Finding Treasures

I love the thrill of the hunt -- bargain hunting, that is! There is nothing quite like knowing exactly what you want for a room/area and then, sometimes months later, finding an item that exactly fits the bill, at an inexpensive cost.

One of my secret pleasures is looking up houses online that are for sale and have the same floor plan as our house. I like to see the pictures and look at what changes they have made. Sometimes I get great ideas on how to remodel or decorate my house. Occasionally, we'll go to open houses, just to see the decor. On one of these outings, I saw that the owners had updated the upstairs deck by replacing the ugly overhead bulbs with great looking ceiling fans. I fell in love with the look and started my hunt.

Unfortunately, indoor/outdoor fans in the style (closed light fixture) and color (oil rubbed bronze) that I wanted were running for over $150 each. I couldn't justify paying that sort of money for something that was mostly a cosmetic update in an area we did not use often. However, the other day I finally found exactly what I wanted and, with our military discount at Home Depot, each fan was only $50!

Mike put them up for me over the weekend and they look terrific. However, then I noticed that the paint and some of the texturizing on the ceiling of the deck was peeling -- and it stood out like a sore thumb now that we had pretty fixtures! So -- another project is in the works. I spent the afternoon scraping off the loose paint and texture, and putting up new tape on the seams of the drywall ceiling. I'm going to mud the seams again tonight, and then I'll be able to texturize before the weekend (and I can spend the weekend painting the ceiling). We already picked up some outdoor furniture for next to nothing (90% off at Target a few years ago), so when we are finished, that area should be a pretty, relaxing area to enjoy a drink in the afternoons and evenings while taking in the great view of the valley and mountains.

Pictures soon to come!

The Master Bathroom

I've been trying to get around to posting pictures of the finished master bathroom (I've actually been showering in there for more than a week now!), but as usual, life gets in the way. I've got to make this post short, as I have to get to work this morning -- but here are some before and after pictures for you!

BEFORE - tub area. Note the small, high window:





AFTER - tub area. We put in a great new window that lets us see the terrific view of the valley and mountains:





BEFORE - The vanity area. Outdated, too large, and in disrepair:





AFTER - We like it much better. The vanity was more than 50% off online and note our Craigslist $25 mirror/lights:



BEFORE: Shower, complete with the horrible grout job and outdated tile. We never showered here because of a leak we discovered after purchase.





AFTER - Shower area. We did all of our own tiling on this job with Italian porcelin tile that had been discontinued, so we got a great savings. Mike is ridiculously happy about the body sprays in the shower.





You can see the old medicine chest in the before vanity area pictures. We opted to relocate it and create something unique. From the exterior, it just looks like artwork:



But if you know what it is, you can open it up for storage! We had a lot of fun with this project and saved a ton by designing and constructing it ourselves (we did buy the artwork at 50% off at a local hobby store):



I haven't done the final financial tally on the master bathroom remodel -- however, it about $10,000 overall. The quotes we received from two remodeling companies in town were between $25,000 and $40,000 -- so we're very happy with the sweat equity we will receive from this job (not to mention that it is SO much more pleasant and functional to use!)

The New Guest Room

Since daughter Cherron has moved into her own place, her former bedroom has been empty. I wanted to turn it into a guest bedroom so we had a proper place to put family and friends when they visited -- but with the job situation being what it is, we didn't have a big budget. However, since when do you have to pay a fortune to get a really great look?

I knew I needed all of the furniture, artwork, and accessories. The only thing I already owned was a television and the window coverings that Cherron left behind. The paint was a pretty color, but there was some damage in a few places on the wall. Luckily, Cherron had purchased a quart of new paint to add to the paint we had leftover, as she had wanted to paint the bedroom in her new place the same color. She was kind enough to give me the remainder of that paint to use to touch up the walls in the new guest room.

I became a Craigslist stalker (in a good way -- looking for anything at a great price that might work for me). I was able to purchase the queen size bed and boxsprings, bedroom furniture, and some artwork in this manner. I visited garage sales and picked up a lamp and shopped thrift stores to find the shade and some accessories. I used 50% off coupons at hobby stores for some additional artwork and accessories, and I got all of the bedding on sale. I purchased some fabric (with a 50% off coupon, of course) and I used it to make the accent pillows. I bought a few forms at thrift stores and for the rest, I used old king size pillows we no longer used, cut down to size. The bedroom furniture was in rough shape, so I filled the dings with wood filler, sanded, and painted. I also had to find two finials to go on the footboard, as the originals were missing. I picked up some at the hobby store that were on sale for 66% off and painted them to match. On the nightstands, I tiled the tops to make them more durable and to give them a really great and unique look.

After I touched up the paint on the walls, I found that the new paint was just a tad darker than the old (or the old paint had faded a bit). You could see the blotches on the wall where I touched up -- so I bought some glaze, added it to some of the paint, lightened it up just a bit with some cream color paint I had, and then I did a faux finish on the walls with a sea sponge. The results were great!

Here's where the money went, the total cost, and pictures of the result.

Queen size bed and boxsprings: $80 (from Craigslist)
Four post bed and two nightstands: $40 (from Craigslist)
Finials for bed footboard: $15 (66% off at craft store)
Molding and tile for nightstands: Free (leftover from other jobs)
Paint for bedroom furniture: $30
Paint for bedroom walls: Free (from Cherron)
Glaze & supplies for painting bedroom walls: $30
Candle holders on nightstand: $8 (50% off at craft store and one from thrift store)
Lamp: $4 at garage sale
Lampshade: $4 at thrift store
Bedding (comforter & sheet set, mattress cover and mattress pad): $65 (on sale at various stores)
Bed skirt: $2 at thrift store
Pillow forms: $6 at thrift store and the rest free from old pillows
Accent pillow fabric/thread: $15 (using 40% off coupon at fabric store)
Large flower artwork: $20 (50% off at craft store)
Small flower pictures: $20 (from Craigslist)
Small mirror and hooks: $12 (thrift store and Target)
Floral arrangement: $15 (using coupons and sales at craft store)
Magazine basket: $7 (70% off at craft store)

The grand total: $373

I am still checking Craigslist often, as I would like a small chest or armoir to put inside the closet. That way, there will be storage, as well as a place to put a television (and guests can just open one closet door to watch television from the bed). I don't want to pay more than $25 for this -- so with paint (if needed), I may need to spend another $35 or so. However, I'm so pleased to get this beautiful, comfortable room for around $400! I think it would be easy to spend 10 times that much to get the same look!

Happenings

Spring is already summer and the kids are out of school! There has been no news on the job front for Mike -- not even one interview! We discussed it and decided that, since pickings are so slim, that this would be the perfect time for him to finish up his BA at college. He only has two semesters to go and while we will have to tap into savings to pay for some of it, we feel it is a good investment, as it may help him to get a job. So, he signed up to take two general education courses (English and biology) at the local community college, as well as an online class through the Southern Illinois University (which is where he is getting his degree). In the fall, he will take three courses at either the community college or university here in town and one more online class and he should be done! Of course, if he gets a job in the meantime, he can always drop the school and finish it later.

We had a bit of a setback with the master bathroom. As Mike was attaching the fixtures in the shower, he found that one pipe was loose. Turns out, the plumbers had not secured it correctly, and we first had to take out a tile (so the plumber could look and confirm this) and then go in through the back wall (Mike's closet) and fix the problem. I thought I was finished with drywall dust for awhile :( However, at least the problem is fixed now and hopefully the last fixture will go in this weekend. We are then FINISHED!! Of course, I'm already planning the next job. The kid's bathroom is in horrible shape. We learned (when we demolished the master bathroom) that the builders tiled right onto normal drywall -- and that is not acceptable. The grout in the kid's bathroom is cracking and we know the wall behind it is in bad shape. Since the tile we used in our bathroom was being discontinued and dropped to a ridiculously low price, we went ahead and purchased enough to re-tile the kid's bathtub surround and the bathroom floor. I'm going to be making a large mosaic from all of our many leftovers and that will be the focal point for that bathroom. I enjoy that type of work, as its an outlet for my creative side (plus, it really gives you a sense of satisfaction when you do a nice job).

Now I just need to find the time/energy to start on that project :)

Time Really Flies!

I can't believe I haven't posted for over a month! Things have been steadily crazy for the past several weeks. Mike still has not found work, but he has been working very hard every day on the bathroom remodel, as well as other tasks around the house. I so appreciate that he has been doing most of the cleaning and has dinner ready most days when I get home from work.

Work -- well, that has been interesting to say the least. I'm so grateful that my supervisor decided to give me 40 hours each week for the month of April. I don't spend all of my time in the OB/GYN office where I normally was working. Instead, she flexes me out to where the need is -- usually at the main registration desk for the pediatric and family practice clinic. While I usually keep busy while working anywhere, it is a different kind of busy at the registration desk -- just a constant flow of new patients ready to check in. There has been some drama in the OB/GYN office, with some people feeling resentful that I've been working primarily in the new suite with the new doctor. Apparently, they believe that I sit over there and just twiddle my thumbs or surf the internet and there was a lot of complaining and griping going on. One of the girls even emailed me to chastise me for how I spent my day, basing her opinion on incorrect assumptions and the griping of others. She went so far as to accuse me of not clocking out for lunch and of leaving early -- both of which were not true. After simmering for most of the afternoon, I calmed down and wrote a response, letting her know exactly how all of her assumptions were inaccurate and asking her why she just didn't ask me if she had a question as to how I spent my day. I also let her know I was copying the supervisors on the email, as I did not want them to get inaccurate information about me from her or anyone else.

I spoke to my supervisor about the situation the next day and was very relieved when she told me that they could not be more happy with my work and that I should not let any of my co-workers bring me down. Apparently there are some ongoing issues with the OB/GYN department that I was unaware of (most with this particular co-worker) and we later had a meeting about those issues. At first, my co-workers expressed their resentment at the fact that I alone worked in the other suite -- but when I agreed to their suggestion that we rotate (as I felt that way they would all see exactly what work needed to be done over there), they suddenly changed their minds and decided that the whole situation was caused because of stress, as they do not always have me or the other temp worker (when we are flexed out) and are always feeling behind. The supervisor agreed to a suggestion that one girl in the office help with the scheduling so that they would always have sufficient help -- and I insisted that the other temp needed to work in the other suite, as I would not always be there -- so now we alternate. We'll see if that helps the situation. However, it was sad -- because I really enjoyed my job and the people I worked with -- but to learn that people were talking behind my back, criticizing my work unjustly, and making untrue allegations about my ethics and work habits really hurt my feelings. I don't feel that I can really trust any of my co-workers anymore and I do not look forward to my days at the OB/GYN office anymore. At this point, I'm mulling over some other options, including applying for some other positions which would pay a bit less, but would move me to a more autonomous position away from the OB/GYN office.

The bathroom STILL is not finished -- but every day it looks better and better. My parents came to visit the third week in March and I took nearly a full week off work to help Mike to get a lot of tasks accomplished before they arrived. We were able to tile the floor and tub surround, install the vanity and toilet, and put up the mirror/lights, towel rods, etc. We can now actually use the bathroom! The shower is the last thing to do -- and we are tiling it now (it should be done by the end of the week if things go as planned). We had wanted a frameless glass shower enclosure, but we may not be able to afford that right away with Mike's current situation, so we'll just get a shower rod and curtain for the time being. It will be so nice to be able to shower in our bathroom (for the first time since we moved into the house!). I'll be sure to post before and after pictures.

Painting and nursing

My son Jonathon missed four days of school last week due to a stomach virus. Mike tended to him, as I was at work most of the time. Kristina came home mid-week from college for a long weekend and spent a day helping Jonathon with some math homework. Now both husband and daughter have the same illness -- just in time for the weekend (when we planned to get quite a bit of work done). I had something similar about three weeks ago, so I'm hoping that it hasn't mutated enough to reinfect me, but I am washing my hands like a maniac and spraying Lysol liberally on doorknobs, handles, remotes, keyboards, and other common items. Now, more than ever, it's important that I stay well, as if I don't work, we don't get that pay.

The drywall guy finished today. He was incredibly slow, but did a really great job! I was able to prime and paint a few of the smaller areas today and then move furniture back to where it was suppose to go (with the help of my son, who is fully recovered). I'm hoping my husband feels well enough tomorrow to do a few things like reattaching some baseboard that we had to remove so I can put my office back in order. I haven't painted for some time and I had forgotten what a satisfying job it is -- giving immediate gratification for a job well done. Tomorrow I plan to prime and paint the larger areas, including the downstairs bathroom, a large under the stairs storage area, and the garage. It will be so nice to get the bathroom vanity back into place and out of the middle of my living room!

The plumbers are coming to finish the master bathroom plumbing on Monday. The quote they provided was very reasonable, so I was thankful. I'm hoping that they can finish that job in a day or so, and then we can get on with putting that bathroom together. I was talking to my mom the other day and she was worried about the stress my husband's unemployment might be putting on the family. I told her that while we weren't happy about it and, of course we worried about money now more than ever, the greatest stress in my life just now is the chaos my house is in due to the construction and remodel. Once everything is done, I think I'll have a real sense of peace.

One nice benefit to the chaos is that we are sorting through our belongings as we put things back -- culling out anything we do not need or want any more. I'll try to sell them online for some extra cash and, what does sell, we'll donate. One of my resolutions is to be much better at keeping records of those types of things, so that when tax time rolls around next year, I can take all of the deductions I should.

Well, I've got to squeeze a bit more painting in before bedtime. I'm feeling a sense of urgency to get as much done as possible -- just in case the dreaded stomach virus hits me again (but I'm praying that doesn't happen. I just HATE being sick!).

Some Days Are Better Than Others

Last week Mike was informed that the purchase of his company will not go through after all. Apparently, the delay in financing was just too much and the senior stockholders in the company demanded that the company refile for Chapter 7 and be liquidated instead of saved. So, Mike is officially unemployed at this point.

We had a tough few days as we attempted to process the information. While we always knew logically that this could happen, we always felt that the company would be saved (and thus were in some denial about the possibility of unemployment). Of course, this happened in the middle of the re-plumb of the house and remodel of the master bathroom.

I'm happy to say that the re-plumb went fairly well, passed the city inspection, and now we're just waiting for their drywall guy to patch up all the holes. What wasn't so great was that when we did the initial quote/walk-through with the owner of the plumbing company, he indicated verbally that most of our master bathroom plumbing (for the remodel) would be no extra charge, as they would already be doing plumbing in that area. However, once the re-plumb started, he indicated that the two jobs were to be entirely separate (due to the class action claim), and he would give us a quote for the master bathroom when the re-plumb was done. That is supposed to happen today -- so I'm crossing my fingers he is a man of his word and that no outlandish fee is quoted, as we just can't afford another huge cost just now (we had to spend $2000 of our own money to hire this particular company, as opposed to the company the class action people usually use (we were not impressed at all with them), to use the materials that every plumber we talked to recommended (instead of the materials included in the class action claim) and to continue the re-plumb to the street so that we would not have a possibility of future leaks under the slab (which is an expensive problem with the substandard pipes).

We spent the weekend productively, doing taxes to figure exactly how much we owed and making a spreadsheet of our finances, including current income, money that is expected in soon, unusual expenses (like the bathroom remodeling costs and taxes), and a regular monthly budget. It made us feel a lot better to see that we'll still have some savings left after our unusual expenses and that we'll be bringing in enough to live on if we are careful with our spending.

Mike was able to get into the dentist for his cleaning before the benefits expired at the end of the month (the kids and I were just in last month). Our health insurance continues, as it is military and not through his work. We were also informed by the company (two days before the end of the month) that we had to use up any money in our FlexPay account by 2/28, or loose it. So, we had to go on an unexpected shopping spree to purchase over the counter medications and other covered items so that we could submit a claim for the amount we had paid in this year. We'll use all of the items eventually, but it was frustrating that the company did not let us know about the situation until two days before the deadline.

I'll be happy to see the progress on the drywall patching when I come home from work today and hopefully the quote from the plumber for the master bathroom plumbing is not horrible. I'm so eager to have my house put back together again and items put away. Living in chaos, especially during this particular time and situation, is stressful -- and we need as much peace of mind as we can get just now :)

Better News

Even in light of our recent scary news, I'm still excited about the replumb (which starts Monday and should be finished by Saturday). It means that I no longer have to worry about our sub-standard pipes bursting and causing tens of thousands in damage. Plus, it means that we can then move forward with finishing the master bathroom!

We have 98% of all supplies needed already purchased and paid for. The contractor built out the new tub deck the other day and will be coming back to finish the shower when the plumbers are done. My husband is using his unexpected time off to do work we anticipated we would have to do in the evenings and weekends, which will speed things up. He put in our new fan/light combos above the new shower and toilet area yesterday. They look great and much quieter than the old unit we had before. The electrician is working as I type, putting in two new recessed lights in the ceiling, installing new GFI outlets, and repositioning the old vanity light outlets to their new location (to work with those bargain mirror/lights that I purchased for $25 each!)

Today, I am spending some time painting the new vanity feet (at first, we had planned to refinish the entire vanity, but then decided it would be easier/cheaper to go with the original finish (and we grew to love it). However, Mike had stripped the feet before we made that decision, so I need to restore them now. The base coat is done, but I need to experiment a bit to find the perfect combination/technique for putting on the grayish glaze that gives the vanity an antique look.

I'm also going to try my hand at cutting up our old mirror into two pieces that will fit the new mirror/lights (if you remember, the woman sold them because the original mirrors had broken). I feel quite confident that I can at least cut rectangles to size. I'm not sure about the curved cut that would be required for the corners -- but our local glass shop charges just $5 per cut, so they can always finish it up for me and the total cost would still just be $45 per mirror/light (a huge savings over buying them new at $150-$225). We're trying to reuse what we can and recycle the rest on Freecycle, Craigslist, or by donating to Restore (where all proceeds go to Habitat for Humanity).

When the electrician is done today, then we can put up the new drywall on the ceiling. I'm just trying to decide if I want to tape, mud, and texturize that ceiling or if we want to pay a bit extra to the plumber to have his drywall man do it for us. Hanging the drywall is labor intensive, but not difficult. However, we learned from past experience that the taping and mudding require a certain skill and we don't really have that skill. Plus, the texturizing we did on the walls during the remodel of the kitchen and other rooms (when we first bought the house) was kind of a nightmare. Neither of us really want to go there again if we can help it. However, I'm thinking that the ceiling is kind of a different animal. The taping and mudding do not have to be as exact, as the texturizing is heavier (and hides imperfections) -- plus, since the texturizing is done by hand (and I already have all those tools and got quite a bit of practice the first time around), I think I can do that job without too much frustration or difficulty. That would allow us to paint the ceiling and get the light fixtures put together and in place, even before the replumb is done. We can always have the plumber's drywall guy just tape, mud and texturize the walls for us -- which is the part we don't do as well. I just really want to see something "finished" in that bathroom. It's those little things that really keep me excited and motivated about finishing.

I know that Mike took some "before" pictures of the bathroom and has been taking some pictures as the job has progressed. Next time, I'll try to post some pictures so you can see for yourself how things are going.

Remodeling Bargains

We still have not heard any official news about my Mike's job. The company is due to be sold to the highest bidder sometime next week. I suppose, at that time, he'll be terminated and then either re-hired or not. Of course, the new owners could elect to pay him less than he was making before and we may not have much choice but to accept, as otherwise his only alternative would be to start over in a different field (as he is in a highly specialized field at this point, and there are no other employers in that field in our area).

With this in mind, and the master bathroom now down to the studs in some areas (preparing for the replumbing that will happen in a few weeks (knock wood), we've been trying to get all of the things we need for the remodeled bathroom, at bargain prices. We already purchased the vanity (on sale for about 50% off after shipping costs), the bathtub (purchased at 45% off retail) and a toilet. All of these have been paid for in full, as we are trying not to incur further debt. In my spare time, I do a lot of online searching for items we still need, such as lighting, mirrors, and fixtures.

The other day, I was on Craigslist and happened to see a post about some mirrors with built-in lighting. I appreciated that a picture was posted, as I had seen these mirrors during my online search and had liked them -- but I had not liked the $135-$266 cost I found them selling for in various places. The Craigslist poster mentioned that the mirrors had broken in transit, and that was the reason she was selling the items -- for $50 each. I did some calculations, made some calls, and determined that I could replace the broken mirrors within the frames for about $40 each, which would still be a significant savings over what I would spend buying them online. So, my husband and I set up a time and went to see the mirrors, which were still in their boxes and in excellent condition (except for the actual mirror). The globes for the attached lighting fixtures were in great shape, as were the frames themselves. When I told the woman I liked the mirrors, she then told me that they would be $25 each -- half of what I had expected to spend. So, for $65 each, we have both the vanity mirrors and lighting in the bag! You can see a picture of our bargain at the top of the post.

I'm finding Craigslist to be a valuable resource. Yesterday, I found a post from someone selling over 2500 square feet of porcelain tile for just $1 a square foot! We're going to take a look at that this weekend and perhaps we can find what we need for our floor, tub deck, and shower.

Happy Holidays

The month of December just flew by in a flash! Mike was at work most days (and the company is even paying the employees :) He has also had quite a few days off, as he is attempting to use up his accumulated vacation time, as that will probably be lost when the company is sold next month. We will find out in mid-January if he will be laid off or retained by the new owners and, if kept on, if the pay will be the same or not. Interesting times should be ahead! I kept busy working, although the company I'm currently temping with has instituted a hiring freeze due to the economy. I had pretty much been promised a position that had been open (so I would have had benefits and more pay), but now that is all on hold. They have even put a freeze on building the new hospital that they had planned to open in 2010. The economy is impacting just about everyone, I think.

As we had already purchased some of our fixtures for the master bathroom remodel before we found out about Mike's employer's problems, and since we have to have the re-plumb of the house done in January (as "use it or loose it" situation on the approval to have it done free of charge due to the class action lawsuit), we are going ahead with the bathroom remodel. We are constantly on the lookout for good deals and ways to make it more cost effective. So far, we've had the new window installed, which lets in a great amount of light and really opens the room (making it seem larger). We also now can see the great view we have of the valley and mountains. However, we will need to invest in some blinds -- although the nearest house with a line of sight to our bathroom is a mile away -- I still feel pretty exposed, especially at night. My husband demo'd the old shower over the weekend, finding a lot of mold on the sub-floor (which we expected, since we felt that there had been a leak in that shower). We were surprised to find that the builders had not used any sort of cement backer board on the walls or the sub floor -- and the sub floor actually bends when you step on it. It's no wonder that the grout in the shower had cracked and was leaking! We have a contractor friend who has given us a good price to frame out both the new bathtub and shower, and to install the shower pan and waterproof the whole shower. Then, we can take over the tiling of the bathtub deck, shower, and bathroom floor. The vanity we bought on sale is currently sitting in our bedroom and the new toilet is in the garage. The bathtub has been ordered and we're just trying to find good deals on faucets, mirrors, and lighting. I've been diligent about paying for everything we have purchased as we go -- as I do not want any additional debt. I'm also trying to pay a bit more towards the one credit card that we carry a balance on (for the initial remodel of the house). We're down from $12,000 to around $7500 now -- so that feels good (but I'll feel a lot better when that balance is ZERO!)

The holidays were great, as my daughter Mysti and her new husband Nick came to spend several days with us. We ate much more than we should have and had a nice time catching up. It was sad to see them go, but Mysti is coming back out to see us in February, so that will be nice! Also, I had a nice (I guess) surprise when I went back into work this morning. Since only one doctor was working in the clinic, they apparently decided that they did not need any temp workers for most of the week -- so I was sent home until Friday. While I really have been enjoying the time off (and getting caught up on a lot of stuff that I've neglected due to working full time), I worry about not earning for the whole week (as I only get paid for the hours I actually work). I guess there is nothing I can do about it -- but I will use the time productively and get ahead in some freelance work that I do.

Remodeling on a Budget

We purchased our first home about 18 months ago. It was on the brink of foreclosure and in desperate need of some attention and love. We continued living in our rental house for five months, with me spending just about every day at the new house (as I work from home), painting and staining, and my husband (Mike) joining me on the weekend, to demo and do some of the work that, quite frankly, intimidated me.

What a journey it has been -- and it's not over yet! We totally gutted the kitchen and the downstairs bathroom, changing the floor plan slightly for the kitchen (making the attached dining room into an unattached office and closing up a sliding glass door so that we could put a built-in banquette in that corner). We read a lot, watched a lot of HGTV, and took some classes at the local home improvement stores. Overall, we're proud of how things turned out and we're especially proud of the fact that we saved tens of thousands of dollars by doing so much of the labor ourselves.

I've always been a bargain shopper, so I was in my element as I hunted for materials and fixtures. I was able to buy a beautiful free-standing vanity with a hand painted glass sink online for nearly 75% off, as the online store was going out of business. I got all of the accessories for all rooms on clearance for 75-90% off, and then added a bit of creativity to some to make them into real works of art. We spent about $25,000 overall on all of the work we did, which included repainting the entire interior of the house, purchasing and staining new baseboards for most of the rooms downstairs, buying new light fixtures for most of the downstairs rooms, putting in two new windows, framing in and installing French doors in the new office, buying a new toilet and vanity for the powder room, totally revamping the kitchen (with new cabinets, tile backsplash, tile floor, built-in banquette, stainless steel appliances, and granite countertops), and then doing some neglected maintenance work that the old owner left for us (and of course did not disclose), such as the new waterheater that was needed, the roof patching that was needed in two locations, and the new plumbing manifold that had to be installed.

We had saved for nearly two years so that we could pay cash for most of the remodel. We did end up charging about $2000 at Home Depot (mostly for tools and things like molding, drywall, and lumber), but put it on an interest free for a year plan and then made sure to pay off the entire balance before that year was up. The one thing that we DID go over budget on was the granite countertops. Quite frankly, by the time we got to that stage, we had used up most of the savings and we did not have the cash for the granite counters we had always dreamed about. We discussed the other options, like the granite-look alike laminates or a solid surface counter. However, we really felt that if we put in a laminate counter, we would just replace it in a few years with granite -- and then we would be paying twice on the same project. So, we bit the bullet and charged the granite -- something I would not recommend to those in an "iffy" financial situation. It's taken us some time to pay down that credit card bill -- and I've probably paid more in interest than I saved on my beautiful bathroom vanity. However, everytime I walk into the kitchen, I do LOVE those countertops -- so for us, this was a good decision (although how I hate being back in debt for any reason!!)

For that reason, I opted to get a full time job so that we could pay off the credit card the rest of the way and start saving for the NEXT project -- which is the master bathroom. We will probably start that project in the next few months, as we've been approved as part of a class action claim and our house will be totally re-plumbed (a normally $10,000+ job -- at no cost to us!) We figured that would be a good time to tackle the master bathroom, as the plumbing and walls would be torn up anyway. We had a remodeling firm come and give us an estimate -- $20,000-$25,000 if we only replaced the fixtures (no changing of the floor plan) or $40,000-$50,000 if we moved any walls or fixtures!! I could hardly believe the quote! So, as nice as it would be to let someone else do all the work -- we plan to roll up our sleeves again. We figure we can make the changes we want (which will add about 10 square feet to the room), put in the materials we want, and keep the cost between $7000-$9000.

So, the search begins for bargain priced vanities, tubs, toilets, and tile! I'll share what I find and, if you have any great suggestions, please let me know! I welcome all the help I can get!