We're turning the final corner on finishing the house. It has been quite the project but it will be worth it when we're done. I know listening to someone talking about their house is like listening to someone talking about their house but it's consumed my life for the past few months. I think I've earned my black belt in cutting a room with paint.Please feel free to share you renovation stories. I promise not to complain...
My family spent the past 2-3 years renovating the house...just about every room has been touched and re-done...people at Home Depot know my mom by name...we probably have 10 cans of leftover paint...we've trekked all over Southern California looking for appliances...my mom's an expert at getting stuff off of Craigslist...and there's still more to do!
ReplyDeleteAnybody want a slightly used roto-tiller?
My husband's family is in construction and home remodeling. And let me tell you, Tak, you have hit the nail right on the head. So to speak. It's almost a family motto: "Once you start tearing into that wall, you never know what you're going to find."
ReplyDeleteThere are so many starting points: Instead of "don't look under that shingle", you could have used "don't fix that leaky bathtub/shower", "don't find the circuit feeding that basement outlet", "don't wonder, why that corner keeps getting mildew". There are a dozen others, and I have asked them all. Now that I have answered all those questions, my house is wonderful, but I've more than doubled its cost.
ReplyDeleteMy lesson learned: Never buy a house unless the previous owner asked those questions. :-)
After hearing from my mom that it sounds like I bought a pretty run down house I guess I feel like I should say that I really love the house. It's got great bones and is in a great neighborhood. Yeah, there's a bunch of stuff that we're doing to it but it's all good. Just can't wait to spend the first night in it!
ReplyDeleteAren't you in the Boston area? Apply to This Old House!
ReplyDeleteMy brother-in-law and my sister bought a place that they're planning to fix up. I think 'home improvement' is cool if you're into that kind of stuff, and willing to do the work.
ReplyDeleteIt's very rewarding and comforting to know your house inside and out. And at this point I know every nook and cranny! Just put up insulation tonight. Fun!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, good luck on that SAM! To me, these things always seemed laborious and a 'chore' to do, like taking out the garbage. But I suppose that's the lazy attitude that most people have. It is indeed a good skill to have, being self-sufficient and not depending on others.
ReplyDeleteBe careful that while you're remodeling, that you don't make more of a remodeling task. Was up in the attic and accidentally slipped and put my foot through the ceiling. Had to fix the ceiling of its foot-sized when I shouldn't have had to...
ReplyDeleteWe're taking our time here, enjoying what we already made: new flooring, new painting (missing kitchen doors and ceiling and all the bathroom), new closet doors, knobs, safer electric circuits, new dishwasher...
ReplyDeletePlus what was already there: great pool, nice efficient toilet, heat pump, wood stove...
And we're living with: missing knobs on the kitchen drawers and shelves (waiting for the kitchen painting), deck needing to be sanded and varnished, missing floor frames, missing frames for switches and outlets, double doors to the bedroom that are too big for their frame (won't completely close)...