Busy Day Off

A day off is never simply a day off anymore. While there are occasions when I have taken some time to travel or go to different events, lately that hasn’t been the case as there are simply too many things that need to get done or appointments that need to be scheduled. Yesterday was a prime example of this new, self-created, reality as I originally took the day off to speak at an event in the afternoon and go to my son’s appointment in the early evening. Well, that isn’t exactly how things ended up working out.

Having slept in an extra thirty minutes on Sunday, I told my wife that I would take care of breakfast for our son in the morning. It is actually pretty fun spending the time with him and he is usually pretty patient with me when it takes a little longer to prepare his meal. By the time he was done eating and I had finished waking up, half of the morning was already gone and the first appointment of the day was about to begin. When I previously said that I needed to get more estimates done for the various projects around the house I wasn’t kidding.

As I discussed all the options and what exactly needed to be done with the garage door company, my wife headed out to a local event as one of the orchards in the area with our son. After my meeting was done and the quote in hand, I got in the car and drove the ten minutes down the road to meet up with them. It was actually pretty interesting watching my son walk along the long rows of strawberries eating all of the fruit out of the small basket almost as soon as my wife put it in there. When we finished picking our pile (pile and a half when accounting for all the ones our son consumed), we got back in our cars and headed home where we finished feeding out son his lunch, played a bit, and put him down for his nap.

Just as we were about to take him upstairs, the doorbell rang and the second appointment of the day began. This time we received a quote for my office doors (and a few ballpark figures for the deck and porch that we would like to add later). Like the first quote of the day, it was much lower than the initial estimates that I received. Unfortunately, that was the end of the estimates as the third appointment had to be rescheduled for next week… honestly, I don’t know if they are going to be able to beat the price I just got from this company but we will have to wait and see.

After taking a short break when I was able to check the mail, send a few emails, and waking up our son for his snack, we got back in the car and headed north to the pediatrician’s office. It was a great checkup that I will write about later and, fortunately, the waiting room wasn’t filled with Gosselins. Like many days away from the office, time seemed to evaporate from by grasp and before we had another moment to catch our breath, the day was winding down and we were planning for the follow day. All of this and I still wasn't able to fit everything into my schedule. And, at the moment, it looks like my next day out of the office will be just as busy next week.

Mortgage Monday: More Estimates

Whenever work needs to be done at the house that is beyond my limited capabilities, it is rarely a simple process to get that job done. Early last week I was finally able to set aside the time research some of the contractors and other service providers in the area. Home Advisor was actually a pretty useful tool for this in addition to work of mouth and local publications. We have had our project list pulled together for some time now and I did receive a couple of estimates for a few things that we need done but I am never one to settle for a single quote. So, with a break in the chaos of the week, I pulled together a list and got on the phone making dozens of calls and leaving a multitude of messages. With all the research done and calls placed, the rest of the week was filled with fielding responses to my queries.

The first set of calls that I placed was to some of the reputable tree service companies in the area. There are at least three trees that need to be taken down around the property and probably a few others that will need to come down in the near future. Heading into this initial investigation I knew that this is an expensive proposition as a couple of the trees are at least a hundred feet high and not in an easy location on the property. Additionally, at least one of them is so far gone that scaling in the trunk is not going to be a possibility. Of all the companies I called I was only able to get a hold of one of them who stopped by the house on Friday and delivered an unofficial estimate at a figure that I was in line with my thought process.

The next call was to a company to replace our garage doors. While one is still serviceable the other door is useless at this point and given the age of both it just makes sense to replace the pair (as well as the motors). Again, I already have a quote for this project but it is definitely one that I believe can be beat by, hopefully, a significant margin. This is one of the companies that I will have stopping by the house this week.

The last group of correspondences were to a few of the recommended general contracting firms and smaller craftsmen in the area. The one recommendation that I did receive to install some doors to my office was booked… and when I say booked I mean that he didn’t have an opening in his calendar until February 2017. A couple of the other companies I contact gave me a call later in the week and will be coming out to the house this week as well. It is definitely going to be busy around the house with all of these people coming and going but at least I will have a few sets of numbers to work with.

Mortgage Monday: Estimates

While I was hoping to get a head start on this process much earlier in the year, sometimes things just don’t go exactly as we plan them. Of course, there isn’t anything really pressing at the moment… there isn’t anything that absolutely needs to get done at the house. There are projects that should be started (and finished) soon like replacing the garage doors but there is nothing that needs to be done.  

Unfortunately, without things being set into motion, there is plenty of time to add things to the list. And the list is getting quite a bit longer than was previously disclosed. All of that means is that the dollar figure at the bottom of the sheet of paper keeps climbing which makes me look back and really start cutting some of the unnecessary expenses from the growing budget. This has become an even more essential task of late as we have received a few quotes.

The biggest expense on the horizon is replacing the existing heating and air conditioning systems (which also means we have to swap out our hot water supply). Currently we have an undersized air conditioning unit (I have to call the home warranty company about this) and a loud boiler in the basement providing us with both hot water and heat through the zoned baseboard system throughout the house. While functional, it is not working for us. We will be switching to a central HVAC system with a hot water heater in the basement. While most would balk as we did at the $25,000 estimate (lowest available for quality work), the simple fact is that we will recoup most of that expense in the increased efficiency.

Some of the essential repairs and alterations needed are also quoting out much higher than expected. Actually, the garage doors and motors were a little lower at $2500 while the interior French doors to my office are much higher at $2500. Some may consider these as extra expenses but, for us, they are two smaller projects that need to be done. I am not going to simply repair or replace one garage door with an uninsulated patch… it makes more sense to just replace both and take care of the motors at the same time. And the office door is needed so that I can actually utilize my office.

The last think on this list of initial quotes is the removal of dead trees. While we had much of the property taken care of a couple of weeks ago, there are still a few leafless monsters swaying in the breeze. Because of their size and location it is not going to be a cheap endeavor. The first estimate is about $2800. Some may see them as simply an eye sore but they are within striking distance of the house and it is an unnecessary risk to leave them standing. I just hope that we can find a better price.

Everything else on our long and growing wish list is pretty much on hold as we pursue these projects and try to find a way to pay for them. Once these are done we will re-prioritize the rest of the list and decide when we want to tackle additional improvements and whether we will be able to budget for them. Of course, we will also factor in what makes sense for us now and in the long run… sometimes it is best to get something done now and other times the better option is to wait. We will just have to see what happens with these first few items from our list.