Home Depot Installation Nightmare

So, we've been planning to get new carpet in our house for a while. It was behind time. We had builder basic beige carpet left over from the previous owners that had seen better days. In fact the last time I had it cleaned, they told us it was really time for new carpet.

Fast forward to months later when after much (much, much) deliberation and comparison. I found a carpet I really loved at Home Depot for a reasonable price. I pulled the trigger and we made our most costly (in more ways than one) home purchase to date. I thought the hard part was over.

Nope. This was only the beginning of what our we and our friends are (not so) fondly referring to as the Great Carpet Saga.

Because we were having all the carpet in our entire house replaced, we had David's brothers come over and help us move ALL of our belongings out into the garage and pull up the old carpet and pad. The new carpet was to go in on Monday, so I thought we could handle one night living like this with a 4 year old and a newborn. But even one night was hard. We discussed maybe just going to a hotel, but with spending so much on carpet, I really didn't want to plunk down more cash.

On Monday (our scheduled installation day) I was on my way home from dropping the girls off at daycare when my husband called: "They can't install the carpet."

What?! Apparently because we had tile in our kitchen and dining room, we needed to have special shims where the carpet met the tile. No one had told us this when we ordered the carpet or when someone had come out to measure. They also told us they couldn't install the downstairs carpet because the tack strips on the cement needed to be glued down. I started to hyperventilate. There is no telling when they'd be able to come back out and we definitely couldn't live like this indefinitely.

I called Home Depot and spoke to Michelle, who was very helpful and worked with installation company to have the installers go and pick-up the needed shims, install them and glue down the strips downstairs, then they would come back a few days later (after the glue had dried) to lay the downstairs carpet.

At this point, I was relieved, I thought we'd had a bit of a hiccup but now everything was under control. Nope. Silly me.

On the day the installers were supposed to come and do the downstairs, I was supposed to get a call in the morning to tell me what time they would be there. By 10am I hadn't heard anything, so I called Home Depot again. About 30 minutes later, the installation company calls and says, "Oops sorry, we forgot to put you on the schedule." They said they could squeeze us in the next day. Fine.

Friday morning the installers actually show up. Yippee! By the end of the day the carpet is down and I feel like finally the ordeal is over...And then we notice some problems. David comes home and says, "Look at this, there is a gap between the carpet and the wall on the stairs." Upon closer inspection, we also find a "bubble" under the carpet downstairs and a piece of carpet hanging off where the carpet meets the concrete floor of the laundry room. I feel like I've been had. That the installers slacked off because I was a woman and the only one home when the did the second installation. Or, at the very best the rushed the job because they were trying to squeeze us in that day.

I called Home Depot again to schedule a repair. At this point Michelle and I are on a first name basis. The manager on duty offers us a $100 refund. We are grateful, but honestly would rather just have had our carpet installed without all the hassle (plus, $100 is about 3% of what we paid).

Three weeks later (our garage still filled with most of our belongings), the carpet repair guy is scheduled to come out and fix the issues. This time David stays home. They call at 9am to say the guy will be there between 2 and 5. He arrives at 5:40. He can fix the bubble, but will have to order new carpet for the stairs and the carpet is hanging off in the laundry room because the first set of guys installed it on a broken tack strip (seemingly confirming my suspicions).

That's where we are now. We've had to miss five days of work. The process has dragged on for a month. While Home Depot had been sympathetic (or at least pretended to be, which is fine. Sometimes you just want somebody to listen), the installation company has been a nightmare to work with. They've given us the impression that they have a contract with Home Depot (the goose that lays the golden egg) and they don't care about individual customers. I'm intentionally not using the name of the installation company. From what I've learned, the installers Home Depot uses are different in different regions, so yours may be great. For our part, we've learned that while Home Depot is great for buying supplies, don't get sucked in by the seemingly too good to be true installation prices. From now on, we'll pay the extra to have someone we've researched and trust to do the actual installation.

Phew! If you'd made it this far, bless you. I just really needed to vent.

Betwixt Look-a-like?

I recently discovered (or, rather, discovered the name of) beautiful Betwixt fabric. Such a great name and a great fabric, unfortunately it's only sold "to the trade" a good sign that I can't afford it.

(can't remember where this photo came from, but it sparked my love of this pattern)

Imagine my surprise when I was browsing around The Company Store and spotted these ottomans.

$179 each

Ellie: 3 Months

Length:
Weight:

About You: During your second month you discovered your hands! We were having dinner at our favorite pizza place and you kept lifting them up and staring at them. You met my grandma (Grandma Ann) for the first time. You defintely recognize your mama; every time you see me you get all smily and kick your legs. You rolled over! The week before Mommy had to go back to work.You started going to daycare with Ava and mama went back to work. We're still trying to adjust to this. You love to reach up and touch your hair (and you have quite a bit) and you like to suck on your thumb or bottom lip.

About the World: Prince William married Kate Middleton. You decided we should get up at 4 am and watch the royal wedding (this may have been a coincidence, we're not sure). Terrible storms and tornados have swept through the country. Osama bin Laden was killed.

Dresser Redo

For the girls' room, I had my old childhood dresser refinished.

Before:

After:

My Ava Graduates

Last night my little Ava walked across the stage and accepted her diploma. From preschool, but still. This was a momentous occassion. Her class sang Somewhere Over the Rainbow and I cried. I could picture so clearly what she'll look like wearing her cap and gown up on stage again in 13 more years.

They asked each kid what they wanted to be when they grew up. Most of the other girls said "princess" or "fairy," Ava said cowgirl, but my favorite was the little boy who said he wanted to be a trick-or-treater. Wouldn't that be the best job?

I love the way four year old minds work. Ava loves trying out new words; when she picks one up she wants to use it all the time. For a while it was "niece," then "accessories," right now it's "compliment." She doesn't quite know what it means. Yesterday in the store she told me she could see my wrinkles (I'm 27!). To which I think I replied, "Ava!" She said: "It's just a compliment." Mmm-hmmm.

She also gets unfamliar words a little confused like in these recent occurences:

To the waitress at the pizza place after ordering bread sticks.
A: "But I don't want any irving."
Me: "You mean herbs?"

In the car on the way home from preschool:
A: "I know what unicorns are."
Me: "You do? What are they?"
A: "Clothes that match.:
Me: ?
A: "Red ones and blue ones and green ones and black ones. Like on the field."
Me: Oh, uniforms!
A: "Yeah, uniforms. That's what I'm talkin' bout."

There's a little boy at school named Landon who's parents I wanted to meet at graduation, but they left before I had a chance. Last week Ava's class had a field trip to see a performance of the play Click Clack Moo. They match up each of the kids with a buddy when the go on field trips, and on this day Ava's buddy was Landon. Unfortunately the play was at a time when the kids are normally taking their nap and my girl needs her sleep. So, on the bus ride home her buddy Landon sat really still so she could sleep on his shoulder. Is that not the sweetest thing? She was really shy about it when she told me (I had asked if she was tired from not having a nap that day).

We gave both of her preschool teachers gifts at her graduation and it's also teacher appreciation week. I found this at our local independent bookstore and thought it would make a great teacher gift.

Ellie: Month 2

Length: 22 inches
Weight: 11 pounds, 15 ounces

About You: Your favorite things are blowing bubbles, cooing, and your sissy. You smile so big when you see her. You already know she's someone very important. You've also started making a lot of new noises and try to have conversations with us.

Where do babies come from?

Ava: "This is my baby sister. I bought her online."

5.25.11 Update:

"I found her in the woods."

"I borrowed her from Kmart." (We don't even live near a Kmart, I don't know where she even heard the name).