House Remodeling Thread (long)

[Xrayted]

Just an additional thought when you are tracking down large appliances... Lowes, Home Depot, etc usually have a day of the week where they put out the stuff that may have a slight blemish or something. (contractors come in and buy them up to save money) They are usually still in the box and work just fine. I saved 50% on a great refrig. and they delivered it for me. Exactly what I was already looking at, in the right color (black). I never did find the blemish. Call around and talk to the guy in charge of the appliance area and find out what day they do that. You can get incredible deals on higher priced stuff.

Where I used to work, we had a small unit on the pipes. I have no idea what brand or anything. It was electronic or something. Worked great. Not a hot water heater, per se. It was just a small box that wrapped around the pipes. It is apparently used in Europe a lot. Much more efficient and space saving as it was right under the sink. My former boss was a real cheepo so it couldn't have cost that much up front either. Like this style. https://www.etankless.com/product_n.html I think they can be put in whole house or at individual spots. My boss had them in his house. He preferred the individual ones because it was instantaneous.


Yeah, I caught that brick too after the wall was gone. It would be great if you could keep that. I like wood and brick together. Very earthy. How are you planning to match the flooring where the wall used to be or am I seeing that wrong?

Keep up the good work and I'm looking forward to your updates.

[tulip]

Thanks for all the suggestions! Jane, I will go to that tile shop when the time comes; I had not heard of it.

I already bought my appliances--the cabinet maker needed me to do that before he started his cabinet-making. I went to the Sears Outlet and got all GE Profile at 30%-50% off. My dishwasher is a Bosch, and it was 30% off. They are ALL in my livingroom at the moment, which is getting a little old, frankly.

The on-demand hot water heater was $4k, so I went with a very efficient tank hw heater that was $800. If the difference had not been so huge, I would have gone tankless, but that was just too much! I figure that the tankless can only go down in price in the coming years.

The floor will be patched, but most of it on the left side will be covered by the counter peninsula. Work continues on Monday! Whoo-hoo!

[Trek420]

Like a puzzle H starts to piece together the backsplash. I can't afford to do the whole thing in hand made decorative tile, so just a few hear and there on standard tile will do. The post-it on the stove is Spazzdog's design for the tile. We figured it out over bagels and lox at Sauls

[Zen]

Well... I got a new desk

Now to rebuild the house around it

Why on earth did they put a window air conditioner in the wall?!?!?!?!

[tulip]

Trek--I like the backsplash! All handmade tile would be too busy, I think, and having a few here and there allows one to appreciate each one. Nice job.

Zen, that is a great desk. I may (eventually) have a nice kitchen, but my desk...well that's a door over two filing cabinets. Someday I'll have a real desk like yours!

Latest update (not much to show in photos, but alot done): the electricians spent three days for a presumably one-day job of installing all the electrical everything and lights (recessed and pendants) in the kitchen. Turns out the previous owner totally jerry-rigged (sp?) the electrical system in the entire house and it's just a good thing that the whole thing didn't just melt or explode. No permits, no inspections. So they had to bring new lines from the street and rewire most of the house.

Trek, was it you who said "be prepared for delays and increased cost by 20%," or something like that. Yeah, you're right. They have to come back to bring the rest of the house up to code later with more outlets in the other rooms, but at least it's safely wired now.

On the good side of things, the lights look great even though they are only roughed in for the inspections. I have three recessed lights and three pendants--two over the counter peninsula and one over the sink. The place is also wired all over for under counter lights, disposal (in the cabinet to keep the backsplash "clean" of outlets and switches), and the appliances. Last night I just spent a few minutes oohing and ahhing while dimming and undimming. Ooooh. Aaaaah. One can begin to imagine what the space is really going to look like.

Today and tomorrow are the plumbing days. Let's hope that there aren't any surprises like with the electricity.

In the meantime, we had alot of rain a week or so ago, and guess what? MY ROOF LEAKS! YAY! Why not? So it looks like I can't do this whole thing with my savings so I have to go out and beg for a bit of credit for the roof and insulating the attic. *sigh*. Bail out, bridge loan, whatever, I need a roof.

I've also changed the countertop decision because of cost. Paperstone is too expensive so I'm going with concrete. It'll be very cool and unique and 1/3 less than my original material.

But you know what? I'm still glad I bought this place and I'm still glad I'm renovating. It's going to be such a sweet little home for me and my pup (I can't believe I have a pup!)

[Tuckervill]

Trek, I said "OH WOW" when I saw your backsplash. I like it!

Karen

[Tuckervill]

Getting the wiring re-done is one thing you will not regret, no matter how much it costs.

I almost didn't buy this house because of the wiring. It was still using a fuse box with those old round fuses, and none of the outlets were grounded. The owner was changing a fuse the moment we were walking in with the inspector! My insurance company wouldn't insure it with that fuse box. Fortunately, the seller worked with me, and we got a work-around with a new box, without rewiring the entire house. I made my husband change out all the outlets and switches, too, just in case.

I want to see pictures, Tulip!

Karen