Boss (expertise needed) ~ house renovations

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Rhonda

Rhonda

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Nov 1, 2002
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Millinocket
www.millinocketflorist.com
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Maine
Okay, long story short
1. bought house in 1974
2. House insulated (blown insulation) 1974
3. Bought wood pellet stove to heat house 2008, too old to do the wood stove anymore.
4. Before installing pellet stove, had to remove 40 year old carpet (must say it was the best Sears had and the pad ultimate, hardwood floors underneath mostly intact with some sticky pad on top, will buff up just perfectly says our finish carpenter)
5. Need to take old paper, paint, paper, paper off wall in corner ...whole room actually..
6. Find that blown insulation didn't make it through the fire stop between floors and that our downstairs has spotty insulation in outside walls (after 34 years) (duh) can you say new wallboard
7. Interior antique french doors (12 panes) that go out to our unheated porch are being replaced with insulated exterior french doors...find no header cause installer took doors from den to porch by just cutting a hole in the exterior wall (duh)
8. Hubby goes to orthopedic surgeon tomorrow due to torn rotator cuff from over 4 years ago....possible 6 mos recovery with NO movement...
9. Have bare walls in living room, no hearth for pellet stove, no hole for exhaust, no insulation on 3/4 of walls....carpenter putting doors in next week (hopefully) - glad he works for a 36 pack of Bud (or Miller Lite), can you say "Buddy!!" (and he's a picky finish carpenter, too)
Got any advice ??? :rofl::rofl:
 
Send him down here Rhonda. My guys are gettin a 24 pack and 100.00 a day.
 
Rhonda at work said:
Got any advice ??? :rofl::rofl:
Click to expand...
I know this guy....

Boy, sounds like a project I would LOVE to tackle...good thing summers coming ;)

Sounds like you have it under control, and while it a lot of work, and many little things to tackle, I'm sure you'll pull it off.

As to advice... Think through everything THREE times! There's no cheap way to go back and change something once you do it...having just done a $40K reno to our kitchen last summer, there are things I would now do differently, thankfully I can live with them the way they are... the kids will move out someday right?

Gimme a ring if you need specific consultations... I work for free :)
 
Good grief! When we bought our new location and had to renovate, our finish carpenters charged $50 per hour for each of the two of them! Needless to say, we ran out of money fast!
 
hey Rhonda

list those french door of craigs list (or sim) if you are not using them elsewhere. You can get some $ for them.

Good luck on the house. Are you doing anything yourself?
 
Sell More Flowers!!!

We just finished a six month renovation. Totally new kitchen, living room and lanai. We switched to a pellet stove too and it is so much easier and cleaner. Somedays it got so crazy we were making coffee in a bathroom. Another plus though was we did Nutri Systems while it was going on and not only the house looks good but so do we.
It was all worth it and I love it. Now is not the time to short cut, you'll be sorry if you do.

Wish my contractor worked for beer but his bills showed he worked for lobster!

Good luck!!
 
Rhonda, you'll do fine! Two years ago we put a basement under the house, my hubby & I did all the framing and I did all the finish drywall & we installed a bathroom, laid carpet, etc. all while raising two young kiddies and single-handedly running my shop! We're on to phase #2 soon! Just be sure to know what's going on, ask lots of questions and try to find out how to politely ask if they're making a mistake without them thinking you're a b!tch, LOL.
 
We've stripped down to the horsehair plaster and lath in two bedrooms upstairs in the past 10 years, rewallboarded, painted. Did the hallway and stairway two years ago. The carpenter (the friend) showed hubby how to mud and prep...so that's a help. Can't get hubby to put up the moulding finishes yet though!! He says "one step at at time" and I say "how many years do I have to wait?"
Hubby has done the replacing of wall board, I do the stripping of the paper/paint/paper/paper (dang do my hands hurt)
Now we find we must replace all the sheetrock in order to get the walls insulated properly.
As long as he doesn't have to get rotator cuff surgery we should be able to finish in a couple of weeks.
I'm currently trying to strip off three coats of paint off my "period" window and door mouldings (too expensive to buy new the same style)
I'm sure there is lead paint so am using a gel remover which is highly flammable so lots of ventilation and let it sit for about 5 hours and it will strip down to the wood. That will be my longest project to save vintage mouldings.
My delivery girl/designer has already asked for my old french doors, I'll hate to lose them but at least they'll have a home! I don't need them in my dining room/living room and there is possibly pocket doors there anyway - will find that out when I take that moulding down to strip it.
The only room not done in my house is actually my bedroom which is a nasty royal/navy blue gloss paint over 4 layers of wall paper and the walls are horsehair plaster and lath........
 
wow!

I think florists are naturally talented to be able to do just about any type project involving craft labor. (wouldn't it be fun to help an extreme home makeover)

as for the moulding??? I am still waiting for the quarter round under my kitchen cupboards.. it's been 15 years. Luckily no one sees that. but it's on the project list and there is always something else that becomes a higher priority :) :)

horsehair and lath..... worst stuff to try and pound a nail to hang a pic. my first house had that..... built a new house instead.... :)
 
worst news to date, husband needs rotator cuff surgery. Will have a 6 month rehab with no use.........arggghh
 
For the new cherry floors we put in the show room, we bartered with one of our customers, to help with his daughters wedding, they are way cool, and also try this with some of yours,,,it may be worth it.
 
avenuegardensflorist said:
what is a pellet stove?

pellet's have something to do w/ baby chickens down here.




hope the rotator cuff surgery goes well ....
Click to expand...
A wood pellet stove. Instead of burning wood logs, we will burn hard wood product pellets. No chance of chimney fires (produces no creosote to build up in the chimney)....auger fed, fill up the bin and let it burn.
 
just finished roofing both the shop & the house, and the next project is to set the Italian marble floors down on the 2nd floor master bath.
I NEED all these renovations like a hole in the eye, but, my missus has it ALL planned out for me...even the year things has gottsta get done!!
 
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