Help! Haven't started, over budget and want this $$sink!
sanjuangirl
11 years ago
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heidihausfrau
11 years agobabushka_cat
11 years agoRelated Discussions
WANTED: Help in starting over
Comments (15)Gosh, This is why I fell in love with GW years ago. . . You all are amazing! I canÂt say I really have anything that I desperately want at the moment. I think to start I will be better off sticking to the most tolerant of plants and bulbs since I havenÂt done any soil amendments - compost takes a while to cook LOL. From what IÂve seen so far the lot has both sun and shade and what is looking like a really nice spot for a shade/water garden in the back yard.. The front has mostly sun except for the entry walk, which has BOXWOODS as the only bedding plant with about 6 inches of pine straw. One sickly tree in the middle of the front yard (I promise to post pictures after we move in) My first thought was to extend the front bed with some lilies and maybe some Becky and black eyed Susan. Iris and Glads would be great there too. Then lower with some phlox or other creeper like the Purple Heart maybe ice plant,creeping jenny or even vinca. I promise to work on my trade list this weekend. I just gathered some Crape Myrtle seeds at work but I admit that I am not sure how to sow them or even tell if they are viable. I do have a few well rooted starts of Arrowhead if anyone is interested. Thank you all for the amazing generosity. Cindy...See MoreI haven't had a range in 23 years. Help me pick one
Comments (7)If it were me, and I will be 68 on the 14th, I would either keep that cooktop or buy a new induction cooktop. We have a speed oven that is at eye level and I sure don't miss bending down to put things in the old oven we had that was part of a range. We did buy a 30" below the counter Elux Icon oven/convection oven The big viewing window in it and the fully gliding out shelves make it easy to use even thou it is below the counter but were we doing the kitchen now, I would probably find a wall space for it-----just in case "Giezerhood is not good to us!!! At any rate , if you must have a range, I would certainly go with an induction range, there is no way the wife or I would go back to a conventional electric cooktop or range, and for the reasons you mentioned, Ease of cleaning, the controllabilty of the cooking---not to mention the speed or the energy savings over a conventional electric cooktop. Good luck with your pending purchases!! Gary...See MoreHaven't started yet people - Check in here; How's it going
Comments (50)This is where I am at, DH seeÂs us remodeling kitchen in three or more years and I see us remodeling our kitchen in the next year or earlier. So, Right now I am more in the process of elimination as far as cabinet brands go. Many earlier brands have been eliminated due to size issues as in I want and need deeper and taller wall cabinets and prefer little to no fillers. Also, cost has been a big factor. I have a basic idea of layout but need help in changing the nook area and windows. Some appliances will be reused but we will replace refrigerator with the kichenaid 42" built-in French door paneled and replace the microwave with the adventium. I have the countertop narrowed down to three or four and know exactly what I want for the backsplash, still unsure of wall splash behind stove though. The kitchen sink has been narrowed down to two choices and cab hardware to three. I know what I want for lighting but havenÂt found exactly the right one, I will know it when I see it. Still tossing around the idea of wood range hood verses stainless. The doors of my dreams are simple $$$applied moulding but with most likely end up with nice raised panel for style of home. Husband thinks I spend way too much time thinking of and planning for the kitchen....See MoreFirst house remodel, room by room, start with $14K budget, help
Comments (20)Well congratulations on your new home! And welcome to the money pit, er, I mean, home ownership club! I didn't see where you indicated what part of the country you live in. I live in Florida so my priorities might not match yours if you live in a cold part of the country. Generally speaking, my advice is to spend the "hard money" first no matter where you live. The "hard money" is what you spend to protect your investment that doesn't necessarily have any impact on aesthetics. Address structural and infrastructure issues first how is the roof, the foundation, the plumbing, the electricity, heating and cooling systems, windows, doors, floors and walls? It makes no sense to take down a nasty popcorn ceiling and make it beautiful only to have a roof leak ruin it and have to do it again. Likewise I wouldn't get hardwood floors refinished until I knew that my floor joists were sound. So spend the money that seems to go toward invisible things first  this is a major investment in your peace of mind and will help you to avoid spending any money twice. If you didn't have a home inspection before you bought your house, do it now. We bought our house "as-is" from an estate knowing that the seller wasn't going to do any repairs, but we paid for a home inspection to help us prioritize the work that needed to be done and spot things that we might not notice. A good home inspection is worth the money. In the last year, I put on a new metal roof (energy savings and hurricane protection), and all new impact resistant doors and windows (again with the energy savings and hurricane preparedness). The inside is a mess (exposed concrete slab, kitchen remodel in progress, ceiling patches from previous water intrusion). All of my new windows went in with virtually NO damage inside. I did have to touch up the paint job to the outside that was done in March. The new doors were quite another story. But, hey, now that you are a homeowner, you are quickly going to become intimately acquainted with drywall spackle and a putty knife and paint and brush. You can perform minor magic with paint and spackle. That's easy and fairly cheap. Your kid decides to see if a cutting board will fly like a frisbee? Spackle and paint. Fido decides to chew the corner off the wall because you left him at home alone while you went to work? Spackle and paint will fix that, too. Make sure you get enough paint to have some left over when you are done! It comes in handy. When it comes to doing work that is cosmetic, I'd advise you to start at the top and work your way down. If you can get ceiling work  texture and paint  done before moving in, your life will be simpler. Except maybe for carpeting. I have asthma and allergies. Why we didn't pull out the carpeting when we first moved in is beyond me. We've been living with the naked concrete slab for almost a year. Yes, it is ugly. Yes, it spawns dirt moments after it is swept. But I haven't had a asthma attack in a LONG time. Your mileage may vary. You can save a lot of money by being flexible and shopping online. If you "get married" to one specific thing, then you lose options to save money. For example, I knew I wanted a single-lever faucet with a non-polished, white metal finish. I looked at the prices for good brands in person and then I looked to see what I could find online. I found a brushed chrome Price-Pfister single-lever bathroom faucet on eBay for $25; the seller was one I've seen favorably mentioned here. I wouldn't spend over $100 for that faucet, but for $25, I'll pay $10 for shipping, and maybe have to bid on more than one auction to get the minimum bid price. I ended up getting two of them at the minimum bid price in about 24 hours. I didn't get to combine the shipping cost, but I still saved a bundle. Check your local Habitat for Humanity. Mine has a resale store where you can buy building materials for a fraction of retail. I haven't bee there yet  it's probably like thrift store shopping  you never know what you'll find. I was at Blowes today and found fancy white vitreous china bathroom sinks marked down to $19.50 (discontinued item). I don't need a fancy one, but I want white. I can live with the fancy one! My home is not architecturally distinctive in any way, but there is an architectural salvage place not far from here that is chock full of goodies, from door knobs and chandeliers to kitchen cabinets and doors. You can also pick up some good deals by watching Craig's List for your area. Examine everything carefully and use common sense  don't go to a stranger's home to buy something by yourself. Some people have said some very harsh, judgmental things to you. I hope that you will ignore them. I haven't heard you say that your objective in life is to sit in front of the tv and I don't think that it's unreasonable to want ONE orderly space to retreat to. It's not realistic to expect that you will feel like spending EVERY waking moment at work or working on your house. You will need to take breaks and PLAN on down time if you are going to live in your house while you work on it. Otherwise life becomes pretty miserable pretty quickly. You can do this if you want it. Lets face it, you have to live somewhere. You will need to make a priority list that fits YOUR needs. That list can and will change when things happen. Since I moved into this house five years ago, the AC died and had to be replaced ($5K), the power supply to the house died and had to be replaced ($1.5K), my 16 year old dog, 82 year old father in law and 40 year old niece died and can never be replaced at any cost. So I probably spent some time in front of the tv when I "should have" been painting a wall. Don't apologize for wanting some comfort in your life. Best of luck to you. B...See Moreweissman
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