in case anybody else is looking at doing something like this to your shower, here are some costs:

cultured marble (pan, 3 panels, soap/shampoo shelves, installation & tax): $2300-2700
bath fitter (thick acrylic insert that goes over whatever you already have): $5500

i called the tile guy just to get an idea of costs. hopefully i'll hear from him tomorrow. the quotes above do not include demolition.

11/17/2011 11:55:55 PM

Well shit I'd do the marble. That'll look better than one of those stupid shower inserts. We have an insert in our master and I haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate it. Can't wait to replace it eventually.

11/18/2011 8:13:10 AM

My shower curb gets to be redone today by a different tiler after the first one screwed it up. Let's hope this $500 is wasted as well.

11/18/2011 9:33:36 AM

with all these bathroom remodels, i must make this recommendation...

Quote :

" he also put gobs of caulk in the corners"

don't ever use caulk. always use 100% silicone sealant. please, save yourself the headache.

11/18/2011 1:33:23 PM

has anyone signed up for the mylowes thing?

ive seen a few commercials and it seems like a cool resource. basically you get this "mylowes" card scanned when you buy shit there and it stores all the info (like what size AC filters you buy and what color paint you bought back when you redid your bathroom)

the web tool also lets you input room dimensions so you can figure out how much paint or tile to buy

seems cool. i dont have anything major planned but my bf is doing some renovations at his house so i'll prob get more experience with it soon

anyway, seems like a cool idea, wondered if anyone else uses it?

http://www.mylowes.com

11/18/2011 10:00:10 PM

They gave me one of the cards but I have yet to register it or anything. Should probably do that since I bought a shitload of paint when the lady gave it to me.

11/19/2011 9:41:36 AM

I registered online several weeks ago & got my card in the mail maybe 2 wks ago. Haven't bought much besides slug bait yet though.

11/19/2011 10:15:41 AM

I discovered where all these mysterious flies were coming from when I lifted up the plunger in the guest bathroom. I went nuts with the bug spray and cleaned up underneath it. Still can't get the damn thing clean. Right now it's wrapped in a plastic bag until I can find a better option.

11/19/2011 12:23:52 PM

it's just a plunger. throw it out & buy a new one.

11/19/2011 5:18:48 PM

Quote :

"has anyone signed up for the mylowes thing?"

I had not heard of this till just now. I was reading your post and a mylowes ad came on the radio

11/19/2011 5:26:40 PM

This is not so much a home ownership question as a money question, but home ownership is what brought it about.

I'm purchasing a home, so of course I need insurance. The insurance company I do my auto through is claiming I have next to no insurance score, because other than the auto insurance payment, I have no credit history. I bought both my cars with cash, and the home is being financed privately so there will be no mortgage. I understand the lack of credit history in these departments.

However, I've had a credit card for almost ten years, and I use it regularly, paying it off every month. How the fuck do I not have a credit history through credit card payments? I'm mostly venting here, but anyone have any idea how that could happen?

11/29/2011 8:09:14 PM

Have you shopped around for the insurance to see what other companies say? I don't have a "mortgage" either but I was still able to get insurance on my house with no problems.

11/29/2011 8:33:14 PM

I was able to get it, and at a decent rate, but my primary insurance company wouldn't insure a house that I'm buying fucking outright. WTF.

I admit to living mostly outside the credit system on purpose, but I still find it a bit silly that no credit is worse than subpar credit. Maybe that's naive, but whatever.

11/29/2011 8:36:01 PM

it's not that subpar credit is better than no credit, but it doesn't really say as much as you seem to think it should. yes you pay your one bill in full on time, and that's great, but it's likely your limit on your card isn't substantial and doesn't show that you're capable of appropriately handling a lot of credit extended to you. thus they have no idea if you're as low risk as someone with a more substantial credit history who does the same thing. it's an actuarial calculation. by staying off the "grid", you're actually an unknown quantity to them, so to speak. that you've paid for your house outright is fairly irrelevant (to them).

[Edited on November 29, 2011 at 8:46 PM. Reason : .]

11/29/2011 8:42:33 PM

Hope to join this thread very soon; put a bid on a HUD home.

11/29/2011 10:28:53 PM

^^^ Why are you living outside the credit system?

11/30/2011 10:20:39 AM

Quote :

"I admit to living mostly outside the credit system on purpose, but I still find it a bit silly that no credit is worse than subpar credit. Maybe that's naive, but whatever."

are you a wanted felon?

11/30/2011 10:25:40 AM

Maybe he just doesn't like giving his money to banks.

12/2/2011 9:49:28 AM

oh i thought i was borrowing money from banks this whole time

12/2/2011 10:09:03 AM

You pay interest don't you

12/2/2011 10:38:35 AM

Figured out my problem. My credit card is from SECU, and thus is only reported to Equifax. Called back the insurance company and their insurance score generator uses TransUnion, which has no record of me borrowing money from anyone ever. Problem solved.

As far as living outside the credit system on purpose, I'm not paying interest if I don't have to, and so far I haven't had to.

12/2/2011 5:32:13 PM

Wow...rich relatives AND a hipster. You really are the ironic king.

12/4/2011 8:24:36 AM

What's a reasonable price to get my house bombed for roaches??

Way too many little roaches showing up in my kitchen. I've used a few store bought methods and they just don't seem to be doing the job.

12/5/2011 12:05:41 PM

have you tried the chemical foggers they sell at home depot? it's like $15 for a 3 pack. they did a fantastic job for me when i had problems with flies after something died a wall and they were getting in between my AC vents and ceiling. basically this: http://www.raidkillsbugs.com/fogger/

12/5/2011 12:22:18 PM

woe: found evidence of mice in the garage
solution: nature
new woe: found a snake or two in the garage


appear to be coming in through the door. now i'm freaked out that my house is one of those snake homes you see on tv where there's thousands of them running rampant through the walls and pipes.

i'm assuming this is probably incorrect, but it doesn't change my thoughts.

i have put down snakeaway powder i found at home depot.

shit got real with nature when i moved to texas.

never ending battle with fire ants in the yard, snakes, rodents, came up on a fucking coyote while walking my dogs, and they pulled an alligator (sorta small, 5 footer) out of the mostly decorative lake in the neighborhood a few days ago. suburbs man...

12/5/2011 12:33:42 PM

Quote :

"have you tried the chemical foggers they sell at home depot?"

I'll give it a shot. Got some expensive quotes from the local pest controls, so I'm going to give the foggers a try.

I'm just worried it's pretty severe. Lot's of tiny roaches as opposed to the occasional big roach. Don't really know what that means, but I have a feeling there's a ton of them underneath/inside the house.

12/5/2011 2:04:09 PM

I need to get a gas line moved in my kitchen for a new stove. anyone got a guy they can recommend?

12/6/2011 8:48:47 AM

Quote :

"I'm just worried it's pretty severe. Lot's of tiny roaches as opposed to the occasional big roach. Don't really know what that means, but I have a feeling there's a ton of them underneath/inside the house."

It means it's cold outside and the critters wants to come inside where it's warm. They may just be wood roaches. Maybe take a picture of them and see if anyone can identify them.

12/6/2011 9:00:23 AM

just ordered a Nest. messed around with the app. pretty slick.

12/19/2011 9:29:48 AM

has anyone installed a vapor barrier? what do you use to connect the plastic sheet to your foundation wall?how high up do you take the plastic?

12/19/2011 11:50:20 AM

I think standard practice is 6" above exterior grade, but I could be wrong. Also, you can just use any type of construction adhesive to attach it.

12/19/2011 12:59:03 PM

my mom has about 5 year left on her mortgage at 5.375%. What is the best way for her to refinance? If the length of the loan doesn't matter, would the 5/1 ARM be the best option?

12/19/2011 2:39:40 PM

first, she's going to have to figure out if it would even be worth it to refinance with only 5 years to go on the mortgage. Is she trying to get some cash back or something?

12/19/2011 2:54:21 PM

^nah, just trying to save some money. It's because her interest is so high. It might be a better idea for her just to pay extra each month to pay her mortgage off quicker.

12/19/2011 2:57:26 PM

Quote :

"It might be a better idea for her just to pay extra each month to pay her mortgage off quicker. "

this.


if she re-finances, they take the balance and amortize over the 15 or 30 years. The proportion of interest to principle is highest at the front end of the loan term. So this seems like a really bad idea as I'm reading it.

12/19/2011 3:08:09 PM

Quote :

"nah, just trying to save some money. It's because her interest is so high"

you're right, she'd almost certainly be better off just paying the current note off as quickly as possible. Each payment is mostly principle at this point anyway...Refinancing now will likely serve no real benefit, especially when any closing costs are factored in.

12/19/2011 3:22:04 PM

Quote :

"Maybe he just doesn't like giving his money to banks."

When it's a 2-3% car loan or a 3.75% mortgage with tax-deductible interest, you are costing yourself money by not financing every dollar of it you can. Inflation and opportunity costs, dammit.



In unrelated home ownership news, or lack thereof, I am drawing close to the 4-fucking-month mark of living out of a hotel. I looked for houses for a long time, then finally gave up and decided to build a house, then found out that the lot that I was planning on buying has flooding issues. Fuuuuuck. Maybe a shitload of fill dirt and grading will be a cost-effective fix...I don't know. If that doesn't work out, I'm just gonna buy something dirt cheap that will serve the purpose and be done with it.

12/19/2011 8:41:18 PM

So our house finally got painted. It was estimated to take 15 gallons of paint but because the previous owner apparently hadn't done jack in 20 years it actually ended up sucking up almost 25 gallons of paint. Our painter was like wtf lol. But as a result we shouldn't have to paint again for 10 years.

Before:



After:



Neighbors have been really pleased but I think they're just glad the house isn't that brown color with paint peeling all over the place anymore.

12/20/2011 9:05:46 AM

looks good! and that's a lot of paint

[Edited on December 20, 2011 at 9:32 AM. Reason : ]

12/20/2011 9:32:26 AM

Yeah I couldn't believe it. The painter was cool though and split the cost of the extra paint since it was above what he quoted us. Wasn't expecting him to do that. I can't wait until spring when my flowers start blooming to balance out all that green

12/20/2011 9:50:42 AM

looks good

12/20/2011 9:52:00 AM

Thanks! I have pictures of the living room too but I just realized they're from completely different angles so it doesn't help much in seeing the difference. I'll have to take another after pic from the correct angle.

12/20/2011 11:38:44 AM

Yeah, I like your house a lot. I like unusual architecture like that.

12/20/2011 11:40:46 AM

are the ceilings all angled like that too?

12/20/2011 12:44:30 PM

Just the one in the living room. I've contemplated what the master bedroom would look like if we converted that ceiling as well. Maybe it would make it feel bigger lol.

12/20/2011 1:47:57 PM

Heh, dmidkiff, I live right down the street from you. I, too, have gotten the letter from the homeowner's assoc a few times about not parking on the street. Still haven't moved. We have several foreclosures/abandons on the street; they can eat it if they're going to give me hell about parking on the street/sidewalk.

12/20/2011 4:01:20 PM

had 3 loads of crush and run scheduled to be delivered thursday for my driveway, now i think the rain is going to screw up my plans. Woe is me...

12/20/2011 5:26:04 PM

^^Haha I can hear your Camaro from inside my house. I will park my car directly in my front yard just to piss the HOA off.

12/20/2011 5:48:14 PM

the cultured marble shower is finally being installed. the new width of the opening is about an inch wider than the old shower & we can potentially use the old bypass door...if we can find new top & bottom rails/tracks/whatever you want to call them. i've been googling but can't find anything. any ideas on where i might be able to get these? or if it's even possible...?

12/21/2011 2:21:00 PM

This sort of thing? http://tinyurl.com/cf8ljwt

12/21/2011 3:50:15 PM