Plus I have no idea what they're planning on doing to the scrapes on the floor or the light switch they broke in the hallway.
Before she left, K said that if they did start the renovating before she got back, we could talk about decreasing the rent, and we'll be sure to mention that to her. We didn't sign up for anything like this.
So of course they picked November for the renovation. Last two weeks have been absolute madness with all the drilling and hammering and glass breaking and whatnot. This Monday it was our turn. We had K's mother and her friend over last Friday to take down the Venetian blinds that K wanted to keep and that would have been thrown away with the old windows otherwise because we didn't have the tools for it. It took two hours and lot of work but off they came.
On Sunday evening we cleared all the furniture away and what a workload that was. 1,5 metres from the windows is a lot of space considering most rooms aren't more than a few metres square. Then we had to drag cardboard and plastic covering up three flights of stairs and spread them on all floors and furniture to protect them from dirt and harm. What a joy that was, took like an hour of sweating and crawling on all fours.
And of course the crew couldn't be bothered to let us know when on Monday they would be arriving. The notice we received in the mail only gave us the date and since they had started the ruckus previously at eight, we got up at seven thirty. Guess who showed up at ten?
The next seven hours were unforgettable. N and me both had a day off and were trying to get some work done but of course it was all for nothing. There was absolutely no concentrating in the horrendous noise, not to mention the temperature dropping to 10C (50F).
Oh, and apparently the cardboard they had provided was too slippery to work on so they had to take it off and replace it with some rags they brought along. The floors look horrible and I'm certain K will not appreciate it after she returns. I just hope she won't blame it on us.
When, at five, they were done, the dust settled literally, and everything was covered in dirt and dust. The plastic covering had protected most of our stuff but since it was impossible to make it airtight a lá Dexter, there was a lot of dust. We had a real picnic first getting rid of the cardboard and plastic and then vacuuming and dusting off everything.
And they aren't even done yet. There will be someone later on to do the windowsills. Plus I have no idea what they're planning on doing to the scrapes on the floor or the light switch they broke in the hallway.
Before she left, K said that if they did start the renovating before she got back, we could talk about decreasing the rent, and we'll be sure to mention that to her. We didn't sign up for anything like this.