Quarantined & Scaring Contractors

There is a very nasty little bug going 'round here. A 12-hour head-in-toilet-every-15-minutes, leaves ya weak for several days afterwards kinda bug . This didn't help:

Thursday night, when the bug hit me, we were watching Transformers 2: Rise of the Fallen. Really, I think the movie is called Transformers 2: Revenge of Megan Fox's T&A! This did NOT help my nausea. C'mon, have some kids and start to sag already dammit!!
After a night spent watching that movie and her bad acting, throwing up every 15 minutes (PLEASE tell me why I didn't just go to bed!!), this is what I felt like the next morning. Or at least what I likely looked like.

There is a plus side to walking around in your pj's, hair half pulled up & half wild from staying in bed, nice & funky from lack of shower, really there is. I am almost 100% certain I scared the guys working on the house. LOTS of work got done on Friday!

Think about it, we always tend to want to look nice when people are over, even if they're doing work for you. We want to be nice & understanding about other things they may have going on that keeps them from always being here or keeps delays happening. Maybe we've got it all backwards!!

Since I am not quite over the bug yet, I am running a test today to test this theory. Hair is still wild and they know we're still funky and not well. I've told them we'll do them a favor and try to stay near the front of the house, but .... hahaha.
I will sneak out there every now and then, under the pretense of walking the pup or something like that. I will not take a shower today. I will not fix my hair. I will wear something comfortable and stained --- not hard to find in my wardrobe, I have an amazing innate ability to stain clothing - seriously, it is a talent, stand in awe bitches!!

I will let you know how my experiment goes. I might not be fuzzy butterfly kitty farts, but I do find a silver-lining in odd situations.

**~ FOLLOW UP NOTE ~** -- I have met my match and will be unable to scare the contractors today. The contractor's newly ex-wife just showed up. And we all know ... there ain't anything scarier than an ex-wife!!!

In all my funked out sickness, in my bleach-spotted tank top, in my wild hair, the EX-WIFE has managed to do what only an ex-wife can do for other women. Make me look like this:

Newly-EX-wives make ANY other woman look like this!! Who needs make-up, dieting, exercises, or anything else when you have ex-wives around?

Contractors - The Estimates are In

I kept my word and got more than one estimate for our potential kitchen remodeling job. I've already done the review on what I thought about them coming out. You can see that here: http://thebluenymph.blogspot.com/2010/02/contractor-reviews-thoughts.html ~ You'll note that David Harmon was way ahead in "points" which, I have to admit, I liked because I'd rather support smaller businesses & "the little guy." (He is shorter than me, but that is just a coincidence -- I'm pretty damn tall!)

First, I have to note something. I was hesitant to list the actual dollar amounts of the estimates. You never know what all you want to reveal, what you should keep to yourself. But, I want to be honest about this project and so I'm going to tell you. Just know, I thought it over some first.

So, one week to the day each after they came out they contacted me with the estimates. David Harmon called me Sunday night and then dropped off the paperwork for me early Monday morning. Here is his estimate:
"Renovation of kitchen will include, demolition of chimney, reroute hvac duct work. Free up existing wall to make room for refrigerator. Convert two existing corner cabinets for lazy susan. Add three new cabinets where refrigerator was. Build 2' x 3' island with butcher block tops. Add exhaust for kitchen range. Tile existing counter tops and backsplash with tile supplied by homeowner. Lay provided tile in kitchen and laundry room floors. Add pine tongue and groove wood ceiling with trim to kitchen. Add four can lights and move existing sink light closer to sink. Add under cabinet lights. Fur out walls and add insulation and drywall and three glass block windows to back room. Add new entry door to that room. Widen opening from back room to laundry room. Build and install two cabinets in back room. Sand, repair, and paint floor in back room. Remove existing shower and move washer and dryer and add shelves to laundry room."
*Note - we will be buying the new fridge & stove as well as the tile needed. We will also hire our own plumber (we have the BEST plumber EVER!!) to do any plumbing work needed. He did say he has a plumber, but we really love our guy.*

Total Estimated Cost: $8965.00


Tuesday afternoon Rob Leonard from Structures called me. Here is what he had to say:
1) This is a much smaller job than what they would normally do. - Wow, thanks, don't I feel like the small fish suddenly.
2) The estimate he's giving me would include the following:
- gut area, rework it, all new appliances
- green upgrade
- variables with flooring - meaning even though I told him we wanted tile apparently there are lots of options as to what actually might go in
- seeing what we could salvage might dial cost down a bit

Now remember, I told BOTH contractors the same thing, as I wanted to see what they could come up with: problems around the chimney that houses the flue for the boiler; the cabinets are good, but there is an issue of access in ONE corner that needs help; we need a new stove & fridge, but we've been looking at those already; I need more space for working; light is an issue; the back hallway and bathroom could be better worked to fit our needs (pantry, laundry room, etc).
So, to translate the above a little bit (I was jotting down his words as he spoke, I have nothing in writing from them) -- He/They (Structures) apparently didn't listen to one damn thing I said. AND NOTE ... there is no "here's what to expect when we're done" type of thing up there!!

Total Estimated Cost: between $70,000 & $85,000 -- YEA, Seventy to Eighty Five THOUSAND!!! -- Points awarded for me not laughing into the phone.

I told Mr. Leonard that estimate was well above our budget. He asked what our budget was. When I told him a generic $15k (which, in all honesty, it isn't even that high!) he pretty much laughed at me. He told me that maybe I could find some friends who knew what they were doing to help me out.
Apparently Structures is going green because of how much green they're charging people. You seriously have to be kidding me.

So, there you have it. Hmm, who do you think we're gonna go with if everything lines up and we're able to do this?? The big company who has attempted to make us feel small and insignificant, who has treated us like they're a mega-company and we're more of a pity-call than a potential client?? NOT QUITE!!!
Or how about the individual guy who started his own company? The guy who was here for two hours one day, leaving me all giddy and excited about possibilities, and then who came back a couple days later to talk to both Justin & I and climb up in the attic, go down in the basement and explore the realities of the house? The guy who actually gave me an idea of what things would look like when he's done? YEA -- If this goes through, we know who we're gonna call (cue Ghostbusters theme music here please)!!!

Contractor Reviews & Thoughts

I forced myself to "stick to the plan" and contact more than one contractor for this potential remodeling in the kitchen. This was quite hard for me to do, but I did it. Here are my thoughts on them so far.

Contractor #1: David Harmon - Harmon Remodeling - (540) 389-3988

This is the first guy I called. A real estate agent friend called me & recommended him. While she hadn't worked with him personally she assured me that he comes highly recommended. ~ Recommendations are key for me! ~
I already told you about my first meeting with him, but I'll give a quick recap as I don't expect anyone remembers anything I've written before.
When I called him he actually told me that he was expecting my call. *Point Awarded* He told me he wasn't sure he could make it out that day, but would be able to by the end of the week. He said he would see how the day went (he wasn't feeling too good) and would let me know. He ended up calling me back and coming out THAT day & staying for 2 hours! *Another Point Awarded*
He threw out LOTS of ideas. Ideas I hadn't thought of. Ideas that got me super-excited about all the possibilities. He liked looking at my library books of ideas with me. Very cool. AND, he kept reiterating about helping people keep within tight budgets. *Mega Points Awarded!*
We left that meeting with him telling me to talk everything over with Justin and he'd be back on Sunday. He also advised that we should go out and look at stuff that we liked on Saturday. Groovus. (Sorry - I'm a Mel Brooks fan & recently re-watched 'History of the World Part 1' - watch the Roman scene & you'll figure out the 'groovus' reference)

Sunday comes around and he arrives perfectly on time. Justin and I have spent the week (much to Justin's dismay probably) talking over and over about what to do or not do, what we like and what we didn't care for as much. We went over these things with him. He was really flexible about everything, it was good.
This time we took him down in the basement to get a look at things (the leaky chimney goes from the roof to the basement), he went up in the attic with Justin, and we brought the ladder outside so he could check out the roof.
We did go out on Saturday like he recommended. We checked out Home Depot, Lowes, and Habitat's Re-Store in downtown. We decided we would rather go with tile over bamboo simply because of cost. The tile is just a lot cheaper, and cost is a very big issue. (Elena ~ Your words have not been forgotten about getting a case of the "dropsies"!)
I mentioned to him that we'd like to try and find materials from Habitat's Re-Store and he was all for that. He said he liked going there and getting stuff, as well as donating stuff there! *More Points for David!*

This time he was here a little over an hour. When he left he said to give him a couple days and he'd get back with us for an estimate.
OK. It is now Thursday and he came out on Sunday. I am a big stickler on promptness. He did mention to us something (family related) that could understandably be delaying his getting back to us. So, I won't deduct points yet, but if I end up having to call him then that will be a point deduction in my book.

Contractor #2: Structures - http://www.structuresdb.com/

The second guy I called. Again, I mentioned this in the last blog, but I'll go over it again quickly.
I called for Adam Cohen, who is known for his green design and work. I got transferred to his voice mail, he called me back. I told him what was going on and what we kinda were looking for. He told me that first I needed the "number guy" to come out. OK. The "numbers guy," aka Rob Leonard, wasn't in but he'd have him call me. He did end up calling me the next day (when I blogged he hadn't yet), which was good. However, I was left feeling like I was dealing with a Big Company, something I didn't like too much. *Points Deducted*
Rob Leonard came out this past Tuesday. I'll admit, Monday I was sick in bed all day so I wasn't really looking forward to having anyone over on Tuesday but since I'd promised to get more than one quote I didn't cancel the appointment. He called to say he was running a little late, which ended up working out better for me as my step-father was picking up the boys after naps. No points deducted for running late since he called first and arrived when he said he would. He was also very apologetic. All good in my book.

Justin and I agreed to start off on a blank slate of sorts with Structures. Not to give them the ideas we liked from David Harmon, but rather to see what ideas they would come up with and suggest on their own. After all, that is one of the points of getting more than one estimate, right?

Mr. Leonard's card says that he is the 'Project Manager' which I suppose looks, sounds, and is a lot better than it saying 'Numbers Guy.'
We talked about the kitchen first. What the issues were. Then we talked about the back hallway and bathroom/pantry. Next we went down to the basement. Finally he came back up, took measurements and drawing a basic outline of the kitchen.

He did propose some ideas, but not nearly as many as Mr. Harmon. Nor was there the excitement and general rush of possibilities there.
He told me that he would take all this back to Mr. Cohen, who is the designer, and that Mr. Cohen would draw up stuff. I was left wondering if I was going to be billed for Mr. Cohen's work. --- OK, I know I won't be billed. I didn't sign anything and there wasn't a mention of any charge, I'm just saying that is the feeling I got. *Points Deducted - I didn't like that feeling*

Mr. Leonard was really nice though. We talked about being green and doing various things around the house, in general, to work towards that goal. *Points Awarded - he was a nice guy*
He left saying he would get back to Mr. Cohen with everything and they would get back to me. He apologized for taking up so much of my time, though I think he was only here for an hour or so and there was certainly no need to apologize. Hence, the points awarded above.

In General

You can obviously see who I am leaning towards so far. In general, I always prefer to go with smaller companies, family based businesses, and individuals rather than the 'Big Guys.' It's just how I am.
However, I still am going to wait and see what they both come back with, and how long it takes them to get back with me!

And yes, I know expecting a contractor to actually stay on a set schedule is a silly pipe dream. What can I say, I'm a silly chick.

Home Remodeling: Contractors & Choices

No photo today, just some reviews and thoughts.

First Up: Contractors

I'll be the first to admit that I am REALLY awful about looking around and getting second opinions. I tend to seek out referrals from people I know. If I like the first person I meet, they seem honest, and the price ain't bad, then I just tend to go with them. But, since this is a big project, at least to us anyway, we've agreed that looking around and getting estimateS would be wise.

The first guy I've met with is David Harmon. He came highly recommended from a real estate agent friend. While she hadn't personally used him, the word was good. I called him, he answered the phone & told me he had been expecting my call. Quite a nice surprise! He said he wasn't feeling too good that day, so it may be the end of the week before he could get out to see me, which was fine. Then he said to give him a couple hours to see how he felt. Much to my shock, he called back and wanted to be here at 3.
He arrived on time, brought a camera with him along with his other stuff and we went to the kitchen. I showed him the problems and he presented me with ideas. LOTS of ideas. Lots of DIFFERENT ideas. Like "have you thought about moving the fridge over here??" kind of ideas. And "since you need a pantry, what about doing this .." ideas.
Some of his ideas I had a knee-jerk "no" reaction to only because things have been the way they are for so long that this is just how they are. But I didn't tell him that, I tried to keep it to myself.
He ended up spending two hours here, mainly just talking over possible ideas, and taking photos. He told me to talk things over with Justin, to go out this weekend and look around at things (tile we might want for example) and he'd see us again on Sunday so that he can get a BETTER look at everything! He also plans on bringing samples with him.
~Ok Carrie, calm down, don't get giddy. Remember, you promised you'd get more than one estimate!!~

I also contacted Adam Cohen from Structures. We'd like to make this renovation as green as possible (David Harmon does a lot of green work too) and Adam is really known for that in the Valley. I called in the morning and left him a message. He called me back yesterday afternoon.
We talked a bit on the phone. Really, I need to learn to not answer the phone when I've been napping as I tend to feel like an idiot after the conversation is done.
He talked about what could be causing the possible leaks. I told him some of the other things we were looking at having done and our interest in being as green as possible. I don't think I interested him.
He told me that first I needed to have another guy, Rob Leonard (I think, stupid sleepy brain), who worked in their firm come out and look at things and do the numbers. Adam is apparently the designer. First you get the numbers guy, then you get the designer. Rob wasn't in though and Adam told me that he would tell him to call. Almost 24 hours later, still waiting. We'll see how long this takes.

So Far - Over-all feelings about possible contractors are that I liked "the little guy" much, much more. When talking with Adam I felt like I was dealing with a "big business." Structures IS a big business, but it was the feeling of dealing with a big business. I'm still going to give them a chance, but so far, they're not in the lead.


Choices, Choices -What to get, where to get it!

What exactly do we need?? Ok, well, we need a new stove/range. We need a new fridge. Then there is the countertops that we're looking at having changed from laminate to tile, and the flooring which we'll have changed from laminate "faux" tiles to either bamboo (one of David Harmon's ideas) or maybe tile.
David recommended that we go out and look at some things we may want on Saturday, so we can better get an idea of things. He recommended we check out Home Depot (apparently he can get a better deal there), but didn't put down Lowe's.
A friend commented on my "Ideas" post and mentioned the Habitat store downtown as a good source for supplies. Carole, I'm taking your advice!!! :)
On Saturday we'll head down to the Habitat store to see what we can find. We can't purchase anything now, which is likely to be hard, but I do plan on taking my camera. It never hurts to look, right? From there we'll head out to Lowe's and Home Depot to get ideas on materials - mainly tile. The idea is that the Habitat store will be our "Plan A" when it comes time to actually buy stuff and that the box stores will be "Plan B" in case we can't find what we want at Habitat. By the way, in case you don't know what I am talking about when I say Habitat store, or why it is good to check there first, follow this link - http://www.habitat.org/env/restores.aspx

As for the fridge and stove. We've been comparing selections and prices between the big box stores. Online shopping is just really cool and makes this part nice and easy. So far, Lowe's wins hands down for ease-of-use with their website and selection.
We've found a fridge that seems to be perfect, and is $500 cheaper than a comparable model from a different company. Not too bad. Good reviews too! Huzzah!
As for stoves. It is weird to me that a stove will cost me more than a fridge, but with as much as I put stoves and ranges through, I have criteria that need to be met. Lowe's and Home Depot have the same exact one I'm looking at, though it is currently on sale at Home Depot, making it $500 cheaper than the exact same model at Lowe's. Even if it weren't on sale it would be $400 cheaper. Wow, don't these guys try and watch the competitor's prices??

That basically sums up the first round of this new adventure. I will definitely keep you posted on how things go though.
Your thoughts and opinions are DEFINITELY recommended and appreciated!! Carole, if you hadn't mentioned the Habitat store it likely would've slipped my mind. If we end up shopping there, I'll be singing your praises for a while!!