Holy weak coffee, Tisha! Sweetie, I've got to side with the Pirate on this one... wow. I'd be clutching my head in caffeine withdrawal after coffee like that. But then I use those one-or-two cup stove-top espresso makers for my morning jolt. Other end of a caffeine addict's spectrum. Ming, the difference in taste might be due more to the brewing method than to incompetency on your part :) Most coffee joints percolate coffee (rather than drip or press), and that gives coffee a richer flavour. You can invest in a percolator, but those tend to be pretty pricy. I've found that the best way to mimic that perc-ed taste is to make my coffee in a stove-top espresso maker (they're little silver thingies, and run about $20), and to use a rich, full-bodied (but not acidic) bean - Sumatran or a French Roast of almost any bean are favourites, but I've also found most Ethiopian coffees work well, too. If you go to a health food store, you'll probably find descriptions of the various types of coffee on the bin, so you can avoid anything acidic, and look for descriptions like "full-bodied," "rich blend," etc. Also a lot of "breakfast blends" tend to be rich, without being overwhelming. You can't use cold water for a french press - too bad for that, I say, since icy coffee is so yummifying in the summer, and the wait time for coffee to cool is such a hassle! But you CAN add cinnamon to your coffee - just add a teaspoon or less to the ground beans when you go to make a pot. It'll change the taste, of course, and if you don't like cinnamon or are a coffee purist, then this tip is not for you. But I find that cinnamon adds depth to what might otherwise be a pretty lackluster coffee - you know, old and stale or bitter beans... that kind of thing. Good luck with your coffee experimentation! It's kind of fun, eh? Oh yeah! Sometimes, the cream you use can alter the taste of your coffee! If my cream isn't fresh, even if it hasn't ~really~ gone bad yet, then my coffee tastes SO bitter. Shelly

Kathy, I can't begin to tell you how much we have in common! This is my second ground-up build; the first time, my contractor was a very nice guy, but had a major medical event w/his son and basically checked out on me. Luckily I am in a small town where you get to know the guys who have the best reputations in their respective fields, so I had a good relationship already w/my carpenter and my painter, and together they literally helped me finish my house. This time, I was very excited about hiring a real builder, because the stress and sheer time involved in research ( I LIVED on these forums!), purchasing, etc. last time was almost too much. Our GC is a friend, but I also respect his approach to construction ... case in point: most builders in our area like to put on a show of being the boss and rarely want to get their hands dirty; my GC is very hands-on, willing to pick up tools or even a push broom, and I love him for it. After what I've read, I'm very curious about your financial agreement w/this guy. Some builders around here are cost plus, some are flat fee (yes, one guy will build your house for $10K, no matter the size or style, but gets kickbacks from his subs - and squeezes in a bunch of houses in a year), and I'm sure there are other arrangements. We signed a contract w/our builder: after going over the plans, we talked about the level of quality we would want, and he helped us put together a rough budget. After showing us what he thought he could build our house for, we agreed on a flat fee - which came to a little less than 10% of the projected cost. If (when) we went over that number, it would be because of decisions I made and he didn't plan to make money on those. And if those decisions cost me a lot of time and research, that was my choice. I could invest time and save money in the areas I chose, or I could leave decisions and purchasing in his hands and pay the bills when he brought me receipts. We made sure he understood that I'm a very involved homeowner, but I still don't think he'd worked w/anyone who is quite as aggressive as I am about looking for online prices, and buying the things that would save me money in the end. For instance: we wanted the Kohler in-ceiling square shower fixture - the one w/four separate squares of 54 holes? Upon hearing that, he said, "I'll check w/Ardmore Plumbing Supply - they'll probably have to order it, so I'll get an estimated date if you want to start picking out trim for your master shower." Of course, I asked him to get me their price before he ordered through them. I knew I could get the shower for about $460 online; the local store wanted $700+ for the same. Our builder was genuinely surprised when I told him the difference and understood completely why I wanted to order it myself. That Kohler purchase set the tone for the rest of our build so far. He has been great about keeping me abreast of what kinds of things will be needed and when: when the time came to buy lighting, it never occurred to either of us that my desire to go online for great lighting deals should mean it was then my responsibility to buy ALL the lighting - recessed cans/shower lights/fluorescents (sp?) for closets, etc. There aren't many style choices to be made on those pieces of lighting, so he thoughtfully made me a list of lighting he thought I'd want to purchase. I went to Lumens.com - since they don't charge sales tax or shipping charges - and ordered all my bath vanity lighting and ceiling fans while he handled the rest. We found a way to work together that worked for us; as the GC, he took full responsibility for all hiring, scheduling, coordination of subs, measuring and purchasing anything that I didn't speak up to say, "I want to buy this myself." He and his tile guy got a tape, a pad and a pencil, and measured everything for wood flooring and tile - then let me tell him that I'd be getting all the tile, but he should feel free to order the wood flooring from the guy who would be laying it. As on any other project, his first reponsibility is staying on top of the zillion things that have to come together on any construction project. In my opinion, purchasing "visible items", as you said, is a small job compared to what a true GC does. VERY long story short: your GC probably is a nice guy, but he's gotten very comfortable doing things a certain way. An involved homeowner can sometimes be a pain in the *ss, I'm sure, and I can only imagine how much easier it is to work for someone who hands over plans/materials requirements/inspirational photos, and then comes back to the finished product to write checks. But based on my experience, a Contractor who wants to do a quality job and leave a satisfied customer behind is willing to adapt to the needs of that customer, while still offering as much support as possible in the areas that CLEARLY fall under his jurisdiction. Sounds like you need to have a "come to Jesus meeting", as we say here, w/your husband and GC where you state what you plan to do in the process of your reno and what you expect out of your Contractor. If that meeting ends on a positive note, good for you. If not, then - as has already been said - how fortunate you found out now that he isn't a good fit! I wish you all the luck in the world.

I am in exactly the same place with my red oak floors :( my floors look just as orange as in the pictures... and the variations and wood grain are much more pronounced than I wanted. I have the flooring company coming in on Monday to put down the third coat of poly - do I have any options at this point? Or just a matter of it mattering less once I get more used to the new color...? I had this same level of shock and discomfort with my wall color (had to leave my apartment for the evening just to soothe myself!), but once they sanded the floors - I realized I loved the wall color, just that my old floor finish was clashing with it. Now after staining the floor - I am back to feeling they really clash... and I really wish I had just opted for no stain and a natural finish instead... I’d take that look over what I now have any day. At least - that’s how it feels right now. To the original poster - @lacollar - (or anyone else with a similar experience) - did you eventually get used to (or even fall in love with?! :)) your floors... even though at first it felt like the choice of stain color was a huge mistake? Has anyone tried tinting the final coat to tone down the orange/reds? Does that work? Appreciate any help/advice. Thank you all!

Kitchen remodels can cost from 10-15K for a budget refreshment of your old kitchen while keeping much of the old elements. Some people would think that a tiny budget, as they spend more than that on their range. A midgrade remodel is 30-50K, and that's not including anything beyond replacement of existing elements and minor plumbing and electrical. For some, that could be a cabinet budget, or it could be their whole kitchen, family room, and dining room remodel, with them doing all of the work themselves. A upper end remodel can start at 50K and the sky's the limit if luxury appliances and designer cabinets are involved. In NY or SF, 50K wouldn't be an upper end anything, because of labor costs. You need to develop a budget based on your location, your home's value, and your needs and wants. If you are planning a Le Cornue range and SubZero fridge with Home Depot stock off the shelf thermofoil cabinets in a working class neighborhood of starter homes, then you know you're picking choices that are out of whack with your environment.It would be the same if you lived in a DC suburb where senators and embassy personnel lived and you were planning a kitchen with a $300 Magic Chef range and a GE top freezer. What you're planning has to fit you and your neighborhood. You also need a nice contingency fund of between 10-30% of your total kitchen budget. A budget is a movable object, but it only moves upward. You start out saying you want to spend 30K only to find out that your electrical service is too small to handle the demands of a modern kitchen. You just added 5K to the budget, on top of the 3K electrical estimate you already had. It's the same with plumbing and other hidden elements, such as improper support in a load bearing wall. No one ever comes in under budget on the essential trades. It's very dangerous going into a remodel without enough money to complete it. You're thinking pretty cabinets and countertops, and your home is thinking that the 50 year old plumbing is about to need replaced. If you don't have a good sized contingency fund, you may end up with your home being uninhabitable and living at your mothers for 6 months while you save up more money to deal with the issues that cropped up. I know someone that this actually happened to. She thought she could do a whole kitchen on 15K, but without any DIY skills and a champagne taste. Reality wasn't her strong suit. Taking down the wall between the kitchen and dining room turned into a plumbing replacement and foundation repairs, and she didn't have enough money for even those issues. She couldn't live in the house with no usable plumbing, so she moved to her mom's while the foundation work was being completed. She still hasn't done her kitchen. Too many other home needs have cropped up in the meantime including the replacement of her HVAC system. She did paint her old cabinets, and that made a big difference, but it's not the kitchen she dreamed of having. Map out your plans carefully, and learn some DIY skills if you want to stretch your budget. But NEVER start a project without the exact knowledge of where the funding is coming from to complete it.