Our New Old House

We had a very productive, very awesome morning with the two people we asked to give us quotes today.

First the electrician came and he was super professional, friendly, and really knew how to deal with our house. In fact, by the time I got in to work he had already emailed me a fully itemized quote, with everything we talked about on site, AND his total price for everything is exactly what we were hoping to budget for initially, right around $5,000. Of course, we have a little extra money available should unexpected things come up, but he seemed really confident in how smoothly this job would go. We will probably get a third electrical quote, just for good measure, but this guy has all but won the bid already.

The chimney sweeps came next at 9:30. There were two people, the person who owns the business and her assistant of seven years, who is also fully certified. They did their inspection and then we sat in the air conditioned living room to discuss our options. This company offered two solutions: 1.) insert a stainless steel liner through the chimney and get it working as a traditional fireplace, or 2.) install a wood burning stove insert with a lined chimney pipe for increased energy efficiency. There would only be a difference of a couple hundred dollars between the two choices, so after hearing all about the stove insert and how it works and all the options we have with it (it does have the option to look like a regular fireplace if you want that ambiance) we’re leaning toward that. Either way, the work will cost just under $4000, which is GREAT for our budget.

After everybody else left, Brandon and I went outside to measure for building our retaining wall planting beds on the south side of the house. I had forgotten my tape measure, but we found a yard stick inside left by the previous owner, so while Brandon walked the area measuring with the yard stick, I wrote down the measurements on a diagram. I’m going to take that information tonight and start drawing a (mostly) to scale diagram of how these will be laid out so we can plan for how much it’s going to cost.

It was so much fun going through everything with Brandon. He’s really caught the enthusiasm to get started now too.

(Excited squeal and happy dance!!!)

[tags]budget, chimney, contractors, electricity, fireplace, landscaping, retaining wall[/tags]

Since we’re going to be so busy the rest of this summer working on our new old house, Brandon and I made it a point to go up to Clear Lake this weekend and work on our other house. We did some outdoor jobs that we’ve been putting off too long. Brandon mowed the grass while I went to the hardware store (more about that later), and when I got back he had borrowed a neighbor’s tree trimmer (sawblade on the end of a LONG pole) and was cutting away the branches that were brushing the roof. I changed my clothes and got on the roof to help. He gave me the lopping shears and I snipped off everything I could reach. Then he handed me a big broom and I swept the whole roof. Our neighbors on two sides have really dirty trees that drop two sets of leaves every year, PLUS these little peppercorn-like seeds that act just like ball bearings under your feet when you’re trying to walk around on the roof. Yeah, I was taking my life into my hands, no doubt about it. But after I got the roof swept off I put on my rubber-coated gloves and cleaned out the three inch layer of mosquito-infested compost that had built up in our gutters over the course of the summer. Amazingly, I escaped with only one mosquito bite on my whole body, and it’s on the knuckle of my right pointer finger. All in all it was a very productive and exhausting day, but we did get to go swimming so that made it all feel a little like a vacation.

My trip to the hardware store had two purposes: to buy some things we actually need, and to scope out prices and plan for future projects.

Here’s the stuff I put on my list to buy:

• latex gloves
• a gallon of kilz
• a couple new brushes (since the foam ones I used last time have since bit the dust)
• a face mask
• furnace filter
• protective eye goggles

I got all those things.

More importantly, I did some planning for future projects. Here’s what I came up with:

We want to remove the countertop sink in the bathroom and replace it with a pedestal. I found a really lovely one for about $60. Faucets tend to cost between $40 and $60, so I’ll budget for $60. That doesn’t include any additional plumbing hardware we’ll need to connect it with, so I guess I’ll add $30 for that and come up with a total sink replacement budget of $150.

We need to buy a refrigerator. Menards had a 10 cubic foot self defrosting fridge/freezer for $309. We were hoping to spend no more than $400 for a fridge, so that’s probably what we’ll go with. I had hoped to buy an Energy Star appliance, for the tax break, but they only had one at Menards and it was around $600. This one only uses 386 kwh per year, though, so it’s not like it’s an energy hog.

We can borrow most of the power tools we’ll need from friends and family, but we wanted to see what it would cost to buy them anyway, because it’s always nice to have your own tools.

I found two circular saws that I liked and that were in my price range. One was a Tool Shop brand. It was $23.66, a nice compact size, and had all the standard features. I found a Skil one at Sears, though, and it felt more balanced in my hand. It costs $39.99. They had a Craftsman saw at Sears that I picked up but it just felt awful. All the weight was in the back and it felt really bottom-heavy. It was also $39.99 on sale.

The Skil reciprocating saw was $54.99 on sale, but the Masterforce, which comes with an actual hard case rather than a canvas carrying bag was $64.00 regular price, so I’d probably go with the Masterforce. Everything about them other than that was the same, except I like the pivot foot on the Masterforce better.

I wanted to see what a chainsaw would cost, so I looked at the 14″ ones, both gas and electric. I was really surprised by the difference in price between the gas and electric. Gas was $109 and electric was only $34.99. The electric one at Sears was $59.99. I don’t actually plan on buying one very soon. We already have an offer from my mom’s boyfriend to use his next week.

The big project I’m going to work on planning for is the retaining walls and planters to fix our erosion problem on the side of the house. I still haven’t measured for how big these retaining walls are going to be, but I got prices per unit for all the supplies we’ll need, so once I have measured we can figure out how much it will cost. Here’s a list of supplies I will need for the project (and the prices I gathered today):

• Paver base (50 lb. bag – $2.38)
• Pea gravel (50 lb. bag – $2.39)
• Retaining wall bricks (88 cents each)
• Top soil (40 lb. bag – $1.14)
• Flagstones ($1.44 each)

So, the plan as I see it in my head, having never done this before, is this:

1. Measure the area to build the walls
2. Add up how much of the supplies I’ll need
3. Buy the supplies I’ll need, plus extras
4. Put the first layer of bricks together so they fit properly
5. Mark the final layout where the walls will go
6. Dig a swath for the base layer of bricks
7. Pour paver base into the swath and tamp it down
8. Build the brick wall
9. Put a layer of pea gravel inside the planting area
10. Put a layer of top soil inside the planting area
11. Put some plastic edging strips at each end of the pathway between the two planting beds
12. Level the ground and put down paver base
13. Lay flagstones to make a path
14. Pour pea gravel around the flagstones and up to the walls to fill in the rest of the space
15. Plant hostas and other shade loving plants in the planter beds

At least that’s the plan as it appears to me in my current state of being under the influence of a valerian root sleeping pill. We’ll see how coherent all this looks to me in the morning.

[tags]budget, Clear Lake house, future plans, gutters, power tools, retaining wall, trees, yardwork[/tags]

So, my friend Ross and I chatted online a little today. Ross, like most of my friends, is a computer geek. Here’s what happened:

Kelli: I’m reading about how to install windows.
Ross: Any reason?
Kelli: Coz we’re going to need to install windows.
Ross: for work?
Kelli: No, for our new house.
Ross: I am le confused
Kelli: It’s got all the original windows in it and they’re a nightmare for insulation.
Ross: oh god
Ross: I’m a dork
Kelli: Oh my gosh
Kelli: Not Windows ™ windows that open and close on a house.
Ross: Yeah, just figured that out
Ross: I’m like.. “But you’re married to a linux guy, and in a chat room full of linux folks”
Kelli: LOL That’s awesome

Here’s what I was reading: (PDF from Pella Windows)

About insurance:

I spoke with my agent at State Farm yesterday. He told me that in their eyes, builders risk insurance is meant for new construction. Where existing structures are concerned, they only write homeowners policies and the house we’re buying does not qualify for one of those. He recommended I find a small, independent insurance agent (translation: find someone who’s not very reputable in the business) and get them to try every insurance agency they have access to. He actually said, “State Farm won’t do it, but somebody out there will.”

On the plus side, our mortgage originator, who is excellent, recommended a specific Farmer’s agent for me so I’ve given his office a call and expect to have a quote from him on Monday. I did mention to his assistant that we’re hoping to close on Aug. 17, and she said they’d be able to write it up very quickly if it’s ok, so we should still be able to close.

Fingers crossed!

[tags]insurance, random, windows[/tags]

Last night I planned to meet up with my Uncle Phillip who has a pickup truck, and two guys that I work with to move the washer and dryer that my Uncle Matt is giving us. We all met at my Grandparents’ house, which is about four doors down from my new old house. When we got there, my Uncle Michael was there and said he’d come along and help too. So with all those guys, plus my husband, Brandon, we had six of us to move two large appliances. Grandma had snagged the local church’s industrial strength dolly, and Brandon swung by Home Depot after work to pick up a standard issue dolly.

When we were all assembled around the truck, I couldn’t help but feel like it was maybe a bit of overkill, but more than that, I felt supremely grateful for having such awesome friends and family.

When we arrived at my Uncle Matt’s new (gorgeous!) house we were greeted at the door by my cousin Pam, who’s my age. I looked over her shoulder and saw that the house was teeming with children. A familiar sight among my family, but it was still pretty amusing. Uncle Matt’s seven kids were there with Pam’s two younger brothers, and Pam’s two little boys. That makes thirteen children between the ages of 2 and 14. I love my big family.

So anyway, we located the washer and dryer (the two they were keeping were already whirring with the laundry of a seven child household.) The five guys took turns taking one end of each appliance and pretty quickly loaded them both in the pickup. We drove back to the east side, I jumped out and unlocked the front door to gain access to the back door, and they pulled the truck around to the back. The basement stairs were a little tricky, but with an extra person standing at the bottom, they got them down with no trouble at all. The move was a success! No broken backs, no cuts or bruises, no smashed toes.

Dinner afterward at La Pizza House was awesome, as it always is, and now we will have a washer and dryer when we move in!

[tags]dryer, washing machine[/tags]

I found a pamphlet online that explains builders risk insurance! 

Here it is. It’s a PDF.