Remodeling Diary - Floor repairs, plumbing

Quick and dirty - the sub-floor was damaged in a few spots, most of which was pre-existing and some likely done during demolition. The area around the old sink location had some water damage and big holes where the pipes ran up. This all had to be fixed and the plumbing removed.

The Doug/Mike team said it'd take 1-2 days, came in on a Friday and knocked out most of it in about 10 hours, including finalizing some details of the demo (cutting out some plaster edges, some remaining old insulation removed). Doug came back on Saturday and wrapped it up in a few hours. With the plumbing out of the way, they'd just have to re-route it about a foot to the new location of the sink and dishwasher once the cabinets were ready to drop in, and we'd be in business. Plumbers had quoted $2000, Mike/Doug quoted $1000 for floor repairs and plumbing together.

Final: $1000.

Remodeling Diary - Floors

Along with our core contractors, Mike/Doug, the flooring guys are at the top of my list for recommended people to work with. They aren't cheap, but they aren't overly expensive either and they do what they say they'll do when they say they'll do it without wasting any time, and it costs what they say it will.

The deal was to install new oak floors, matching existing floors, covering 570 sq. ft. of space. The sub-floors were expected to have been exposed and repaired before work started, and it was.

Deal was a handshake, flooring was delivered 2 hours later for installation 3 days later (letting it sit is good, lets it acclimatize). Check cut for $2500.

Monday first thing in the morning the team arrived, started working, and by end of Tuesday it was all done and looking great. Check cut for $1000.

Once some other work is done (Windows/Doors installed, electrical work done, insulation and drywall up), they'll come back and finish it for another $1000. Expectation is half a day to sand and drop a coat of poly down, then 2 more coats over the next 2 days, then it'll be ready to rock.

Final Price: $4500

Remodeling Diary - Load-Bearing Wall, Doors and Windows

This REALLLLLLY sucked. Because we are morons, we talked to an engineering firm that we had a loose recommendation for. We didn't talk to anyone else about it. Turns out these guys are more of a basic GC firm that happen to have engineering certifications too. Nice enough, but EXTREMELY expensive and the subs they use are not the most skilled. Lesson learned, fortunately for us the only one so far in the project.

The issues: at least a 30% markup on everything and long delays at every step. If we contracted directly, we would solve both problems at once, and since as a GC they were providing ZERO value-add, we really should have done this. But we were nervous about the load-bearing wall, and the window/door issue was about to be a major schedule obstacle, so we decided to pay the $$ and learn the lesson.

Boring details below:

We had two distinct needs from these guys: remove a load-bearing wall separating our kitchen and den, and install new windows and doors in the den.

The load-bearing wall was simple enough - 14' wide span, but we wanted a small bit of wall left on both sides, so it was really only about 12' of span. The ceilings are only 8', so we wanted the wall totally gone, not with a big beam replacing it (people at our new island would sit more-or-less right where the wall was).

The 6 windows (all 2'8"x5'2", 3 together, 2 together, and a single) and a matching french door (60" wide) were also fairly simple. All of these would require some new framing, replacing existing windows. The door was replacing an existing door into the den, but in a different location, so the existing door location would have to be closed and siding re-purposed from where the new door was being installed. And we wanted very energy efficient, high-quality, double-hung windows with a wood interior and vinyl clad wood exterior, using the same style as our existing windows (3x3 grid on each pane).

Total quote was $12,000-13,000. Estimate was that the load-bearing wall removal was approximately $1,000-2,000 of that, and we needed it done QUICKLY while we waited to talk more about the windows, so we asked for a separate quote on that. It came in at $3,000, and when they did the work, a 14" wood beam was used, creating a very undesirable effect. After tense phone calls, they redid the work for the quoted cost using a 6" steel beam, which ended up being fantastic, but delayed the project for several days.

The windows and doors discussion was ongoing as this work was resolved, and lead time on windows and doors can be measured in months, so this was a large concern. We ended up compromising on a window that we knew nothing about but had a decent web reputation and could be delivered in 3 weeks. To save some money, we went with pop-out grids that we will store in the attic, ending up with clear glass.

Windows and Doors get installed in about 2-3 days once they arrive, which should happen next week. Should be interesting.

$3000 for load-bearing wall.
$8800 for doors and windows.

Remodeling Diary - Kitchen Appliances

God, this bores the crap out of me, and I at least get to use these damn things. But once you enter the world of a kitchen remodel, the only way out is through the stainless steel kitchen-aid ice-dispensing filtered counter-depth hidden hinged appliance door. And so I went.

You gotta get a microwave, a range (or a cooktop and separate oven), a dishwasher, and a fridge as the basics. If you don't get an over-the-range venting microwave, you've got to do a venting hood too. And then there are warming drawers, wine fridges, etc. But screw those.

We were definitely doing an over-the-range microwave - space is a premium, and our kitchen is too small for the overwhelming hugeness of a giant stainless steel hood.
We definitely wanted a slide-in range to keep the kitchen as seamless as possible (slide-ins merge with the countertop, free-standing ranges are a little more flexible but leave a gap that food and such can slide into).
We definitely wanted a dual-fuel range, allowing gas cooktop for instant and finely controlled heat (some let you actually melt chocolate on a paper plate...), and the precise temperature controls of an electric oven.
We definitely wanted a fridge, but didn't have much otherwise for requirements. Same with the over-range microwave.
The dishwasher was easy - we wanted Bosche only, and a totally seamless look, which led directly to a particular model.

So, appliance shopping we go, hitting Lowes and 3 different Queens City Appliance stores (Outlet, Contractor center, and normal store), along with web price comparisons. Lowes ended up being the least expensive with their 10% off coupons, but Queens City was willing to deal, and Lowes didn't carry the right dishwasher (they only carry Bosche 56 series and below it seems, even with special ordering), so we went with Queens from the normal store (contractor pricing is better before dealing, but they wouldn't deal on those prices).

Items and points of interest:
Range: GE Profile J2S968SHSS (all controls up front and simple, good cast-iron grills that cover 100% of surface) - $1700
Microwave: GE Profile JVM1490SH (Convection microwave, offers some degree of second-oven capability) - $499
Fridge: GE Profile PSH23PSRSV (this sucked - had to change to counter-depth fridge after analyzing space in the kitchen, cost us over $1200 more to save 6-9") - $2500
Dishwasher: Bosche SHY66C05UC (super quiet, super reliable, great ease-of-use facilities, 100% clean front (all controls inside)) - $985

Lead time for delivery is only about 1-2 weeks, we had them delay for a month.

There. That sucked.

Total Price (including cables, 5-year extended warranty, and delivery): $5893.01 (not including tax)
GE rebates should bring $300 or so back home.

Remodeling Diary - Demolition

Demolition is a messy business. We were taking out two rooms entirely, down to the sub-floor and studs, and removing a wall between them. A house built in 1939 has had a few hands in it before you got there, let me assure you (that dirty ho'!). We found 5 layers of flooring in the kitchen, 4 in the den... That leads to increased costs, and you have no way to know that ahead of time. And under all of that, the sub-floor was in somewhat weak shape, needing repairs in several spots. But I get ahead of myself.

The contractors we got for demolition and a lot of the generic house-building kinda stuff are great people, a two-man team of a seemingly rich lead that does contractor work for fun, Mike, and his handyman, Doug, that does the vast majority of the work and is very skilled. Doug came into our house on a Friday, and by Saturday we had very little recognizable left of the two rooms. He sealed off the ventilation system, covered the doors out of the work area, and created a temporary wall to allow sealing in a section of our dining room as a work/storage space - all of this made it possible to live in the house while he worked. It definitely pays to have a person that is conscientious and skilled doing this work, not just a sledgehammer jockey.

By the end of the 6th day, we were totally done with ripping out old appliances, old cabinets, built-in bookshelves in the den, closets in the den, 2 big bee hives found in the walls, the 9 layers of flooring noted earlier, and all of the sheetrock and insulation. We had also moved a doorway joining the kitchen and dining room that wasn't part of the initial estimate, but it just felt right to smash away at the time.

Our garage quickly became a depot for leftovers: our old fridge was relocated (perhaps permanently) to allow us to have SOME food storage, cabinets were removed nearly perfectly and stored here, and window blinds found a new home. Space disappeared quickly, but we found new homes for the old cherry cabinets with Doug and our mail-dude (free: Doug held a sledgehamer, and unless you want the whole neighborhood to know about your Furring fetish, it pays to get in good with the mail-person).

Quoted cost: $1500 for demolition, $200-400 for trash haul.
Actual cost: $2100 for demolition and some supplies, $400 for trash haul.

Remodeling Diary - Background

So we move into a decent ranch-ish house in a nice neighborhood in the middle of the worst ice storm in history - neither the house we moved out of nor the house we moved into had power. Fun. We had the hardwood floors refinished and some new paint dropped in, but otherwise we just took it like it was.

We immediately get in touch with 3-4 General Contractors to price out a kitchen and den renovation, but they come in at $55,000 to $90,000 and we just can't commit.

One year later, we decide it's time to remodel, adding a second floor and revamping the kitchen and den in one fell swoop. We get an architect recommendation from a friend, and next thing you know 6 months have passed, we're $4000 poorer, and we've got great drawings of a house we'll never build as it was $260,000 of work on a $310,000 house in a $370,000 house neighborhood.

So, after finding out we have a pair of muffins in the oven (see Makin' Babies), we need to get a move on the kitchen and den piece of this renovation post haste. Come September, we steal a list of contractors from some friends that just moved into town and did a ton of upgrades to their house, adn we start scheduling initial conversations to get some pricing and scheduling info. By late October, we thought we had a good idea on what we were getting into, and UNLEASHED THE FURY!

Makin' Babbies

Me and my woman have gotten down, producing one huge belly, two big ass babies, and three causes of concern: money, time, sanity. Translation: we have twins on the way, a boy and a girl, due Feb. 24. Of course, that's just what the "doctors" said, turns out Feb. 20 and now Feb. 19 are more accurate. Turns out this whole "medicine" thing is a big scam, different data from every janitor, gift shop clerk, and potato peeler I talked to in that "hospital".

Lessons learned so far:

1. Women with two babies in them eat. A LOT. Constantly. Get yourself a second fridge next to the bed, stock it with water, apples, bananas, small animals, twigs, whatever you can get. They'll eat all of it.
2. Get a low-flo toilet in your house pronto when you think she might be carrying. That thing will be flushed 20 times per day, you and the city water supply will thank me later.
3. Doing a remodel that kills your heat and kitchen in the middle of pregnancy in November/December is not so bright. More on that later.
4. Get started early on everything - time flies and that baby will hit you in the face (hopefully with some nasty stuff, cuz that's funny to tell all of your single friends).
5. Where to deliver: check into all of the local hospitals, they all offer tours of the maternity wards and they can be radically different in terms of where you stay (deliver in a nice room and then move to a tiny clinical hospital room, deliver in a nice room and never leave, etc.). Check the NICU (neo-natal intensive care unit) level - our local big hospital is the regional escalation point, having a level 4 NICU. If your baby has a heart condition, comes out not breathing, etc., you don't want to have to deal with even a 5 minute trip to a NICU (which is why I think people that do home-birth are insane and even negligent). Check the policies for what they enforce vs. what they like to do:
6. Who your OB/GYN and Pediatrician will be: the OB/GYN is likely affiliated with a hospital, so join this with the last point. You'll see a lot of these people for 6-8 months, try to see all of the docs in the clinic you attend as you never know which one will be on-call when your little muffin(s) pop. Your pediatrician should also be selected well ahead of delivery, as they will be needed as soon as you go home, and may also be doing such fun things in the hospital as snipping the hood of your new baby boy's member (otherwise known as circumsizing them).
7. Have a lot of baby showers - milk :) all of those people for all they are worth. Baby clothes are really nice items to get your cheap friends to buy you, as they are more fun and if you don't like them, they don't endanger your kids life and only last 3 months. Bigger items you can be very specific on what you want, and hopefully those parents you have supported for the first 30 years of your life will finally start paying you back by buying ALL of it. Hint: strollers (yes, multiple) and car seats are VERY pricey.

That's all I can stomach for now. This baby thing isn't over yet though...

Sparling Twins

RAWHIDE!

Nothing like personal life exposed to the millions of morons of the world, waiting for comments... Two things to keep in mind: I like lists of things, I generally miscount, and I never slice!

So, I'm busy procreating, playing poker, hoping to ski, doing that job thing, and remodeling my kitchen/den. I'll be covering all that, AND MORE!, when you call in the next 5 minutes. I might even toss in a free set of ginsu knives.