BIG CONTEST BELOW! WIN AN ITOUCH!
Remember all that trauma I went through when trying to select a counter top for the house? I may have blocked some of it out, but I know there were lots of tears and it took me a few years (yes, years) to finally settle on a counter top. Let’s face it, counter tops are a pricey investment and they really set the tone for the kitchen aka the heart of the home. Given the investment, your counter top selection may change your overall color scheme – right down to wall paint, flooring and accessories for many (many…) years. It’s a pricey puzzle that set my nerves on edge. I think the process stressed me out more than the time my boiler almost fell through the floor. No, really. I think I handled that better. It was so stressful that I should have gone to a professional kitchen designer like Susan Serra Associates. Susan is Awesome and based out of Long Island, New York. If you can’t handle it, call Susan. She’s a total pro.
Anyhoo, the folks at Dupont recently offered to send me an itouch to try out their new Corian & Zodiac counter top app (application). Oh man. This would have seriously cut down on my stress! Getting samples from the folks at the big box home improvement stores proved to be frustrating – with this app, they are right on my iphone/itouch and I can call their 800 # to order samples! Keep in mind that screen resolution is never 100% accurate, but this would have truly helped me narrow down the playing field.
Since playing with this application, I’ve fallen in love (big time) with Corian’s Jasmine. There’s a picture of Jasmine on the application where it’s rendered as open wall shelving. Holla! Love that idea. Love. Love. So French bistro.
Let’s face, I’d happily live my whole life in a French bistro. Which reminds me, I really need to try and bake some French bread using Julia’s recipe. Her trial & error process was discussed at length in the book My Life In France. Must get on that!
OK back to this application…here are the counter tops that I would like to go on a first date with.
Corian’s: Jasmine, Witch Hazel, Sandalwood, Stone Harbor (seems very similar to soapstone!) and for a bit of razzle-tazzle…the sparklee red from Zodiac’s line called Indus Red. I think Indus Red might be what they used in the bathrooms at the Wynn Casino Park Cafe.
I wish there was an easy way to print out large jpegs of the counter tops so that I could lay them down to get an even better/bigger visual. Maybe there is, but I haven’t figured it out yet. Hey, I’m not the sharpest tool…
You can get the FREE application for your iphone/itouch by CLICKING HERE.
So how do enter for a chance to win the awesome Itouch from the peeps at Dupont? Drop me a comment below and tell me about your biggest renovation challenge. Doesn’t need to be a novel (please…less than 500 words) just a couple lines about the biggest/worst/scariest renovation you have tackled in your house/apartment/office. I will consult with Tucker and we will select a winner. Entries must be submitted by 10/30/09 at 10AM.
We will announce the winner on Halloween!
US residents only please.
Extra love to those that twitter or blog about the contest with a link.
Good Luck!
*FTC compliance thingamabob: Yep, they gave me a free itouch w/ the application. Yep, they’re giving away another one on this here blogadoodle. Yep, I really do love the application. No, I don’t like celery or brussel sprouts.
October 24th, 2009 at 7:14 am
Here’s the ultimate renovation: Father versus son housebuilding.
I just bought property. I’m building a house. The builder? My father, 50+ years in the building business, but with values and ideas that are maybe just as aged. That’s actually not fair — he’s apples in terms of using modern, energy-efficient materials, new appliance and home infrastructure technology, etc.
So here’s the problem: The building decor. Vanities. One sink versus two. Where to save money, where to let it go. What’s necessary, what’s not. What’s new, what’s old. What’s “tried and tested” versus what’s hideous and worth the fact that, in thirty five years, my choice will be splintered while his choice – ugly as hell, mind you – will still be standing strong.
In essence, I’m renovating a mindset. A mindset of old versus new, but not the classic, stubborn old v. new. This is a *new* old versus new, with a new economy in mind, and comfort with your surroundings in the back seat. Not a place to live, per se — but a place to succeed. A home with a bank-built backbone.
How so? Dad works for a bank — one of the biggest in the state. He’s their renovator, their builder. When he’s not out taking back properties and recrafting them to sell, he’s actually building banks. This has a two-pronged effect: Via him, I have tremendous buying power for supplies and such. However, also via him, I have a worried demeanor that “this” won’t be viable, or “that” isn’t what buyers want. I’m not building a house — I’m building an investment. And while that’s always amongst one’s sorted mind-meme in housebuilding or renovation, it’s forcing me to spend more time thinking about the day we move out — and not the day we move in.
So my biggest renovation challenge? Tact. Trying to treat the man building my house as my father first, and as a hired hand second.
October 24th, 2009 at 7:24 am
The Bathroom I am pretty sure it was the bathroom from hell it started out as a day project that turned into almost 3 weeks trust me you do not want to know the details it was not PRETTY. I am sure I mentioned divorce several times over those 3 weeks yes it was really that bad. I still get flash backs from that room
October 24th, 2009 at 7:36 am
The cellar. Yup, the cellar… Hubby wanted a “man room”, complete with bar, workout space, etc etc… I wanted a quite space for computer, a spa-like bathroom, and peace and serenity. He wanted a 63″ TV and a place for his buds. Combining both was hazardous to our marriage (and sometimes his health!) It took us almost 3 years to come to a compromise that I would live with. In the end, we got a beautiful spa bathroom and comfy zones amidst the manliness…. And I must admit, movie nights with a huge TV with surround sound, cuddling on my beautiful couch is fun!
October 24th, 2009 at 7:46 am
My husband and I bought the house he grew up in. Almost completely gutted it. Dealing with the contractor was a nightmare. And a 3 month project turned into a year. Ugh…never…again…
October 24th, 2009 at 7:48 am
We are in the midst of our first (and hopefully last) remodel of the home we have lived in for 29 years. We have decided that retaining great design professionals is the most important investment to make. Kudos, thank you’s, feelings of gratitude and big love go out to our team – our kitchen designer, Susan Serra of Susan Serra Associates, Inc., Huntington, NY and our architect, Bruce Lampitt of Sheeley Architects, Ft. Myers FL. Interestingly enough, we worked long distance with Susan. One face to face meeting in NY. The rest online. Great way to access competent professionals!
October 24th, 2009 at 8:14 am
Our kitchen is our biggest make over. In fact, even though it’s somewhat done, we are looking at replacing the countertops as we speak. We have looked at everything. This application would be super helpful, if only I had something to use it on.
The kitchen has to be one of the hardest things to get right, and one of the most important. In our dreams we would also replace our cabinets, but budget is limiting what we can do.
October 24th, 2009 at 8:16 am
We’ve lived in this old farmhouse for 32 years and it’s been in a CONSTANT state of renovation. We’ve had many big challenges but two really stand out for me: the first was when we put in a completely new basement which meant jacking up the house (the up-and-down motion vaguely felt like being on a boat) and using a bulldozer underneath the house to remove the old basement. We continued to live in the house for the two months it took to do this – with a preschooler!
The second challenge was tearing off 1/3 of the second story (it was old enough that it had been built with square nails) and rebuilding it about 6″ taller so that it matched up with the rest of the house. Of course there was rain during this time so it leaked through the kitchen ceiling on the first floor. Now we have a new bathroom where there was none before. Much work remains to be done, however.
More challenges include finding yellow pine to match existing 90-year-old woodwork, finishing a new two-story addition that includes a bedroom and a new kitchen, turning the existing kitchen into a family room, and moving the staircase about 6″south. Another 32 years and we may have it done! There have been some tense moments but our marriage has lasted through it all.
October 24th, 2009 at 8:58 am
My brother and our aunt inherited the family home a year ago and because of financial hardships we made the decision to leave our house and move up where the family home was. Before we could, however, we had to do some major renovating because of the unsafe condition of some of the rooms.
The two rooms I occupy on the second level had carpet from the early 60’s from when my mom and aunt used to spend their summers with my great grandparents (the house was built in 1894) and when I brushed my hand along the wall, bits of the plaster would fall off and expose the clapboards underneath. Not too energy efficient. We had to gut both rooms. Turns out though that the paint had lead in it and the plaster had asbestos too. Yay!
We ended up gutting the room, disposing of the infected materials, insulating, drywalling, and painting in about a week with a budget of $200. On the plus side, there were beautiful hardwood floors under the carpet and the squirrels can’t get in anymore.
October 24th, 2009 at 9:29 am
Jonathan’s giving me flashbacks to the underground kitchen, where painting the walls in two shades of sunshine yellow didn’t go that far toward replacing missing daylight. It’s a radical thought in old rowhouses, but… rooms need windows. Really.
The issue with that job was payback, as I’m skeptical that comfort calls for spending money that has no return at sales time. When your home appraises at $85k, the best you can spend on a kitchen is $10k for everything, and that doesn’t go far in a large room.
I’d say the worst part of the job is floors, though. Not only do you have to decide what will look good, wear well, and install for less than a fortune, but you get to pry up the umpteen layers of old crap. Mid-century linoleum adhesives are unbelievably durable.
October 24th, 2009 at 10:09 am
Not a homeowner (yet! cross fingers for me our offer on the short sale goes thru), so my biggest job was re-doing my parents’ master bathroom as a surprise for my mom while they were on vacation. Dad was in on it.
This bathroom used to have wallpaper, which had been removed when it peeled off in whole strips. The probably ten years between wallpaper removal and my project meant gross black mold had plenty of time to prosper in corners where the walls had glue residue left, and where the walls met the cathedral ceiling.
First up was the bleach and water mixture, and very tall ladders. Then it was the primer with Kilz in it that almost caused me to pass out from fumes. We couldn’t lock the door and close the house up that night, because the fumes were so bad. Then two coats of paint that wouldn’t dry because of the high humidity in the middle of summer. Then not being able to change out the corroded brass light fixture (you know, those gross black spots the fake gold gets) that was missing half of the glass decorations (they broke over the years) because I was afraid of messing with electrical.
Then once they got back from their vacation, my sister, my now-husband, and I were sitting in the living room as they unpacked, waiting and waiting and waiting for my mom to have to go to the bathroom – and she never did! She always has to go first thing after a trip, but not this time. It was hours and hours later before she went in. I had actually gone to bed, and my dad had to tell her to go in and look.
She loved it. And dad changed out the light fixture not too long after that.
October 24th, 2009 at 10:28 am
Does my whole house qualify?
Actually, I’m in the same boat you are. Countertops. Ugh. The decisions! The color options, the material options! At one point I actually considered the stuff they have in high school science labs. I finally went with an HD Laminate. I really wanted Corian, but with 50+ length feet just couldn’t afford it. This way I can replace the laminate every 5 years if I want to.
Thanks for an awesome giveaway!
October 24th, 2009 at 10:38 am
Hm. ASIDE from the obvious pitfalls of living in a renovation? You know…that feeling of perpetual camping, spiders bigger than my head, ghetto ninja squirrel invasions, MIA plumbers…etc. Or deciding if a swing in the dining room is more important than a central light fixture. [That's been a hot topic around here lately. We're strange.]
Despite our DIY silliness, the biggest issue for me is getting all of the colors and textures to flow throughout the house while not snubbing the handful of original architectural details that still remain – like the fugly hearth tiles. Being a slave to history is a special kind of torture.
October 24th, 2009 at 10:48 am
Count me in! When we took the ugly old paneling off the wall in one of the rooms, there was actually no WALL under it in several spots. Shocking, but true!
October 24th, 2009 at 11:13 am
We haven’t yet tackled our scariest bathroom renovation, but it lurks upstairs: 1942 everything disintegrating before our eyes.
October 24th, 2009 at 11:13 am
We live in a brick rancher that was built in the 1970s. The previous owner finished the basement by creating one big room with a full bath and an unfinished laundry area. There are two support poles in the middle of the finished room, but that’s not unusual and I’m not complaining about them. My biggest issue with the basement is that they built the full bath around another support pole. Yep, there’s a big metal pole smack in the middle of the basement bathroom. I might be able to deal with this if the bathroom wasn’t so small that you couldn’t reach out and touch the sucker while sitting on the commode, getting out of the shower, or brushing your teeth at the sink. You can’t hide the pole with a box surround because that would take up too much room. Someone suggested wrapping it in something, but anything with texture would make it look like a big scratching post for a cat. Paint it a metallic color and it’s going to look like a stripper pole. Our best solution was to paint it the same color as the walls to make it blend in and “disappear”, but then you always run the risk of forgetting that it’s there and whacking your elbow on it. Gah!
October 24th, 2009 at 11:36 am
My biggest restoration challenge is my husband : ) Love him to death, but since we tackled a kitchen re-do in our first house 15 years ago, it has been a slow and painful process of compromise and learning and letting go. In the last three years, we’ve finished three bathrooms with happy results, so we are getting better. The next big project — kitchen — is on hold, thanks to ‘09. Right now, we’re trying to agree on plans for built-in bookcases. There’s his plan and my plan and I have no doubt what we eventually build will end up being neither. So long as what we do build is closer to my plan!
October 24th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
Well, recently I posted how my husband finally put up the $4.96 vanity light I bought….he kept complaining that it was broken, that is why it was so cheap-so after days of messing with the wires, I bought new light bulbs!!! Lo and behold!! It worked!!!!! I have Tim the Tool Man Taylor in my house!!!!!
Love him anyway…
October 24th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
I posted how I recently bought a new vanity light from Home DEpot for $4.96. It was originally around $100-my husband couldn’t get it to work-kept re-wiring, trying to put it up by himself-He said that was why it was so cheap, because it was broken!! So, after a few days, I bought new light bulbs!! Lo and behold, it worked!!!!! As my girlfriend Jen says, just do it yourself! I have the “Tim, the tool man Taylor” living with me!!
October 24th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
I had an cute 30’s house moved about 10 miles. I stupidly thought it would be quick, easy and economical to fix it up. The hardest part is getting people to do what they say they will at the cost they claim. The first guy recommended by the mover assured me that making a waterproof basement would be no problem. This was during the big draught a couple of years ago and at the first rain, water was seeping through the block wall. When pressed to honor the “warranty” he “no longer has that equipment” I had to have the entire foundation dug up and am applying the rubber stuff myself. (Wear gloves, my hands are a wreck today.) It isn’t hard or complicated, just requires care and attention, something money can rarely buy. Why pay high prices for a guarantee that is full of loopholes for ways to get out of any responsibility? I have had “pole issues” too (even imagined renting for pole dance classes, since my basement was the perfect studio) and all kinds of panic over the complications stemming from lack of attention from first contractor and the requirements of code and actually making the space as efficient as possible. I had to have steel beam put in to replace a few poles. And I think everyone recognizes the strain these kinds of projects put on one’s family relationships.
October 24th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
I have a newer house but I don’t like the stock builders look so I have been adding paint and upgrading items. In the bathroom I decided to remove the mirror that someone nicely (grr!) glued to the wall. Let’s just say I now own a crow bar.
October 24th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
It starts with just a small job – because my kitchen is a tiny one. I want to replace the old countertop and have gone so far as to investigate different types, looked at colors, even considered measuring to make it happen. But why put a wonderful new countertop on the horrid kitchen cabinets? And if the lower cabinets are removed, certainly can’t keep the uppers. It isn’t like they are real wood. Every expense was spared by the builder back in 1988. The wallpaper has to go. It’s already peeling itself in some places, too sad to carry on. Thank goodness the appliances are all relatively new.
Now it’s a big job. And I haven’t even mentioned the circa 1988 bathrooms.
Maybe I’ll just repaint the walls instead.
October 24th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
Our biggest challenge was completely renovating our master bathroom in our first house when my wife was 11 months pregnant. She had to use the basement bathroom and I’m sure she doubted my ability to finish before the little one arrived. Between the electrical, plumbing and tile work I was in WAY over my head.
Happy to report the project was finished on time and it looked great!
October 24th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
11 months?
October 24th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
I’m currently painting my kitchen cabinets, as I write this there is drying paint. Still waxing and waning on the color!!
October 24th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
My sink. I wanted a large 12″ deep sink that I could bathe our 30 lb dogs in. I special ordered the sink at Lowes, with 5 holes, one for the faucet, spray, hot/cold, air on/off switch and soap. It was over $600, but I decided it was worth it. But then, when I added up the new faucet and the new garbage disposal, and I had to install a place to plug it in and I had to have a plumber to install it, it was going to be around $1200 altogether. That was just too much. So, I returned the special order sink to Lowes and decided to give up on that endeavor. But the next week I went to Lowes and there was the sink I had returned on clearance for $300. Well, I thought perhaps I should spring for it, but no, it was still too much. The next week the sink was marked down to $200. I called my husband from the store, this was just too tempting. Go for it he said, so I bought the sink (again) and the final tally was about $800 for the whole shebang!!!
October 24th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
When I moved into my husband’s house, I started the renovations immediately. Large “entire house” projects first, then we moved on to finish one room at a time. What does that mean? Popcorn ceilings throughout entire house, gone in one fell swoop. Wallpaper from 1978, that was next. Anyone need to borrow my steamer? ;o) Then each individual room was finished, starting with the guest bathroom and moving throughout the house until it was kitchen and flooring time.
The good part of that plan was that we only did things as we could afford them. The bad part of that plan is walking on concrete for months while you try to find ten thousand dollars for flooring. Not fun. I would not look forward to doing it all again, and I think they’ll have to drag me kicking and screaming from my kitchen. With my soapstone countertops. :O)
October 24th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
We renovated a bathroom in our wacky late 60’s house. Sounds like no big deal. It had a free-standing jetted tub. When my then-single now-husband originally moved in, he wanted a shower, so he had somebody stick a showerhead down from the ceiling (it’s hard to explain but believe me, a complete WTF moment). Then a pair of curtains to keep from soaking the walls with every shower. Which makes for a really easy-to-clean giant jetted 60’s tub. We finally decided to gut it (me and a handyman friend, and another friend who was a tile guy that owed hubby a huge favor). So handyman and I suddenly realize giant jetted tub is CAST IRON and have to call friends to help us get it out. There is a permanent gouge in the front sidewalk from this part of the project.
Then, under the tub area is (for some unknown reason) what looks like it used to be a sunken tub. With mosaic tile. Is this ancient Rome, or what? Not a whole tub that we could salvage, which would be cool, but a concrete step down followed by a tiled step down and then like half the width of a normal tub at the bottom. Made No Sense Then And Still Doesn’t. So in the end we didn’t touch it. We plumbed above it and it is still under the floor of the walk-in shower for some future renovator to discover.
So handyman and I gut everything else and put in proper plumbing, lighting, Hardibacker around what will be the walk-in shower. But tile dude is doing this as a favor. So it’s not high on his To-Do list. It takes handyman and I a rough week to gut this place and rebuild it, patch and paint the walls and renovate the existing vanity (only thing we kept). It takes him three months to do the tile.
Three Months.
I will never do house projects via favors again. We paid him to tile our other bathroom on a long weekend and it took three days including waiting for the grout to dry.
My walk-in shower is really nice now, though.
October 24th, 2009 at 7:30 pm
I was lucky enough to inherit the kitchen cabinets from my grandmother’s house. They’re not fancy, and may be a little country, but they are solid wood, actually solid pieces- 8, 9, 10 foot long spans of cabinetry- built back when every kitchen was a custom kitchen by default. This saves me from buying cabinets of a lesser quality just to stay in budget with my home renovation, and I get the joy of being creative, reusing the cabinets, adding molding, sanding, painting… They are worth the extra time to me, both in cost efficiency and to be able to say that I cook in the same kitchen my grandmother did. She may not be here with me to tell me the secrets of making her homemade chicken and dumplings, but I can preserve her memory, her kitchen, and maybe even her recipes, with a little sweat and a lot of love.
October 24th, 2009 at 7:30 pm
You put that 500 word limit in there for me didn’t you? And HEY that didn’t count!
My biggest remodel challenge was the haunted money pit. It took me 8 years and a whole head of hair. My walls were BLACK when I moved in. Yes BLACK and someone actually painted them that color. It took me 8 years to get all the plaster and lathe repaired and painted and stenciled and sponged. Then I start refinishing the floors and the living room ceiling came crashing down on my newly varnished floors. Should I continue?
October 24th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
I’m hesitant to do any more renovating, as my marriage may not survive another. Every project in my home begins with me having “grand ideas”, my husband saying those ideas are “too expensive”, and then nothing ends up getting done….
But – I did find an amazing handyman that will do anything at hundred dollar increments. I just need to have him come when my husband is working (and on my days off). So far, I’ve had him paint, put up a basketball court, and fix kitchen cabinets…
He never says my ideas are “too expensive” and doesn’t even curse while he works. And I get to stand there, saying how pretty everything looks instead of pretending to be useful (like I have to do with my real husband).
October 25th, 2009 at 6:32 am
Our biggest rennovation was the kitchen in our 1927 bungalow. When we bought the house the kitchen had been redone and was a state of the art seventies kitchen – just totally wrong for a twenties bunglow. We managed to bring back some of the original charm, but it always felt like the seventies had leeched the soul out of the kitchen.
October 25th, 2009 at 7:13 am
Oh, man, you really went through it! I like your final choices, though. Was it worth it? Only you can say. Sure is a gorgeous countertop, though.
Biggest, worst was probably while I was growing up. Dad was always adding to the house in a big way. He decided to expand the upstairs – all the kids’ bedrooms to give us each our own room – so we were stuck downstairs all together in the den while it went on. Lots of meowing and no sleep, plus waking up to blaring country music and construction noise. Not to mention Dad arguing with the contractors because of course he knew better than they did. Oy vey!
October 25th, 2009 at 7:23 am
Spent a few years doing the research, color schemes, design choices blah blah blah for our house. Right before we started in earnest he handed me the divorce papers. (Well, left them on the nightstand…whatever) Downside, I don’t get to enjoy the multi-headed shower. Upside, I don’t have to deal with his fat, hairy bad attitude! WIN!
October 25th, 2009 at 8:03 am
Without a doubt, it was trying to decide on new flooring for the kitchen. My husband and I almost got divorced. He didn’t know what he DID like, only that he didn’t like anything that I liked.
I finally made an executive decision, and set up installation without even telling him. I should have done that two months earlier.
October 25th, 2009 at 8:25 am
We renovated our entire kitchen. Cost $4,000. Lived through it with three kids underfoot. Had the fridge on the back porch for three month and after we were done we kept going to the back porch to get the milk. We ripped out carpet and sub-floor and installed oak flooring, we ripped out the cabinets and caught them on fire while using a cutting saw that got too hot, we tiled, painted, hung new cabinets, put in a french door, installed a new stove….the works! It took us four months and I swear I will never do that again.
October 25th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
It’s hard to choose. But I’m going to have to say the extensive archaeological dig that turned up pepto bismol (lead) painted woodwork underneath the million layers of fake wood paneling – was the hardest project (at least emotionally). Hardly the pay-off I had dreamed of.
Second runner up would be replacing the electrical system which was so bad that it gave my grizzled biker/contractor the heebie jeebies.
October 25th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
The very small room addition that took two years for handyman to build. We have a great photo of the cement mixer in the framed, subfloored room-no roof or walls yet, with snow covering the mixer and the surrounding area. The building permit had faded from being posted. The inspector couldn’t read it when he came for the final inspection. We got quite used to using the table saw for a bar during summer parties. Just had to make sure the blade was down and saw unplugged before putting tablecloth on it.
October 26th, 2009 at 5:38 am
We had issues with our kitchen cabinets since we first purchased the house 4 years ago. They had sustained some water damage and there was some rotting baseboards and cabinet bases that we pulled out and replaced which required us painting all the cabinets so they matched again. That took almost a month of working after work and weekends. The week I decided to quit my full time job and go back to school for my doctorate was the week the cabinets just started crumbling in my hands. I would literally open a drawer and I would OPEN A DRAWER by pulling off the whole face of it. We consulted our savings account which was supposed to be my going to school cushion and bit the bullet and called a cabinet guy. The week after we signed the contract my husband was diagnsed with cancer and is now on FMLA. We have no savings and no income but man he did beautiful work! (He also felt sorry for us that we couldn’t afford a new sink and gave us a really nice salvaged one from his shop). One day we will even be able to afford food for that kitchen again!
October 26th, 2009 at 6:55 am
Throughout our lives, my husband and I have helped our family and friends with various renovations, both big and small. This past spring we made over our home office. It wasn’t a hardcore, knocking-down-walls reno, just a new floor, baseboards, paint, curtains, etc. – all stuff that we’d done before. But this was the first time that we’d redone a space in OUR house, and we were doing it ALL BY OURSELVES. The biggest challenge wasn’t the renovation itself, it was staying calm through our opposing work methods and not “accidentally” taking off my beloved’s head with a shovel. But we made it through! And I think our marriage is better for it.
We’ve only tackled small projects since then, but we’re starting to talk more about turning the spare bedroom/storage room into a nursery. We’re still a little leery at the prospect, though.
Wish us luck!
October 26th, 2009 at 7:13 am
This D*mn House has been one continuous big challenge for my mother and I almost from Day One. It’s undergone many changes in the 23+ years we’ve been here, but none as dramatic (except maybe the addition of the carport and columns in 1987/88) as during the past three consecutive years. And it’s scary as hell to think that I am now the age that she was when we bought it all those years ago.
We’ve been on one virtually non-stop renovation challenge since April 2007. The BIGGEST challenge? Trying to live in the house while simultaneously working on it WITHOUT a) going too far over budget b) taking on bigger jobs than our collective skills or physical strength allow c) losing our respective senses of humor and d) killing each other in the process.
October 26th, 2009 at 11:57 am
My biggest source of stress thus far has been actually getting the house in the first place! There are a major crush before my closing to get a ton of work down to the house in order for there to be a closing in the first place. My house was bank owned, and they were willing to pay for all the work to be done, but I (and by I, I mean my mom, dad, and myself) actaully had to get the work done. Finding a roofer, electrician, and other workers who would do the work with no idea when the check would come was not fun. . . and front quite a bit of money out of my pocket on a house I didn’t know yet was majorly scary – but in the end it all paid off.
October 26th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
My husband is a professional remodeler, so I guess the hardest part for me is to actually get on his schedule. I’ve finally learned to approach him like a customer with a complete job description and force him to lay out a timeline, especially for projects like “finish the sidewalk you tore up three months ago because it’s dangerous and we’re tracking mud through the house.”
October 26th, 2009 at 5:45 pm
My husband and I remodeled our old duplex, turning it into a single house. It was a very low-budget job – we did everything ourselves. After tearing out the kitchen’s entire subfloor (hello dirt crawlspace!), capping the plumbing lines and rebuilding 80% of the floor we quit for the day. The next morning I walked past the kitchen and heard a waterfall-like sound; the pipe had cracked and was gushing into our crawlspace. Luckily we hadn’t finished the floor so we were able to hop through the hole and fix the pipe fairly quickly – that area of the crawlspace was otherwise inaccessible so it would have involved cutting a hole in the floor if we had already finished!
October 26th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
Biggest problem is where to start. My house is only 9 years old, we bought a “spec house” and got to choose some, (but not all) of the finishes. There are a few things that need some attention, but then I get in to the “may as well” syndrome – rather then just spruce up, maybe we should do a complete renovation or an addition.
For example, I want a bigger master bath, with a soaking tub. I also would like to make some changes to the kitchen. Currently it has laminate counter tops and oak cabinets, I could change those things, but should I also improve the flow while I’m at it? So then it becomes a 2 floor major addition, with a complete kitchen rehab as well as a luxury spa type bathroom and well we’re at it we may as well………
October 26th, 2009 at 8:37 pm
My biggest renovation challege to date happened 6 hours ago. I replaced my meets-code-but-too-weak-to-do-the-job bathroom exhaust fan with a new one that’s big and powerful enough to do the job. Since that bathroom is near a pitched ceiling in my bedroom, I can’t get at the bathroom fan from the attic wear it would be eaiser to do the wiring switchout. Oh no I had to do the removal and install from underneath in the bathroom. It was an *ahem* challenge to get the fan into the whole and do some of the install by touch above my head. I also had to cut a larger hole in the ceiling for the new fan and have drywall dust everywhere in the bathroom and on me. I finished installing the fan today and I still have drywall dust in places I didn’t know I had. Cleaning the mountains of drywall dust on the counters and floor in the bathroom will wait until tomorrow. I’m tired.
October 26th, 2009 at 9:32 pm
Hi- Currently the back half of my house (the former kitchen, back porch, guest room, and the stairs to the basement and the almost attached garage) is a giant back porch. No windows. Some framing. We have a temporary kitchen in the dining room, which was fortunate. Had to fire our contractor due to financial hanky-panky, and then realized we had to get rid of our “project manager” too. So the big challenge is dealing with moving forward and having any trust with the new contractor. We had put this big remodel off for years (my old kitchen makes your before pictures look stylish) and it has been financially and emotionally draining. Fortunately, my marriage is strong, my kids are patient, and I do think the new contractor is fine. I am happy that we had saved for this project for a long time, happy that the family is healthy, and happy that I have a good job, because I can’t imagine having another major problem on top of this!
October 27th, 2009 at 5:31 am
I feel your pain! I am on year 3 of deciding on a countertop, which holds up the entire kitchen facelift. I’m torn for all the reasons the others have listed, but more because I want the material to be true to the restoration of our modest 1928 craftsman bungalow. However, our biggest project has been restoring the exterior of the cedar board clad house. We are also on year 3 of that project (exluding winters, of course). My husband and I have been completely stripping every speck of paint on the exterior of the house, setting and filling all of the nails, sanding 2-3 times, repairing rot with 2-part wood hardener and wood epoxy, and then finally priming and painting. The first summer of scraping for hours and hours up on a ladder landed me in a few months of physical therapy and barely able to walk due to a repetitive motion back/hip injury. In addition, we have taken out and restored nearly all of the double hung rope and pulley windows by stripping them inside and out, reseting and reglazing the glass, refinishing the interiors and the exteriors to match the original stained trim on the inside and newly painted exterior trim. They have all been rehung with new ropes. I think we have one more year and we *should* be done. It is a ton of effort, but is well worth it.
October 27th, 2009 at 8:20 am
My husband painted our family room bright blue with newspaper texturing. UGH! I’m still trying to figure out how to fix it without hurting his feelings
October 27th, 2009 at 8:32 am
We finished a three month remodel a year ago. It was stressful deciding on light or dark cabinets. I ended up going light for the cabinets and dark for the floors. I second guess myself so I was always wondering if I had made the right decision. It is a beautiful kitchen and very user friendly. Of course, you have to be willing the be inconvenienced for a few months, with lots of workmen in your home always! The kitchen was gutted and we redid everything, moving the range and the refrigerator to different locations. We added a wine room where a builtin bar had been. We are still getting the house in order since we need new furniture, etc. It was all worth it!
October 27th, 2009 at 10:00 am
The worst & scariest? Going through it right now – a whole house rehab of which the kitchen is the scariest of the scary. Regularly am awake at night panicking and reminding myself that there are worse problems in the world than this kitchen, but somehow that is not soothing. With help from an architect, a designer mother-in-law and a good contractor, I STILL should have hired a kitchen designer. I have made too many mistakes to mention because a kitchen is so complicated! Wrong-size appliances, upper cabinets ended up too narrow, cabinet guy flaking out. However, after months of takeout I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I have learned so much and almost wish I could start over knowing what I know now…almost…
October 27th, 2009 at 10:17 am
Biggest Renovation Challenge: Nasty, ancient, outdated, kitchen in a NYC RENTAL. Without replacing cabinets, counter tops, tiles, or appliances (had to stay in the rental!) We managed to deal with missing tiles (replacements? nowhere to be found), caked on grease, yellowing caulk stuck in EVERY crevice, and about 2 SF of working space. Somehow the kitchen is now live-able! (PS we did all of this without moving any of the appliances since we are way too afraid to know what might be behind them.)
October 27th, 2009 at 10:18 am
I’m currently in temporary digs, and not able to do the renovations this place so desperately needs. The house is a mid-century ranch house, that’s been redone a few times over. The last round included painting the kitchen a sunny yellow, putting in new (cheap) cabinets, refinishing the lovely cypress floors, and new light fixtures. Except for the floor, everything was done by someone without a clue. The worst offender though is the pendant lamp in the middle of the highest traffic area. Presumably they wanted it to light the island, but it’s about a foot off. The bottom of the light is about 5′10″ of the floor. I’m 6′0″ tall and have a halo of bruises from the light. I may have to have a talk with my landlord. It’s ridiculous.
October 27th, 2009 at 10:29 am
My biggest project so far was renovating the kitchen. It was the 1934 original kitchen, with no dishwasher, strangely short countertops and no functioning drawers. Now it is beautiful and sunny and the dishes magically wash themselves! The next project is finishing the second story, which was never done in the 75 years the house has existed(?). I am debating between 1 bedroom or 2 and there will be a bathroom and a walk-in closet. Just need to save up my pennies!
October 27th, 2009 at 11:23 am
Where to start?? That is the remodeling problem in a nutshell. Most projects are still not started because of the horrific “connected to this project” line of projects. I guess if you take it back far enough we should just tear down the whole place and start from scratch! Except for the powder room, it is done. Yes, the powder room is the ONLY room in my house that is done and I feel good about! Can’t finish updating the floors, because it leads to the kitchen where we would need to replace the cabinets (leading to new countertops, leading to new appliances, leading to new sink, etc.) and we can’t do the floors in the family room because we want to replace the fireplace. Can’t replace the rotting deck because we want to redo the back yard, putting in retaining walls, a stone patio and bumping out the back of the kitchen, which leads us back to the kitchen! Everything is conected and EXPENSIVE, thus the powder room is the only finished room in my house. As my husband says “we need to win the lottery!”.
October 28th, 2009 at 5:43 am
We bought a large handyman special. It seems that everything has been rigged or patched with odds and ends from a thrift shop. We have renovated a family room, bathroom-making a 1/2 bath into a 3/4 bath, a laundryroom, which I love and we removed wood paneling from the living room and refinished the hardwood floors we discovered under the disgusting builder grade carpeting. We started working in the kitchen about 6 months ago but I am stumped and indecisive. We are also doing everything as we can afford it that is difficult.
October 29th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
Oh. Let’s see…..Um…That would be the hearth in the middle bedroom falling into the basement. No biggie. Chris’s friend was just standing on the hearth pulling out 50 year old newspapers from the chimney.
Good thing he lived to laugh about it.