Otis in the Suburbs (1 Viewer)

[glock]

STATUS REPORT !111one

...I haven't electrocuted myself yet, but give it enough time...

 

[Otis]

-- New masonry guy coming in Saturday AM to give us an estimate on a new front stoop and tearing out the rotten wood deck in the back in favor of a patio/walkway. If he can get started soon, expected completion, I am assuming, is probably 2 days or so given scope of work. My ballpark, in-my-own-mind estimate is around 6-8k for everything (5k for the patio, 2k for the front stoop, give or take).

square feet for the patio? with a 10x10 patio and a stoop im betting $7,500 to $10,000. 2 days seems awfully light on the labor imo.

My parents just had a bigger patio than that done (12x20 maybe?) for $4500 using some inexpensive pavers and a pretty basic setup. The guy did a nice job, and they finished in about 2 days. We are adding in a front stoop, which I'm guessing can't cost more than $2500. It's nothing extravagant, but all of this would be a whole lot nicer than what we have now...

 

[ODoyleRules]

Get em oat!

Tell me more about those door locks, sounds pretty cool. Can you put the garage door opener on such a system as well?

Link

There's more to it than that, since I also have a server set up and HomeSeer software (www.homeseer.com) set up to control/program all the home automation tasks, and also I've been using their HSTouch software to separately design interfaces for the iPhones (and later our iPad). I'm pretty sure there is a "basic" way to use these Kwikset locks (Schlage makes a similar one) without all this hands-on software setup, but I'm just not sure how that works.

The thermostat sounds like the most useful thing - how is that working out for you? Which brand, cost, etc?

 

[Otis]

I notice I get very frustrated doing work around the house. I sweat a lot and curse a whole lot -- way more than usual. I feel like the dad from A Christmas Story. I can relate now. My wife hasn't complained about it yet though, and the baby is too small to understand, so I guess it's OK for now?

 

[JerseyToughGuys]

STATUS REPORT !111one

The work at Camp Otis continues full throttle.

Called a contractor to come in and gut the downstairs half bath/powder room and also tear up the nasty linoleum kitchen floor and just refinish the hardwood floors underneath (he said it won't be more than 500 bucks to add the kitchen floor portion of this on, so why not -- we aren't redoing the kitchen for at least a couple years, and this could make a nice difference in the interim). The contractor will come in this week to get us an estimate on all this. For a 5 foot by 5 foot bathroom, I can't imagine it will be much -- we need to tear up the linoleum (it smells like moisture/mildew has collected underneath it -- pretty nasty, which that, combined with an ant problem in there, are what prompted us to make this a priority), demo the walls and put up new sheetrock, new tile floor, a fan/vent, replace a small window, and we'll buy a toilet and sink/vanity for him to install. What's a guesstimate on the bathroom portion, keeping in mind we are doing very basic stuff? I'm hoping 2-3 grand-ish, and around 2 days' worth of work? Or am I in dreamland and looking at a 5k+ job?

probably the latter. We just redid a small bathroom. Rough plumbing was 3500 (involving some jackhammering) and the rough electrical was 1500. We are doing the tile, sheetroom, and all the connections ourselves. That doesn't include the tub, vanity, toilet, fixtures, new doors, ect.

Why is it costing 3500 bucks for plumbing? All the plumbing is already run into the bathroom, and in the proper locations, so I don't see why this is complicated or expensive?

Not moving things is key. Our layout was ######ed, so we had to move drains, ect. That was a major expense. And we had copper pipes that needed to be replaced (very "soft" well water that destroyed them over the years (replaced with Pex). Once you open up the walls, you might be in for a treat.

I am just thinking of all the things I am doing myself in our bathroom and we are still wayyyy over 5K at this point.

 

[ODoyleRules]

villages are what some areas call cities. In the Chicago suburbs, Arlington Heights, Lake Zurich, Palatine etc. are all 'villages.'

:represent:

I'm in LZ man. Love me some NW burbs.

'sup neighbor?

 

[JerseyToughGuys]

-- New masonry guy coming in Saturday AM to give us an estimate on a new front stoop and tearing out the rotten wood deck in the back in favor of a patio/walkway. If he can get started soon, expected completion, I am assuming, is probably 2 days or so given scope of work. My ballpark, in-my-own-mind estimate is around 6-8k for everything (5k for the patio, 2k for the front stoop, give or take).

square feet for the patio? with a 10x10 patio and a stoop im betting $7,500 to $10,000. 2 days seems awfully light on the labor imo.

My parents just had a bigger patio than that done (12x20 maybe?) for $4500 using some inexpensive pavers and a pretty basic setup. The guy did a nice job, and they finished in about 2 days. We are adding in a front stoop, which I'm guessing can't cost more than $2500. It's nothing extravagant, but all of this would be a whole lot nicer than what we have now...

prior to building The Amphitheater that now is back behind my house, I got a quote for a basic flat patio and small run of retaining wall. It was 12K. That was my point of reference. If you come in at 7K for the patio and the stoop, you are doing well imo

 

[glock]

I notice I get very frustrated doing work around the house. I sweat a lot and curse a whole lot -- way more than usual. I feel like the dad from A Christmas Story. I can relate now. My wife hasn't complained about it yet though, and the baby is too small to understand, so I guess it's OK for now?

I catch all kind of flack for this. It depends on the job, though. The more menial the task the more it feels like it's just sucking my life force into a black hole. Those are what I go off on...

 

[mozzy84]

I notice I get very frustrated doing work around the house. I sweat a lot and curse a whole lot -- way more than usual. I feel like the dad from A Christmas Story. I can relate now. My wife hasn't complained about it yet though, and the baby is too small to understand, so I guess it's OK for now?

They learn to avoid you in certain working situations. I had to put a big grill together a couple weekends ago, mine knew not to even come out and ask how it was going. When I have to work on stuff around the house I always swear ALOT, usually becuase I have no clue what I am doing most of the time.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

STATUS REPORT !111one

The work at Camp Otis continues full throttle.

Called a contractor to come in and gut the downstairs half bath/powder room and also tear up the nasty linoleum kitchen floor and just refinish the hardwood floors underneath (he said it won't be more than 500 bucks to add the kitchen floor portion of this on, so why not -- we aren't redoing the kitchen for at least a couple years, and this could make a nice difference in the interim). The contractor will come in this week to get us an estimate on all this. For a 5 foot by 5 foot bathroom, I can't imagine it will be much -- we need to tear up the linoleum (it smells like moisture/mildew has collected underneath it -- pretty nasty, which that, combined with an ant problem in there, are what prompted us to make this a priority), demo the walls and put up new sheetrock, new tile floor, a fan/vent, replace a small window, and we'll buy a toilet and sink/vanity for him to install. What's a guesstimate on the bathroom portion, keeping in mind we are doing very basic stuff? I'm hoping 2-3 grand-ish, and around 2 days' worth of work? Or am I in dreamland and looking at a 5k+ job?

probably the latter. We just redid a small bathroom. Rough plumbing was 3500 (involving some jackhammering) and the rough electrical was 1500. We are doing the tile, sheetroom, and all the connections ourselves. That doesn't include the tub, vanity, toilet, fixtures, new doors, ect.

Why is it costing 3500 bucks for plumbing? All the plumbing is already run into the bathroom, and in the proper locations, so I don't see why this is complicated or expensive?

Not moving things is key. Our layout was ######ed, so we had to move drains, ect. That was a major expense. And we had copper pipes that needed to be replaced (very "soft" well water that destroyed them over the years (replaced with Pex). Once you open up the walls, you might be in for a treat.

I am just thinking of all the things I am doing myself in our bathroom and we are still wayyyy over 5K at this point.

I redid the downstairs bath with the help of my GC friend. New everything, nice Mohawk tile bought at cost, my boy had to move the sink pipes to fit the sweet ### sink we chose. It's been a while, but I'm pretty sure that was over $1800. And that was not paying a cent to my buddy, and the savings on the tile was at least $400

 

[Tiger Fan]

-- New masonry guy coming in Saturday AM to give us an estimate on a new front stoop and tearing out the rotten wood deck in the back in favor of a patio/walkway. If he can get started soon, expected completion, I am assuming, is probably 2 days or so given scope of work. My ballpark, in-my-own-mind estimate is around 6-8k for everything (5k for the patio, 2k for the front stoop, give or take).

square feet for the patio? with a 10x10 patio and a stoop im betting $7,500 to $10,000. 2 days seems awfully light on the labor imo.

My parents just had a bigger patio than that done (12x20 maybe?) for $4500 using some inexpensive pavers and a pretty basic setup. The guy did a nice job, and they finished in about 2 days. We are adding in a front stoop, which I'm guessing can't cost more than $2500. It's nothing extravagant, but all of this would be a whole lot nicer than what we have now...

I think your village probably demands higher prices

 

[Steve Tasker]

Otis>are you claiming PJV here?

 

[urbanhack]

I notice I get very frustrated doing work around the house. I sweat a lot and curse a whole lot -- way more than usual. I feel like the dad from A Christmas Story. I can relate now. My wife hasn't complained about it yet though, and the baby is too small to understand, so I guess it's OK for now?

Yes. It's okay.

 

[Sconch]

I notice I get very frustrated doing work around the house. I sweat a lot and curse a whole lot -- way more than usual. I feel like the dad from A Christmas Story. I can relate now. My wife hasn't complained about it yet though, and the baby is too small to understand, so I guess it's OK for now?

That's how my kids learned what swear words are. Pretty sure my oldest first heard the F-bomb during the Great Bunk Bed Construction of '96.

 

[Mr. Pickles]

This is a lot of work. Did you buy some short sale place?

 

[corpcow]

I notice I get very frustrated doing work around the house. I sweat a lot and curse a whole lot -- way more than usual. I feel like the dad from A Christmas Story. I can relate now. My wife hasn't complained about it yet though, and the baby is too small to understand, so I guess it's OK for now?

I catch all kind of flack for this. It depends on the job, though. The more menial the task the more it feels like it's just sucking my life force into a black hole. Those are what I go off on...

The key is audiobooks/podcasts. Makes it manageable. I learned this when we didn't have a dishwasher in Brooklyn.... But yes, I too get VERY irritable doing housework

 

[Otis]

This is a lot of work. Did you buy some short sale place?

Negative. Bought an old place for location and potential. We actually wanted this -- a house that needs some TLC and which we could "make our own" over the years. I had grand visions of being like George Bailey and turning this drafty old barn into a beautiful home over the years. Those dreams are fading each time I gash my thumbs with a screwdriver trying to get the wall switch plates off the walls, or each time a contractor quotes me a price of twice what I had hoped to pay for some mundane bricklaying, painting, cutting, or clipping, or each time I identify a new crooked wall, improperly hung door, cracked ceiling, or other defect.

 

[JerseyToughGuys]

I notice I get very frustrated doing work around the house. I sweat a lot and curse a whole lot -- way more than usual. I feel like the dad from A Christmas Story. I can relate now. My wife hasn't complained about it yet though, and the baby is too small to understand, so I guess it's OK for now?

That's how my kids learned what swear words are. Pretty sure my oldest first heard the F-bomb during the Great Bunk Bed Construction of '96.

olo

 

[Mr. Pickles]

My place is 9 years old. I've contributed about zero to its wear and tear in the past five years, but corrected a lot of things the original owners and their kids/dog did. Even in a newish home, there are million and one things to do. Once you fix something, you find five other things that could be improved. One thing that drove me nuts is how many holes they put in the walls. When I first toured the home, I knew they had a lot of pictures, but it's astounding how many patch jobs I had to do. Worse, there's an equal number of holes in the garage drywall. Huh?

 

[derek245583]

Tdoss?

 

[Steve Tasker]

Tdoss?

Otis buys a house and moves to the suburbs. On p. 38, he claims to be living in a village. Some people tried to pry more info out of him, but he danced around a claim. I'm thinking it was a de facto PJV claim.Omelets, people.

 

[corpcow]

This is a lot of work. Did you buy some short sale place?

Negative. Bought an old place for location and potential. We actually wanted this -- a house that needs some TLC and which we could "make our own" over the years. I had grand visions of being like George Bailey and turning this drafty old barn into a beautiful home over the years. Those dreams are fading each time I gash my thumbs with a screwdriver trying to get the wall switch plates off the walls, or each time a contractor quotes me a price of twice what I had hoped to pay for some mundane bricklaying, painting, cutting, or clipping, or each time I identify a new crooked wall, improperly hung door, cracked ceiling, or other defect.

I'll be honest... we briefly thought that. Then we looked at new houses (of which there are a lot in Pittsburgh, not so much in Long Island, and certainly more affordable) and decided we're fine giving up "character" and not having to worry about that

 

[Mr. Yuk]

Tdoss?

Otis buys a house and moves to the suburbs. On p. 38, he claims to be living in a village. Some people tried to pry more info out of him, but he danced around a claim. I'm thinking it was a de facto PJV claim.Omelets, people.

Votis

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

another great thread ruined by WW shtick

 

[Steve Tasker]

another great thread made even better by WW shtick

 

[Mr. Yuk]

I think Rudnicki is breadcrumbing an Otis view.

unvote

 

[Mr. Pickles]

another great thread ruined by WW shtick

No kidding. Nerd it up elsewhere, rejects.

 

[St. Louis Bob]

This is a lot of work. Did you buy some short sale place?

Negative. Bought an old place for location and potential. We actually wanted this -- a house that needs some TLC and which we could "make our own" over the years. I had grand visions of being like George Bailey and turning this drafty old barn into a beautiful home over the years. Those dreams are fading each time I gash my thumbs with a screwdriver trying to get the wall switch plates off the walls, or each time a contractor quotes me a price of twice what I had hoped to pay for some mundane bricklaying, painting, cutting, or clipping, or each time I identify a new crooked wall, improperly hung door, cracked ceiling, or other defect.

I can relate to this with my first house. I was like Reverend Lovejoy fresh out of seminary school, young, confidant, enthusiastic, long flowing hair and ready to fix anything in my new humble abode. Alas, a 60 year old home wore me down like Ned Flanders and after 8 years I sold it for a bigger, newer house that I didn't think would need as much work. I couldn't be more wrong. So I sit here a broken man that pays people to do everything but minor maintenance. I wish the best of luck to you.

My place is 9 years old. I've contributed about zero to its wear and tear in the past five years, but corrected a lot of things the original owners and their kids/dog did. Even in a newish home, there are million and one things to do. Once you fix something, you find five other things that could be improved. One thing that drove me nuts is how many holes they put in the walls. When I first toured the home, I knew they had a lot of pictures, but it's astounding how many patch jobs I had to do. Worse, there's an equal number of holes in the garage drywall. Huh?

I have a lot tools hanging on the walls.

 

[Mr. Pickles]

This is a lot of work. Did you buy some short sale place?

Negative. Bought an old place for location and potential. We actually wanted this -- a house that needs some TLC and which we could "make our own" over the years. I had grand visions of being like George Bailey and turning this drafty old barn into a beautiful home over the years. Those dreams are fading each time I gash my thumbs with a screwdriver trying to get the wall switch plates off the walls, or each time a contractor quotes me a price of twice what I had hoped to pay for some mundane bricklaying, painting, cutting, or clipping, or each time I identify a new crooked wall, improperly hung door, cracked ceiling, or other defect.

I can relate to this with my first house. I was like Reverend Lovejoy fresh out of seminary school, young, confidant, enthusiastic and ready to fix anything in my new humble abode. Alas, a 60 year old home wore me down like Ned Flanders and after 8 years I sold it for a bigger, newer house that I didn't think would need as much work. I couldn't be more wrong. So I sit here a broken man that pays people to do everything but minor maintenance. I wish the best of luck to you.

My place is 9 years old. I've contributed about zero to its wear and tear in the past five years, but corrected a lot of things the original owners and their kids/dog did. Even in a newish home, there are million and one things to do. Once you fix something, you find five other things that could be improved. One thing that drove me nuts is how many holes they put in the walls. When I first toured the home, I knew they had a lot of pictures, but it's astounding how many patch jobs I had to do. Worse, there's an equal number of holes in the garage drywall. Huh?

I have a lot tools hanging on the walls.

There are those holes, and there are holes for shelving, but then there are small finishing nail holes in random places where nothing should be. Like hundreds of them.

 

[Redwes25]

Reaper, do you go to wine country out there or??

Yup!

Spent the night in Greenport and hit the Wineries on our way back - Martha Clara has a petting zoo for the kids... We had a little picnic and most of them have bands playing.

Nice. We used to go all the time when we were in Brooklyn. We're planning a trip back in early July. Lenz, Sherwood House, Sparkling Pointe, Paumonok, McCall, Comtesse Theresa and Schneider( and Onabay which Schneider makes now) are our favorites. We tend to avoid Martha Clara et al I will miss the Tasting Room though.... Charles was awesome, though I did hear he's at the Comtesse Bistro now.

Pro-tip: Hit up Michael's Liquor Store in Riverhead - much, much better prices on most of the wines.

Oh. You're a professional.

We do know Dr Dan from Pindar and he hooks us up. Went to a crazy party at Duck Walk a few years back.

We need to learn those off the beat places.

On this trip we were looking more for the Picnic / Live Music thing while I kicked a ball around with my daughter as the girls got tanked.

The Busloads of Bachelorette parties are welcome to me and part of my entertainment.... I send the little one into the crowd looking to meet "The Princess" with her Tiara and all and they love it.. Good Times.

Ha... fair enough. The off-the-beat places are relatively easy to find - just look for the "No Limos" signs. Many are (literally) not on the map because they don't pay to be part of that.We LOVE Greenport though. Awesome little town. Some of the restaurants are a bit overpriced for what they are, but some good stuff there too. We used to only stay one night, so we'd do a B&B that allowed it slightly out of town, but since we'll be there three nights now, we're doing Harborfront which is that little hotel in the middle of town.

I am a regular to the North Fork and hit up the vineyards as much as possible. Two other ones I like are Shin and Lieb (for White only) but this is a very good list.

Yes, Shinn is good. Their Wild Boar Doe (oof) is pretty solid. Some others were hit and miss for me, especially People love the Coalescence too (one guy when we were there once asked for the "Convelescent", which made me chuckle because a) I just had surgery and b) it's one of the best lines from the Sopranos...). Better prices again at Michael's if they have it.Lieb makes great Pinot Blanc, though I don't care for their reds much.

If anyone wants to meet up, we'll be out there from July 7th-10th, with two other couples.

I will be out the 4th but won't be around after that. Enjoy the trip.I really don't like the reds at Lieb but the Pinot Blanc is great and they do a pretty good sparkling white wine and a chardonnay as well.

 

[James Daulton]

This is a lot of work. Did you buy some short sale place?

Negative. Bought an old place for location and potential. We actually wanted this -- a house that needs some TLC and which we could "make our own" over the years. I had grand visions of being like George Bailey and turning this drafty old barn into a beautiful home over the years. Those dreams are fading each time I gash my thumbs with a screwdriver trying to get the wall switch plates off the walls, or each time a contractor quotes me a price of twice what I had hoped to pay for some mundane bricklaying, painting, cutting, or clipping, or each time I identify a new crooked wall, improperly hung door, cracked ceiling, or other defect.

I can relate to this with my first house. I was like Reverend Lovejoy fresh out of seminary school, young, confidant, enthusiastic and ready to fix anything in my new humble abode. Alas, a 60 year old home wore me down like Ned Flanders and after 8 years I sold it for a bigger, newer house that I didn't think would need as much work. I couldn't be more wrong. So I sit here a broken man that pays people to do everything but minor maintenance. I wish the best of luck to you.

My place is 9 years old. I've contributed about zero to its wear and tear in the past five years, but corrected a lot of things the original owners and their kids/dog did. Even in a newish home, there are million and one things to do. Once you fix something, you find five other things that could be improved. One thing that drove me nuts is how many holes they put in the walls. When I first toured the home, I knew they had a lot of pictures, but it's astounding how many patch jobs I had to do. Worse, there's an equal number of holes in the garage drywall. Huh?

I have a lot tools hanging on the walls.

There are those holes, and there are holes for shelving, but then there are small finishing nail holes in random places where nothing should be. Like hundreds of them.

Dartboard?

 

[St. Louis Bob]

Dartboard?

That's what I would say. Either that or a shotgun blast.

 

[Otis]

another great thread ruined by WW shtick

No kidding. Nerd it up elsewhere, rejects.

 

[Mr. Pickles]

This is a lot of work. Did you buy some short sale place?

Negative. Bought an old place for location and potential. We actually wanted this -- a house that needs some TLC and which we could "make our own" over the years. I had grand visions of being like George Bailey and turning this drafty old barn into a beautiful home over the years. Those dreams are fading each time I gash my thumbs with a screwdriver trying to get the wall switch plates off the walls, or each time a contractor quotes me a price of twice what I had hoped to pay for some mundane bricklaying, painting, cutting, or clipping, or each time I identify a new crooked wall, improperly hung door, cracked ceiling, or other defect.

I can relate to this with my first house. I was like Reverend Lovejoy fresh out of seminary school, young, confidant, enthusiastic and ready to fix anything in my new humble abode. Alas, a 60 year old home wore me down like Ned Flanders and after 8 years I sold it for a bigger, newer house that I didn't think would need as much work. I couldn't be more wrong. So I sit here a broken man that pays people to do everything but minor maintenance. I wish the best of luck to you.

My place is 9 years old. I've contributed about zero to its wear and tear in the past five years, but corrected a lot of things the original owners and their kids/dog did. Even in a newish home, there are million and one things to do. Once you fix something, you find five other things that could be improved. One thing that drove me nuts is how many holes they put in the walls. When I first toured the home, I knew they had a lot of pictures, but it's astounding how many patch jobs I had to do. Worse, there's an equal number of holes in the garage drywall. Huh?

I have a lot tools hanging on the walls.

There are those holes, and there are holes for shelving, but then there are small finishing nail holes in random places where nothing should be. Like hundreds of them.

Dartboard?

Only if the dartboard moved all over the wall and was never in the same spot for more than a session. There's no concentration of holes in any one area. It's kind of odd.

 

[gianmarco]

This is a lot of work. Did you buy some short sale place?

Negative. Bought an old place for location and potential. We actually wanted this -- a house that needs some TLC and which we could "make our own" over the years. I had grand visions of being like George Bailey and turning this drafty old barn into a beautiful home over the years. Those dreams are fading each time I gash my thumbs with a screwdriver trying to get the wall switch plates off the walls, or each time a contractor quotes me a price of twice what I had hoped to pay for some mundane bricklaying, painting, cutting, or clipping, or each time I identify a new crooked wall, improperly hung door, cracked ceiling, or other defect.

I can relate to this with my first house. I was like Reverend Lovejoy fresh out of seminary school, young, confidant, enthusiastic and ready to fix anything in my new humble abode. Alas, a 60 year old home wore me down like Ned Flanders and after 8 years I sold it for a bigger, newer house that I didn't think would need as much work. I couldn't be more wrong. So I sit here a broken man that pays people to do everything but minor maintenance. I wish the best of luck to you.

My place is 9 years old. I've contributed about zero to its wear and tear in the past five years, but corrected a lot of things the original owners and their kids/dog did. Even in a newish home, there are million and one things to do. Once you fix something, you find five other things that could be improved. One thing that drove me nuts is how many holes they put in the walls. When I first toured the home, I knew they had a lot of pictures, but it's astounding how many patch jobs I had to do. Worse, there's an equal number of holes in the garage drywall. Huh?

I have a lot tools hanging on the walls.

There are those holes, and there are holes for shelving, but then there are small finishing nail holes in random places where nothing should be. Like hundreds of them.

They were practicing?

 

[Mr. Pickles]

This is a lot of work. Did you buy some short sale place?

Negative. Bought an old place for location and potential. We actually wanted this -- a house that needs some TLC and which we could "make our own" over the years. I had grand visions of being like George Bailey and turning this drafty old barn into a beautiful home over the years. Those dreams are fading each time I gash my thumbs with a screwdriver trying to get the wall switch plates off the walls, or each time a contractor quotes me a price of twice what I had hoped to pay for some mundane bricklaying, painting, cutting, or clipping, or each time I identify a new crooked wall, improperly hung door, cracked ceiling, or other defect.

I can relate to this with my first house. I was like Reverend Lovejoy fresh out of seminary school, young, confidant, enthusiastic and ready to fix anything in my new humble abode. Alas, a 60 year old home wore me down like Ned Flanders and after 8 years I sold it for a bigger, newer house that I didn't think would need as much work. I couldn't be more wrong. So I sit here a broken man that pays people to do everything but minor maintenance. I wish the best of luck to you.

My place is 9 years old. I've contributed about zero to its wear and tear in the past five years, but corrected a lot of things the original owners and their kids/dog did. Even in a newish home, there are million and one things to do. Once you fix something, you find five other things that could be improved. One thing that drove me nuts is how many holes they put in the walls. When I first toured the home, I knew they had a lot of pictures, but it's astounding how many patch jobs I had to do. Worse, there's an equal number of holes in the garage drywall. Huh?

I have a lot tools hanging on the walls.

There are those holes, and there are holes for shelving, but then there are small finishing nail holes in random places where nothing should be. Like hundreds of them.

They were practicing?

Must have been something like that. Just chucking darts willy nilly in the garage.

 

[Rohn Jambo]

I notice I get very frustrated doing work around the house. I sweat a lot and curse a whole lot -- way more than usual. I feel like the dad from A Christmas Story. I can relate now. My wife hasn't complained about it yet though, and the baby is too small to understand, so I guess it's OK for now?

I swear a lot too, usually when I cook.I burned myself again last week. The wound got infected and I had to go see the doctor, who gave me some antibiotics but told me to rub at it with a washcloth to clean it out. Funny, I thought that was why I paid to see a doctors, so they could do that for me without any pain. Anyway, I gave it a rub just now and it hurt like crazy. There is no way I can finish the job before the next appointment on Friday.

 

[squidrope]

STATUS REPORT !111one

The work at Camp Otis continues full throttle.

Called a contractor to come in and gut the downstairs half bath/powder room and also tear up the nasty linoleum kitchen floor and just refinish the hardwood floors underneath (he said it won't be more than 500 bucks to add the kitchen floor portion of this on, so why not -- we aren't redoing the kitchen for at least a couple years, and this could make a nice difference in the interim). The contractor will come in this week to get us an estimate on all this. For a 5 foot by 5 foot bathroom, I can't imagine it will be much -- we need to tear up the linoleum (it smells like moisture/mildew has collected underneath it -- pretty nasty, which that, combined with an ant problem in there, are what prompted us to make this a priority), demo the walls and put up new sheetrock, new tile floor, a fan/vent, replace a small window, and we'll buy a toilet and sink/vanity for him to install. What's a guesstimate on the bathroom portion, keeping in mind we are doing very basic stuff? I'm hoping 2-3 grand-ish, and around 2 days' worth of work? Or am I in dreamland and looking at a 5k+ job?

Other work in progress:

-- Painter starting tomorrow. We're considering having him add the kitchen cabinets to the list of things he is painting, in line with our "temporary" kitchen rehab (we'll also hit home depot and find out about a cheap granite countertop alternative, as well as Otis doing his second ever tile backsplash himself BOWTIEZ). Expected completion 5 working days.

-- Siding guy hopefully starting later this week (I'm thinking more likely next). Expected completion 7 working days.

-- New masonry guy coming in Saturday AM to give us an estimate on a new front stoop and tearing out the rotten wood deck in the back in favor of a patio/walkway. If he can get started soon, expected completion, I am assuming, is probably 2 days or so given scope of work. My ballpark, in-my-own-mind estimate is around 6-8k for everything (5k for the patio, 2k for the front stoop, give or take).

-- Landscaper coming back in this weekend to give an estimate on planting some privacy trees (likely Leyland Cypress) along the back of the house. Hoping he can get to this sooner rather than later, though I fear he will see the slope we are working with, all the tree stumps and roots there, and tell us it's a no-go. We'll see.

If all goes off on schedule, in just a few weeks it will be like a completely different (and way nicer) house. Fred or someone will ##### about us painting over the ugly wood ceiling in the den, but that's ok.

In my spare time I've been replacing all the light switches and outlets, one at a time, with new Z-wave controllable outlets, and hooking them up to our wireless home automation network. Right now I've only got about 5 or 6 lights set up, but they're working well. Also have the front door deadbolt automated like this as well -- nice to lock the door on the way out with the push of a button, or unlock it from the iphone in the car before coming in with the baby and packages and not having to fumble around for keys, or to check from the iphones while we are away or from bed at night to make sure it is locked. Need to do the same with the back door as well now. Also need to get the rest of the lights installed (I haven't electrocuted myself yet, but give it enough time...), as well as the sprinkler system, and a couple other odds and ends...

We will be fully operational soon gang. Just in time for mid-summer.

Why would you want to finish your backsplash BEFORE you change your countertop??? That's bassackwards.

 

[Rohn Jambo]

Why would you want to finish your backsplash BEFORE you change your countertop??? That's bassackwards.

You're talking to a guy who just threw random flowers into pots of random soil mixes. It is a sign of someone who is desperate to jack up his project completion count by hook or by crook.

 

[DynOmite]

Reaper, do you go to wine country out there or??

Yup!

Spent the night in Greenport and hit the Wineries on our way back - Martha Clara has a petting zoo for the kids... We had a little picnic and most of them have bands playing.

Nice. We used to go all the time when we were in Brooklyn. We're planning a trip back in early July. Lenz, Sherwood House, Sparkling Pointe, Paumonok, McCall, Comtesse Theresa and Schneider( and Onabay which Schneider makes now) are our favorites. We tend to avoid Martha Clara et al

I will miss the Tasting Room though.... Charles was awesome, though I did hear he's at the Comtesse Bistro now.

Pro-tip: Hit up Michael's Liquor Store in Riverhead - much, much better prices on most of the wines.

Oh. You're a professional.

We do know Dr Dan from Pindar and he hooks us up. Went to a crazy party at Duck Walk a few years back.

We need to learn those off the beat places.

On this trip we were looking more for the Picnic / Live Music thing while I kicked a ball around with my daughter as the girls got tanked.

The Busloads of Bachelorette parties are welcome to me and part of my entertainment.... I send the little one into the crowd looking to meet "The Princess" with her Tiara and all and they love it.. Good Times.

Ha... fair enough. The off-the-beat places are relatively easy to find - just look for the "No Limos" signs. Many are (literally) not on the map because they don't pay to be part of that.We LOVE Greenport though. Awesome little town. Some of the restaurants are a bit overpriced for what they are, but some good stuff there too. We used to only stay one night, so we'd do a B&B that allowed it slightly out of town, but since we'll be there three nights now, we're doing Harborfront which is that little hotel in the middle of town.

I am a regular to the North Fork and hit up the vineyards as much as possible. Two other ones I like are Shin and Lieb (for White only) but this is a very good list.

Had no idea so many FBG were fellow North Fork wine fans. Laurel Lake is my favorite. Jamesport Country Kitchen is a great little restaurant.

 

[Dickies]

This is a lot of work. Did you buy some short sale place?

Negative. Bought an old place for location and potential. We actually wanted this -- a house that needs some TLC and which we could "make our own" over the years. I had grand visions of being like George Bailey and turning this drafty old barn into a beautiful home over the years. Those dreams are fading each time I gash my thumbs with a screwdriver trying to get the wall switch plates off the walls, or each time a contractor quotes me a price of twice what I had hoped to pay for some mundane bricklaying, painting, cutting, or clipping, or each time I identify a new crooked wall, improperly hung door, cracked ceiling, or other defect.

I can relate to this with my first house. I was like Reverend Lovejoy fresh out of seminary school, young, confidant, enthusiastic and ready to fix anything in my new humble abode. Alas, a 60 year old home wore me down like Ned Flanders and after 8 years I sold it for a bigger, newer house that I didn't think would need as much work. I couldn't be more wrong. So I sit here a broken man that pays people to do everything but minor maintenance. I wish the best of luck to you.

My place is 9 years old. I've contributed about zero to its wear and tear in the past five years, but corrected a lot of things the original owners and their kids/dog did. Even in a newish home, there are million and one things to do. Once you fix something, you find five other things that could be improved. One thing that drove me nuts is how many holes they put in the walls. When I first toured the home, I knew they had a lot of pictures, but it's astounding how many patch jobs I had to do. Worse, there's an equal number of holes in the garage drywall. Huh?

I have a lot tools hanging on the walls.

There are those holes, and there are holes for shelving, but then there are small finishing nail holes in random places where nothing should be. Like hundreds of them.

 

[Otis]

Why would you want to finish your backsplash BEFORE you change your countertop??? That's bassackwards.

You're talking to a guy who just threw random flowers into pots of random soil mixes. It is a sign of someone who is desperate to jack up his project completion count by hook or by crook.

Was this not right?

 

[Otis]

Blake Lively sure livened up my drab suburban existence this morning. Ammiright?

 

[belljr]

In my spare time I've been replacing all the light switches and outlets, one at a time, with new Z-wave controllable outlets, and hooking them up to our wireless home automation network. Right now I've only got about 5 or 6 lights set up, but they're working well. Also have the front door deadbolt automated like this as well -- nice to lock the door on the way out with the push of a button, or unlock it from the iphone in the car before coming in with the baby and packages and not having to fumble around for keys, or to check from the iphones while we are away or from bed at night to make sure it is locked. Need to do the same with the back door as well now. Also need to get the rest of the lights installed (I haven't electrocuted myself yet, but give it enough time...), as well as the sprinkler system, and a couple other odds and ends...

We will be fully operational soon gang. Just in time for mid-summer.

Finally something useful!!! Is this through an alarm company or can I install something for this? I already have a standard alarm.

 

[TLEF316]

Blake Lively sure livened up my drab suburban existence this morning. Ammiright?

Pretty much.

 

[Ned]

Get em oat!

Tell me more about those door locks, sounds pretty cool. Can you put the garage door opener on such a system as well?

Link

There's more to it than that, since I also have a server set up and HomeSeer software (www.homeseer.com) set up to control/program all the home automation tasks, and also I've been using their HSTouch software to separately design interfaces for the iPhones (and later our iPad). I'm pretty sure there is a "basic" way to use these Kwikset locks (Schlage makes a similar one) without all this hands-on software setup, but I'm just not sure how that works.

The thermostat sounds like the most useful thing - how is that working out for you? Which brand, cost, etc?

bumpity. I'm curious about this too...

 

[corpcow]

I'm a CS guy & I know a little about wiring because I had to take some EE courses, but that was a long time ago, I was probably pretty drunk, and my hands are too damned big to wire that #### anyway... so stupid question:

How hard/easy is it to replace outlets, lighting fixtures and dimmmers? Do I need an electrician or can I do it myself? Do I need anything other than wire strippers? Anything special other than just turning off power at the box?

Trying to decide if it's worth trying to do the 4 external lights, Z-Wave outlets (definitely want some automation!), and dimmers myself... or just to buy them and get someone in to install.

Now, if Otis is doing it himself, I'm guessing it's not all that hard, but... well, you know

 

[belljr]

I'm a CS guy & I know a little about wiring because I had to take some EE courses, but that was a long time ago, I was probably pretty drunk, and my hands are too damned big to wire that #### anyway... so stupid question:How hard/easy is it to replace outlets, lighting fixtures and dimmmers? Do I need an electrician or can I do it myself? Do I need anything other than wire strippers? Anything special other than just turning off power at the box?Trying to decide if it's worth trying to do the 4 external lights, Z-Wave outlets (definitely want some automation!), and dimmers myself... or just to buy them and get someone in to install.Now, if Otis is doing it himself, I'm guessing it's not all that hard, but... well, you know

About the easiest thing you can do the has to deal with wiring. All the hard work was done, running wires splicing etc etc. All you are doing is taking out the old fixture and attaching the wires to the new. Pretty straight forward if that's all you are doing.

 

[belljr]

$250 for a lock :burnsmoney:

Will look at this for my alarm and sprinklers - was on the homeseer web page and those don't appear straight forward :(

The lighting locks and thermostat look pretty easy and cool though.

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

-- New masonry guy coming in Saturday AM to give us an estimate on a new front stoop and tearing out the rotten wood deck in the back in favor of a patio/walkway. If he can get started soon, expected completion, I am assuming, is probably 2 days or so given scope of work. My ballpark, in-my-own-mind estimate is around 6-8k for everything (5k for the patio, 2k for the front stoop, give or take).

square feet for the patio? with a 10x10 patio and a stoop im betting $7,500 to $10,000. 2 days seems awfully light on the labor imo.

I had a 10 x10 covered patio/steps/stoop added to my house 2 years ago and it was $10k.