Disclosure: this post may contain affiliate links, which means I may make a commission if you decide to make a purchase through one of my links, at no cost to you.
I had to wake up at 6 am for this.
Of everything you might already know about me from this blog, one thing is for certain: I am NOT a morning person.
The night before my new laundry set was supposed to arrive, I was at my graduation dinner with my parents. I’d ordered the appliances from Home Depot on Black Friday and scheduled the delivery for this past Friday, assuming that would be enough time for finals, graduation-related things, and most importantly, getting the floor grouted, sealed, baseboards back in, and ready for delivery.
That sorta happened.
I procrastinated as I tend to do, and was right up to the last minute to install my baseboards. I assumed that Home Depot’s crew would be like waiting on the cable folks; they’d probably tell me sometime between 8am and 5pm and show up right as I’m pulling out of the driveway to meet friends for dinner. But nope: when they said 7 to 11 am was the window (via voice recording received at the graduation dinner the night before), they meant it. I decided that I’d have to run to get baseboards Friday morning and hopefully install them before the delivery guys arrived (still expecting 10am at the earliest, really). Luckily, my Home Depot opens at 6am, so I was there shortly after opening (give or take half an hour of sleepiness).
Now, I’ve reinstalled baseboards before – but cutting and installing them in a time crunch was not something I had experience at. As new projects go though, it was all going fairly smoothly (save for a risky drive home when the 12-foot boards wouldn’t fit in the SUV). That is, until I got a phone call at 8am saying that the crew would be there in less than half an hour!
I was only about halfway through. I got the back piece nailed and the right side. But the crew arrived just as I was measuring and cutting the left side piece (and those three were honestly the only ones I needed to put in before the laundry set took up space anyway). I squeezed around them as they hauled off the old set from the kitchen and added some caulking, but I definitely can’t say it’s 100% done. After they took off, I admired my new set (for those wondering, they’re LG front loaders, bought on Black Friday sale from Home Depot for $599 each, which saved me about $600 in the process since they also hauled away the old set and installed the new set for free – I looked around for deals and not all stores will do these extras without an upcharge). They even flipped the doors and the appliances (I’ve had the dryer on the left this whole time, but it’s now on the right) so that they don’t open on opposite ends of each other and interfere with transferring clothes between. Pure awesome.
I’m pretty damn happy with my new laundry room, even if it isn’t 100% finished yet – the tile grout still needs to be sealed (I didn’t get to the stuff under the appliances, but sealing the exposed parts will still need to be done asap), a countertop will need to be installed, and shelving will need to happen at some point, too. The only drawback I’ve experienced so far is the loss of a few square inches in front of the set – because of using a more rigid dryer duct (for safety reasons – it poses less of a fire hazard), the new set is much deeper than the old, which makes the room feel just the tiniest bit smaller.
But now, let’s look at the fun before and after photos, shall we?
Before (moving in):
Progress (3 years ago):
New (I can’t call it After until it’s really all done):
Before:
Progress (not my favorite patch job, but it’s something – these walls are terrible; and that tile in the corner was simply not cooperating, no matter how I tried – leaving a slight gap right near the corner. I’ll eventually clean that up with some shoe molding & caulk):
This is as far as I get for a little while; I’ll save the rest for another day (and after a finished kitchen). For now, I need to put a dent in about seven loads of laundry.
Those look great! We similarly have a not-done-yet-but-is-functional-so-we’ll-ignore set up in the laundry room :) I was one of the FIRST rooms we work on in the house, so it’s sat in that state for about 4 years :)
I thik you’ll find those seven loads of laundry have turned into about 2 or 3 with your new machine. The fact they hold so much has changed my life.
Have fun!
I’ve got total appliance envy right now- those things are dead sexy! Worth getting up early in my opinion
We just got the same ones and I can’t wait till they’re delivered!! Our laundry room is about the same size, so I’m interested to see what you do with the rest of the room! :)
Looks great!! Some times you just need a bit of fire under you to get it done.
A very similar thing happened to me when I had my new washer delivered – they mean those delivery times! I was caulking molding when the truck rolled up! You’re right – finished is better than perfect! You can always go back. Have fun with laundry!! (I love my LG!)
Those seven loads of laundry may only be three or four with the new big front load! We also have LG. Be sure to seperate the two a bit before use, as at times the wash can “come alive” and move. It would then knock into your dryer–not good. I have come in before and the washer had moved about a foot!! Rare but it has happened–usually an inch or two. So happy you have come this far! It looks wonderful. Hope you had a great night out on your celebration dinner.
Thanks! I’m slowly making a dent in the laundry pile. I experienced a little bit of an uneven load from the wash last night, but nothing too scary. At least I felt like I was being productive: painting a wall, hanging ornaments, AND two loads in the washer & dryer. I might need that counter in there sooner than I thought though!
Glad to hear you are getting ornaments on the tree! Yes, they say to “level” the machines which I am sure the guys did while there. I have never bothered. I just push it back to where it was and continue on!
Looks good. Incredible improvement. If it was me, I’d probably move on to the next project at the point and maybe wrap this up in a year or so. (Don’t be like me. )
Looks simply great. Good job!
Beautiful picture of awesomeness!!!!