I definitely agree with that. We had the same trouble when we bought last year. We ended up getting one where we liked the floor plan and neighborhood and we're just slowly doing work to the inside to get it where we would like. If we ignored size and just looked for everything we wanted away everything was coming in >2500 sf and just a lot more than we were wanting to pay right now or the more moderately sized ones that were really nice seemed to be closer to our downtown area and thus the prices skyrocketed there as well due to location.

[Edited on September 25, 2011 at 6:12 PM. Reason : ]

9/25/2011 6:11:49 PM

Man I hear you, Duke. We were having the same problems when shopping around. Eventually I had to come to terms that if we wanted a house less than 2000sqft, it was going to come with wood paneling and shag carpet Luckily the one we did get only needs minimal updating to the interior. Paint will go a long way in updating it.

Quote :

"not that i have a ton of chimney maintenance experience, but i had this guy come out a few months ago for chase cover and a routine inspection/cleaning if necessary friendly guys, showed up on time, didn't charge me for the inspection since everything looked fine, probably because i was paying for the chase cover http://www.yourashismine.com/ "

I'm pretty sure that's who did our chimney as well. So far no complaints but we also haven't had a chance to use it yet

We closed on the house Friday but because it took so damn long the lawyer wasn't able to register the sale downtown So we were able to move all our shit into the garage of the house but not the house itself Tonight after work should be fun moving everything AGAIN.

9/26/2011 10:17:44 AM

If anyone ever tells you a good bathroom remodel is easy, they are full of it... This thing is quite a beast now.

Picking and choosing things: My wife and I have spent probably 24 hours going to showrooms and plumbing suppliers to pick out everything. My brother, who is getting all this at wholesale has had to spend more time than us to get everything arranged. My wife and I decided it will be a rough time in our marriage when we build a house together, because the union of our likes is very very small.

Demolition: Have to remove existing tub and shower, and remove one wall between the two. Have to remove vanity/toilet, everything else as well as everything is being gutted.

Plumbing: Install 3 volume control valves, a thermastat, 2 body sprays, a seperate shower spray, and a rain head that is going to be in the ceiling (this will also require plumbing in the ceiling). Have to move the bath tub water supply lines as well as the tub drain. Have to install free standing tub.

Tiling: Just picking the tile has been a small nightmare. Been to 4 different tile shops, and need to go to a fifth. Finding out that every tile store has certain things they specialize in, and offer good pricing on. Finally picked a porcelin tile for the floor that looks like black stained hardwood. Still haven't decided what to use in the shower. Also believe we want to put in a tile warming system, but that will require more electrical work. Havent priced that yet.

Carpentry: I dont want the standard trim in my bathroom anymore. Wanting to remove all trim around doors and windows and replace with something larger and better. Obviously matching baseboards, and we are debating doing a wainscot to panel the walls. The vanity we wanted will not work with the existing plumbing connections, and after spending enough with the plumber, I dont want to spend more. Found vanity we liked at restoration hardware, but it wont be available for a couple of months. Had to order a vanity from another site that looks EXACTLY like the RA vanity, but with awful top. Ordered without top, now I am getting estimates to put a custom Carrara top on.

Electrical: Need to connect the tile heating system to electricity, need to add LED light fixtures for shower ceiling. The easiest of everything.

Shower enclosure: I have been amazed at the wild differences in shower enclosure quotes. The difference between the high and low is over $1000. I have called 6 places asking for quotes.

And in the end, we are going to spend all this money, and I really have no idea if its going to look spectacular. We still only have a 8 foot by 8 foot master, and I am trying to cram a lot of goodness in a small space and have it look good. Hopefully I'll upload pics if it turns out ok

So, I see why people pay good money to bathroom designers. If you have the money, and not the time, this is definitely the way to go...

[Edited on September 27, 2011 at 2:49 PM. Reason : ,]

9/27/2011 2:47:38 PM

Quote :

"Demolition: Have to remove existing tub and shower, and remove one wall between the two. Have to remove vanity/toilet, everything else as well as everything is being gutted."

are you replacing it entirely with just a nice, new shower? We debated it because our nice, big jetted garden tub is nothing but an overflow clothes dumping spot at best and a floorspace hog at worst when empty Only problem is that most people still say not to remove a tub in the master for resale reasons >.< so we are torn on what we will do whenever we renovate the bathroom. It's definitely a house we plan to live in for a long time but it's not like it's our dream house and I never plan on buying another one. We have a tub |wall| shower setup (wall between the two) as well that is probably similar so I was just curious.

[Edited on September 27, 2011 at 3:00 PM. Reason : ]

9/27/2011 2:56:28 PM

We are building a custom shower. It will be tile to the ceiling on 2 sides. The floor will will also be a tiled floor. The other two walls would be 3/8" framless glass going up 7 feet.

We have purchased a freestanding tub that will be in the place of the existing garden tub. It will open the room up, provide a really good deep bath (24" as opposed to 12" in the current).

Basically, the layout of the bathroom is going to be the same, but hopefully be something that would be found in a house 3x as expensive.

My wife and I were debating that we'd probably not have something this nice again, even if we upgrade to a new house. The next house we buy will be almost new, have a really nice bathroom, but not a custom bath like we are attempting to do. Its hard to convince yourself to throw away a perfectly nice bathroom. But getting rid of this shit bathroom we have is an easy decision. I am getting it done cheaply enough that it should directly be added to the sale price, so we are probably not throwing any money away.

9/27/2011 4:11:37 PM

^^ I wish I had a jetted tub. I'll trade you your bathroom for ours with the crappy shower Actually it's a pretty nice shower but I'd rather have a tub in the master bath

Anyone have recommendations on where to look for ceiling fans aside from Lowes and Home Depot?

9/28/2011 8:46:42 AM

Online really is the next best option. I havent been able to find higher end ceiling fans in town. Trying to get my brother to be a distributor for those as well.

9/28/2011 9:23:53 AM

I haven't checked here in a while but I got my Hunter fans through http://www.hardwareandtools.com/

9/28/2011 11:07:13 AM

Quote :

"Man I hear you, Duke. We were having the same problems when shopping around. Eventually I had to come to terms that if we wanted a house less than 2000sqft, it was going to come with wood paneling and shag carpet "

I had a 1900 sq ft house in New Bern. It wasn't, like, SUPER nice or anything...but it had granite counters, nice carpet, nice laminate and tile floors, etc. There was one bedroom that I didn't use at all, and another HUGE bonus room that I basically just used to keep a few guitars in (and could have kept them in my huge master bedroom, but figured I might as well find something to do with those extra rooms). Basically, though, I spent money on a house that I only used maybe 2/3 of. I'm sure as hell not going to buy a 2200-2500 sq ft house and waste even more money. I don't know why you can't find a 1500-1800 sq ft house with nice construction and fixtures. I've probably looked at 15-20 houses down here now, and I'm pretty sure that such a thing just doesn't exist.

It's beginning to look like the only way I'm gonna buy a house is to again buy way more house than I need, which I'll only do if someone is distressed and makes a SCREAMING deal on something for me...or if I can find a nice house with a real mess of an interior, that needs all new floors, paint, counters, you name it, and is priced accordingly. I just can't bring myself to tear out appliances, flooring, or counters/cabinets in a brand new or 2 year old house when they're in good shape but just low grade. That's a colossal waste of money.

[Edited on September 28, 2011 at 7:22 PM. Reason : but I am definitely getting fucking tired of living in an extended stay hotel]

9/28/2011 7:22:09 PM

I don't really get it either. It seems like builders for the last ten years decided only poor people wanted smaller homes.

9/28/2011 8:31:48 PM

CarZin are you near Raleigh. If so, try majestic marble and glass. Sounds like what you have for the shower door wouldn't meet their minimum glass order ($995 I think) and they do good work. They also have a big remnant selection for your marble top.

[Edited on September 28, 2011 at 10:10 PM. Reason : misread...]

9/28/2011 10:09:01 PM

Yeah, they are on my list. I am getting 10 phone estimates. So far, the cheapest is 1600, and the others are up to 2500 just for the shower glass. ugh.

tile for the shower went way over budget as well.

9/28/2011 10:36:53 PM

Need some opinions on this remodel before I pull the trigger.

The bathroom is going to be done in a classical style with some modern elements. The shower is going to be white carrara marble. The vanity is white with a white marble top. The tub is freestanding white. I am going to be doing a wainscot. We'll accent the drywall with a nice color.

My debate is with the flooring. I want something more modern that pops out a bit. I am planning on ordering BLACK STAINED faux wood porcelain tile. Specifically the tile you see in the following images. It is going to be 6 inches by 24. has the texture of real wood.

How bold of a choice is the black stained faux wood going to be? Black and white obviously go together well, but I dont want it to overpower the classical elements of the bathroom.







This is the tile ungrouted in a different color.


If I wanted to go completely safe, I could get it in white.

[Edited on September 29, 2011 at 9:42 AM. Reason : .]

9/29/2011 9:41:36 AM

Do the black. White tub, shower, sink, wainscotting, and flooring is going to be white overload.

9/29/2011 10:17:46 AM

Yea I wouldn't go with a really light or white flooring based on all the other white you have going on (which is fine...but you don't want to overdo it).

9/29/2011 10:21:39 AM

Thanks for the sanity check. I ordered the black faux wood.

9/29/2011 1:23:52 PM

Bought a thermostat...can't find the breaker for the A/C unit...feel stupid

10/1/2011 7:10:57 AM

Its outside with the package unit (grey box) or in your attic/closet if you have a split unit. You will probably have a breaker for the coils outside with a split. I cant remember where the power comes from, so just remove both.

10/1/2011 9:58:30 AM

^^ This reminds me...I keep meaning to pick up programmable thermostats. How do I figure out if the thermostat is going to work properly with my system? Or is everything pretty much universal? I have a two zone setup in my house.

10/2/2011 3:41:21 PM

I think they're pretty universal. Could be wrong there, but I installed on a few years ago, and there was no 'making sure it works with my system' to it. If you have a thermostat, you should be able to use it I believe

10/2/2011 8:15:04 PM

So I've got a huge unfinished basement. The back half is almost done bing converted to a wine cellar. I'd like to put down hardwoods instead of carpet in the front half.

My only concern is that upstairs is a custom hardwood floor. I'd like downstairs to be a darker wood, as well as a cheaper laminate floor. What do I do with the stairs to create an even transition?

10/3/2011 12:35:07 AM

^^ Safe assumption that if he doesnt have new thermostats, he doesnt have a complex system. The new multi stage units arent supported by a lot of the low end off the shelf stats.

If you have a zone system, that means you have a single unit that uses dampers to open and close cooling to the upstairs and downstairs. Do you have that, or do you have a multi unit setup with one AC for the downstairs, and one for the upstairs?

10/3/2011 9:36:35 AM

carzin, please post pics when you're done!

my dad and step mom are doing the faux wood tile on their outdoor, covered patio. the tile guy said it's the new thing and it looks really nice in pictures but i want to see some pictures that aren't all glossed up

10/3/2011 9:54:05 AM

Quote :

"This is the tile ungrouted in a different color."

How does ungrouted tile work? I would think the porcelain/ceramic would chip on the edges of the tile.

10/3/2011 10:41:22 AM

Got around to unpacking my box with my vinegars, etc in it and they won't fit in the damn cabinets. Whoever designed these cabinets in the 70s did a shitty job This just furthers my resolve to save up money and renovate the kitchen asap.

10/3/2011 12:46:28 PM

"How does ungrouted tile work? I would think the porcelain/ceramic would chip on the edges of the tile."

Rectified edges. You can slam them together and there isnt any edge exposed.

However, with that said, we have decided to go with a 1/32 grout line with black sandless grout. Should make the lines barely noticeable.

"carzin, please post pics when you're done!"

Will do. I saw an install of the exact tile I purchased at Mosaic Tile in Raleigh. They used too much grout which took away from the wood look, but they still looked awesome.

We have now got our shower up to 5 faucets 1 10" rain in the ceiling, 2 body sprays, 1 hand spray, and 1 waterfall head (sheets of water instead of drops). The plumber is going to hate me, because this is all going on a 3.5' by 3' shower.

[Edited on October 3, 2011 at 1:06 PM. Reason : .]

10/3/2011 1:05:31 PM

Trying to install a hunter thermostat onto the carrier heat pump. Doing the wiring....notice I have a White wire. fffffuuuuu heat pumps shouldn't have a white. Now this weekend I've gotta take the cover off the heat pump to see what it's actually wired to.

10/3/2011 10:26:15 PM

Oh, a wonderful new thing has started to happen in my house. Once the temperatures drop, all the insects seem to find a way in through all the gaps in the kitchen.

The death contingency plan will now be in the works, assuming I can get home before the sun sets one day this week (otherwise I'll spray my house with poison this weekend).

10/3/2011 10:51:51 PM

Quote :

"Trying to install a hunter thermostat onto the carrier heat pump. Doing the wiring....notice I have a White wire. fffffuuuuu heat pumps shouldn't have a white. Now this weekend I've gotta take the cover off the heat pump to see what it's actually wired to."

When I swapped my thermostat there were a few wires that didn't really match up, but when I looked at the old thermostat they didn't match up there either. I basically just followed the way it was hooked up on the old one so, for example, if the brown wire was connected to red on the old thermostat I connected it to red on the new thermostat. It worked fine. Might be worth a look if that's a possibility for yours.

10/3/2011 11:41:57 PM

Haha, bank didn't even counter my (lowball) offer on their foreclosed house. Said they've already turned down $20k higher. No wonder it was built in '09 and has never been bought.

Oh well, hotel living for me for another couple of months or more.

10/4/2011 11:53:05 PM

need opinions, especially from CalledToArms

i've gotten 3 quotes to replace my gas pack (FINALLY). the first one is thrown out immediately bc it's way higher than the others. so we're left with:

-Amana system, $3725 installed, lifetime warranty on heat exchanger & compressor, 10 yr warranty on other parts
-Bryant system, $3800 installed, no idea about warranties but i'm going to ask

is bryant much better than amana? i'm not looking to install a super nice unit. i just want something that will work, won't cost an arm & leg, then i'm moving in 2-4 years from now.

10/5/2011 9:06:37 AM

I don't really know anything about Amana, but I believe they are made by Goodman. For years Goodman wasn't considered to be high-quality stuff, but they have made a better name for themselves recently and the warranty doesn't hurt.

Bryant systems are generally pretty high quality for residential. They are made by Carrier.

As with most HVAC systems, the system is only as good as the installation. You can have a super top-notch Trane unit suck or start having parts fail or you can have a lower quality unit work fine for years simply based on the quality of the installation.

Are both quotes from the same companies or different companies? Definitely check on the warranty with the Bryant system as warranties can be very nice with these systems. However, also inquire about warranty on any labor associated with both of these installations as well because the labor is where they will get you. For example, a new evaporator coil might cost $150 but it will cost $800 total installed cost. So, if you have a warranty on parts and not labor (which is often the case) then you would only save $150. So, at least ask what options they have for warranty on labor in addition to the equipment themselves.

At a minimum I would hope a company would offer free labor for the first year on a new system installation simply because most problems you would experience in that time frame would be a result of their own installation work and no fault of your own. Basically you don't want to have to pay for them to re-do something you already paid them to do right the first time.

[Edited on October 5, 2011 at 9:23 AM. Reason : ]

10/5/2011 9:21:27 AM

the quotes are from different companies. the company w/ the amana offered a 10 year labor warranty for $400 but i don't think that's necessary with the amount of time i *hope* to spend in the house. the amana company sounded very professional & is getting everything written up in a paper/hardcopy proposal they're leaving at my door today. the bryant company is just a guy that our construction administrator (guy i've known since i was little) knows (i work in an architectural firm). the CA guy called & talked to him first about getting me a quote. this guy does this for a living & has installed a unit that another coworker (who is also my cousin) purchased. so although he doesn't sound as professional, & can't understand half of what he says bc of his thick redneck accent, he's got some personal accountability or whatever via my boys here at work.

k i just called the bryant guy back. 15 years on the heat exchanger, 10 years on other parts, 1 year on labor.

[Edited on October 5, 2011 at 10:14 AM. Reason : ]

10/5/2011 10:10:42 AM

Bryant is the sub brand to Trane, I believe.

10/5/2011 11:19:47 AM

No it's Carrier.

10/5/2011 11:30:15 AM

Damn Whirlpool dryer just broke. It wasn't drying well and now it won't even spin. If it push the button it makes the noise like it's about to start spinning, but it never turns completely on. Any ideas?

10/5/2011 11:32:00 AM

^^ with the amount of information I have here (having had no personal interactions with the people) the Bryant system sounds like a good choice for you. I like Bryant and 15 years HX and 10 years other parts is plenty and sounds like more than you need since you don't plan to be there nearly that long.

All in all the packages seem pretty similar including price and assuming a quality installation on both systems. If I am reading your info right, the Bryant has 1 year labor and the Amana has no labor warranty unless you pay the additional $400 (for a longer warranty than you want) right? If so, the small additional installed cost for 1 year on labor might push me toward the Bryant.

10/5/2011 1:05:37 PM

Quote :

"Haha, bank didn't even counter my (lowball) offer on their foreclosed house. Said they've already turned down $20k higher. No wonder it was built in '09 and has never been bought. Oh well, hotel living for me for another couple of months or more."

I kind of feel like the banks don't actually want to get rid of their foreclosed homes. We gave a solid offer, not a lowball, on one a few months ago that was turned down. POS house has been sitting on their books for over 3 years now

10/5/2011 1:22:51 PM

I'm going through the same right now. Found a foreclosure we love but the bank isn't budging on the price

10/10/2011 11:06:42 AM

I mean, that's their prerogative.

I'm mostly frustrated that I've looked at two dozen houses and have yet to find what I want--a higher grade yet modest size house. I'm thinking that the only hope is to find one that renters trashed or something, that needs everything inside except for the walls torn out and redone.

10/10/2011 11:43:25 AM

It is their prerogative but it also hurts the entire market when they allow properties to sit on their books for years without any progress.

10/10/2011 12:23:39 PM

The longer the banks are going to allow a house to sit, the more problems they are going to have down the road. It is in their best interest to sell now than have a house that will need a lot of work or may become condemned due to a leak or mold issues.

But they dont see it that way, all they want to see is $$$

10/10/2011 1:23:45 PM

the new gas pack should be installed tomorrow, if the rain holds off.

we're also in the middle of having the exterior trim painted. happy, but poor

10/11/2011 9:11:38 PM

good for you

10/11/2011 9:27:12 PM

Thanks for all your help

10/12/2011 8:38:45 AM

Almost all the bushes are gone. Now I can start working on getting blueberry bushes in

10/12/2011 9:57:50 AM

^^ np I hope everything works out well.

10/12/2011 2:06:52 PM

^^how hard did it end up being to get those holly bushes out of the ground?

10/12/2011 2:18:11 PM

The holly bushes were a biatch. The guy is actually coming back on Friday to get the rest of them it ended up taking him so long to get the one. I'm hoping all this rain will help soften the soil for him some on Friday. As soon as the second holly bush is done I can finally start on landscaping that area.

10/12/2011 3:21:11 PM

[Edited on October 12, 2011 at 5:29 PM. Reason : ok nm]

10/12/2011 5:25:38 PM