Let's Talk Remodeling

[shovan]

I got my quote! Remember when I said I was going to wait until 5pm to drink? I think I need a stiff one right about now!

The total was $6,500.00.

It includes:

Group 1, 1 1/2 bullnose granite on the two vanities, tub decking, bench, sills and backsplash. Of course, I like Group II and III.

New shower pan ($850!!! And I used to own a plumbing company, so that really hurts!)

Labor on setting the tile on the floor, tub skirt and the shower.

And last, but not least - my most favorite job of all - removing wallpaper and texturing the walls. ($1,200!!!! I know this is something I can handle, but I so HATE doing it. Looks like I'll be wearing the painter's hat again!)

I just went waaaaay over budget! The only way I can stay on budget, is to use a hole in the floor as a commode and have concrete flooring. Oh, and no tub. And maybe not eat for about a year.

Someone hold me.

Carpenters, plumbers & painters! OH MY!!! I feel your pain! Group Hug Friend! But your fountain & yard sure look great!

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

I did a "Walmart Bag Treatment" in the bathroom at my last house that came out pretty darned nice if I do say so. Way better than sponging.

Here's a picture (doesn't really show that well in the pic, but it looked very subtle in person)...

I love that look! I think you did a fantastic job!

 

[Galahad]

AmIThereYet: Great job on the landscaping - the fountain is beautiful!

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

thanks

here is a quick lowdown on what we are doing!

we tore down the living room and rebuilt it bigger and with a basement... we also added an addition that has the kitchen and the new livingroom as well as a 1/2 bath ( there is a new basement under there also) we are gutting the inside of the rest of the house and turning our old bedroom into a bedroom for my dd and a hallway (it was huge!) and our office and middleroom will get 2 become the baby's room and a hallway and the old kitchen will became the dining room..
here our our pix.. the house was supposed to be done before the baby was born and that didnt happen so we are hoping it will be done for Emmas bday in June.. The roof was supposed to come off Jan 20 but I went into labor and had my son, so we had to cancel So it got postponded until the next weekend and I had to spend the weekend at my moms with a newborn and a 3 year old!

here are the pictures...

http://gallery.impulz.net/HouseRemodel

Oh my gosh. I can only imagine the amount of stress you're under. I'm trying to do this with just a husband and a 17 year old daughter and it drives me nuts!

You're doing an incredible amount of work to your home!

I noticed that the website that I linked earlier is still down. Hopefully it'll come up soon so you can get some bathroom ideas.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Anyone ever have a spouse get cold feet?

I read the estimate off to him, all the while mentioning things we could do ourselves, such as the dreaded wallpaper removal and I could tell I only had half of his attention.

Apparently I was wrong. He was thinking a little too hard about it! Now he's in the "I'm not sure if this is a good idea right now" stage.

It's our last room to do! I want this done!

 

[shovan]

We are no closer to getting this bathroom done than we were months ago. The good recommedation someone gave me last week for a contractor was another bust! We had already spoken with this company & the owner is the RUDEST woman in the world! She is lucky she's here in the Hurricane Zone, because I can't imagine how she get's any work. She had told us that her estimator will only come out between 9 and 3 Mon-Thurs. Her workers only come out 7:30-3:00 Mon-Fri. and if you're not okay with that don't bother having her estimator come out!!!!!! Unbelievable!

 

[binny]

Anyone ever have a spouse get cold feet?

I read the estimate off to him, all the while mentioning things we could do ourselves, such as the dreaded wallpaper removal and I could tell I only had half of his attention.

Apparently I was wrong. He was thinking a little too hard about it! Now he's in the "I'm not sure if this is a good idea right now" stage.

It's our last room to do! I want this done!

omg I was just coming to post the same thing. The kitchen is off for now.


Even the floor is going back. We had some other things come up and now it just isnt in the budget. i am so sad.

 

[tiggger1]

Oh my gosh. I can only imagine the amount of stress you're under. I'm trying to do this with just a husband and a 17 year old daughter and it drives me nuts!

You're doing an incredible amount of work to your home!

I noticed that the website that I linked earlier is still down. Hopefully it'll come up soon so you can get some bathroom ideas.

we are basically all living in one bedroom, (hubby, the baby and I in a king bed, emma in her twin bed) we dont have any room for table, so we eat on tv trays and sit on 2 metal folding chairs. there isnt any room for Chases clothes or cradle in the bedroom so they are in the middleroom in plastic containers surrounded by whatever emmas toys fit in there!
so its kinda tight!

 

[Galahad]

Living arrangements are hard during a big remodel. On our main floor, we have a small library, a half bath and the laundry room as the only areas that were not touched by the remodel. We've been without a Kitchen since January 1. It get's interesting.

Found out today though that our sink comes in tomorrow. That's ahead of the delay we were told about so that's great news. BUT, Home Depot (vent: NEVER do special orders with Home Depot - they don't follow through), hasn't confirmed with the counter top people to start fabricating the smaller counter top.

The biggest news today though is that the switch over to the new and larger draw of electricity is done and the power was only off for a couple of hours while they did that. That was a big worry because, while I have confidence in our electrician's abilities, I don't have confidence in his follow through.

It looks like the Solarium guys have containers with them today that look like they contain glass panels. That would be very cool - to start to see the glass go up! The lighting should be going up in the Kitchen today. Our house is decorated in a "mid century modern" style, with modern furtiture from the 1930's and 40's. We are trying to keep that feel in the kitchen by using some pendant lights and other fixtures that have that art-deco kind of style. Should be very cool.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

We are no closer to getting this bathroom done than we were months ago. The good recommedation someone gave me last week for a contractor was another bust! We had already spoken with this company & the owner is the RUDEST woman in the world! She is lucky she's here in the Hurricane Zone, because I can't imagine how she get's any work. She had told us that her estimator will only come out between 9 and 3 Mon-Thurs. Her workers only come out 7:30-3:00 Mon-Fri. and if you're not okay with that don't bother having her estimator come out!!!!!! Unbelievable!

I guess when you have so much business, you can afford to be rude. I just don't get it. I wouldn't be like that, even if I had a justifiable reason.

It reminds me of county/city workers here. They're all so freaking rude, but what can you do? It's not like you can switch to a different company to get better customer service.

Sorry you're having such a hard time.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Living arrangements are hard during a big remodel. On our main floor, we have a small library, a half bath and the laundry room as the only areas that were not touched by the remodel. We've been without a Kitchen since January 1. It get's interesting.

Found out today though that our sink comes in tomorrow. That's ahead of the delay we were told about so that's great news. BUT, Home Depot (vent: NEVER do special orders with Home Depot - they don't follow through), hasn't confirmed with the counter top people to start fabricating the smaller counter top.

I have heard that about the Big Box stores, time and time again. I'll go there if it's cash and carry, but they're not so hot about special orders.

The biggest news today though is that the switch over to the new and larger draw of electricity is done and the power was only off for a couple of hours while they did that. That was a big worry because, while I have confidence in our electrician's abilities, I don't have confidence in his follow through.

It looks like the Solarium guys have containers with them today that look like they contain glass panels. That would be very cool - to start to see the glass go up! The lighting should be going up in the Kitchen today. Our house is decorated in a "mid century modern" style, with modern furtiture from the 1930's and 40's. We are trying to keep that feel in the kitchen by using some pendant lights and other fixtures that have that art-deco kind of style. Should be very cool.

How exciting!

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

we are basically all living in one bedroom, (hubby, the baby and I in a king bed, emma in her twin bed) we dont have any room for table, so we eat on tv trays and sit on 2 metal folding chairs. there isnt any room for Chases clothes or cradle in the bedroom so they are in the middleroom in plastic containers surrounded by whatever emmas toys fit in there!
so its kinda tight!

I'd say "kinda tight" is an understatement! I feel for you!

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

omg I was just coming to post the same thing. The kitchen is off for now.


Even the floor is going back. We had some other things come up and now it just isnt in the budget. i am so sad.

Oh, no! You too? I hope your issues aren't too serious!

What irks me, is that I had been including my husband in every little step. We decided on a $10k budget and we were both cool with that, since I know we'll get it back on resale.

Then, the backyard happened. That went over budget. It was the "towel bar syndrome". We dug the beds, then had a torrential downpour and decided we needed gutters ($700), then the nursery didn't have enough smaller-size rose bushes, so we bumped up to a larger size ($$)..., etc.

Then the bathroom quote came in and I think it was just too much for him.

He was at the fire station yesterday and is doing inspections today, so I'm hoping tonight we can talk it over and come up with a plan to save some serious dough and get this done.

 

[mickeysgal]

What irks me, is that I had been including my husband in every little step. We decided on a $10k budget and we were both cool with that, since I know we'll get it back on resale.

Then, the backyard happened. That went over budget. It was the "towel bar syndrome". We dug the beds, then had a torrential downpour and decided we needed gutters ($700), then the nursery didn't have enough smaller-size rose bushes, so we bumped up to a larger size ($$)..., etc.

Then the bathroom quote came in and I think it was just too much for him.

10K was to cover just the bathroom or all improvements for this year? Can you hold off a bit on the bathroom while the checkbook cools down from all the outside stuff? A cooling off period of a couple months may just be what your DH needs. I know I get nervous when there is a sudden burst of money flying out the door even though I knew it was going to happen.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

10K was to cover just the bathroom or all improvements for this year? Can you hold off a bit on the bathroom while the checkbook cools down from all the outside stuff? A cooling off period of a couple months may just be what your DH needs. I know I get nervous when there is a sudden burst of money flying out the door even though I knew it was going to happen.

$10k was to cover the bathroom only. When I calculated everything in my head, it's now coming closer to $13k - $14k.

All of the sudden my great cabinet maker and granite lady aren't looking so appealing anymore!

I agree about the cooling off period. I too get very nervous when great amounts of money are flying out of my checking account.

Then on the other hand, I still walk into my kitchen, over a year later, and don't regret one red cent I spent on it. It is so worth it to have a functional, working room.

I should warn him that the longer I wait, the more things I'm going to come up with.

Now is not a good time though. He's outside hanging my hose reel and I don't know how to drill holes into the brick. Knowing when to pick your battles is very important.

 

[elizke]

omg I was just coming to post the same thing. The kitchen is off for now.


Even the floor is going back. We had some other things come up and now it just isnt in the budget. i am so sad.

Oh that's too bad! So disappointing for you. I hope it's only very temproary.

 

[mickeysgal]

I should warn him that the longer I wait, the more things I'm going to come up with.

Now is not a good time though. He's outside hanging my hose reel and I don't know how to drill holes into the brick. Knowing when to pick your battles is very important.

Heres how I see it - you have a great, reasonably-priced cabinet maker. I wouldn't want to take the chance on losing him. I have a knack for finding someone then when I need them, they've moved or are no longer in business. Also, costs tend to go up, not down. Waiting may only increase your overall cost.

Where can you trim your costs? Can you pick a verson of tile that is cheaper? Can you pull that wallpaper off yourself?

No, I wouldn't ask him now either. Maybe after a nice dinner where he's relaxed.

 

[Galahad]

Hi,

So these are all "work in progress" pics. Things are getting closer, but not quite done.

Here are a couple of general views of the Kitchen. The walls are only painted down to where the back splash will go. The counters aren't ready yet. The fridge and freezer will be installed tomorrow in the spaces to the left.

Here is a slightly different view that shows the penninsula (still with no counter - where the cook top goes).

And a wider shot:

And the corner with the ovens, etc.

View from the Kitchen toward the "nook" with the Solarium being built in the background.

The Travertine tile in the Kitchen

Into the Solarium. It's 26 feet square and 20+ feet tall (Big )

The "accent wall" in the great room (that "palm tree has got to go!)

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Hi,

So these are all "work in progress" pics. Things are getting closer, but not quite done.

It all looks awesome!

I especially loved the pic with the dog in it. I can't even begin to tell you how many of my remodeling pictures have a HUGE golden retriever head in them!

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Heres how I see it - you have a great, reasonably-priced cabinet maker. I wouldn't want to take the chance on losing him. I have a knack for finding someone then when I need them, they've moved or are no longer in business. Also, costs tend to go up, not down. Waiting may only increase your overall cost.

Where can you trim your costs? Can you pick a verson of tile that is cheaper? Can you pull that wallpaper off yourself?

No, I wouldn't ask him now either. Maybe after a nice dinner where he's relaxed.

Yeah, there are definitely ways we can cut costs, but after doing the last bathroom and the kitchen right before that, we were hoping that we could remodel like the lucky folks do.

I've never been lucky.

What I'd like to learn to do, is lay the tile. I even told him I'd be willing to learn and that we could do it together. You know - make it a real bonding experience.

I think his response was, "That's a big negative, ghost rider."

That's his favorite way to turn me down.