Welcome
I've been in my house for over 18 20 years, having purchased it in November, 1997. When I moved in, one of the first things I did — in the first ten minutes after walking in the first time, actually — was to pull down the cheap, dark paneling from the dining area. In just a few minutes, I'd brightened up what had felt like a cave into a bright, relatively spacious room. Another of the many thoughts I had that first day was, "This carpet has got to go!" I really meant it at the time, too. I've always thought of the color as "shit brown."
Time passed, along with my plans and good intentions. Money ebbed and flowed, as it does for all of us, and my ability to put my plans into play ebbed and flowed, too. Finally, sometime in 2014, I again remembered — for the umpteenth time — my initial plan to get rid of the ugly brown carpet and replace it with wood laminate. Those relatively modest plans quickly grew and expanded, and the result was a full-house remodel plan.
And here we are...
Posts
December 2017
12/27/2017 - I may even consider going ahead with some of the work in the kitchen. It's possible that I might be able to do it somewhat piecemeal. I'd likely start with the Pantry Wall first. That's about $1,400.00 for materials alone, plus another $1,000 (guess-timate) for labor and bits and bobs. That would definitely be next winter, but that might be doable. I've reworked the Kitchen page to bring that up to date. Top of Page
12/25/2017 - I've started thinking about my long-wished-for remodel again. I'll likely change the order of things, and do what I can as I can. Getting a raise for 2018 certainly helped, as I can get my credit card and student loan paid off a bit sooner, can buy a 2017 Jeep Renegade later in 2018, and still be able to get a bit of work done on the house. I've reworked the Patio page and the associated Excel spreadsheet, updating costs and item numbers and quantities. I've done some rethinking on the patio cover structure, too. I might be able to do this a bit later in Spring 2018, or may wait until Winter 2018. The estimated material costs for the patio are just over $600.00, with perhaps a $1,000 (guess-timate) for labor. The costs for the landscaping will roll in at about $700.00, with my own free labor to put that in. Either way, I can see a bit of light coming down the tunnel. Top of Page
May 2016
05/13/2016 - I picked up three seagrass baskets at Cost Plus, and they fit perfectly in the shelves. I also received the valet pole and tie rack from EasyClosets and put them in. The closet install is complete. Top of Page
05/07/2016 - I received the missing tracks about twelve o'clock. I installed the righthand wall first. That had the drawers in the middle, so was a bit trickier, but it still went in relatively smoothly. I had to fuss just a bit with those drawers to get the drawer fronts aligned. The easy part was the back wall. That was just two vertical pieces and some shelves. All of my clothes, sheets, bathroom supplies, etc., have a place and I'm going to take my dresser down to Goodwill tomorrow. The only thing I can see right now is that I might need to order one more 18" shelf and get some baskets for the backwall shelves. Good deal! Top of Page
05/06/2016 - I spent a few hours on Monday and Tuesday this past week tearing out some of the shelves and rods in the master closet. I then bought some stuff at Lowe's to prep the walls — spackle, sandpaper pads, paint and painting gear, etc. — and did some prep on Wednesday and Thursday evenings. I also tore out the last of the closet to get ready for today. All of the remaining clothes and things are either hanging in the small bedroom closet or in the garage. The remainder of the prep work — spackle and sanding — really only took a couple of hours last night. The pink spackle dried to white in an hour or so and I was able to sand any areas that needed it prior to painting. I painted the ceiling last night, and tackled the walls this morning. Since there really was no cut-in work to speak of, that all went quickly and I was done by eight o'clock. I let the paint dry for a couple of hours, by which time the closet was delivered by UPS.
Unfortunately, EasyClosets left out two of the three steel tracks I needed for complete installation! I called the company right away, and spoke to several people. John, the first service department person I spoke with, sent out my two missing tracks. I quietly and calmly complained a bit more and got a phone call back from Jackie, John's supervisor. I managed to get her to upgrade the package to overnight shipping, and asked her to also include a valet bar and a tie rack. At EasyClosets prices, that's about $120.00 worth of free extras. Once I got off the phone, I was able to install the main hanging (left) side of the closet in just a few hours. It looks really good, and easily holds all of my shirts, pants, and suits or jackets. Nice! Top of Page
05/01/2016 - I ordered my EasyClosets kit today for the closet in the master bedroom. The kit will cover the two side walls, and there's a separate piece for the back wall. With a 15% discount, the total came to just over a grand. I actually spent the discount already, having purchased a wall-mounted stand for the TV in the living room. Everything is supposed to be delivered on Friday, May 6th. All 17 boxes totalling nearly 350 pounds of materiel. Top of Page
April 2016
04/21/2016 - I bought some more Desert Sunset rock and filled in along the house below the master bedroom window. I also trimmed some of the long branches on the huge thorny acacia. It's actually the neighbor's tree, but encroaches well into my front yard and was getting close to my roof. I cut two dumpster's worth of branches, filling my rolling dumpster and Jill's, as well. Top of Page
04/15/2016 - I bought some Desert Sunset rock and filled in along the base of the corrugated fence. I used some salvage corrugated metal strips as an edge along my concrete patio, and filled in with some 8" - 10" rocks placed here and there. I also pulled all of the weeds along the house below the master bedroom window and need to fill that area with the same Desert Sunset rock. Top of Page
March 2016
03/13/2016 - Sean and Jill and I put up the fence posts over the weekend. The 4x4 posts were put in on Saturday. They're five feet tall, and were cemented in using a fast-setting concrete. They were all done in just a couple of hours, and are very sturdy. and we put 2x4 stringers along the top and bottom. On Sunday, we put up the corrugated steel panels. Everything looks really nice, and is extremely sturdy. I was concerned with having that massive 'sail' up, thinking that wind might be an issue. I'd thought we might need to leave some gaps between panels, but the posts are so sturdy I didn't feel it was really necessary. I'm glad I didn't leave those gaps, as the gap-less fence looks great. Top of Page
03/11/2016 - Sean Casey and Jill Dickman, my immediate neighbors to the east, took down the fence between our properties and their entire back fence today. Sean also drilled holes for the new fence we'll be putting up over the weekend. Top of Page
February 2016
02/19/2016 - I went out into the garage this morning at about 8:00 AM and knocked the structure out of the garage door opening. It took me all of about 15 minutes. Aaron, my across-the-street neighbor, came over for a few minutes, bringing along a couple of small pry bars. We were able to get the last four boards — the frame — out of the opening with no problem. While I waited for the garage door installer, I cut up the cheap fiberboard into small pieces and chucked it all in my trashcan.
Mitch from Always Open & Shut showed up promptly at 10:00 AM and got to work right away. Within just a short time, he'd made enough progress that he had a couple of the door panels up. We discussed the fact that the door was only about a quarter-inch wider than the actual opening — really! — so I ran out and bought some PVC 1x4 trim and put that up while Mitch was installing the door. Much better! It won't be possible for the door to actually get caught in the opening any longer. Mitch finished the door just after noon, then started right in on the garage door opener. That took him another two hours or more, but it all looks nice. He even put up the color-matched trim to seal the door. Everything looks and works great, but it's so odd to see the Jeep inside! Top of Page
02/12/2016 - Mitch from Always Open & Shut Garage Door Service delivered my garage door today. It only weighs about 120 lbs, even though it's double steel and insulated. The color is perfect. I went out and purchased the door trim at Lowe's, and the color of the trim is exactly the color of the door. Nice! While I was there, I picked up a Genie garage door opener, too. I think it will connect with my WiFi and perhaps with SmartThings. Top of Page
January 2016
01/23/2016 - Joe Gasman came out today and installed the fluorescent lights in the garage, and rewired a couple of things. He had to replace the fan with an outlet, and make sure it wasn't a switched outlet. It took him a couple of hours to do that work. He had to cut five holes in the ceiling, all of which "poofed" insulation whenever the door was opened. It looked like it was snowing each time I went into the garage. I had to buy circular covers for those holes and glue them to the ceiling. Top of Page
01/17/2016 - Larry Harris and Jenny Bell from Ninja Builders came out today to look around in preparation for giving me an estimate. If they're hired, they'll likely subcontract Kaiser Garage Doors to do the actual garage door and opener installation. Larry would do the demolition, install the electrical and the lights, and supervise. Top of Page
01/16/2016 - John (Juan) showed up about 2:15 to install my new appliances. Holy CRAP! Enormous chest, huge arms, huge black beard. The appliances were nice, too. The dishwasher and microwave are both GE appliances in the new Slate color. There are before and after photos on the Kitchen page. Top of Page
01/15/2016 - The estimate from Halter Construction came in at $4,106.54! Ridiculous! I've not responded yet, but have asked two other contractors to come out to give me estimates. I have Ninja Builders coming this afternoon and Settlers West coming tomorrow morning. Here's hoping for better, less-expensive estimates. Top of Page
01/12/2016 - I got a call from East Valley Appliance Repair, a Phoenix company. I'm not sure why Lowe's decided on using a "foreign" company, but that was their decision. Regardless, East Valley is going to be delivering and installing my new appliances on Saturday afternoon. Yay! Top of Page
01/11/2016 - Kurt Halter from Halter Construction came out today to give me an estimate on the garage. I went over all of the things I wanted done, including tear down of the remaining walls, removal of the carpeting, adding the new garage door, garage door opener, and window, plus new fluorescent lights. I showed him the specific garage door and window I wanted, too, pulling up that info on my tablet. Halter doesn't use Pella windows, however. Instead, they use Milgard windows, which are available in more places. Apparently, Lowe's is the only company who sells the type of Pella windows I was looking at. I checked the prices on Milgard (at Lowe's) and they're very much in line with the Pella prices. That's fine. I also told him I'd be looking for some stucco work in a couple of months, just in case that affects the window installation. He said it really didn't matter. Halter doesn't do stucco work, but they have another company they work with who does. I'm waiting for an email with the estimate.
I also called Heather at Chase today. I wanted to accomplish two things: 1) get some information and 2) close the loop with her. I told her I was going ahead with some of the repairs and work that had been mentioned in the appraisal I got from Emma, putting the expense on my credit cards. I asked if she thought it would be at all worthwhile pursuing the HELOC in a few months, once some of the work had been completed. Of course, the answer was yes. As we discussed, I'd be a few months further along on paying my mortgage (currently under $40K owed) and some of the things mentioned in the appraisal would be fixed or addressed. The only other thing that concerned her was that my debt-to-earnings ratio might climb too high. It's currently at 26%, and it can climb as high as 42% before it becomes an issue. Since I'll be paying off quite a bit on my credit cards even while I'm adding to the balances, I can't imagine that I'll get anywhere close to the upper limit before I reapply for the HELOC. I should be good to go in a few months. Top of Page
01/10/2016 - I cleared out some more junk from the garage today, and broke down some of that unused exercise equipment. I've also been concerned that my Jeep won't fit in the garage, so I actually measured my Jeep to make sure it'll fit inside! The Jeep, including mirrors, is a bit over 7 feet wide, and it's 15 feet long. The garage door opening will be eight feet wide, so I'll have about six inches to spare on each side as I pull in and, more importantly, back out. I'll probably have to start out by folding in the driver's side mirror as I start using the garage. The garage is about 20 feet deep, so there's plenty of room inside for my Jeep, once I have the little closet removed from the far end. I'll even be able to open the back door on the Jeep with the garage door closed! I'm happy.
On another topic, I contacted Julie at Lowe's about my appliances. I haven't heard from them as to whether or not my microwave has come in. Julie called me back a few minutes later to tell me that my appliances should be coming in on Monday night's truck. I can expect to hear from someone in a couple of days to schedule the installation. Top of Page
01/09/2016 - I made arrangements with Halter Construction to come out on Monday to give me an estimate for the work in the garage. I'm hoping they'll be able to do the work for about $2,000.00. Pricing out the actual materials comes to less that half that, so it seems reasonable (to me) that they can come in at about my guess-timate. I'll find out in a couple of days. Top of Page
01/04/2016 - I expected to hear from Heather at Chase today. No such luck. I'll call her later this week to speak with her about possibilities for the future. Top of Page
01/03/2016 - I went down to Lowe's today and purchased a new dishwasher and microwave. Both are in the new Slate color, and they're gorgeous. I didn't really plan on buying the new appliances at this point, but my old dishwasher is finally crapping out on me. I don't know for sure, but it might be original to the house, which means it's been in place for about 30 years. I've had it since I bought the house, so I definitely got my money's worth. We'll see if the new dishwasher lasts anywhere near as long. Top of Page
December 2015
12/31/2015 - I just got off the phone with some guy named Neil from Chase. I've been turned down for a $25,000.00 home equity line of credit. Apparently, my house is in such poor condition that it's only valued at $81,500.00, according to the appraiser. Even though the loan-to-value ratio required by Chase is a relatively high 80%, and even though the full HELOC and my current mortgage balance combined would fall below that high percentage, I can't get the loan. They're telling me that I have to improve the condition of my house - spend money on high-interest credit cards - before they'd be willing to give me a loan so that I can improve the condition of my home. Typical thinking. Well, I'm not done yet. I will contact some credit unions here in Tucson to see what might be done. In the meantime, I'm going to go ahead with the garage door and perhaps the stucco on the west side. I did tell Neil that I expect to hear from Heather on Monday. We'll see what she has to say. I'm sure it won't be anything different, but I want her to tell me the bad news. Top of Page
12/29/2015 - I fully updated all of the pages on this site with materials lists, new price estimates, and some basic verbiage better describing the work needed to be done in each room. My original numbers have climbed a bit in some rooms, but were fairly close. I think I'll have a bit of financial wiggle room in the garage, kitchen, and living room. Time will tell. Top of Page
12/23/2015 - I received another call from Heather. She's doing a really good job of keeping me informed. I checked to make sure the recent interest rate increase was going to affect me, and it is. Since the Fed raised interest rates by a quarter of a percent, my initial interest rate will be 7.13% rather than 6.88%. That also means that my interest rate will be going up over the next couple of years as the Fed makes incremental increases to the prime rate. Still, the money is relatively inexpensive, as I'll be paying as I go. I won't hear anything more from Heather until January. Top of Page
12/18/2015 - I received another call from Heather. She told me she was in receipt of Emma's appraisal, and that things were moving along. I mentioned to her that, if she was going to need proof of employment before the end of the year, she'd have to get the document to me by Monday so I could get it taken care of before the University closed for the Winter Closure. Top of Page
12/14/2015 - Things are moving quickly! Emma Stetson came today to do an appraisal. She took a number of photos, I pointed out some things I was planning on doing, and she departed. The whole thing took about 30 minutes. Top of Page
12/11/2015 - I was contacted by Heather from Chase today. She started the actual loan process. What I'll be getting (I presume I'll qualify) is a home equity line of credit (HELOC). It's essentially a revolving line of credit that I can draw on for up to ten years. I can spend money, pay some off, then spend that same money again up to my limit, over and over. There's an interest-only repayment option for the first ten years, with an additional twenty years to pay everything off. I intend on spending what I need, but having everything paid off within the initial ten years. I won't need the interest-only option, although it's still there for me. I immediately emailed her the required forms, and the process is underway. I should have my funds in about 45 days. I'm thinking February 1st will be the day I can start work. Top of Page
12/09/2015 - I went online today and filled out a simple form on LendingTree.com to make initial inquiries into a home equity loan. Within about fifteen minutes, I received a phone call from Michelle at Chase Bank. I hadn't really expected that. I thought it would take several days, at minimum. I told Michelle I was just at the question asking stage, but a few minutes later I thought, "What the heck!", and started the application process. Top of Page
12/01/2015 - I started pulling down some of the paneled walls in the garage. I'm going to have to open up the garage first, before starting any of the work on the rest of the house. I don't know how I'm going to pay for things yet, but I'll figure that out soon. I also boxed up and got rid of a lot of things I hadn't used for many years, hauling all of the boxes to Goodwill. Good riddance. Top of Page
November 2015
Various Dates - I put together an extensive Excel spreadsheet for a potential house remodel. It started with plans for just the kitchen, but quickly expanded to encompass the rest of the house. Open the garage, new flooring throughout including tile and wood laminate, new cabinets, customizations here and there, a new closet system in the master bedroom, etc. Top of Page
