Further (mis)adventures in home improvement
Kimmer
(and they are lovely and fun to slide on <g>). We recovered from that
trauma, even if we still haven't gone through the large pile of stuff
that was moved into the garage, but obviously that stuff isn't that
important. Anyway, we decided that next up would be exterior paint.
We've been in this house for almost 18 years, and the only exterior work
we had done was having the trim painted about 13 years ago so having the
exterior painted is long overdue.
So a few weeks ago a couple contractors are going door-to-door to sign
up for estimates on exterior painting. This is perfect as we want to do
this sometime this summer so I give both companies my name and phone
number to set up a time for an estimate. The guy from Collegeworks got
back to me first, and we set up the estimate for that weekend; the guy
from JemStar hasn't called me back, which was too bad 'cause he was cool
(and Wiccan; he noticed my knot and asked about it, so we spent a long
time just chit-chatting). Josh from Collegeworks comes out that Sunday
for the estimate. Collegeworks is a national company that hires college
business majors to handle the individual jobs, giving them actual
experience that will help them later in their careers. Josh was very
professional in his presentation and was well prepared to answer our
questions. After our initial talk about what the company does and what
we wanted done we went outside to go over the particulars, then he wrote
up the estimate. The number he came up with was even lower than we were
expecting so we gave him the 10% down payment and had a signed contract.
Later that same day we get a call from Josh. Seems that in his
calculations for the longer warranty, which is what we opted for, he
didn't use the right number when coming up with the labor charge, so the
actual cost was going to be $1500 more. Now, we had a signed contract
in our hands and had given him 10% down, and the law was on our side in
this, but we were going to give him a chance. We said that we'd use the
opt-out clause to get him off the hook - he may lose money on this deal,
and we really don't want that to happen - and have him draw up a new
estimate, but we would get a couple more estimates rather than go with
Collegeworks right away. Josh's supervisor Kyle called later that night
to discuss the matter further. That's when it was learned that Josh may
end up losing money on this by using the initial numbers, and we said
that we really don't want to see that happen, which is why we proposed
opting out of this contract and having a new estimate done but shopping
around a bit. About half an hour later Kyle called back, saying that
Josh said he'd agree to the initial contract even though he may lose
money on it.
So now I get to figure out what color I want the outside of my house.
Josh dropped off a color chart, and I'm going to brainstorm with my mom
this weekend when we're over there and see what she thinks I still need
to call Collegeworks and set up the actual work, but that's just a
simple phone call.
But wait. There's more! The floorboard of the undersink cabinet in the
sink collapsed a couple weeks ago. Unbeknownst to us there was a slow
leak underneath, and the board was just particle board and was already
in place when we moved in all those years ago. The leak plus the
pressure from the cleaning supplied stored in that cabinet caused the
board to collapse in. Okay, no problem, just clear out the stuff
underneath, remove the board and get it cleaned up as much as possible,
and put a new board down. Not that easy. After removing the old board
and getting the pieces out and the dust vacuumed up we discovered
termite damage in the support boards underneath. Peachy. We had had
the house treated for subterranean termites about 15 years ago, but
apparently the protection wore off 'cause these were subterraneans and
they obviously got inside somehow. I called Orkin the next day to set
up a full termite inspection, which was done that next day. Yep, it's
subterraneans; they like water and tend to invade in kitchens and
bathrooms for that reason. We also have some evidence of drywood
termites but only in some outside trim; the garage and crawl space are
fine. We go ahead and set up treatment for this last Monday, which goes
just fine. The crew got here right before I needed to take the girls to
school, so they got most of the outside stuff done while I was gone,
then it was inside to see just what all needed to be done. They did the
kitchen sink, behind the washer (separate cabinet in the kitchen), and
both bathrooms, leaving minimal evidence of their drilling and stuff.
Again, beautiful job, done without a hitch.
You'd think that would be enough for now, right? Wrong. Since the
kitchen is ultimately going to be redone, and the faucet was in bad
shape, and the cabinet was empty anyway, why not replace the faucet?
Should be pretty easy, since it's been done before. Nothing is ever as
easy as it should be. The attempted installation on Saturday ended up
with a call to a plumber because on trying to turn the valves under the
sink it was discovered that one was broken and needed to be replaced.
Shut off the water to the house completely, which didn't thrill the kids
much. Then it was time to try to remove everything. No such luck, so
it was time to call a plumber. Hey, at least nothing else was damaged
so the job was relatively simple for him. Got the valve removed and
replaced in about 10 minutes - it's amazing how much having the
knowledge and the right tools helps <g> - then since he was here and
still under his minimum time he installed the new faucet. Other than
having to pay overtime rates 'cause it was a weekend it wasn't too
painful.
So now I get to recover from this before the next estimate...for air
conditioning to be installed before the exterior gets painted. It never
ends :-)
Kimmer
kimagreenfieldatyahoodotcom
~*LiveLoveLaugh*~
use Behr paint. No! Nada!! Don't do it!!
--
·.·´¨ ¨)) -:¦:-
¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
Laurie
((¸¸.·´ ..·´
-:¦:- ((¸¸ ·.·
*~*LiveLoveLaugh*~*
All that I am or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.
~Abraham Lincoln
"Kimmer" <m...@deltanet.com> wrote in message
news:5685dfF...@mid.individual.net...
Laura G
Having gone through a years worth of nightmare with my future mother in law
and contractors, I would say this sounded a lot like a scam to try and get
more money out of you. $65,000 later my future MIL is still trying to
recover and save enough money for a trial lawyer, and she was hosed over by
3 shady contractors...really sad.
<snippage>
termites!! aaack!!! i didn't even know they had such things as
subterranean ones...creepy.
laura
>
> Kimmer
> kimagreenfieldatyahoodotcom
>
SueBee
<Nob...@myjunkaddy.com> wrote:
>I'll top post this to make my suggestion simple. Whatever you do, do NOT
>use Behr paint. No! Nada!! Don't do it!!
Says the woman who works at the place where they almost exclusively
sell the stuff *snicker*
SueBee
A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin.
-- H. L. Mencken
SueBee
<snip painting contractor story>
I will be doing lots of painting this summer myself... mostly
interior. We do plan on painting our doors to match our roof (green)
and our patio. Since their are cracks in it we are going to repair it
then paint it to hide the not so pretty parts.
>
>After removing the old board and getting the pieces out and the dust vacuumed
>up we discovered termite damage in the support boards underneath.
Ick. Glad to hear it was fixed. And glad to know that there are NO
TERMITES in Maine :) The only ones that are here are the ones folks
bring when they bring wood up from other places.
<snip plumber/faucet story>
Sounds like your plumber was a good guy. Fixed the problem and gave
you a bit extra. Nice to know that there are some nice folks out
there.
>
>So now I get to recover from this before the next estimate...for air
>conditioning to be installed before the exterior gets painted. It never
>ends :-)
I hope that upgrade is non-traumatic :)
~*LiveLoveLaugh*~
"SueBee" <hunniegrr...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:h1vtv2504ripnp8dm...@4ax.com...
> On Mon, 19 Mar 2007 15:57:36 -0400, "~*LiveLoveLaugh*~"
> <Nob...@myjunkaddy.com> wrote:
>
>>I'll top post this to make my suggestion simple. Whatever you do, do NOT
>>use Behr paint. No! Nada!! Don't do it!!
>
> Says the woman who works at the place where they almost exclusively
> sell the stuff *snicker*
Awwww... someone is paying attention! I used it in my bathroom and after
two coats I said "fuck it" and went to Glidden. One coat and it was done.
Behr sucks!! (Unless you love to paint and paint and paint). I could never
work in the paint department.
--
·.·´¨ ¨)) -:¦:-
¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
Laurie
((¸¸.·´ ..·´
-:¦:- ((¸¸ ·.·
*~*LiveLoveLaugh*~*
All that I am or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.
~Abraham Lincoln
>
Kimmer
Laura wrote:
> Having gone through a years worth of nightmare with my future mother
> in law and contractors, I would say this sounded a lot like a scam to
> try and get more money out of you. $65,000 later my future MIL is
> still trying to recover and save enough money for a trial lawyer, and
> she was hosed over by 3 shady contractors...really sad.
If we hadn't spoken to both Josh and Kyle about this we may have felt
the same way, but they were both very up front about everything, and
both understood our side of the situation. If they had just been
scamming to get more money they probably would have pushed harder for
the new price.
> <snippage>
>
> termites!! aaack!!! i didn't even know they had such things as
> subterranean ones...creepy.
Yep. When we had the house treated 15 years ago they were just outside;
there's all kinds of damage in the fence around the house from them (but
not from the newer side; we used redwood, which termites won't touch),
but they hadn't gotten inside. Fortunately, they were able to just
treat the water areas inside and spot treat the outside drywood ones.
No tenting required.
Kimmer
kimagreenfieldatyahoodotcom
Kimmer
> I'll top post this to make my suggestion simple. Whatever you do, do
> NOT use Behr paint. No! Nada!! Don't do it!!
Heh, these guys use Frazee. We've used Behr inside and haven't had any
problems. I guess it depends on what you're trying to cover, as we used
it in our bathroom and were just covering over one shade of white with
another. Still looks great a couple years later.
Kimmer
kimagreenfieldatyahoodotcom
Kimmer
> On Mon, 19 Mar 2007 12:07:11 -0700, "Kimmer" <m...@deltanet.com> wrote:
>
> <snip painting contractor story>
>
> I will be doing lots of painting this summer myself... mostly
> interior. We do plan on painting our doors to match our roof (green)
> and our patio. Since their are cracks in it we are going to repair it
> then paint it to hide the not so pretty parts.
I want to do the inside as well, but that's not as urgent and likely
will be done one room at a time. I'll likely do the hall first because
we have to replace some cabinet doors - they've got dents in them from
where elbows landed while falling (yes, I'm that big of a klutz) - and I
don't want to use the same shade of off-white. I'd like to play with
color a bit, but I've got this textured stuff all over, and I'm not sure
how that would work.
>>After removing the old board and getting the pieces out and the dust
>>vacuumed
>>up we discovered termite damage in the support boards underneath.
>
> Ick. Glad to hear it was fixed. And glad to know that there are NO
> TERMITES in Maine :) The only ones that are here are the ones folks
> bring when they bring wood up from other places.
You're fortunate there. The good news was that it didn't need to be
tented. That would have meant staying elsewhere for a few days.
> <snip plumber/faucet story>
>
> Sounds like your plumber was a good guy. Fixed the problem and gave
> you a bit extra. Nice to know that there are some nice folks out
> there.
Yeah, this guy is great. Got his name from a friend years ago. He's
done other minor stuff in our bathrooms, same day service. He's a
one-man operation, too, and his rates are the lowest I've seen for a
plumber. We're gonna keep him as long as we can <g>
>>So now I get to recover from this before the next estimate...for air
>>conditioning to be installed before the exterior gets painted. It
>>never
>>ends :-)
>
> I hope that upgrade is non-traumatic :)
I sure hope so. It helps that we've already got the ducting in place
for our heater. The ducting and heater likely will be replaced, too,
since it was here when we moved in. A couple friends recently had a/c
installed and were happy with the job and the price, so we're gonna get
the phone numbers and get estimates.
In my ideal world I'd have an unlimited source of funds that would allow
me to add a full second floor consisting of a master suite, work loft,
and TV room, but that's not about to happen any time soon, dammitall!!
Maybe some rich relative will appear out of nowhere and offer me a
truckload of money. Hey, I can dream <g>
Kimmer
kimagreenfieldatyahoodotcom
SueBee
> "SueBee" <hunniegrrl01NOS...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>
> news:h1vtv2504ripnp8dm...@4ax.com...
>
> > On Mon, 19 Mar 2007 15:57:36 -0400, "~*LiveLoveLaugh*~"
> > <Nob...@myjunkaddy.com> wrote:
>
> >>I'll top post this to make my suggestion simple. Whatever you do, do NOT
> >>use Behr paint. No! Nada!! Don't do it!!
>
> > Says the woman who works at the place where they almost exclusively
> > sell the stuff *snicker*
>
> Awwww... someone is paying attention! I used it in my bathroom and after
> two coats I said "fuck it" and went to Glidden. One coat and it was done.
I have been known to pay attention time and again :)
>
> Behr sucks!! (Unless you love to paint and paint and paint). I could never
> work in the paint department.
I have to admit the paint I bought to do Matt's room was Behr and the
girl in the paint dept was great. She told us to use a gray primer
(the colors we used were dark and we were painting on white walls) and
we only did 2 coats and it looks great.
SueBee
SueBee
>In my ideal world I'd have an unlimited source of funds that would allow
>me to add a full second floor consisting of a master suite, work loft,
>and TV room, but that's not about to happen any time soon, dammitall!!
>Maybe some rich relative will appear out of nowhere and offer me a
>truckload of money. Hey, I can dream <g>
I know what you mean. We want to pave the driveway, put a bathroom
downstairs, put in a wood stove and buy some more odds and ends of
furniture (most stuff we bought 2 years ago this coming July). Oh
yeah... and put in that pergola and fire pit in the back, as well as
close off our deck and make it a sun room, gut the kitchen, take out
the wall between the kitchen and dining room and put in an island
instead.
SueBee
playing the lottery
~*LiveLoveLaugh*~
"SueBee" <hunnie...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1174370774.8...@y66g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
I was painting over peach (bleh) with a dark navy blue-ish color and half
pea green. I went from light to dark, but still used a primer. Biggest
pain in my arse!! I thought I could knock out that bathroom in a few hours
and it literally took all day. AND the bathroom is tiny. My girlfriend
calls it the one butt bathroom! ;)
The things we learn when doing home improvement!!
~*LiveLoveLaugh*~
White over white is the easiest. When the movers moved me in, they dinged a
corner with my huge sofa. I was too lazy to get the paint out, so I grabbed
the white out and clear nail polish (semi-gloss).
Seriously. I white-outed my ding. (Definitely a blonde moment... but it
worked)!! ;oD
--
·.·´¨ ¨)) -:¦:-
¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
Laurie
((¸¸.·´ ..·´
-:¦:- ((¸¸ ·.·
*~*LiveLoveLaugh*~*
All that I am or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.
~Abraham Lincoln
>
> Kimmer
> kimagreenfieldatyahoodotcom
>
Wolf
ok, I'm so not thrilled to read this. I mean I'm glad everything went well
for you...but I have so much work to do in my own house, this makes me want
to cry.
Lisa
Kimmer
> ok, I'm so not thrilled to read this. I mean I'm glad everything went
> well for you...but I have so much work to do in my own house, this
> makes me want to cry.
Hey, you know I'm a walking disaster. If it wasn't this stuff,
something else would have fallen apart. The painting estimate thing was
an error that was able to be worked out. The termites...well, termites
happen here, and that particle board base in the cabinet was probably as
old as the house, which is why I eventually want to redo the kitchen but
can't figure out how to do what I'd like to do without knocking out
something major, like a wall or a row of cabinets.
We've actually been very fortunate with this house. We had one
semi-disaster about three weeks before Caitlin was born when a pipe
under the sink in the master bathroom broke and flooded the bedrooms and
hall, but that was easy enough to get taken care of. We've got the
usual cracks and minor mishaps, but that goes along with being a
homeowner.
There are times, though, when I wish we were still renting and had
landlords/management that was as responsive as the ones in the places we
rented, but owning means you can knock out a wall, just because <g>
Kimmer
kimagreenfieldatyahoodotcom