For this price, should I hire or DIY paint kitchen cabinets?
rubyhouse1021
14 years ago
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Shannon01
14 years agoRelated Discussions
Should I hire an estate sale company or auction company?
Comments (25)I see this posting is now 3 years old however it is still coming up quite high on google rankings so I'll throw my two cents in. I own an estate sale company in Long Island, New York. Henry Laurent Estate Sales. I'm happy that you were able to post your concerns and then follow up with the results. As one poster said you usually read the question - which rarely paints us in a good light - and never hear the outcome. If people stumble upon this post in the future there are some things to keep in mind. Companies should provide you an itemized list. Always. My staff will write "Sheet $1". It is the only way to accurately account for every dollar in and every item out. Also we always have questions of " how much did xyz sell for?". It could have only been a $10 item but it was sentimental so they are curious. Secondly, for a normal household mixed with small and furniture the average sale is around $6k - $10k for a 2 day sale. Lower end for higher amount of smalls, high end with several nice pieces of furniture, jewelry (over $500 a piece). 35% is just around the national average right now and is what we charge. About 80% of that spent towards advertising. While one poster said that you should do it yourself because Craigslist is free ... that is true but only one site out of the 12 that we use and I'm sure others do as well. Out of the 12, 3 are free the others are subscription based with additional fees to highlight or bump your sale to the top spot. Local papers also cost around $300 - $1,000 for a proper 7 day run depending on amount of lines, bolding, placement ..etc. Finally, there is always the concern that we will under price things. Believe me we put the price at the high end of estate sale prices because we know that there will be haggling and bundling. We also know what the market will bare. While chairs might be selling on ebay for $300, it doesn't mean they sold for $300. You are seeing them because they are still available. Average dining room and bedroom sets go for around $500. All in all I'm happy that you posted and that you had a good experience. A good review for one estate sale company is always good for the industry....See MoreBad Tile Job? Should I hire this guy again?
Comments (32)"Of course not and I don't think anyone suggested that you should. Are these the same people who went to school for three years to learn their trade? " No. These were people in the US. My point is that I see work done here in my house that is so far off (literally) that it wouldn't even occur to me beforehand to spell it out in a contract (like, no crooked outlets, not painting the windows shut, etc.). In contrast, a trained crafts person, whether trained in a three-year vocational program or by years on the job, won't deliver something like that because (a) they probably can't even do such a subpar job and (b) know what the minimum standard of work is. I think my point is that I am justified to expect straight and even grout lines, without having to specify this. If the tile choice or walls or whatever make this impossible, I would expect a tiler to tell me that ahead of time and offer possible solutions, which I then can follow or not. My other experience is also that once you've eliminated the obviously fly-by-night outfits, the price is not necessarily an indicator of how good the work will be. However, this is veering off into a different discussion. The OPs tile job, while not perfect, is way better than the tile job in my house....See MoreShould I hire a home inspector? X Post on manufactured homes
Comments (15)Wow, Mary, I'm so sorry that happened to you! I think I read about your problems over on the manufactured homes forum, or was that someone else? My ex and I bought a stick built house in 1988 in Sacramento. A home inspection was, of course, required. A couple of weeks after we moved in, I happened to be in the backyard while hubby was showering. I looked over and saw water just gushing from the window sill and coming down the exterior of the house like a waterfall. It cost a little over $10,000 to fix, and was only that little because our new neighbor loved fixing things and had every power tool known to humankind, lol. It took a month of weekends for hubby and neighbor to fix it. We sued the home inspector and recouped all our costs plus punitive damages, which we split with neighbor guy. Good thing ex is an attorney! :-) Thanks for the advice, Chris. It looks like ~$300 is the going price, and in the grand scheme of things, I think it's worth it if, as Steph recommends, I find someone with experience in manufactured homes. In this case, the inspector doesn't have to please any realtors, sellers, or buyers. Since I've already bought the house, lived in it as a houseguest with my friends for the entire month of September, and know everything my friends know about the house, I can be very specific about what I want her to look for. As Chris said, it will be helpful for prioritizing. I'm hoping to refurbish the entire house top to bottom. I have an eight to ten year plan. I love a good ten year project! I started going back to college in 2007 and hope to graduate with my PhD in 2017--a ten year project, haha! (I'll have had 13 years of higher education! You'd think I'd know something by now, haha!) I have a list of what I think are priorities, and rough estimates of what everything will cost. My first project, next September, will be an asphalt driveway and carport. Because of my mobility disability and the necessity of using a walker, and because I can't get soaking wet entering/exiting my home and car, a dry, smooth surface and dry carport is a necessity before next winter. I'm going to replace all the electrical wiring and plumbing regardless of current condition, only because they're original to the house and will need upgrading at some point anyway. I'm also redoing all the floors because they're hideous, lol, so while I'm at it, I'll do all new floor insulation. There are no leaks, and I had the roof snow coated in October, which is guaranteed for ten years. So a new roof is down lower on the priority list, but still in the ten year plan. I'll blow insulation into the "attic" when I do the roof. The siding and skirting are much newer than the house and are in beautiful condition, so replacing them would be almost last on the list. The gut remodel of the kitchen/living room, major remodel of both bathrooms, and closet systems and cosmetic touch ups of the bedrooms will be in the middle, somewhere after electrical, plumbing, and floors, but before roof and siding. It's a ten year project because I'm paying as I go, in cash, as money becomes available. That's MY plan. I want the home inspector to tell me if my priorities are right or if I need to do something sooner rather than later. The yard will be an ongoing project. I've figured out how to do an aesthetically pleasing yard using various kinds of rocks, drought resistant plants, and ornamental grasses, for very, very little money and very low maintenance....See MoreShould I paint kitchen cabinets navy blue?
Comments (35)I know this is late to the party, but if it were me, I would focus only on inspiration pictures where the homeowner did it as a DIY project on their old cabinets. Too many pictures show brand new perfect inset cabinets with no soffit professionally painted, and that's not at all what you're going to get. If you like a color in a cute cottage someone did themselves then try to figure out in advance what it will really look like. Kind of like if you've ever gone to the salon with a picture of an 18 year old movie star with a pixie cut, and you come out with the exact same cut and it makes you look like a 60 year old. It wasn't the cut you love, it's the face! Well gorgeous brand new cabinets in a 12x15 kitchen with 10 foot ceilings are like the model face. :) As for the color, I vote a pale cream with butcher block....See Morerubyhouse1021
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