2010 November | CanDoGal

Archive for November, 2010

getting down to bathroom business

Tuesday, November 30th, 2010

Ok. Enough screwing around. We’ve lived here almost 3 months, and it’s time to get to the REAL projects.

see ya, pink powder room!

We’ve been waiting to get our security deposit check back from the last rental, so we could fund our next improvement, and it just got here. Not a minute too soon.

For me, the worst parts about this house, the things that makes me feel like I’m in a roadside motel, are the bathrooms. They have got to go first. There are 3 — one powder room on the ground floor, one half bath with only a shower, and one full bath with a tub on the second floor. Call me crazy, but I’m starting with the powder room.

sink and toilet on one side, wall on the other

Why start with the least used room in the house? I consider it a test run. Since it only has a sink and toilet and a small amount of surface area, I can try my hand at some skill-building before graduating to the more advanced projects. And I can take my time because if it’s out of order for a while, there are 2 big, ugly bathrooms at our disposal.

rusted sink

While I waited for the check in the mail, I got some edumacation on bathrooms, and read some preliminary books on the subject.

1. Complete Baths (Stanley Complete)

2. Bathroom Remodeling for Dummies

3. Black & Decker The Complete Guide to Dream Bathrooms: Design Yourself & Save – Features New Products & Materials – Step-by-Step Instructions (Black & Decker Complete Guide)

I’ve now got the gist of what needs to be done. First, the plan. Stay tuned…

Tags: bathroom remodel, renovation
Posted in renovation | No Comments »

Emergency Stand-Ins

Saturday, November 27th, 2010

After living here a few days, it became obvious that we were lacking a couple of essentials — things that I’d normally take for granted but were absolutely necessary. Knowing full well that I planned on re-doing each room soon enough, and not wanting to spend big on things that were only temporary, I got the cheapest “interim” things available.

The bathroom window was lacking in shades, and for the first few showers, even though we crouched and hid, we probably still gave the neighbors a show. Perhaps one day I’ll run across an internet video of me toweling off. A $7 set of blinds nipped that (pun intended) in the bud.

It’s also rather difficult to shower without a shower curtain, and even more difficult to have a shower curtain without a shower rod. I didn’t know they made tension shower rods, and it looks a lot like the real bolted-in version. Hangs tight, too. I was too cheap to buy a new curtain, and moved this one from the old apartment. Still works! Eventually I’d like to do away with the shower curtained scheme all together and get glass doors.

We also added a much needed towel hook on the side.

The original shower head, though nicer than this one, gave off some pathetic water pressure, a mere trickle. It was like standing under an air conditioner. I had no idea they even made shower heads that cost the same as a sandwich. This one for 5 bucks is nothing to admire, but it did the trick.

The closets were pitch black and I couldn’t tell the denims from the button downs. Thanks to a few magnetic light fixtures, I can now pick out clothes.

Then there was a small rug shortage, whether it was to absorb water or absorb mud. One rug’s for the blue bathroom so no one slips and cracks a skull…

…and another for the front door, so no one tracks in squirrel poo and dead leaves. Plus, it amuses me every time I come home.

So there you have it, the silly things you never think about, but need, to keep the house running. Do you remember taking a reluctant trip to Target to get stuff you don’t really want but need?

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

new dryer, rotten basement

Sunday, November 21st, 2010

Hide your women and children because you’re about to witness horrors not seen since The Spanish Inquisition. I can’t believe I’m showing you my basement, but here it is. (Equipment belongs to the previous owners.) The sight of it makes me cringe. It’s supposed to be “finished.” Well, maybe you could call it that, if this was a third world country. How about that wood paneling, huh? It’s got a little of that torture chamber flavor.

Luckily, we don’t need to use this basement for anything. We have plenty of storage in the garage and closets. I would be perfectly happy to go on forever pretending we don’t have a basement and never set foot in it, except for one thing. The laundry hookups are down here. In the most revolting corner of the already revolting basement.

When we bought the house, the sale sheet only listed the washer as part of the deal. I thought it was just an oversight because we did spot this handsome (cough) ebony and ivory pair when touring the house.

Maybe the detached bottom plate leaning against the door should have clued me in, but the day we moved in, we found this:

No dryer. That’s when we realized what those ropes hanging in the first picture were for. Yep, clothes dryers, old-world style. The dryer must’ve bit it and been hauled off to the dryer graveyard.

Gotta love the internets, because mere moments later, I hit the “Buy Now” button on a brand new lovely, and signed for the delivery a few days later. I was appalled to learn that the delivery guys are only required to drop off the machine as far as the curb and that it costs $95 extra dollars to have it brought INTO the house. Not even to carry it to another floor. That incurs an ADDITIONAL surcharge.

Scott and I decided to wake up the dormant muscle men in us. We wrestled it in, and found ourselves scratching our heads at the top of the basement stairs. The thing was too big to fit.

We circled the railing, looking for answers, and quickly noticed it was pieced together with a few screws. We could easily take it apart.

Here’s hoping we don’t get impaled.

A few crushed knuckles later, we somehow maneuvered the dryer down the steps and were feeling like we could conquer anything. All we had to do was attach a small gas line to the back.

And then we chickened out. The hose didn’t quite fit. Try as we might, it wouldn’t screw on properly. This being a gas line, we decided not to take any chances. The last thing anyone wants is to have their day ruined by getting blown up. We called in a plumber, who hooked it up in 5 minutes. We were $80 lighter, but at least we had peace of mind that it was on right.

Here’s it is, all sparkly and new — lipstick on our pig of a basement. (Along with the new basement window.)

Eh, whaddaya gonna do. Other than laundry.

Tags: appliance, dryer
Posted in appliances | 2 Comments »

Chimney Fixer Upper

Wednesday, November 17th, 2010

Contractors are like surgeons. Whatever diagnosis they come up with, we have to go along with it because we don’t know any better. I’m not even close to being an expert in their field, so I have to put blind trust in their recommendation and hope that they point me in the right direction.

But that’s just it. How do you know? How do you know if you are getting information that is in YOUR best interest, not theirs?

fireplace gone dark, and all that wood just waiting, waiting, waiting…

Case in point, the fireplace. When we were house shopping, I got downright giddy at the sight of it. It was a big selling point for me. See, I never had a fireplace, and cozy fantasies of snowbanks on the outside and crackling flames on the inside pretty much sealed the deal.

The inspector came over to give the chimney a once over and noticed a few problems from the get go.

A small tree had taken up residence smack in the middle of the chimney cap.
A couple of bricks were missing or crumbling in random spots.
There was talk of some sort of blockage in the chimney, which apparently posed great danger to me and all who knew me.

We weren’t supposed to use it until it was repaired. Winter was nipping at my heels, and I HAD to have it. That fireplace was going to get used if it was the last thing I ever did.

The masoners were summoned. One by one, they trickled in to give us their estimates and verdicts about what needed to happen. Can anyone tell me how estimates for a chimney repair could vary so much? It’s like the chimney wild west ’round here.

the case of the missing brick

Chimney guy #1: He came within an hour of my call, as though he was waiting for my phone call at the nearby Seven Eleven all his life. He pointed a flashlight in some random spots, and told me my whole chimney, both heating flue and fireplace flue needed to be “lined” with some stainless steel coating. He never even got on a ladder to see what the whole story was. Estimate: $2800

Chimney guy #2: This fella was much more impressive and showed up with a whole crew in tow. The group of them certainly did look pro as they climbed up to the roof to assess the job from top to bottom. I was buying their slick act until I was given the price. Estimate: $5200, which would include dismantling and rebuilding the top 21 courses of brick (pro talk meaning rows of brick), grinding out and pointing up the remainder of chimney, whatever that means, and installing a stainless steel chimney cap. A water repellent would then be applied to the exterior. They also wanted to chop down one of the best trees in the yard to get access, something I couldn’t wrap my head around.

Chimney guy #3: We never met this guy but had him come out with our real estate agent. We received a written sentence of doom. This one stated that all existing interior tile would get chipped away, then the insides would get a stainless steel liner. Something called Chamber Tech 2000 would go in the smoke chamber, and for good measure, a damper/cap combo would get installed. Estimate: $3085

The big winner, chimney guy #4: He drove over, hoisted himself up on the roof, and declared that we owed him toll money because there wasn’t really anything majorly wrong. We got a quick lesson in chimneys, and were told that lining a chimney is like putting a chimney inside a chimney and is only done if the brick is severely deteriorated. He made himself right at home by lighting a fire and kicking up his feet. Ok, no, it was really to demonstrate that if there was a real problem, the room would be filling up with smoke right then, but it wasn’t. The smoke was visibly getting sucked up the flue. All it needed was a new chimney cap, some brick replacements, a cement wash, and voila! Fire! Grand total: $900.

cozying up the house for football Sunday

I still don’t know if we did the right thing, but we did do the cheapest thing, and for now, that’s good enough.

If you want an estimate from our chimney winner and you’re in Northern New Jersey, try Bernard at Lovell Contracting: 201-652-1615. Once again, I gain nothing from the recommendation other than promoting good word of mouth.

Posted in home repair | 7 Comments »

getting the best deal on vinyl replacement windows, part 3

Sunday, November 14th, 2010

basement window: BEFORE

basement window: AFTER

It’s the home stretch. The much discussed windows are in, still in time to qualify for the government tax credit. For a refresher, here are the first two posts in this window journey: windows part 1, and windows part 2. So far we’ve chosen vinyl style, the Simonton brand, and were looking for the installer.

And here’s Scott wrapping up the window play-by-play.

So, I searched around for reviews and comments on experiences with Home Depot windows. Frustratingly, there was nothing conclusive. The comments varied from “they were wonderful and even fixed my windows, no questions asked when the neighbor kids broke them with footballs”, to “they sent smelly, rude installers who tried to eat my poodle and now all of my windows leak. I would have been better off just putting plastic wrap over the holes!”

Then, out of the blue, jackpot!

I stumbled upon a forum where people ask questions about the endlessly confusing world of vinyl windows. One thread was specifically about experiences with the windows Home Depot sells and installs.

Right in the middle was a post by “Bill” from Uneeda Window and Home Improvement. Bill’s comment says it all: “In my neck of the woods I can provide the top of the line Simonton 9800 with triple pane for less than what Depot is getting for their 6500. ”

And that neck of the woods is just a few towns away from us!

Since it was a Sunday and the post was from 2005 I didn’t get too excited.

outside, dining room window: BEFORE

outside, dining room window: AFTER

The next day I called Uneeda and asked if a “Bill” was still there and sure enough they connected me right to Bill Kallio. He was a little amused that I’d tracked him down from his five-year-old, first-name-only post, but quickly went on to explain that they are a distributor for Simonton and “always do better” on top-of-the-line Simonton windows than the Home Depot can do on the middle line Simonton stuff.

Bill said the best thing to do is buy the windows directly from him and make separate arrangements with an installer because his company is booked through the end of the year “thanks to the tax credit.” First thing is to call the installer so they can measure the windows and place the order with Bill.

inside, dining room window: BEFORE, with uneven panels

inside, dining room window: AFTER, no bars

Bill referred me to Pat Donnelley, an installer who does work in my area. I called Pat and he came right over to measure. He quoted me a flat installation rate and said he’d give all of the information to Bill at Uneeda. A few hours later, a detailed quote for top-of-the-line Simonton 9800 windows arrived in an e-mail from Bill.

Combined with the installation, the total came to $3,964 — $1,014 less than Home Depot for better windows!

Didn’t have to think about that very long! We paid Bill with a credit card over the phone and were told the windows would arrive in about two weeks.

living room window: BEFORE

living room window: AFTER. It looks more like a picture window without all those panels. I think it makes the window look bigger.

Simonton vinyl window installation

As promised, just under two weeks later, Pat Donnelley called and said the windows had arrived at Uneeda and he’d pick them up and install them as soon as we were ready. He offered to do it on the upcoming Saturday which was perfect for us since we wouldn’t have to take off from work.

When Pat and his crew of 2 got there, they got straight to work. The first floor was finished on day one and Pat came back on Sunday to finish the basement.

It was all fast and efficient. The guys even cleaned up the dust at the end of each day. We’re very happy with the results — namely top-of-the-line windows, professionally installed, for less than a big chain or a fly-by-night.

If you’re in the New Jersey area, give these guys a call:

Simonton windows: Bill Kallio 908-925-2300
Window installation: Pat Donnelley 732-248-8474

Thanks again, Bill and Pat!

Note from Irina: We are not getting kickbacks for recommending these guys. We just think they did a great job and are glad to spread the word about good home improvement work.