It had occured to me that no one needs to lose as much sleep or money as I did when I remodeling my home. An extensive remodeling guide, "Salvation" is located in the back of Remodeling Hell. Thirty seven pages of sound avice and suggestions to cutting the crap and keeping on track.
To create my dream house I both remodeled an existing home and constructed a signifigant new additon. I took away many lessons that apply to both experiences. When I began, I had no resources or no book I could consult. I learned every lesson the hard, and usually, the expensive way. These lessons/ideas can save you money, grief and time. They can make the process, if not exactly enjoyable, then at least not miserable! You will be able to check the quality of constuction and hopefully recognize mistakes when you see them. Follow these lessons and you will end up with a better house. Even if you have no previous experience in construction or remodeling, these can be enormously useful. I don't pretend I learned every lesson, but it's a handy collection.
Happy building!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
More Hell with Remodeling
It seemed like a good idea at the time, thought that gave me no comfort during the hell that followed.
The plan was simple enough. I'd just bought a very nice, though dated, house situated beside a prestine expanse of Southwestern desert on the sunny slope of a mountain preserve. I'd have no new, or even old, neighbors obstructing my view, and could enjoy the striking scenery as well as the myriad wildlife that populated the area. My plan was to take what was already a basically sound house design, expand on it, and landscape and remodel the remainder, turning the totality into my dream home....
Sounds like a wonderful venture right? Wrong! I spent the next two years with bumbling contractors, plumbers, electricians and loafs and ended up with a lovely home and a pool that still doesn't work as it should. Talk about touching the burner. But for those of the adventerous mind or the valiant DIY-ers much like myself there's something to be said for making your own dreams. Or perhaps in my case building my dream. Following these funny annectodal stories is my "Salvation" guide, an assemeblance of FAQs and common problems with all the right answers. Trust me when I say I could have only wished and hoped for this information during my own remodeling hell.
Read and enjoy!
The plan was simple enough. I'd just bought a very nice, though dated, house situated beside a prestine expanse of Southwestern desert on the sunny slope of a mountain preserve. I'd have no new, or even old, neighbors obstructing my view, and could enjoy the striking scenery as well as the myriad wildlife that populated the area. My plan was to take what was already a basically sound house design, expand on it, and landscape and remodel the remainder, turning the totality into my dream home....
Sounds like a wonderful venture right? Wrong! I spent the next two years with bumbling contractors, plumbers, electricians and loafs and ended up with a lovely home and a pool that still doesn't work as it should. Talk about touching the burner. But for those of the adventerous mind or the valiant DIY-ers much like myself there's something to be said for making your own dreams. Or perhaps in my case building my dream. Following these funny annectodal stories is my "Salvation" guide, an assemeblance of FAQs and common problems with all the right answers. Trust me when I say I could have only wished and hoped for this information during my own remodeling hell.
Read and enjoy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)