There's a reason why land away from city center or base is less expensive....not only do you have to invest time to get to and fro, but you have commuting costs including fuel and wear and tear on the vehicle. So what you are seeing as a cost trade-off, really isn't so much of one. I think it's laudable to want to save and invest now for the future, but as many people recently learned, real estate isn't always the "guaranteed" increased return that it once was....you may buy a hunk of land only to find the base is closed and the value drops like a rock or whatever. Or you may find yourself stuck with a piece of land that is nowhere near where you want to end up and be unable to sell it....esp if it's an hour away from base. There's so much housing available on the market right now that, if you really want to buy and start small, consider a foreclosure...a lot of them go for a song because they are in such rough shape and you can build and remodel as you have more money...and a lot of the work is already done for you in terms of permitting, sewage, electrical hookups etc. Whatever sweat equity you put in the place will most likely come back to you when you PCS.

Thank you so very much for your inputs. Except for Monicakm, central AC is rather low on the ranking, which really surprised me. Meeting with contractor to get a realistic price for putting in a dormer on garage attic, before doing the roof. Will make decision on bonus room once I know more about costs. So it seems like it's definitely master bathroom (and master bedroom make over) is next on the project list. I truly do not like the small conventional pre-fab shower stalls, usually 32”x32”. I’m a small person (4’11”) and I feel that is way too small. So I was trying squeeze 10pounds of “wants” into a 5pounds of real estate space. Wanted: - larger shower stall/area - double sink (not that we need it since DH and almost never get ready at the same time, but would be good for resale) - wet area (so I can hose everything down; we used to own a Chinese restaurant and I love being able to hose everything down in the kitchen area) But I have read many many online reviews against small wet-room, how everything gets wet, how you track wet feet in/out of the room, no place to put your clothes, and how many potential buyers would look at the room and would think about how much it would cost to gut the room/renovate it to “fix it”. Well, DH talked me out of the need for double sink, so I get to keep my larger shower. By moving the wall-hung toilet toward the entrance/furthest from the shower, there should be less water/moisture. What do you think of this? - I get my larger shower area: 4’x5’. - The shower floor will be one piece (stone/onyx or solid surface still researching); easier install, no grout/seams, easy to clean. See link for options - A glass wall between the shower and the sink - I don’t want to put another glass wall next to the toilet because I want the toilet area to not feel tight (both areas of my toilets now are pretty snug) - the bedroom is still a decent size 15'x12'. Masterbedroom layout: 2nd floor layout: Would you hate to open the door to seeing this right as you enter? I thought to put the shoes shelves there since the shelvings do not need to be as deep as a wardrobe, so there's more space in the landing area. sink: w32”x20”. I like the lip around so it keeps the water splashing in the sink area, instead of against the grout/wall tile. Yes, my King bed will be in front of 2 windows, and I will do lots of curtains like this: Monicakm: We do put in window air conditioners. Yes, a must have for those crazy humid nights. Yes, I do have to do more research on heat pumps. The HVAC guy who did my radiant floor heating told me about the newer tech ones that goes down to 17degrees (or even lower?). Lotteryticket: Yay on finishing your Mbath. Can you share pictures? I have no clue on the cost yet. Need to find potential bathroom contractors before I set a budget. Our 2-car garage is oversized. With the dormer planned, we would still have 1/3 of the attic for storage. Also have the basement for storage. Weedyacres: I don’t know much about plumbing, but I don’t know how to get plumbing across to put the bathroom on the right side of the room. Where I have the bath planned, it’s a straight shot UP from the basement, through the 1st floor pantry to the masterbedroom. I don’t think we can get the plumbing to cross the hallway from the 2nd floor bathroom (see 2nd picture). LARemodel: My elementary school days were in Pasadena/Glendale area, and I thought most homes have AC, so I was surprised to see your ranking. If we finish the room above the garage, it’ll really be for the kids and their friends/hanging out, and for the additional GLA so it helps when we list the house in the future. Linelle: Yup, just a nice 3rd bathroom so I don’t have to share w/ my future teenagers. Already, my 8yr DD keeps getting into all of my stuff/makeup, etc, that I leave in the vanity and medicine cabinet. Again, thank you very much for sharing your thoughts. Amanda Here is a link that might be useful: link to low curb one-piece shower floor

ok let me RESTATE this possible project..possible.. The plan would be to gain access from the house rather than a muddy outside access under a trap door in our deck under 5 ' of snow in the winter..to our crawl space... ok gain access to the crawlspace being the MAIN idea here. now we have NO acces in the winter other than crawling through mud and snow outside and moving a heck of a lot of stuff to get to the door..and I can't get in there cause i had hip replacemenht done and it won't do the gymnastics you need to get into THAT outside door..period. 2nd..IF we had access to the crawlspce from inside the house..we actually could get there.. IF you go under the beams it is very low..only enough room where you might want to slide something like under bed storage type containers IF you stored them down there..but nothing big. SO IF we do put a trap door in the crawlspace..there will be an area that would be around the steps down or ladder or step stool..that would be about 4' high and about 8' between those low beams wide by however long i wanted to use.. This would be in a far corner of the crawlspace away from any plumbing or works.. it is very dry and very clean..there is no dirt down there .. IF we did this I would put a few shelves against the wall where the beams are not low..and use it for storing paint cans..or some home canned food..this seems kinda logical to me.. and yes people in Michigan do store their vegetables in crawl spaces and root cellars and such..we are kinda backwards here..we would rather have a few bushels of apples actually survive the heat of the house or the freezing of the garage and be able to eat them rather than throw them all out or have to can eveything..potatoes and carrots and onions and cabbage and things are alway stored in cool areas in rural Michigan..us hicks..guess people in the big city don't worry about that as they just go to the store and buy there vegetables..we grow ours..for the winter. Well right now i'm not able to keep produce in my house at all..unless i use up refrig space..and potatoes aren't good kept that cold.. so the little plan was to put a few shelves for some food and a few cans of paint..i wouldn't need them every day..I DO NOT DUMP JUNK ANYWHERE..let alone in a crawl space..i am not a hoarder nor do I collect insignificant things. I would want a set of shelves for the paint cans..one small area for the christmas things (i can see i might need those to access 2 x a year???) and then the one set of shelves right next to the trap door ..for some canned goods that i can at home and some produce.. would i just throw stuff down there willy nilly..no..might i figure out a way to put some camping stuff down there..maybe seeing as how my husband hasn't camped or fished in years but my son occasionally borrows it and he can go get it if he wants it that bad..a small corner about 4x4 in the room down there would suffice for that camping gear..i suppose..not like i'd be filling up the entire area with trash..and maybe I wouldn't even put it down there..but could. am i stupid..nope..have i lived with a wet basement before ..yes.did i ruin anything down there storing it in the wet?? nope..but did store canned goods and produce in the proper areas ..my crawl however is dry as a bone. we are up 4' on a gravel base off of the ground level area around the house and if it ever did flood that would be a real shocker..as it never has gotten wet here. mold is not a consideration here..we have no humidity and no mold..anywhere..too dry maybe..too wet..not. so i just thought I should restate the obvious..i was looking for better access and as long as you can get down there..why not find room for a few things that you don't need taking up space in the house..but you do need..not junk..stuff i would use..not often..but would use..and the food would be easier to access there than in a pit in the ground outside under the snow..root cellar ..etc. I do understand the concern of the persons who have dirt floor crawls or open to critters..or moisture..or mold..and i appreciated everything you said and took it into consideration.. for those of you that have a dry basement..there is really no difference here other than the height of the ceiling..sure it isn't pleasant to have a low ceiling..but i can still get to things that are close to the opening..and my guys could get to the crawl space easier for maintining the underside of the utilities to the house. if you have a basement..do you store things in it?? why would a short basement..be any different than one with 10' ceilings..other than the fact that you can't really stand up..i don't plan on walking around down there..just reaching for a shelf or a handle on a tote..from where the steps would go down..and if i did need to get lower..there is something i could sit on to slide over to something..sure a lot better for all of us than having to crawl through freezing snow, mud and 3 holes to get to the door from the outside..

I just did a vanity using celticmoon's directions and keep meaning to post a picture for everyone! I didn't do the espresso first coat (just two coats of java) to please my husband. He wanted the wood grain to show; I just wanted it to be less dated looking. The java by itself has the slightest reddish undertone, if that is going to bother you, or you want a way darker look, do the espresso coat too. I would seriously consider finding a way to get the General Finishes products vs. Miniwax. I've used both and General Finishes is about a million times better. Very much worth the effort. Their wipe on poly is amazing. I applied the gel stain with a sponge brush and bought a sack of rags at HD to wipe it off. With the spindles you should probably use the sock over gloves idea to apply it just because it would be easier. You will need gloves. The process doesn't take long at all, (except for the drying between steps), but it IS messy. Wear painting clothes! The whole vanity took me about a week worth of lunch breaks- 40 minutes here, a half hour there, and that's with me putting everything away and changing my clothes each day. And while mclarke is right, you will have to sand before you gel stain, you don't have to sand very well and nothing like the full on stripping you'd have to do to refinish. A sponge sander would be a good choice for spindles. I waited about 5 minutes before wiping it off, but I know others don't wait that long at all. I did thicker coats since that was what was in celticmoon's directions- thicker just means you have to wipe up more excess, but you're less likely to need more then just the two coats. You just don't want to wait too long is all as it does start to dry a little. Good luck!