STILL HAVE NOT CLOSED YET!!!!

ARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!! Where do I start!

I am EXHAUSTED from waiting.

Stylin' while workin'

I am not the proud owner of a PINK HARD HAT, with a matching Pink tool belt. Courtesy of Rob.

But not to worry- I will not be getting matching PINK WORK BOOTS!

Field trip day

Today, Rob and I decided to take some time off work and check out more local resources to price out potential discounts. We got up bright and early, downed some coffee, and got-a-riding.

First stop: An architectural salvage place in Baltimore called Second Chance Inc. Four huge warehouses with a lot furniture, lighting, plumbing, cast-iron, tile etc. It was a little bit like one of DC favorite places The Brass Knob, but a lot more organized. There was A LOT of really gorge stuff. Including some Marble fireplaces, but the price point did not offer much of a discount.

Second stop: Habitat for Humanity's ReStore. Lots of great stuff here. Supplies, some furniture, cabinets, sinks etc. We picked up a few more paint trays and gloves since they were cheap, as well as a table that I may use for my sewing projects. They had a gorgeous faucet that I have lusted over for $75, significantly lower than the $500 price I saw on e-bay, but we thought it might be a nightmare doing the plumbing and getting the sink to fit this specific fixture.

Third Stop: THe Community Forklift. Yet another great resource. Tons of tools, electrical and plumbing pieces, cabinets, doors galore and tons of trim. Really good prices, but certainly not the place to go to at the end of the day.

Needless to say, I am shopped out. (more like window-shopped out!) But at least I know where to source the discounts for specific projects.

Pre-Closing 'To-Do' list

We have been 'over the top' busy the last few days. One thing we have learned from our past experiences is that you can never 'over-prepare' for any renovation. As a result, we are spending a lot of time prepping before our closing happens. (Also,  I am insanely impatient and don't want to live in a construction zone too long)

1. Tweaked our budget. We REALLY, REALLY, REALLY want to stay on budget because we do not have a lot of flexibility. Therefore, we also need to account for every last penny spent (even for the nails!)

2. Rob researched and ordered most of our tools and the materials for the first few tasks we will be doing. Rob discovered that Amazon has better deals on a lot of the tools, and the shipping cost is better than most places. We also ordered our supplies for the demo, framing and drywall, so that we can save some money on delivery.  (Most big box stores charge one fixed charge for each trip, so we bulked up the order. We also used Rob's 10% military discount)

3. Created drawings for our demo plan, electric, plumbing and HVAC plans. Thanks to Rob's skills with Visio, we are skipping the architect. P.S. Visio 2010 is being tested, so you can download the Beta for free here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/ee390821.aspx. Can you tell that I love FREE!

4. Created work plans for our renovation with timelines etc. One can WISH that we will be on time with everything yeah!

5. Scheduled an energy audit with DC (Because it is FREE! Well, I am sure my crazy property taxes need to count for something). They give you a really great report that will give us good ideas on how to organize our renovating. You can apply here for an energy audit here: http://www.ddoe.dc.gov/ddoe/cwp/view,a,1209,q,492761.asp

6. We spent the day yesterday covering up our lovely floors with builder's paper, so that they don't get too worn from Demo and renovations. We also cleaned out one bathroom that we can use. That took a lot of elbow grease- because it was GROSS! But, we need a functioning bathroom during reno.

7. And finally, we have been watching WAY TOO MUCH Do It Yourself Network.
http://www.diynetwork.com/

That's the update... for now!

p.s. We have been able to get so many resources from other bloggers who have been willing to share, and have developed some good systems for planning our renovation. If you would like to get a copy of some of our spreadsheets/planning tools/budget sheets etc- shoot me an e-mail. We will be happy to share.

Holy EXHAUSTED!!!

We went out to the Southern Sales Auction today. http://www.southernsalesservices.com

Southern Sales acts as a consignment store for builder materials, appliances etc- and auctions them off every few weeks. Yesterday was the preview day, so I went in totally equipped with my tape measure, camera and notebook. All the 'stuff' that was of potential interest, I documented - complete with brand names, serial numbers, make and model etc. And most importantly, measured and got pics.

We spent last night going through all our 'potentials', and came up with a short-list of items. One of the things that was high on our priority list was a Refrigerator and Freezer by Frigidaire. They are counter-depth but about 30 inches wide.  Even before the auction, these were going to be our appliances of choice.

We were able to score both appliances for 1/3 of Retail (and they still come with a manufacturer's warranty, and are brand new).

Even better, we scored all our tile for the house at an average of $1 per square foot, for tile that retails and average of $7 per square foot.

We got some shaker style cabinet knobs, some molding, a shower system and........

My fav.... was the clawfoot tub we bought- after no one bid on it!!!!

Inspiration comes from..

I have resorted to saving some inspiration pictures in a folder on my computer because there is so much out there. In addition, I have a huge collection of magazines that I am looking through and tabbing the pages. My favorite thing to do right now is read the blogs of other DIY-ers who have gone through this process. I will be adding some of my favorites in the blogroll as we go along. 

Any other bloggers been there/done that- please share your deets in the comment section.



In the meantime, here is a picture of my coffee table right now.

And here is Rob's stash of 'light reading'.

And the winner is.....

US!!!

We beat out 7 other people in bids for our new 'Zoo-House'. Rob and I have been debating moving out of our otherwise-lovely, but teeny-tiny house on V St. We love our current house- after all- it is the smallest victorian in DC, and it is detached. However, 300 square feet on each level is not quite working out for 2 people and a doggie. My bike sits in the living room! My office is the catch-all room, and I really miss not having a dining space. (Even though we hardly used the one in the last house). I am very excited about our new place if only for the following reasons:

1. We are less than a mile from our current place- which is an awesome neighborhood- we can walk to all sorts of restaurants, the metro, the dog park, the zoo...... hoooo hoooo!
2. We are really close to the entrance of Rock Creek Park, which is our current running route
3. I can finally host my supper club
4. We can get the kitchen we have always wanted (more like the one Ati has always wanted- with plenty of storage, a decent stove and a cook-friendly design)
5. We can store our bikes, motorcycle and scooter- and did I mention there is a GARAGE!!!

I have always loved a 'granny-house'. What's a granny house you say? An older house with tons of character, that was well-maintained- so good structurally, but that needs a jolt to the 21st century. Our house is def. a granny house, with gorgeous wood floors, wardman architecture, and needing a good scrub and lots of love.

Unfortunately, there is that dreaded word aka LIMITED BUDGET! Rob and I plan on doing lots of the work ourselves, as opposed to hiring it out. Especially since there are a few things that I am not willing to compromise on, and do not want builder/contractor grade. So that means our labor costs have to be as low as possible.

It will be a long winter, maybe a long 2010- but we are soooo excited!!!