I have read everything on your Forums. This has been my job for the last eight months. You are giving me an education. Steve C., Gypsum, KS

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Offer to Buy....

Posted to Homestead by Mike & Carolyn in Smithville, MO on 11/14/2008 2:15:01 PM

Our neighbor to the West on 6.5 acres just sold their home and moved to Florida.  It sold for $289,625, which I have mixed feeling about.  Yes, it's a horrible real estate market right now and they needed/wanted to sell so they did it after attempting to sell for $350,000 with no success. It's a smaller, older home and if it wasn't on land would probably only sell for about $140k and their land would sell for about 15k per acre. Which leaves 50K for the large barn with concrete floor, heat and plumbing and the pond put in a few years back.

Our neighbor to the East just bought his 8 acres a little over 2 years ago and built a nice new home. Which he too has been trying to sell for the past 6 months or so.  He started just under $500k and is now at $485k. (which is still...just under $500K)  He bought the land about 3 months before we did for $139k. He is also the son of one of the areas larger builders and works for the building company and is a realtor. Meaning he saved on the construction of the home and will save on the commission when selling.

The neighbor to the East called last night to say that he has someone interested in buying his home but they want to buy our place too..."Are we interested in selling?" 

We're not even done building yet!  Never thought about selling it. I told him that we plan on building another home on the property since all we have there now is our garage (guest house).  He said he wondered about that since it was so small and off to the side. We talked about it and left it that we would look at any offer they wanted to make...and they should make a serious offer with a seriously large price.

We haven’t heard anything back.

Almost done....

Posted to Homestead by Mike & Carolyn in Smithville, MO on 11/7/2008 3:29:23 PM

The electrician finished up...almost. He still has to come back to hook up the hot water tank and fix one light that we needed a slope kit for.  Just in time to, the temperature dipped into the 30's and will be staying cold for a while.

Plumber was working today (Friday 11/7) and should have everything in.  It's the small things in life I'm beginning to appreciate....like the joy of indoor plumbing!

What's left? 

1. Still need to finish the cabinet installation.  Kitchen cabinets need the drawer fronts installed but we need to decide on pulls first (don't ask...it's the way they are made). Hall needs final cabinets installed and doors put on. It's about 1/2 way done.
2.  Wood floors need plugs completed, sanded, stained and several coats of sealant applied.
3.  Interior Doors to the rooms need to be re-hung after floors are finished
4.  Closet systems need to be installed...I guess just in our room since the kids seem to just toss their stuff on the floor, why spend the money on an organized closet
5. Kitchen range needs to be brought up from basement and installed in kitchen.
6. House numbers need to be installed (cant get an occupancy here without them)
7.  Refrigerator needed
8.  Garage needs to be cleaned out
9.  Door to furnace room needs to be installed
10. Storm door needs to be installed
11. Seal some drafts I found around the base of the front door
    (I hate drafts!)
12. Garage Door Opener...need them, not sure if they will make it this year
13. Basement door needs wood overlay installed, another thing that wont get done until spring
14.  Additional rock wall work - talked to the guy today (11/7) to get on his list. Not sure when they will be done. He'll just show up when he gets to me.
15.  Bathroom storage cabinets….still have not worked on this...
16. Bathroom Mirror....keep forgetting this.
17.  Darn ladder to the loft!
18.  Alarm system
19.  Sound system
20. Landscaping………not till next year

I thought the list was a lot shorter than that….

and I’m probably forgetting 10 or 20 things…………ugh!

Lighting Tip

Posted to Homestead by Mike & Carolyn in Smithville, MO on 11/7/2008 3:17:23 PM

It's a small thing but something I think is important and anyone building their own home should remember to do. 

On the lighting....remember to specify which switch you want to do what.  Not just where it's located but if you have multiple light switches SPECIFY in what order you want them in the pack.  (two packs, three pack, four packs etc....)

One may think that it is common sense and the switch closest to a fixture would be for that fixture but what makes sense to you probably doesn’t mean squat to the electrician...they're not living there and flipping the switches daily.  Some really don't care and will do what is easiest for them if you don't tell them otherwise.

Think about...write it down and put it on the boxes because your probably not going to be there when the switches go in, or you'll be distracted by something else and will not want to mess with it. 

We also added a second switch to the kids loft area. There is a switch in the loft but it is only accessible by ladder and figured that this would be a light they left on frequently so instead of use hauling it up the ladder we can turn the light off from the main floor.

More Pictures

Posted to Homestead by Mike & Carolyn in Smithville, MO on 11/1/2008 7:04:53 PM

Pictures.......

Photos

Newly Installed Countertop	Countertop	Painting done
Bathroom with paint and lights	Emmry's room with paint and lights....yes, that's the right color.	Part of the kitchen with some cabinets and lights
Entry hall before cabinets installed	Summer in loft entry...Summer picked blue for her room (ladder is still being made)	Livingroom light/fan
Kitchen	The Twins....we call them dumb and dumber but that's not their real names

Checking Things Off

Posted to Homestead by Mike & Carolyn in Smithville, MO on 11/1/2008 1:34:09 PM

Have not been keeping up as we check the items off the list. The place is shaping up and starting to look livable. We had a busy week with the following being completed;

• Painting Complete - the painter is done.  I'm not staying that there won’t be some additional painting required.  Specifically on areas we manage to mess up but we will be doing it as the work hired by the painter is done. It ended up costing $100 more than the bid for extra paint. I had three colors with two of them requiring additional coats. Final total for painting was $1500 (and that included him purchasing the paint...and no I don't consider it something we could have done and saved the money on.  By the time we bought the paint and caulk, then rented the sprayer and did the work we would have spent at least $500-$700 ...it's worth the money.  Besides, we would still be caulking and not gotten to the painting part yet.)

• Kitchen Cabinets Installed- …all but two and I don't know if I ordered the wrong size, the larger trim caused a change or what but we are two short and have not decided what to do about it yet. Honestly have not had time to think about it yet with all that happened this week.  We are still working on installing the doors and the cabinets in the entry storage area...have not purchased the pulls/knobs yet. 
• Kitchen Countertop is in - Granite and under mount sink was installed on Halloween.  Looks great! Total for installation was $600.
• Electrical almost done - Electrician was able to come a day early and lite up the house.  All the interior fixtures we had there are hung. Still need the one for above the dining table and the sconces in the loft hung. Most of the interior plugs are in and two of the exterior fixtures are hung.  They are coming back to finish up next week. And to work out the bugs with a few items that are not working.

What's Next....

• We hope to have all the cabinets in and doors hung this week.
• Plumber is supposed to drop the water heater by this week.
• All electrical should be completed by the end of the week.
• Alarm and sound system in
• Floors - we need to finish up with the plugs, filling gaps and cracks, sanding, staining and sealing.
• Final Plumbing - Once we have at least one coat of sealant on the floors the plumber will install the final plumbing fixtures.
• And a TON of final items....door knobs, cabinet pulls, address hung, pantry shelf braces installed, stove carried up from garage, refrigerator purchased, trash hauled off and everything cleaned!

Pictures to come.....really, I have tons just have to get them posted.

Sick, Sick, Sick

Posted to Homestead by Mike & Carolyn in Smithville, MO on 10/18/2008 12:44:32 PM

Been away for a while and I wish it was because I was busy on the house...but it's not.  Instead I came down with the crud. Usually it's the kids that get sick but this time it was me and it knocked me down.  Mike managed to get some stuff done before he too got sick...he finally couldn't take it (got an ear infection and the pain finally drove him to the doctor).

The trim is complete (hired that out) door and trim materials bill was $1375.  Trim installation bill was $695.  They did a great job -- only had 9 doors to install, used 5" base in the common areas and smaller base in the loft and closets. We used 3 1/2" in casing on doors and around the windows (8 windows plus the opening to the loft and loft storage closet). And decided on 16" shelves in the pantry, 6 of them wrapped along the walls for tons of storage.

One thing I think everyone overlooks is laying out the pantry.  Decide ahead of time how deep you want your shelves and how many of them. And don’t forget to consider what you use the pantry for when deciding on the spacing between shelves.  It would bug the heck out of me if the stuff wont fit on the shelve or if I have a ton of wasted space between the shelves...think about it, do it right the first time.

All 26 cabinets are together and ready for installation, they came as knock down 'do-it-yourself' cabinets. Mike got them together in two days.  Doors still need to be installed but will wait until cabinets are installed before adding more weight to them.  They are maple cabinets...not exactly what I wanted but we got the cabinets for the kitchen, entry hall storage and storage above the computer desk for $700 so I couldn't pass them up.  And if they bug me too much I could have the doors darkened.

We are now waiting on painting to be completed.  Then the cabinets will go in and electrical will be completed. Asked the plumber for a final estimate so we know how much to expect but have not heard back.  Won’t be long if we don't run out of money....which is a real possibility.

To Do
1. Finish Interior Paint
2. Install Cabinets (including doors)
3. Install Bathroom Cabinets (there are two that wont make it in before we complete the home)
4. Install Closet Shelving
5. Final Electrical
6. Stain and Seal Hardwoods
7. Install Granite Countertops
8. Final Plumbing
9. Finish sound system installation
10. Finish Alarm Installation
11. Purchase and install ladder to loft
12. Landscape (this wont happen until Spring)
13. Install rain Barrels (wont happen until Spring)

Will work on getting some pictures up.

Driveway...DONE!

Posted to Homestead by Mike & Carolyn in Smithville, MO on 9/26/2008 2:24:46 PM

We finally got the drive in front of the house and the walkway to the front door in.  Excited to see it completed, not to thrilled for the bill to arrive. We ended up pouring 65 feet for the cars in front of the lower level garage doors.  This takes it 1/2 way up a small hill and helps to control the water, which always ended up in front of the garage doors.  There is a stamped circular patio and walkway that still needs to be stained, which I was promised will be done before the bill arrives.  Pictures to come.

Trim goes in tomorrow, Saturday 9/27!!! Painting next week!

Hardwood - Installation Complete

Posted to Homestead by Mike & Carolyn in Smithville, MO on 9/20/2008 8:52:48 PM

Mike finished up the hard wood installation tonight.  We had enough to do the loft and about 15 boards left over.  That includes the bad boards that we were only going to use is we had too.  We spent another $117 on supplies which. I think... takes us to around $1100. I will have to add it up. 

Over the next week the trim will be completed and we will be filling and cracks and knot holes plus adding the peg and screw details to the ends. Painter is already lined up to be in after the trim and we have the cabinets, which are prefinished, so we will install them after paint is complete. 

We also had the gutters installed and work got underway on the driveway and sidewalk.  Driveway should be complete by end of day Monday.  Gutters wont technically be complete until we pick up the rain barrels and since the granite countertops are on the trailer I'm not sure when that will be.  I still need to get the bathroom linen closet and storage cabinets made...running low on funds and they may end up being added later or being and off the shelf item.  We've been so busy with the floors that I haven’t even gotten estimates.  Maybe next week. 

Photos

Living Room - looking down from loft	Kitchen - Looking down from loft	Loft...finished now - taken with just a few rows of flooring left
Bedroom and Glue Station	Bathroom	Another view of kitchen and living room
Stamped circular part of drive	View of start of drive from above	Frames for front step and walk
Front Walk and what will be a planting bed	Gutters and Air Conditioner...Gutter color matches perfectly!	And for Friends/Family…Summer had her first Gymnastics meet today, She took second in two events (yes there were more than 2 competitors... there were 4) and 4th in two. She got home and said, "What do I have to do to get first place? Tell me, I'll do it! I want the trophy!"

More Pictures

Posted to Homestead by Mike & Carolyn in Smithville, MO on 9/17/2008 1:15:15 PM

Granite bought at auction for $900, 6 pieces plus back splash Sinkhole pre cut and finished. 2 pieces have bull nosed fronts and sides, two are corner pieces with bull nose in corner for easy connection, and two have bull nose front unfinished sides. - Estimate for installation is $300. Frames used to transport cost me $50 to build...some people were simply strapping them to the side of their trucks but I didn’t want o risk it.

Photos

Transporting the Granite with frames I built	Bought at auction and they didn't have names but I think it is Green Galaxy	Hardwood installation - we have all but the 2nd bedroom, bath and loft completed to date
Start of hardwood installation - End of day one under Hardwood hassles post

Fun at the AUCTION!

Posted to Homestead by Mike & Carolyn in Smithville, MO on 9/16/2008 2:49:04 PM

What a fun day!  We have in the past gone to a building supply auction that comes to the area once a year.  The location they used has not been available so they have not been coming for the past few years but They’re Back!  They started again last spring but I was working and it's honestly best if I stay away from the auction. 

They had a small auction on Saturday, about 1/3 of the size they typically sell over the normal two day event.  It's all building supplies ranging from door hardware, windows, siding, sinks, kitchen cabinets and flooring.

It was raining so the turnout was low too.  I could not believe the deals.  I was tempted to buy more than I did but remembered moving the tile last time...we got 18" filled travertine for 25 cents a sq foot. Down side is that you have the buy the quantities they are selling.  So we used the 400 sq ft in our kitchen and bath rooms plus for the kitchen, bathrooms and fireplace of a rental we had.  At that price it was a steal.  This year it went for 50 cents a foot.  I left the building to deal with the baby when they were selling most of the flooring but saw ceramic tile sell for 50 cents a sq ft and some of the wood (3/4 inch solid pre finish) sell between one and two dollars a sq ft...Which was why it was so hard to NOT BUY IT.  teak flooring....that would look fabulous on the ceiling of my covered porches...$1.80 a sq ft...my problem is that my porches are not built yet.  There were some things that they would not go any lower on and did not sell...like the 4x4 tumbled marble tiles.  They looked great.

Other deals for the day included shower units with multiple jets, steam and radio (I thought they looked like space ships) but they went between $800 and $3000, Kitchen Cabinets...I was so tempted $2000 was the low with one not selling and $4500 was the highest (29 cabinet kitchen) all very nice with self closing drawers. And the granite countertops....for 4 countertops plus two corner pieces and backsplashes went between $900 and 1650. Glass vessel sinks sold for under $50 each, decorative vanities with tops, sink and faucets went for under $500 each with most being around $250. It was a great place to pick up faucets for $25 to $50. One piece toilets $100 to $140 and outside materials such as lap siding, trex decking and some fencing were a steal.  I didn't listen to it all but the trex went for $6 each and were 16' long. 

I picked up some glass tiles for the backspaces and batch rooms for $2.50 a sq ft and could select in 50 sf ft increments. Two stone sinks for $100 and one that I need to resale.  It’s a sink carved in a granite rock, outside is natural and inside is polished.  It was in a lot and is super heavy, just not what we need. Craig list here it comes. We got a few faucets, a garbage disposer ($45 for 1/2 horse power) a glass vessel sink, Anderson Storm Door for $80, and granite countertops for $900. I only need about 1/2 of the granite so I'll sell the remaining pieces.

Hardwood Progress

Posted to Homestead by Mike & Carolyn in Smithville, MO on 9/16/2008 1:44:59 PM

We have been working on the floors as we can at night. We now have the master bedroom complete plus the living room and kitchen.  Rooms remaining are the bathroom, 2nd bedroom and loft.  We are doing the loft last because were not certain well have enough wood.  If not, it will be vinyl.  It's just a place for the kids to play and is only accessible by ladder so not many people taller than 5' will be up there.

Hardwood Hassles

Posted to Homestead by Mike & Carolyn in Smithville, MO on 9/12/2008 1:32:48 PM

Hardwood needs to be in before trim so we’ve working franticly working away. I was going to have it installed (we already have the wood) but most of the companies will only install their own product…something about their warranty. The bids I did get where high. And only had installed our type of wood before and knew what he was talking about.  His bid….$3,825…figures to $4.50 per foot for installation, stain and seal.  Not horrible but more than we budgeted. We asked for $3,000 cash but we’re met with a response of “My price is my price.” So off we went to install the floor.

Day One

8:30 – Mike drops one kid at school while I gather everything required for the long day with the baby

9:00 – feed the baby

9:30 – Mike at job site to see what we need

9:30 – I pick up nail gun at rental shop

10:00 – and $137.50 poorer (or gun rental and cleats) we meet at home depot for supplies, Caulk Line (only because we can’t find ours), Paper (to protect floors after installed), Tape, Glue and trowel…yes glue…we are installing wide plank floors (it’s recommended that for any planks over 4 inches to use glue and nails/staples so you don’t get popping or squeaking when walked across and it helps to reduce cupping) Dropped another $80 here

11:00 – back at home for things I forgot

11:30 – back at job site – prepping area

12:00 – Feed the baby

1:00 – back to home improvement store for a new Shop Vac, nails for the nail gun (for boars that require face nailing) and something else that was important at the time but I’ve forgotten about now….down another $95

1:30 – back at the site and ready to work…it’s been 4 hours and we have 3…yes 3 boards in………………….it’s going to be a VERY long day.

4:00 – kid home from school and time to feed the baby – we’ve gotten about 3’ done in the living room and about 2’ done in the entry hall. 

5:15 – off to grab dinner and drop the kiddo at gymnastics.

6:15 – back with dinner for Mike….I’m sick of being in the car and I sick of listing to Hannah Montana, it was actually 10 minutes after I dropped off the 6 year old that I realized I’m still listing to this and the kid is no longer in the car…It’s been a long day.

7:30 – back out to pick the kid up from Gymnastics

8:00 – feed the baby…the poor girl, she actually got used to the pops of the nail gun and the sound of the air compressor and managed to get a nap in.

8:30 – back to see progress Mike has made and clean up.

SO at the end of the day…we managed to get about 3’ into the living room (the largest room) and all but three boards in the entry installed.  The process of having to back butter each board with glue is truly slowing the processes down. And we were working on the part that required the most cuts.   We spent….$37.50 to rent the nail gun and based on what we got done today will need to rent it for about 5 more days….$37.50 x 5 = $187.50 and that’s a guess. We also only have two days a week that we can work on the house all day.  The other days we could only work in the evenings.  If we rent it will take three more weeks to get the floors done.

So we spent the next 4 days looking for a nail gun to buy. Checked the local hardware stores…not much to pick from. Options are manual ones or way too expensive ones. Checked Craig’s List – they have three listed. First one I call, listed for $100…”Sold it Yesterday”, Story of my life. Second one, listed for $180 non negotiable – no response from the seller and the ad was gone the next day, guess they sold it. Third one, listed at $360 (can buy for $425 new…not much of a discount) He decided to keep it.  So we search the city again. Find one, but it can’t be picked up until 10:30.

Day Two

10:30 - Mike runs out to get it, baby in tow, say by-by to another $375

11:00 – I’m off to work

12:00 – Mike stops by my work to leave me the baby and eat lunch before getting to work on the floors.

1:00 – Installation Continues

4:00 – Kid home from school, I’m sure she’s a big help with the installation.

6:15 – I stop by to see how things are going on the floor – Progress has been made, Entry is done and 4 more feet completed in the living room

7:00 – Take the kids home (the home with wash room facilities and food) to get dinner and feed the baby.  Also had to grab another adapter for the lights.

8:00 – back at job site, Mike breaks for dinner and is back to work.

8:20 ish - One more board is installed and the nail gun jams.

Boy is it jammed. He works and works on it but can not figure it out, can see it but knows there is a nail stuck in it.  It’s almost 9pm now and I suggest stopping for the day and taking the gun home to clear the jam.  We get home, I get the kids to bed and Mike works on the gun…oh, there is no manual…not even a parts diagram.  Mike manages to get ‘part’ of the nail out.  Okay, where is the other half?  And the gun still does not work.

2 ½ hours latter I know now how to take apart and reassemble the nail gun.  We had to take the entire gun apart to get to the jam, and it was really jammed. Two nails stuck in the exit path. Sent a note to the manufacturer for a manual and asked that they call for help.  They called the next day to tell us how to get it out…which was to take the gun apart. The nice tool technician said that the gun is under warranty and we can get a new one if we want…not a bad idea. Probably will after were done.

Day Three

8:30 – leave to drop the kiddo at school, Mike leave for the job site

9:15 – at the site, start installing boards

11:00 – Hardware run for more glue, feed the baby and grab some lunch - $96 down, not counting lunch.

4:15 – Kiddo home from school

5:15 – its Thursday so we do the gymnastic running around again. I’m back and forth to the job between 5:15 and 6:30 with food. Mike’s making progress.

7:30 – Nail gun jams!  I think it may be union and has a quitting time. He works on it for a little while and manages to clear the jam.

8:00 – pick up time from gymnastics and I head home to get the kids homework done and off to bed.

9:00 – Mike home, sooner than I thought and I’m hesitant to ask if we still own a nail gun… He said he stopped when he got to the heat registers so he could do the measuring and cutting with more light available.  And we need more glue

We got a lot done today, all but 4 feet of the living room and kitchen, all but about a foot of the master bedroom (including the closet). We work on it again Saturday evening with the goal of finishing the master bedroom and starting in the second bedroom. We’d finish the living room but there is a big stack of wood in the area left and we really don’t want to have to move it twice…it’s getting smaller as we install the other rooms.

Budget wise…or not so wise…We’re in the neighborhood of $785 and will need at least two more pails of glue so we’ll be just over $900 once installation is done. Hope is that trim can be in next week.

Good Karma

Posted to Homestead by Mike & Carolyn in Smithville, MO on 8/26/2008 2:37:16 PM

I truly believe in good karma.  What I put out there comes back around…I’m convinced.  I've been convinced since I gave my dinner to a cold and hungry man on the corner one December night many years ago. Back then I could have lost a few pounds anyway and he certainly shouldn’t be any thinner.  A few days later the ‘way too expensive’ tool chest I bought for my husband for Christmas ended up being FREE. No kidding, free. (I fed him a few more time after that just for good measure!)  Now just a few days after I rescue a rather large and very hungry animal (some sort of prairie dog looking thing) that was trapped in an egress window well at one of the new homes I’m trying to sell, I get an excellent deal on painting! Not free, but a good deal nonetheless. The couple I was showing the house to told me to just leave the thing in there to die. Not thinking twice about it I said, “ I can’t do that, it’s not good karma.”