Dfreder2

Sometimes, even the best laid of plans go astray...

I've posted about this before, and I know I owe you guys pics, but not until I am done and all cleaned up. Patience, patience.

I own a condo in very good shape, nice and large for one person, but in need of a repaint. I can't stand snow white walls with snow white painted (too many times) 3" trim around the floor (nothing around the windows, which many people "trim out" with the same floor trim. Top this off with all 12 doors are hersher bar chocklate brown, worse yet, made out of injection molded plastic. Very plain.

I decided if I was going to go through the hassel of painting, the doors and trim must go also. I went with red oak everywhere, stained a honey color and two coats of polyurethane. Between the trim and the 12 new doors (three of them, French), I basically stained and poly'ed for about 30 days straight. Exhausting.

Here is my downfall: I have a master carpenter (for Pella windows) doing all of the heavy lifting and installing for me (as I have cancer and am very weak), and he knows his stuff. The workmanship is superb (wait for the pics, please). However, his taste is "high" and it influenced me. We went with 4.5" tall floor trim, vs. the 3", and this took care of the nasty line that is left from old, built up paint nicely. I'm glad I did that. Expensive, though.

More importantly, Steve talked me into going "upscale" with 3.5" wide by .5" thick door casing. Ouch! $2.94 a linear foot, and I had to buy something like 60-65, 8' lenghts. But the stuff looks very nice, even regal. At this point, I decided to throw out the 25 year old vertical blinds and buy new.

Little did I know how much that extra 3.5" of trim would cost me. I took dimensions and went to home depot, and they said "no problem". A plus was that I could pick from their off the rack stuff, and they would measure and install. Nice blinds, about $600$.

So they come over and measure, and they tell me 4 out of five blinds will be too short by guess what? 3.5" due to the new trim. Their blinds are sized, exactly for standard patio doors with no trim.

So, I am forced to go custom, probably doubleing the price. Shit, but what the hell.

1killercls

but when its all said and done...

































its great to see ya doing better.

Scrib

Dave... Does this carpenter do hardwood floor installs???

Dfreder2

But I really am not doing any better. I am very weak. But just trying to finish what I started.

Dfreder2

Unfortunately, they live in the FAR northwest suburbs. I doubt (due to travel time) it would be cost effective for you. I suggest you go with a very local vendor, and, good luck!

Putting down a real hardwood floor (the only one I ever did) is not difficult. You need to rent the installation tool, powered by a big hammer. However, leave the sanding, staining, and topcoating to someone else, IMO. It will be expensive, but the results will be gratifing. Plus, you won't hear that cheap "click" you hear when a woman walks by on heels with a pergo (or similar) floor.

I see you got rid of the G35. Howcome? That was a short love affair. Kids on the horizon, maybe?

SDCGTSX

I remodel condos and sell them for a living so I can understand your plight. But going standard is always the best bang for buck. There are ways around the pricey items but looking pricey. For example, there are many good 3.5" MDF base available for $1.50, door casing shouldn't be more than 3" for most condos. Same with crown, you can find good 4" MDF crown for pretty cheap. I also like to do out the kitchens with granite, which we can get done for $2000-2500 installed ($50/l.f. installed). Kitchen cabinets should be able to get done for ~$4000 for nice maple cabinets. Installation is usually the costly part. Find a good handyman you can pay about $20-25 / hour. That'll save a lot of money over a contractor.

I'm Batman

Hang in there Dave, good health is on its way. BTW what treatments are you under going?

chef chris

I've done the same...but cabinets aren't that hard to install either...saves you a TON by hanging them yourself. As long as you are good at scribing trim/molding...you're golden.

soopa

Shit, I feel ya.

The house was ours on Monday, but we didn't get a chance to get in there to "play" until today. Already spent $400 just on preppers, primer, and trim paint.

Then there's painting. $300 in paint. Endless hours of sanding/stripping/cleaning/masking.

Then, I've already decided to completely gut the kitchen. There's 10-15k there.

Then I've got to get furniture for just about every room... there's 10k.

Then there's that new TV I can't seem to convince myself I don't need. 5k.

Then there's the bathrooms. Ugh. New Tile, New Fixtures. Plus there's not alot of room, so I'm thinking that Kohler Purist Hatbox toilet. $7-8k total.

Then I've gotta fix the chimney... $800.

Then I gotta tear up and re-pave the driveway... $2000.

Then sealing/painting the garage... $500... $1000?


What did I get myself into.

soopa

Scrib, why not do the floors yourself? Everyone seems to have done it themselves, and say no problem.

Never looks difficult on TV either. heh.

I'll probably refinish the existing floors myself, and hire someone to do the new install in the kitchen. I've heard only about $500-1000

soopa

Home & Garden sub-forum?

Edr0e

Dave its great to hear from you !!!

Id say you go for it ! I recently had an interior designer do custom blinds for me and im so satisfied

Right now im in the middle of replacing my my carpet for hardwood floor .

Silver™

As a new homeowner I say

SDCGTSX

Good idea. Home & Garden. Too bad I can't do anything to my condo....

Scrib

I've gone back and forth about doing it myself. If I was doing to do laminate I would do it myself.

But 3/4" hardwood is a different beast. Labor would only cost me $750 for the room I want to have done and the project would be completed in 2 days. For the money and time, I think it'd be worth it.

GreenMonster

Nicky Pass

I knew I was growing up when I started to look at couches and wall paint...and not wheels and intakes!

Scrib

Moving to new Home & Garden forum...

Reddly9007

holy crap soopa, do you wish you bought a new home? good luck with all that crap, when its all said and done you'll love your place, granted your paying an arm and a leg to get it like that.

soopa

Reddly... naaaaa. I hate new homes. They're soo boring and use such shitty materials. No character.

What I like about this place, is when I strip everything down... there's thick mahogony, maple, oak, and pine, under everything. In same condition it was in 1920.

soopa

plus, you can't buy NEW homes within the city limits anyway. new homes are for suburbs...

eve

I keep asking myself the same question but it will be worth it in the end.

I'm remodeling 2 bathrooms, putting hardwood floors in living-room/dinning-room, new carpets in bedrooms, painting, changing lighting, etc. Last night was the first time I saw my "new and improved" unit but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. One of the bathroom tiles is on the back order and might take another week to get here. Tonight I'm going to pick out vanity cabinets for both bathrooms as well as mirrors and granite countertops. Still have to buy new closet doors, lights, and small miscellaneous items. I don't want to think how much money I already spent but it's not even over yet. I won't be moving until the end of August, maybe early September.

On the other hand, I shouldn't complain about labor charges. My dad does that kind of work for a living so I'm getting a "family discount". Also, many of his friends offered to help for almost no charge, which is saving me a ton of money.

And Home Depot/Lowe's became my second home. Every spare moment I have, I'm there.


By the way - Home & Garden sub-forum is a great idea.

Dfreder2

For my condo rehab:

I had to buy two gallons of stain at about $25 per,
3 gallons of polyurethane at about $32 per,
5 gallons of paint, about $120,
good, large canvas dropcloth about $25,
brushes, rollers, painting pans, misc supplies, about $100,
1 double prehung red oak (60" wide) french door, one single prehung french door, 3 six panel prehung doors, 6, six panel bifold doors (all made by Jen-Weld), $2976.
Blinds to cover 3-72"W x 85" H sliding glass doors, 1-42"W x 60" H window and 1-100"W x 85" H window, custom made and cut, estimating $1,200 to $1,500,
Base trim and door casing, about $1,800,
Labor for carpenter @ $20 per hour (cheap, he's a friend), about $1,200.

Estimated total: $7,860.

Sounds like a lot, and it is, but wait until you see the pics, probably in two weeks or so.

And Eric: bite the bullet and put in a REAL 3/4" hardwood floor. You'll be glad you did. It is NOT hard to do, and at least it can be refinished when necessary. Try that with a pergo floor.

Scrib

i'm 100% committed to 3/4" hardwood. Pergo was ruled out a long time ago.

Dfreder2

I used to moonlight on Saturdays as a simple laborer for my friend Mike who owns his own hardwood installing service. He must be doing something right, he's a millionaire now. Of course, putting down hardwood floors in a shopping center or two, well, the bucks add up quick, I suppose.

Anyway, back around 1978 Mike got hired by a Doctor to hardwood floor his dining room in Barrington, IL (which is very affluent). I'm not suggesting you do this, just relating a story.

When it came time to finish the floor, we were both rather shocked that the Doc specified a high gloss JET BLACK stain and topcoat. The base trim was to be high gloss black also. We did so, and after the floor was cured we came back in a couple of days and helped him place his new dining room furniture.

The walls were snow white. The new furniture consisted of an eight place dining room table and chairs and a china cabinet, all in high gloss black. Period.

I think it was the most stunning room I have ever seen. Absolutely beautiful.

And glad to hear you are dedicated to a real hardwood floor. Tip: look into (if oak) "quarter sawn" flooring. It will cost a little more, but has a different and prettier grain exposed. Don't expect home depot to carry this, you probably will need to visit a hardwood supplier. It's hard to explain, but the difference is like metal flake paint vs. non metal flake paint on a car. More pizzaz.

soopa

Yeah, I like the look of ebony hardwood flooring.

If I end up having to lay new hardwood in the kitchen (after figuring out just what is under the two layers of linoleum) I will probably do something rather dark as I'd want it to contrast sharply with the lighter floors throughout the rest of the house.

wstevens

Sure, doing home renovations is a headache, but I try to make it part of the fun of owning a house. The renovation process itself should be fun, or else you will never really enjoy your house (because there always seems to be something that needs to get done).

zeroday

It's an endless money pit. Choose your battles wisely . This past month I had to dip into my savings for the following:

bryant heater/AC- $5400 installed
concrete sidewalk,porch, walkway, driveway: 6500$
18 new windows: 12,500$ (and this was the cheap shit too..not pella..etc)
front door-400$



im a broke mofo

Dfreder2

And I was close. No firm quote yet for a couple of hours. But >$1,000 and <$2,000.

ric

Might want to consider vinyl-finished cork, has a very natural feel to it but maintains like vinyl. Can get dark-stained cork, can get it in a variety of finishes and textures. The material is decent underfoot..... Wickanders is one brand name, but there are several out there.

As an alternative, we used a Toli vinyl tile in 18" squares laid on the diagonal (to conceal the fact that the kitchen was not square). We picked a fake cherry and a fake birch; I've even had colleauges who should know better believe it was wood. Again, it's vinyl, and maintains easily. The checkerboard of light and dark wood was very crisp, upscale while still being kind of a "kitchen checkerboard". CUtting the edge pieces drove our guy nuts, and added about a day to the installation, but the end product was worth it.

And when you get the chimney repointed, make sure they don't crap up the flashing around the chimney and roof joints; that's the weakest point of entry for water. If you have other brick on the place, might as well get that repointed at the same time..... and get the brick sealed.

Dfreder2

By a small and very local shop. Had something I could live with, but wasn't really crazy about. OK. Quote me anyway. $1,855.

NFW.

Home Depot was $600, measured and installed, but they can go no longer than 82". I need 86" to be safe. Width is not an issue.

No way in hell I will pay a 300% premium just for four more inches of blinds.

Trying Eddie Z's on Saturday.

I would have swallowed at $1,200.

chef chris

Eric, having done both...I think regular hardwood is easier than laminate. These days, the laminates have the pad already stuck to the bottom of the wood...and they 'stick' to the floor. Regular hardwood goes down faster, easier to cut and is more forgiving.

Give it some more thought...you can buy hardwood finished with a heavy clear coat, so you just cut & install. No need to sand, refinish, etc, etc. All you need to buy is a good $200 Compound Miter Saw, high tooth blade(120 teeth), red epoxy paper and nails. You can rent the rest of the equipment at Home Depot.

chef chris

Heh...that's why I learned how to finish concrete...the tough($) part is getting the old ripped out and hauled away.

Dfreder2

$1400. Still too high, but I have to get the damn things up. Install in three weeks. At least, another link in the chain is taken care of.

chef chris

Keep pluggin Dave...I'm sure they'll be one hell of a nice set of blinds though.

zeroday

how bout i pay you half what i was gonna pay greenville concrete and you hook a brudda up

btw my driveway is concrete paved over with asphalt some cheap fuck decided to save a few bucks

chef chris

Ouch...that's gonna be a PITA to get up. Worst part is, any cracks in the concrete will just telegraph throught the asphalt as soon as it cures, usually within 12 months.

I wish I could do it for you Zero, but my band of Messican laborers is on strike. Getting it poured & level isn't so tough, building the forms is pretty easy, but the ripping up & hauling away...big, big PITA. The biggest problem is finding somewhere to put several yards of broken concrete, not like BFI can haul it away on trash day , etc.