Budget Minded Modernist
I just happened to see the Costco, yes, Costco, bath series they’ve been touting and while I love the double vanity..the price is on par with any other big box with weeks to wait for delivery. Their version of the Decolav wall cabinet however seems worth a second look. I’ve seen the Decolav range in price from $580-$805. The Costco version is $280. So who knew you could buy a gallon of pancake syrup and and your bathroom cabinet in one place? Craaaazy…
I thought I’d start off the new site with the first day of the galvalume installation mentioned here and here. Alas, not to be. Materials were delivered today….right color…wrong profile. We ordered the 12 inch striated rib in burnished slate and we got 12 inch minor rib.
The reason we chose the striated was for it’s more forgiving profile. The flat profile of the minor rib shows imperfections that are less obvious with the striated rib. The photos below show the differences in the 2 styles.
Kills ya to look at all that beautiful metal sitting in the yard that you can’t USE.
As I wake this morning…like many mornings, to the jaw clenching sound of steady gnawing near my head…I am somewhat comforted. It’s almost over.
We’ve made a decision on the siding problem. After many quotes. many meetings, and a little professional encouragement from an architect friend – (Thanks AKK!) We are moving forward with Galvalume: 26 gauge, 12 inch rib in Burnished Slate. Deposit paid, (*gulp*) materials ordered…we should get rolling in about 2 weeks. I’ve included a photo of a barn done in the color we have chosen to give you some idea. The theory is that the dark shade will help the house disappear into the woods.
When our house was built in 1977, it was sided in a beautiful Western Cedar. If it were not for all the animal and water damage, it would still be beautiful, alas, it is not. It is their playground and they taunt me.
It has become apparent in our 9 months of living here, that our battle against the squirrels will never be over as long as the cedar is still on the house.  Indian chili pastes and sprays wash off and only last a short time. I think they are probably developing a taste for the capsaicin buzz by now anyway. As soon as we’ve patched up all the holes, they conspire in the woods and attack again….sometimes a new hole, sometimes right next to the old one….my personal favorite: just pick the highest, most difficult to reach hole and eat right through the patch to the hardware cloth, then chew just far enough around it to access the old hole. I have a metal plate in my hallway ceiling where one overzealous nester decided to try and chew through the sheetrock to greet new horizons. Looking up and seeing that beady eye looking back at you is enough to send any sane homeowner into a frenzied, irrational tailspin. As I frantically jab and scream at the hole in the ceiling with a coat hanger attached to an extension rod, my children must wonder, “What’s happening to Mommy?” Tree rats are turning me into Joan Crawford. That’s what’s happening to Mommy.
There is no way we can DIY this one. It would take years. We just can’t lift panels that heavy, that high by ourselves and so we are at that place we hate to be….having to hire out labor. I think T-111 will look cheap and present the same maintenance level. We’ve had a quote for Hardie vertical panel (smooth with trim piece battens) and are awaiting the one for Galvalume (12 inch rib in 26 gauge). As much as I love the look of the cedar, I just think the maintenance has already proved to be too much. Our house backs up to a state natural area and the wildlife is plentiful. We’d just prefer to admire the wildlife out the window as opposed to shaking our fists in the air like old farts every time we see a squirrel come near the house.
Our budget is, of course, the primary concern. No Ipe rainscreens here. We need an economical solution.
I have 3 bathrooms to renovate. A big draw in buying this place was the condition of the baths-they may be ugly but are fully functional, thus buying us a bit of time.
Doesn’t it seem like a conspiracy when the one thing you didn’t want to deal with rudely forces itself on you like the flu? The upstairs toilet is leaking. There is NO way I’m ready to redo that whole bathroom yet because there are walls to be moved, so let’s just focus on potty replacement as our band-aid. That 70’s tile isn’t really all that bad, and the kids don’t seem to mind having only an 18 inch wide walkway by their sinks….really! I’m sick of plunging anyway.
I’m down to 3 contenders. The Toto Aquia Dual Flush, the Kohler Persuade Dual Flush and the Jacuzzi Espree. The Espree is not dual flush, but a high efficiency flush. That plumbing guru Terry Love and his fans say this is a no brainer…Toto all the way. I am put off by the…ahem…skidmark problem reported by Toto users. They don’t seem to mind though….they say…”just keep a brush handy..best toilet ever!” Dedicated following. I’ll admit my cheap and impatient side has me seduced by the NOW availability (Lowes) of the Espree. The other 2 are mail order only where I live. Whatever we choose will be installed by my fabulous crafty counterpart.
The kitchen has finally reached a semi-photographable milestone. There’s still trim to lay, painting and some minor finishing touches – but it’s basically done.
To give a bit of background, we recently purchased a 1977 modern home that hadn’t seen a lot of love in the past 35 years. The kitchen had to be gutted - the sink had been leaking for years, and the use of space made the kitchen feel a lot smaller than it really was. We closed on a Friday and started the kitchen demo that night. We knew it would be tough to live kitchen-less with kids, so we hoped to minimize down time.
I haven’t added up every last Lowe’s receipt, but, to put a number to it, we completed this job for $16k. While not cheap, (we had hoped to keep it well under $15k), it’s not too bad for a full gut and redo with ALL new appliances.
We did everything ourselves except the flooring and the backsplash tiling – I know – why not? The flooring was a continuation from the adjacent rooms, that were getting an upgrade from green shag, and the tiling was a simple combination of exhaustion and a need for precision with the tiles we chose. We gave in! Additional info on the tile we chose has been covered in this post.
Although we live more than 3 hours from an Ikea, Pricing cabinets made it very obvious that with truck rental and hotel costs, we were still saving immensely by doing an Ikea Kitchen. To illustrate this point, we were quoted $14k for ONLY the base cabinets of Kraft Maid Venecia from Home Depot/Expo. All of our cabinets, including uppers, and the desk area not shown here, cost $7k. The counter top material is quartz ordered/installed through the now defunct Expo-just in time!
We removed the soffits and 2 small walls that crowded the pass through area between the ovens and the fridge. We also made the tough decision to install only one oven in order to maximize the open feeling and gain counter space. We enjoy cooking together, so that’s why we placed the oven offset from the cooktop. While one person cooks at the stove, the other can access the oven without anyone having to step out of the way – a decision I still stand by as it works great for us.
Utby feet from Ikea seemed like a good idea to show off the new floors rather than using toe kick plates. As I clean under there and chase rolling grapes, I’m not so sure it was that practical, but I still love the look.
