I’ve gotten a plethora of comments since I posted the remodel prices in a previous post. It is very very sad to love a house so much that you would spend more than a new house would cost in some areas. And believe me, it took me quite a while to reconcile the fact that it would cost this much.

The main drawback with this house was that if we didn’t do the most expensive part of the project (build the dormer and structurally support it) that we would be left with only a finished main floor of about 900 square feet as the staircases to the basement and attic made putting any furniture wider than 2 feet up or down stairs. No way we would pass any sort of inspections. I also had issues with leaving old wiring in places and covering everything up with drywall. Some really expensive projects just seemed irresponsible NOT to do while everything was opened/torn up. But, that REALLY effects the bottom line.\

Some days I worry if we will recoup our investment, but I think if this house is done and meets our business and personal needs, I won’t mind living here for the next several years if the local market completely tanks.

Also there was the need to continue on with our business plans, and Jeremy needs photography studio space in the basement. Not to mention that before we decided to purchase the house, that general contractors that came in to give us estimates, underestimated by 40-50%, that or they didn’t want to scare us by factoring in their commission! We knew things would be spendy, but we thought we could do a lot more ourselves, when in reality, there is just no way. We are beyond exhaustion NOW and have only had to do miscellaneous projects here and there.

And next week comes PAINTING. We are doing that ourselves and I have decided everything will be some shade of off-white or beige for now. I need to live in the newly remodeled space and furniture shop and dream of what I want before I commit to color. It took abut 6 months for me to pick out all the colors in our previous house, so for now we’ll be renting a professional sprayer and go hog wild with BLANDNESS. Woot!

We’re also going on vacation to Minnesota (sounds like an oxymoron if I ever heard one) April 5-13, so we have to be DONE painting before then so our contractor can get to work on the trim while we’re gone. Drywall taping and mudding is tomorrow. More mess! Woohoo!

One Response to “House Rich”

1. denise says:

   March 28, 2008 at 7:39 am

   There’s a lot to be said for painting everything white when you’re in a new space. I did that when I moved into our first house — it helped to wipe the slate clean and give you a chance to think about how you want the new space to look. No need to rush into it!