Our Remodeled Beach House and Unexpected Surprises

Now that it’s been two years since we finished remodeling our beach house, I thought it was a good time to share a little reminder: no remodel is ever perfect.

Things happen—it’s just part of the process. You all know how much I adore our Ventura beach house. The remodel exceeded every expectation, and every time we visited, I pinch myself. Truly, 99% of the experience was amazing, and I’m beyond grateful to our incredible contractor who brought our vision to life. But here’s the thing—sometimes, in blogs and social media, we forget to mention the bumps along the way. And let’s be honest, there’s always a not-so-perfect side to any project. So today, I’m sharing ours.

Our Remodeled Beach House Story

Anyone who has remodeled a room or an entire home knows there are unexpected issues and surprises. That’s why most budgets have a “contingency fund”.

But I rarely read about the issues. Today, I am sharing some things that needed creative solutions during the beach house remodel. Why? Sharing the good and bad of a remodel is an essential reminder that you must be flexible and creative to make a remodel work.

It also reminds us that in every project, there will be surprises.

The Stairway Debacle

Our extensive beach house renovation included adding a third-floor deck with an outdoor kitchen. The plans included a new stairway to the new third floor. Once the stairway was framed and drywalled, we discovered we couldn’t close the wall at the stair landing. Why? Because the walls on either side of the opening were not aligned.

Oops. Of course, it had to be enclosed. But maybe not with a solid wall?

Technically, we could have enclosed it entirely, but it would have been a big box on top of the wall instead of a seamless one.

The large opening allowed a lot of light into the space, and I decided to take advantage of the light.

In France, I was obsessed with Provence’s iron gates and windows. I told my contractor I wanted to use an old gate and started my search. Within a few weeks, I found one on FB Marketplace, so my contractor built an extended frame to create an even plane.

He sandblasted the vintage garden gate and then antiqued it in white and gold. My contractor then built a frame for the gate that provided safety (there is less than a 4″ opening in the entire gate) and offset the misalignment of the walls. The gate is bolted into the frame and then bolted to the walls.

The gate looks like it was planned to be there all along.

Go figure.

The Appliance Mistake

We started the beach house home renovation during the pandemic, and the supply chain was a significant issue. Lead times on products like windows and appliances were long and erratic. Product delivery needed to coincide with the building timeline on the construction end, so coordinating the two was a nightmare.

I ordered the appliances for the kitchen in April of 2022. The delivery date for the appliances moved in and out and in and out, and most of the appliances were delivered to my contractor’s warehouse in December of 2022. The dishwasher arrived separately (three months later) and was also stored in my contractor’s warehouse. The appliances sat in the warehouse for months until the kitchen was ready for appliance installation.

We were given a 24-hour window to inspect our appliances, and the stove, two refrigerators, and range hood were all checked for damage.

This is where I learned a precious lesson that I want to pass on to you all. It is common that when you buy appliances, you have a defined window to inspect them. Once your appliances are delivered, you must inspect them and accept or return them. Check their policy with the source from which you are ordering yours.

What I learned the tough way was that I had mistakenly ordered a refrigerator that was not counter-depth. Once it was installed, it was immediately visible, but because the refrigerator sat in a warehouse for a few months, the timeline to return it had passed.

The lesson here is that you can’t just inspect the appliances for damage; you must also ensure they are the right ones you should have ordered. Duh.

The dishwasher delivery was rescheduled three times, and unfortunately, when it was finally delivered, we missed the 24-hour inspection window. Of course, once unpacked, it was damaged. There was a massive dent in the front panel that could potentially affect the control panel. Again, it had been accepted and sat in the warehouse, and we didn’t know about the damage until it was installed.

I went back to the retailer and begged and even cried. Couldn’t they take back a perfect refrigerator? After talking to three managers, they all told me no. And the manufacturer (GE) couldn’t help me either.

Lesson learned: Never buy an appliance from a retailer with a 24-hour window. It is almost impossible to time it, so you can install it and ensure it fits and works within one day of delivery!

I was so distraught. It had taken months to get the appliances; now, two were unusable. And with the supply chain issues, I couldn’t wait another six months for delivery.

But there is good news. I found my exact dishwasher and refrigerator on Amazon! The next day, I ordered a new counter-depth refrigerator and dishwasher, which was delivered in under a week and was in perfect condition!

I also managed to sell the refrigerator and the dishwasher at a discount. And yes, the price I sold the dishwasher for was heavenly discounted (almost free). I hope you will learn from my mistakes and make sure to inspect appliances upon delivery. Make sure the inspection delivery is realistic for your situation!

These appliances caused us a lot of stress, but now that we enjoy our remodeled kitchen, it is all almost forgotten.

I may sometimes use affiliate links on this blog, which means a small commission is earned if you purchase via the link. The price will be the same whether you use the affiliate link or go directly to the vendor’s website using a non-affiliate link.

The Island That Doesn’t Fit

This is one of those things that looked fine on paper but did not work at all in real life. The island designed for the kitchen appeared to be the right size on the drawings, but it was way too big once it was built and in the kitchen.

For example, I couldn’t open the oven door all the way. Yikes!

We discussed solutions until we realized that the center section of the drawers on the island could be removed. That solved the problem!

But I did end up with less storage and counter space.

As a benefit, because we had ordered quartz to fit the bigger island that had not yet been fabricated, we had leftover quartz that we could use around the fireplace in the living room.

Window Hardware in Three Different Finishes

I am still trying to figure out how this happened, but our remodeled beach house has three different window hardware finishes. The primary bathroom has black hardware, the primary bedroom has white hardware, and all other windows have chrome hardware.

Interestingly, the window order clearly states that all windows were ordered with chrome hardware. I am working with the manufacturer to swap out the requested black-and-white hardware for the chrome.

The fix remains outstanding (and is taking forever), but it is in motion. Thank goodness the hardware can be swapped out after installation!

The Washer/Dryer Vibration Issue

Before the beach house renovation, our old washer and dryer were in the garage. I wanted to move the washer and dryer inside the house, and we found a tight fit under the stairs. Of course, we had to order a new washer and dryer.

This seemed like an easy install. I ordered the washer and dryer, which were installed without issue when they arrived. They fit perfectly and looked great.

Once I started the machine, I went upstairs, and about half an hour later, I heard a terrible, loud noise. It was so noisy that I thought maybe we were having an earthquake. I ran downstairs, and the washing machine had been shaking so violently that it managed to turn itself completely around.

How is it possible that the machine managed to fil all the way around in this tight space while running the spin cycle? Seriously?

The plumber confirmed the washing machine was faulty and said I needed to return the machine.

Of course, they weren’t returnable because they had been sitting in the warehouse for months.

I decided to research and learned another crucial lesson I want to share. When a washing machine is shipped, shipping bolts are installed to keep it stable during transport.

If the shipping bolts are not removed, as mine were not when installed, the machine cannot function normally and fights against the bolts.

A quick internet search led me to learn that the shipping bolts, if not removed, would cause this behavior.

I was able to remove them myself!

Luckily, the machine and the laundry space were unharmed. Long story short, you need to remove the shipping bolts before you run a load of laundry in your brand-new washing machine!

The Downspout Location

For the beach house remodel, we expanded the front of the house out to the street. The vents on the deck were installed, and four months later, when the downspouts were installed, we discovered one led straight to the top of the side garage door.

What the heck?

We got creative and decided to add an awning on top of the door so the downspout could connect to the awning and drain from there.

I think the result looks pretty good!

The Door to the Third-Floor Deck

While this last surprise is small, it posed a problem. The new stairway to the third-floor deck has newell posts at the bottom, the turn, and the top. Each post has a cap on top. When constructed, it looked beautiful. However, when we reached the top of the staircase to open the door to the deck, the door could not clear the post cap.

Opening and closing the door is critical to using the third-floor deck! Duh.

So, my contractor shaved the newell post cap on one side just enough so the door opens and closes. The cap is a different shape than the other two, but it works! And you can’t see it until you are up there.

Home renovation can be an exciting and rewarding experience, but it can also come with its fair share of problems. From surprises and problem-solving workarounds to unexpected expenses, it’s essential to be prepared for the unexpected and to have a plan in place for when things don’t go according to plan. I hope you have learned from my mistakes and that your home renovation goes smoothly when you start or complete it.

I promise you, it’s all worth it, even if it may seem you will never finish.

We love our remodeled beach house. We had some surprises, but it all worked out fine.

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