Remodel - Week 6

"...you might as well..."

Ah yes, the "you might as well" syndrome - a well-known complication in the malady known as remodeling. As in:

• You might as well replace the drafty wood burning fireplace with a more energy-efficient gas insert with side vent so that you don't have to re-route the chimney (which would have taken up valuable new real estate in the new bedroom); and

• You might as well add pot lights to the family room as long as you have the roof off anyway; and

• You might as well get a new tankless water heater as long as the current water heater is 8 years old and its vent would have had to have been relocated anyhow (believe it or not, that white rectangular box to the left of the breaker box in the pix below is our new tankless hot water heater); and





• You might as well replace the 2nd story clapboards on the existing part of the house to match the shingles on the new addition; and


• You might as well replace the fascia trim on the 2nd floor of the existing part of the house since you're replacing the clapboards; and finally


• You might as well replace the entire flat roof on the old part of the house (even though you were hoping to only patch where the chimney had been) because the fiber board underlayment is failing.

SIGH.

It's the "you might as well's" that will make any remodel project grow and expand. But, what are you going to do? It does make sense to replace/repair things when previous "remuddles" and good old "wear and tear" rear their ugly heads. But there is a significant "ouchie-wah-wah" moment for each.


Week 6 was all about the roof and the bathroom - fitting in HVAC, plumbing and electric inside and the fixing the gaping chimney hole on the roof:



The washer/dryer closet got its raised floor this weekend and we are now the proud parents of a stackable Maytag Epic series pair in WHITE. Yes, WHITE. Despite my fervent desire to have RED, the frugalista trumped the fashionista on this one. Even I could not justify spending $350 more (each!!!) just for red. Of course our overarching theme on this remodel has been whatever decisions we make should be appropriate for the 1930's history of the house. And of course washers and dryers (did they even have dryers in the 1930's?) would have been white. We don't have to take delivery of the washer/dryer until we're ready for them - we just needed exact measurements and location of water hook-up and piping on the back of the washer - putting these babies in a closet demands precision!

And hence our choice to have polished chrome for the fixtures in the bath - not only is the polished chrome cheaper than brushed nickel, it's period appropriate (at least that's what we keep telling ourselves).

Steve has been the clean-up man after every trade that has come through (he says he feels like this is ALL that he does - he and the vacuum cleaner/shop vac are in a special relationship now). Also he's been painting the shingle panels and trim in the basement. He's painted 32 of the panels and has 75-100 to go!



Yesterday while Steve-the-plumber (not to be confused with Steve-the-husband) was doing the rough plumbing for the bathroom, we had to trek to The Tile Shop in south Milwaukee (yes, all the tile-vendors must have had a compact to set up shop in locations that are the furthest from where we live) to find tile. It seems that the basket-weave tile that I'd fallen in love with at the cheaper tile store (which didn't quote prices, you have to wait until your installer lets you know the cost) was $26.00 sq/ft!!! So much for my alleged thrift - and no wonder I loved it!

So, long story short, we found subway tile for $0.77 each (yeah); cornice tile for $12.99 (not so much yeah - but we don't need that many of them). Here is pix from display at store:



And this lovely stone basket-weave for the floor for $11.60 sq/ft (I think it is identical to the $26 sq/ft one):




Jason also framed in the knee-wall in the hallway leading to the new bedroom. Steve-the-husband will build in the bookcases that we originally had along this knee-wall when this was the computer room.



Thus endeth Week 6 of Ellen and Steve's "you-might-as-well" remodel project!