If It's Not One Thing, It's Another
The remodel of our condo officially started this week. I have been antsy to get the repairs started because we want to move in at the end of the month. After 10 years, we have decided the place needs a complete overhaul. We have to redo the kitchen cabinets, countertops, buy all new kitchen appliances, re-tile the fireplace, front entryway, tile the balcony, redo three bathrooms, replace some carpets and lay down hardwood floors. Do not ask me how much this is going to cost because I have no idea. We are getting to some of the projects right away but others just have to wait.
The first thing I wanted to do was to get the furnace and air conditioner serviced. When I called a local heating and air-conditioning company to come out to do the job, we got a bit of bad news. We needed a new furnace in the air conditioner needed some major servicing. We bit the bullet and purchased a new high-efficiency gas furnace. While THAT furnace was being installed, we were informed by one of the technicians that our water tank was old, rusty, leaking and was due to be replaced. I tell you with the remodeling job if it's not one thing it's another. I know we are going to be stretched to the limit time wise and budget wise.
We could save quite a bit of money if we didn't have to hire a painter but since I can't help with any of the painting we just have to dig deeper into our pockets. I am in charge of selecting, paint colors and small details but Demetrio has been great in helping me make those decisions. He is working on a few small projects himself; this weekend he is replacing to garage door motors. Other projects on his list are to change/replace:
1. The doorbell
2. The deadbolt (he’s interested in a fingerprint reader so if we lose our keys we can still get in the house.)
3. Some of our existing light fixtures (he used to be an electrician remember?)
4. Pressure washing the exterior entryway as well as the balcony
That is the short list, for all the other little jobs, we have hired a handyman. Wish us luck!
posted by Gia-Gina @ 2:43:00 PM
4 Comments:
Gia, all across America there are kitchen and bath dealers who will offer you design and overseeing services. Many include it in the price of the job, some have a flat design fee. Figure out what your budget is for those 4 rooms and tell them the budget and what you want, and if the two things: wants and money, match up they'll tell you they can do it. If not, you might be underestimating what things cost. They buy wholesale so they have some room to dicker.
This is such an investment that I think you should seek this help. Doing it on your own you will make some mistakes and also discover costly problems you had no way to predict. They have the experience and training to foresee most hidden problems.
No matter what your reasonable budget it, there will be more than one pleased to work within it, plus they'll be on hand to handle problems as they come up.
If you were tackling one room I wouldn't be concerned with your handling it on your own, but 3 baths and a kitchen is a boatload of potential disasters.
Just avoid foreign-made cabinets or custom cabinets, because they'll take too long. Look for CDK (I think) certified kitchen designer and find one who listens.
I never worked in shops like those, but saw their work quite a lot and I do recommend that you explore them. They'll have ideas you wouldn't think of in a decade. It doesn't have to be more expensive and if you avoid delays and errors can end up much cheaper in the end.
It may also help if you buy a few magazines on kitchen and bath designs, because you will know more of what is possible nowadays and also have things that you like to show the designer. I wish you lots of luck!
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