Flip This House

Remodeling has started! And it's not pretty! I'll break this into different subjects so the blogs won't be too long. We'll start with the bathroom, always a great subject to raise your blood a little. The tile is Terrazo Gold. It took over a month to get tile that was supposedly in stock. The contractors laid it in a vertical grid. I made them tear it up and put it in the diagonal grid as ordered. Then they put in white grout. I made them tear it up and put in matching gold grout as ordered. Twice they had to tear it up and start over, and twice they tried to charge me for extra work that they messed up on. I was on the phone with my interior decorator at Floor Trader a lot! Weird, though, the contractors got the front hallway right the first time...


Original vinyl linoleum in bathroom. Very 70's.


They dug up the old linoleum only to find more linoleum, from the 60's. I kinda liked the pattern, for quilting maybe.


The new tile, put in wrong. Had to tear up again.


New tile put in right, but wrong grout. It now has grout that matches the color of the tile.


The new front hallway was a breeze! Perfect alignment and grout.


I LOVE my new hallway, much better than carpet! Makes it look homey now.

Up next: the furnace/AC/water heater debacle!

Until next time,
Jawa Jaka

And it BEGINS!

Today I signed a contract for ClimaTech heating/AC to replace all the old furnaces, water heaters, and A/C. All of them were in very bad shape, some with missing/chewed wires, mold, excess wires that go nowhere, and rusty falling-apart parts. So, after handing them half of what's left in my inheritance, they started to tear it all apart. Tomorrow they'll replace the stuff. A BIG junk of my budget, but at least I get a government rebate and another rebate from XCEL energy, our utilities company. So all told, I should get back about $2000, in a few months, maybe, if Obama's deal holds up, let's all pray....

Also, I've hired the exterior painter. For about the amount of the rebate I might get in a few months, the painters from CertaPro will power wash, fix and caulk cracks, prime and paint all exterior siding, shutters, trim, and fascias. I've chosen a pretty wheat (Sherman Williams Milky Toast) and a deep rust/terracotta for trims and shutters (Sherman Williams Flower Pot). They'll start work on March 30th. I even let them put a lawn sign out front for their services.

Monday is the BIG DAY! CARPET GOES IN!! FINALLY!! All carpeting and tile are here, and it's finally going in so I can move furniture.

Speaking of furniture, my two-car garage all of a sudden looks very small. I'm storing most of my parents' and brother's stuff in it, including 90% of the pool table parts. I might be able to get it put back together with a new slate in a couple years. For now it's holding up one of the garage walls. I still have to clear out the rental storage unit, so having the flooring done will help. I can finally clear out the storage unit, maybe, if Obama lets me.....LOL

Until next time,
Jawa Jaka
Spending Obama's money....