So today was the day that I had officially set up an appointment to go to Home Depot and sit down and talk details on the kitchen remodeling. I had looked over the catalogs, done all the necessary measuring, had my questions listed out - I was ready to go. Time to get the ball rolling and stop procrastinating on this project.
The appointment was set for 12:30 pm, sort of the middle of the day. After leaving the house at 11am to run a few errands, I noticed how nice a day it was. It was already right around 60-degrees outside, there was a very light breeze, the sun was shining and it was just beautiful. Then I got the golf itch. Sent a text message to a friend of mine, got a quick reply, and in the next five minutes I made two phone calls. The first was to a local golf course to book an early afternoon tee time. The second was to Home Depot to cancel my appointment.
Procrastination strikes again.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Financial Reality Sets In
After looking into the whole kitchen remodeling project, the one thing that seems to keep poking up its ugly head is the financial costs.
Obviously I knew going into this it would be a large total for the project. My biggest concern was how am I going to pay/finance this project. Do I finance through Lowes/Home Depot, or whoever I end up deciding to have to the project. Do I finance through my bank. Do I go rob a bank or sell some heroin to finance it.
The next area I concentrated on was trying to cut the costs as much as possible without taking away from the end result. I started looking at the cabinets to begin with and trying to find one that I liked that compared that to some cheaper styles to see if I could save some money that way.
One area I'm hoping to save costs is in the tearing out the old stuff. As mentioned in a previous post, I can tear stuff out, I just can't put it back together again. So one of my first questions to whoever I have do this project will be if I can save some labor costs by tearing stuff out on my own. Granted I won't go crazy tearing stuff out - I won't touch anything related to plumbing or electrical - but I can take a drill and a crowbar and tear some stuff out. Get rid of some aggression. The first thing that comes to mind in doing that is how do I get rid of the stuff I tear out? Fortunately, I have a friend who recently bought a new house and volunteered to take my old cabinets to use in his basement.
So hopefully, some of those steps will help eliminate at least a little bit of the cost. Or so I'm hoping. The hardest part is getting past how much this is going to cost in the short term, and focus on how much nicer the kitchen will look and how it will pay off in the long run. Easier said than done though. I do know that the grand illusions I originally had have tended to change just a little bit.
Obviously I knew going into this it would be a large total for the project. My biggest concern was how am I going to pay/finance this project. Do I finance through Lowes/Home Depot, or whoever I end up deciding to have to the project. Do I finance through my bank. Do I go rob a bank or sell some heroin to finance it.
The next area I concentrated on was trying to cut the costs as much as possible without taking away from the end result. I started looking at the cabinets to begin with and trying to find one that I liked that compared that to some cheaper styles to see if I could save some money that way.
One area I'm hoping to save costs is in the tearing out the old stuff. As mentioned in a previous post, I can tear stuff out, I just can't put it back together again. So one of my first questions to whoever I have do this project will be if I can save some labor costs by tearing stuff out on my own. Granted I won't go crazy tearing stuff out - I won't touch anything related to plumbing or electrical - but I can take a drill and a crowbar and tear some stuff out. Get rid of some aggression. The first thing that comes to mind in doing that is how do I get rid of the stuff I tear out? Fortunately, I have a friend who recently bought a new house and volunteered to take my old cabinets to use in his basement.
So hopefully, some of those steps will help eliminate at least a little bit of the cost. Or so I'm hoping. The hardest part is getting past how much this is going to cost in the short term, and focus on how much nicer the kitchen will look and how it will pay off in the long run. Easier said than done though. I do know that the grand illusions I originally had have tended to change just a little bit.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Procrastination Rules
I've quickly discovered the easiest part of doing a large, remodeling project with the kitchen: procrastination.
Since I know next to nothing about this area, it makes it easier to put things off and not get started. I finally did get going a week or so ago with some assistance. I met a friend for lunch one day and afterwards went to Home Depot to talk to look into the whole process. After looking around for a few minutes, I was finally approached and talked to one of the associates who was very nice and gave me information on how everything works. It was a bit comforting to finally know what steps to take in getting an estimate and everything. It was sort of a whirlwind of information that I didn't really comprehend until later. There were numerous books of information and examples of what to do and where to begin. It was somewhat overwhelming. But at least it was the first step.
Once I got home, I had a chance to sit down and look over all the information in the booklets. And I got overwhelmed all over again. So... much... information... can't compute.
After a day or two of letting everything sink in, I started to get into it and a little excited about it. I did all the measuring of the kitchen and wrote it all down on the charts they gave me. I got it all diagrammed out and started getting ideas for what I wanted. The more I started looking at the brochures, the more I started to dislike my current kitchen and wanted to remake it right now. The cabinets are way too dark, and they are sagging down. Plus they're just plain. Blah. Then there is 'Ol Yeller, the beat up stove. The sink that doesn't have the two sides. The counter top that has a 1970s style to it. It just needs redone. I was even motivated enough to go to Lowes the next day and got all the information and brochures from their store so I could check into getting an estimate from them as well.
Of course, then I started doing the math on the information from both stores and realized I couldn't go all out like I initially hoped. After some basic math and rough estimates on my own, I figured it was going to take somewhere close to $10,000 to redo the whole kitchen. Ouch.
Needless to say, that realization, even though I knew it was going to be that much, was still a shock to the system. That's a lot of money for such a little room. Not to mention all the things that it could lead to. Redoing the cabinets, counter top, new stove. That could lead to a new dishwasher as well, and a new refrigerator, and so on and so on. So I immediately began thinking of how to save money while doing this project. I figured I could take the stuff out on my own - right? I can tear stuff down, just don't ask me to put it back together again.
But alas, the money factor and the overwhelming idea of how big a project this could turn into and what a pain it will be to go through it all. This naturally led to some more procrastination as I put everything off even more. It just became easier to put it all on the back burner (no pun intended).
Since I know next to nothing about this area, it makes it easier to put things off and not get started. I finally did get going a week or so ago with some assistance. I met a friend for lunch one day and afterwards went to Home Depot to talk to look into the whole process. After looking around for a few minutes, I was finally approached and talked to one of the associates who was very nice and gave me information on how everything works. It was a bit comforting to finally know what steps to take in getting an estimate and everything. It was sort of a whirlwind of information that I didn't really comprehend until later. There were numerous books of information and examples of what to do and where to begin. It was somewhat overwhelming. But at least it was the first step.
Once I got home, I had a chance to sit down and look over all the information in the booklets. And I got overwhelmed all over again. So... much... information... can't compute.
After a day or two of letting everything sink in, I started to get into it and a little excited about it. I did all the measuring of the kitchen and wrote it all down on the charts they gave me. I got it all diagrammed out and started getting ideas for what I wanted. The more I started looking at the brochures, the more I started to dislike my current kitchen and wanted to remake it right now. The cabinets are way too dark, and they are sagging down. Plus they're just plain. Blah. Then there is 'Ol Yeller, the beat up stove. The sink that doesn't have the two sides. The counter top that has a 1970s style to it. It just needs redone. I was even motivated enough to go to Lowes the next day and got all the information and brochures from their store so I could check into getting an estimate from them as well.Of course, then I started doing the math on the information from both stores and realized I couldn't go all out like I initially hoped. After some basic math and rough estimates on my own, I figured it was going to take somewhere close to $10,000 to redo the whole kitchen. Ouch.
Needless to say, that realization, even though I knew it was going to be that much, was still a shock to the system. That's a lot of money for such a little room. Not to mention all the things that it could lead to. Redoing the cabinets, counter top, new stove. That could lead to a new dishwasher as well, and a new refrigerator, and so on and so on. So I immediately began thinking of how to save money while doing this project. I figured I could take the stuff out on my own - right? I can tear stuff down, just don't ask me to put it back together again.
But alas, the money factor and the overwhelming idea of how big a project this could turn into and what a pain it will be to go through it all. This naturally led to some more procrastination as I put everything off even more. It just became easier to put it all on the back burner (no pun intended).
Sunday, March 14, 2010
The Reason for the Remake
So I've decided that its time to redo my kitchen. I'm not talking about a few little fix ups either. We're talking about tearing everything out, gutting the room and starting from scratch. Now, you might ask, what would lead me to make such a big decision? Take a look at the culprit - my stove. Or as I like to call it, Old Yeller.
Not a very pretty thing is it. The ugly stain-yellow color. The burnt out inside. The aluminum foil drip pans for the burners. The broken clock/timer. The push button controls for the burners that have four settings - off, low, medium and high. The fact that the stove cooking time varies with each use. The list goes on and on.
The stove came with the house when I bought it in November 2002, and I think it was probably here when the house was built 40-plus years ago. Needless to say, it's time for Old Yeller to die. Thus created step one of the problem.
As it turns out, Old Yeller is not a standard sized stove. It's 27" wide, whereas most standard stoves are 30" wide. See the problem? To buy a new stove that is considered a 'space saver' at just 27" wide would cost twice as much as normal stove and looks likes a plastic, cheap, toy stove.
In order to get a new, standard size, normal stove, would involve cutting some of the kitchen counter and replacing the cabinets on one side of the stove. Not to mention the fact that the vent hood thingy above the stove is 42" long. Which begs the question - why have a shorter than normal stove with the longest possible sized vent thingy? So removing that would involve new cabinets above the stove area since I would like to get a stove with a microwave above it, and I don't know many microwaves that are 42" long.
Of course, it's impossible to replace just one section of cabinets. I would have to replace them all. And if the cabinets get replaced, the counter top will have to be replaced to match it. And if the counter top is replaced, I should go ahead and get a new sink so I have a sink with the two sides, not just a sink with the one tub thingy. Oh, and a new sink might as well include a new faucet as well. Why not? While I'm at it, if all the cabinets and the stove are going to be taken out to be replaced, I should go ahead and replace the floor while all that stuff is already out.
So yeah, that's the dilemma I've run into. And during the course of this wonderful (stressful), fun (stressful), creative (I have no clue what I'm doing), and financially rewarding (hello ramen noodles) experience, I plan on typing about it on here to keep everyone updated on the experience and as a way to pass along my joy (vent my stress/frustrations) to others with my kitchen remodeling.
And all this is possible because just like in the movie, it's time for Old Yeller to die.
Not a very pretty thing is it. The ugly stain-yellow color. The burnt out inside. The aluminum foil drip pans for the burners. The broken clock/timer. The push button controls for the burners that have four settings - off, low, medium and high. The fact that the stove cooking time varies with each use. The list goes on and on. The stove came with the house when I bought it in November 2002, and I think it was probably here when the house was built 40-plus years ago. Needless to say, it's time for Old Yeller to die. Thus created step one of the problem.
As it turns out, Old Yeller is not a standard sized stove. It's 27" wide, whereas most standard stoves are 30" wide. See the problem? To buy a new stove that is considered a 'space saver' at just 27" wide would cost twice as much as normal stove and looks likes a plastic, cheap, toy stove.
In order to get a new, standard size, normal stove, would involve cutting some of the kitchen counter and replacing the cabinets on one side of the stove. Not to mention the fact that the vent hood thingy above the stove is 42" long. Which begs the question - why have a shorter than normal stove with the longest possible sized vent thingy? So removing that would involve new cabinets above the stove area since I would like to get a stove with a microwave above it, and I don't know many microwaves that are 42" long.Of course, it's impossible to replace just one section of cabinets. I would have to replace them all. And if the cabinets get replaced, the counter top will have to be replaced to match it. And if the counter top is replaced, I should go ahead and get a new sink so I have a sink with the two sides, not just a sink with the one tub thingy. Oh, and a new sink might as well include a new faucet as well. Why not? While I'm at it, if all the cabinets and the stove are going to be taken out to be replaced, I should go ahead and replace the floor while all that stuff is already out.
So yeah, that's the dilemma I've run into. And during the course of this wonderful (stressful), fun (stressful), creative (I have no clue what I'm doing), and financially rewarding (hello ramen noodles) experience, I plan on typing about it on here to keep everyone updated on the experience and as a way to pass along my joy (vent my stress/frustrations) to others with my kitchen remodeling.
And all this is possible because just like in the movie, it's time for Old Yeller to die.
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