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Join Date: May 2006
06-10-2016, 3:14 PM
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A few years ago, we bought the "worst house in the best neighrorhood". I love the area, I can walk to the launch ramp at the lake, and have 2100 sq ft on 1/3 acre with a pool. We've been renovating room-by-room, and finally bit the bullet and took it ALL on. The previous owner "renovated" the kitchen with the cheapest cabinets and flooring money could buy. Nothing was done right. Electrical not in J boxes, switches backways, plumbing questionable, etc.
There was a fireplace wall which divided my family and kitchen which I HATED. I designed the whole kitchen, cabinet layout, everything, and started collecting the big ticket items I needed starting this year. My must haves: 36" Viking pro range, double ovens, under counter microwave, huge island, stacked cabinets, and a wine bar. I was able to scour the internet for some pretty incredible deals to allow me to build this kitchen on my budget - Viking Range $150 (came out of a multi million dollar home in Napa, hardly used normally $3,000), Bosch double ovens $2k brand new (list $3400, guy bought online, wife wanted a single with microwave and couldn't return), wine fridge - "scratch and dent" (not visable) $200, retail $850, Franke farmhouse sink, $200 brand new, MSRP $1200, etc.
Rundown of work:
Demo fireplace, dividing walls, and soffits
relocate range and refrigerator, chip slab for power to island
All new floors in house
New Doors/frames/hardware
Office remodel - build closet, LED lights
New LED recessed lighting througout
Exterior dryrot repair and paint
Interior paint and baseboards throughout
I took 5 work days off before memorial day weekend, which gave me 10 straight days to get a good chunk of work done. I am doing or managing all the work myself. I am lucky to have a good friend/superintendent who has a flexible schedule and can run the work while Im at my job. I'm also lucky to have lots of jobsite connections who do "side work" (painters, cabinet installers, tapers, you name it). We have a 11 month baby, and are living in the house. My wife and I both work as commercial construction project managers, so we know what to expect and how to schedule a job. I built a zip wall at the hallway to keep all dust clear, and built a temp kitchen in the garage for meal prep. We started this 3 weeks ago, and appliances and plumbing trim go in tomorrow. Its been a pretty incredible timeline.
This was "before" The fireplace wall was non bearing and took a huge chunk of space. Hated it.
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Join Date: May 2006
06-10-2016, 3:16 PM
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Join Date: May 2006
06-10-2016, 3:22 PM
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Join Date: May 2006
06-10-2016, 3:25 PM
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Join Date: May 2006
06-10-2016, 3:36 PM
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Join Date: May 2006
06-10-2016, 3:42 PM
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Week 2 slowed down a bit because I had to go back to work, but we started the office renovation, which included the addition of a closet.
Closet location
Found out the previous owner cut the 4x12 header and the soffit was left unsupported
Reframed, added recessed soffit
More scary electrical. Live electrical, in the wall with no box and only a cover plate
Drywalled, textured, painted
Doors replaced
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Join Date: May 2006
06-10-2016, 3:46 PM
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Started pulling baseboards in the Master Bedroom, and found black mold. Previous water damage "repair" was done, so I started undoing the work
Culprit - Sh*tty design. Will have to take this apart and reflash, or extend the eve
Water test fail
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Join Date: May 2006
06-10-2016, 3:51 PM
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Join Date: May 2006
06-10-2016, 4:04 PM
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Oh my favorite part of the kitchen so far
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Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Texas
06-10-2016, 4:17 PM
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Looks awesome!
We are gearing up to rip and replace our cabinets/island and fridge. Wish we could do a beast like that Viking but no gas in our neighborhood
Is that quartz countertop?
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Join Date: May 2006
06-10-2016, 5:32 PM
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Yeah it's Quartz, "torquay" by Cambria.
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Join Date: May 2009
06-15-2016, 7:14 AM
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Nice work man! Really like what you did with the island to make it match.
Any updates? I'm curious how the two tone cabinets came out. Also what was the deciding factor on the flooring? I see lots of people doing the "wood look" tile and curious if price or something else made you go with the laminate.
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Join Date: May 2006
06-15-2016, 7:48 AM
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Join Date: May 2006
06-15-2016, 7:51 AM
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PS, I added up all my costs (including to complete), and I'm right at 50k. Kitchen came out to about 40 and the rest of the house 10. Those are my costs, getting bargains on all the fixtures/appliances/cabinets (wholesale), and the majority of the labor with my friends and I. Biggest costs are cabinets (8k), counters (8k), flooring (10k), and Appliances (6k).
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Join Date: May 2004
Location: Weatherford, Texas
06-15-2016, 8:12 AM
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Nice work!
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Join Date: Jun 2004
06-15-2016, 8:38 AM
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Great job! Thanks for sharing. Love to see projects like this, and it's even better when someone lets us in on the cost and breakdown.
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Join Date: May 2006
06-15-2016, 8:40 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blake_hughes
Nice work!
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Thanks! Ready to move back in the house now...
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Join Date: May 2009
06-16-2016, 7:30 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fouroheight68
The deciding factor on the flooring was 1) cost and 2) durability. The ceramic tile that looks like wood is awesome, but EXPENSIVE ($10 psf installed). We wanted engineered hardwood, but with the little ones we opted for more durability (the engineered wood dents and scratches easily). The laminate we chose was less than $4 a foot installed, AC4 commercial rating, and has the look and feel of wood. We couldnt be happier.
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Makes sense and with flooring already being one of your higher costs, doubling your price per sq. foot would wreck that budget. But nice work & I bet your guys are looking forward to enjoying it!
Last question that just popped in my head, are you worried about other hidden "gems" (electrical, plumbing or just in general) in the rest of the house after what you've already seen?
Last edited by chillinoj; 06-16-2016 at 7:34 AM.
Reason: can't spell ha
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Join Date: May 2006
06-16-2016, 7:38 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chillinoj
Makes sense and with flooring already being one of your higher costs, doubling your price per sq. foot would wreck that budget. But nice work & I bet your guys are looking forward to enjoying it!
Last question that just popped in my head, are you worried about other hidden "gems" (electrical, plumbing or just in general) in the rest of the house after what you've already seen?
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I have taken care of all the hidden things in the house (I think?). Its pretty easy to tell where a wall has been opened (due to their crappy texture job), so anywhere the walls opened or there is something that doesnt look right I've taken it apart and put it back together the right way. Example - last year I found some romex running on the OUTSIDE of the dywall inside the closet. I traced it up to the attic to some can lights that were added. They had spliced into a main power run, wire nutted their connection in, electrical taped it and just layed it down in the insulation. No junction box. Another example - ceiling fans in the bedroom were added. I traced the power source to the furnace (should be dedicated) and the fixture was powered hot all the time, and the switch leg was just a neutral... big no no. I re-routed the electrical to a wall outlet.
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Join Date: Apr 2007
06-17-2016, 7:07 AM
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Very nice work! Looks like you saved yourself a lot of cash by doing it yourself. I like that island with the curve in it, that's a nice touch!
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