We finally finished up a series of home improvement projects
that have been in the idea phase for about a year and the implementation phase
for about four months. We live in a
colonial that was built in 1994 so the house is fairly modern. The previous owners put flooring in about 50%
of the main level and remodeled the master en suite bath.
Our recent projects were in the kitchen and living
room. The kitchen had become a source of
consternation primarily due to the sink.
It was an enamel coated iron sink that while attractive did not lend
itself to staying clean. Water would
pool around the edges and the caulking was constantly getting moldy despite the
very low humidity. The answer was an
under mount sink. To get there we started
with professionally installed granite counter tops. Everything looked great except for the
unfinished wall where the laminate counter tops were removed. This meant a back splash. We decided to go with professionally
installed ceramic tile.
The living room project was straight forward. The carpet was a sore spot since we moved
in. The purchase price was slightly
lower as all of the carpeting in the house should have been replaced. We put this off for a number of years. The carpet had been steam cleaned three times
and despite being “clean,” looked pretty dirty.
When pricing new carpeting we went ahead and made the leap to hardwood flooring. The room was about 400 square feet. It was not an overwhelming project, but a
very nice upgrade to the home.
The big challenge was figuring out exactly what we
wanted. We got multiple bids, but they
were not always apples to apples. We
primarily worked towards a competitive price with companies we felt comfortable
with and then dialed in the materials.
In the future, I will be more apt to consult with an interior
designer. While my wife and I have mainstream tastes, we are not the most decisive people on the planet. Having a designer select slabs, stain color
and tile color would have saved us a lot of headache and only increased our
costs 5-10%.
The smaller challenge was coordinating the installation
crews. We did not have a general
contractor and instead were scheduling plumbers, counter top installers,
flooring installers and tile installers.
This was a logistical challenge as my wife and I have busy schedules that don't always lend themselves to installers schedules
In the end, I love the results and am ready to take another
3 year break from home improvement.
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