Mortgage Monday: Time To Keep It Simple

With all of the work being done on the house lately things have been rather complicated. So far, nothing has been as simple as it should be. Everything on our project list has had a few subsections added to it with the floors and the exterior doors being prime examples of this ongoing process. However, in the end, many of these things, all of these complications, are going to give us what we have been picturing in our minds as our ideal home. Further, many of the things that have been uncovered and a couple of the future projects have and will remove some of the complicated aspects of our home.

The best examples of this are the HVAC overhaul currently underway and the electrical overhaul that we have on the schedule. The old oil and electric system required a heck of a lot of copper pipe running across the basement and up the walls to supply the baseboard heating. The air conditioning, being an afterthought of the original homeowners, was something that was put in as inexpensively as possible leaving us with duct work running through bedroom closets and really not being very efficient. The boiler, oil tank, and all of the copper pipes are now gone, the duct work has been overhauled, and we have now simplified the two zone (the heating was originally on four zones) system running forced air for both heating and cooling.

This project is nearing completion but the electrical work has yet to be started. While a few steps have been taken to simplify this (i.e. old whole house fan has been removed) there is still a lot of work to be done with new matching fixtures being installed and a lot, and I mean a lot, of outlets and switches that are going to be removed (with a few simply being moved). This will eliminate the need for a lot of the wiring that is running throughout the house and will put things (or leave things) in place that actually make sense (i.e. I don’t need three separate switches for the kitchen lights).

It is definitely a process but, as I said before, it will simplify some of the basic aspects of our house. After all, I don’t like having excess pipes and wires running through the walls when they don’t need to be there. After that it should be much easier to maintain. So, we will have to deal with a little more complication before we can reach a point of simplicity. Well, at least until the next round of renovations and projects.

Mortgage Monday: Labor Day Labor

While I don’t have work today the ironic thing about this Labor Day is that there is work being done at the house. It seems as though every minute of free time that my brother in law has had lately has been committed to this HVAC overhaul. For the past month (or more, I can’t recall when he started) he has joined us for the weekend forgoing time with his family and taking a break from his already long work week. There is no questioning that we are incredibly lucky to have him devote so much of his free time to not just getting this project done but getting it done right.

This is the part of Labor Day that tends to be overlooked. Many of the people whom we honor with this day are the same ones who would do anything to help their family. The same people that deserve to take a break tend to be the ones that can never stop working.

Thankfully, we are almost done with this phase of the work. A couple more weekends and everything should be complete and the way that we want it and the way that he wants it. There is already a huge difference in the house both with regard to the regulation of the temperature and the cleanliness of the system (the old one was, to put it nicely, nasty). Just a short time longer and we will all be able to enjoy the new system.

In future years we hope to have him at our house again during this particular holiday but this is, hopefully, the last time that we will ask him to do any work on the house. Actually, we hope to have the family join us in the future to relax not to work on the house and enjoy the work that was put into making our home as comfortable as possible. It shouldn’t take long before we start having family over again to enjoy the house.  

In the meantime, we are continuously cognizant of the sacrifices that our brother in law is making to help us out (and my sister and their kids) and we are doing our best to make him as comfortable as possible while he is here. We try to keep the beer fridge stocked, have good food on the table, and a bed made. We also have an open door so that the kid and my sister can come over and spend some time. But, the most important thing right now is that we try and do everything we can to give him back his weekends as soon as possible.

Mortgage Monday: HVAC Overhaul

Well, we are halfway there. While the work weeks were once filled with ongoing renovations, now the weekends are taking the brunt of the workload. Thankfully, as of this past weekend, half of the HVAC overhaul has been completed with the first floor now able to better maintain the temperature that we set on the thermostat. The old unit is still running (surprisingly) but is now only trying to cool the second floor. Now we only have to hope that it lasts until the rest of the work is done.

In total, the boiler and oil tank have been removed, half of the baseboard units have been pulled out, and the propane tank, hot water heater, and complete AC system on the first floor have been installed. It is already a lot of work and we are only at the midpoint of this renovation phase. While it is difficult to go from the work week to the house work on the weekends, we are already enjoying the benefits of what has been completed.

It really is surprising how much of a different some of these things can make regarding the simple enjoyment of our home. And, lately, with how up and down the weather has been it is nice to have some regularity regarding the internal temperature of the house. We knew that the old system was undersized and ineffective but we didn’t really full grasp how bad it was until we got the new system up and running.

The next steps will involve attacking the second floor and completely taking the old unit offline. The weather actually looks like it is going to cooperate this coming weekend but, of course, our schedule is not so forgiving and we will be out of town for much of the long weekend. Thankfully, we have someone whom we can trust doing this work and we also know the quality of work that is being done which will allow us to not have to think about the house while we are away… more on the trip over the weekend.

For now, we are going to enjoy all the upgrades and improvements that we have decided to have done to the house and we are going to brace for the next part of the process which will descend upon us next month. While there should be little overlap between this current project and the next, there is likely to be a short period of time when there will be work going on seven days a week. Thankfully, it two completely different parts of the house. Should be fun!

Mortgage Monday: Revising The Project List

My wife and I have continuously kept an informal project list of things that we would like to have done at the house. As I have written about before, some things are more pressing than others with the majority of these tasks being things that we want to do rather than things that need to be done. However, in the end, they are all projects that will transform this already wonderful home into a perfect one.  

Of course, we have to work within our budget so some things have been shifted around according to our finances. This has also impacted the overall timeline of the work we would like to get done at the house. That being said, as we have priced out some of the items on our list there have also been things shifted up or down accordingly. Lately, those prices that we have seen have allowed us to move things up in our timeline.

To review, here are the things that we have known for some time and which we had planned to address over the next few years:

• Installing office door
• Flooring (hardwood or laminate?)
• Minor electrical work (fixing existing issues)
• HVAC overhaul
• Replacing boiler with hot water tank
• Installing steel duct work
• Installing two HVAC units
• Installing underground tank for gas
• Side Deck
• Front Porch
• Repair / replace retaining wall
• Tree removal
• Installing chimney cap
• Repointing masonry
• Garage Door replacement
• Re-grading around the house

That was the basic list that we came up with shortly after we moved in and it remained relatively unchanged for a few months. Over time, we added a few more items:

Interior painting

• Replacing kitchen and bathroom hardware
• Replacing appliances starting with the washer and dryer
• Converting fireplace to gas
• Expanding bonus room upstairs and finishing

Now, the list has grown to include a few new items and some clarifications on the aforementioned ones as well. With the existing things that we knew from the beginning, previous additions, and a batch of new items, this new roster of projects now consists of the following:

• Installing French doors to my office
• Installing hardwood floors throughout
• Minor electrical work (fixing existing issues)
• HVAC overhaul
• Replacing boiler with hot water tank
• Installing steel duct work
• Installing two HVAC units
• Installing underground tank for gas
• Converting fireplace to gas
• Install gas or solar generator
• Installing composite side deck and front porch
• Repair / replace retaining wall
• Tree removal around property
• Installing chimney cap
• Re-pointing the patio
• Garage Door replacement
• Re-grading around the house
• Interior painting
• Replacing kitchen and bathroom hardware
• Replacing appliances starting with the washer and dryer
• Redirecting dryer vent
• Replacing refrigerator
• Expanding bonus room upstairs and finishing
• Replacing front, side, and patio doors
• Lighting fixtures in all bedrooms
• Replacing toilets
• Resealing basement walls
• Re-configuring landscaping (removal of flower beds)
• Replacing / adding outdoor lighting
• Replacing doors to garage with fire rated doors
• Replacing gutter guards
• Replacing blinds
• Installing new window treatments
• Replacing windows

What started as a relatively small collection of projects has grown rapidly into a long list of things that we would like to have done to the house. And while there are many more project than before, we are still hoping to get the majority of these things completed by the end of next summer. Some things will be quick while others will take weeks and some are things that we will get done eventually like replacing the windows. So, beginning this summer, things are going to be quite busy around the house but, slowly and while sticking to a specific budget, we will transform our home into one that we have only dreamed about in the past.   

What Happened To Our Summer?

Previously I wrote about trying to figure out where my wife and I were going to take our son this summer. Many of the plans mentioned in that post have been solidified but it still only reveals one small aspect of our summer scheduling. I wish it were that simple but that is simply not the reality in which we live. There are many other factors playing into the rearranging of days, times, projects, vacations, and obligations that many of us have to juggle during this time of the year.

In addition to our desire to escape for a day or two at a time we also have many other things scribbled into the small grids that summarize our season. The next group that we have to account for are the various projects that we are having completed at the house over the next couple of months. These include the small items like garage doors, landscaping (i.e. tree removal), and interior door installation. And then there are the not so small projects that I hope to see completed like the HVAC overhaul as well as deck and porch construction. All of these take a lot of time and, right now are a bit in flux with regard to timing which is why we need to keep a few spots open.

Next are the family events that round out the calendar and that have been scheduled for months. This doesn’t just include the picnics in August but also the times when we need to schedule times to get together with family. There are so many things happening at this moment that it has become necessary to schedule these weekends. Of course, there are also a few times, granted they are few and far between, that we have scheduled to meet up with friends as well.

Day trips and local events have also become important in our schedule as we want to take the time to explore the communities around our home and also find different places for us to visit on a regular basis. Finally, there are the obligations that we have both during the week and on the weekends that we have little flexibility in scheduling. Did I mention that we need to maintain our home and property too… yeah, that requires allocation of a few weekends. So, at this point, it is surprising to find that there really isn’t a great deal of free space remaining on the calendar and the few open weekends that do exist are going to be welcomed as a respite from the chaos of the season. That is, of course, if they don’t get filled up with some unavoidable occurrence between now and then.

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.

Mortgage Monday: Four Categories

I might have to call these guys!

While there is nothing wrong with our home there is always a list running in my head about different projects that we will be undertaking in the near future. Mind you, not everything falls into the project category but the list is definitely growing. Simply put, when looking around the house, there are generally four categories that everything falls into:

• Fine as it is
• Repairs /adjustments (possible replacements) needed
• There has got to be a better alternative
• Something is missing

The basic structure, kitchen, landscaping, and many other things fall into the first category. There really is nothing wrong with any of them. Nothing came up during the inspections and nothing has manifested since then. We like the layout of the house and so far it has been working for us. In fact, many of these aspects, especially the kitchen, are better than we were hoping to find when we first started our search so there aren’t any projects to speak of for these and many other things.

The second category comprises many of the things that most homeowners opt to replace, upgrade, or eliminate all together soon after buying their home which includes paint / wall coverings, flooring, kitchen and bathroom hardware, and other things that are more about personal taste than functionality. Not everything is optional as we also need to increase insulation in some areas, reseal the basement, clean up some minor electrical, cap the chimneys, repoint some of the masonry, and replace the retaining wall along the driveway. Of course, there are also things that we chose to replace as the current systems, appliances, etc. still work but are past their prime. For us this includes the washer/dryer, refrigerator, garage doors and openers, and AC unit. They all still work but it might be best to replace them now and avoid the immediacy of having to replace them quickly when they stop working.

The third category is something that we have been thinking about a lot lately, especially during the really cold nights, and we are considering overhauling the whole heating system for the house. Right now the boiler that supplies the baseboard heat his rather loud and, given how much we are spending on oil, not very efficient. Note that the same boiler is on year round as it also provides our hot water.

Basically, we are already looking at replacing the 10+ year old and undersized AC unit so we might as well get everything done at the same time and put a full HVAC system in. This would also allow us to pull out all the baseboard heating which are son is a little too fascinated with and which limits the wall space in our home. Of course, if we pull all of them out we might as well replace flooring and redo the walls at the same time as we don’t want to have to patch everything and then work on it later. Lastly, we are not going to keep the boiler just to supply the hot water so we will have to install a new instant hot water system while we are at it. As you can see, this third category tends to trickle down.

Finally, the fourth category is really about the things that we want but don’t need. A front porch would be nice to have (and a walk way across the front of the house) as would converting the fireplace to gas. We would also like to finish off one of the rooms and possibly the basement at some point in the future. However, we have plenty of space now so I don’t really see that happening any time soon. Again, this category is basically the splurge column. None of these things are needed but they would be nice to have an undoubtedly enjoyed.

That is the basic rundown that we have been going through recently as we continue to adjust to our new life in our new home. Some are items that we should check off our list this spring or summer while other projects can be held off for future years as we have the time, patience, and finances to tackle each of them. Again, we are already starting with a great home but this is the natural progression of things… every home owner goes through the same thing even those that build their ‘perfect’ dream home. And, sadly, I know that these lists will never disappear they will simply morph over the years to include other items and projects.

Wet And Stinky

It is safe to say that we did not have a relaxing start to the week. When my wife and I finally finished sorting and packing all the things that we wanted to store on Sunday night I made a big pile in front of the basement door. I was hoping that I could simply make a few trips up and down the stairs while sliding the boxes onto the shelves. There isn’t much room left but there was enough to accommodate our recent cleaning. This was the quick and easy plan when I first balanced those boxes and bins atop the stairs… sometimes plans just don’t work out.

It all got derailed during my first trip to the unfinished storage room. I opened the door, turned on the light, and squinted a bit as the glint reflected off the wet floor. Something was obviously wrong and I soon found the culprit in a leaking pipe coming out of the HVAC unit. After taking a quick picture and sending it to the maintenance guy for our house, I quickly stacked the shelves before calling to report what I had found. Thankfully, he was up at midnight and quickly got a plan together which had everything taken care of in a couple of days.

Stuff happens and things were taken care of quickly so no complaining on this one (unlike in the past). However, our fun didn’t stop there as when I got home from work on Monday I was welcomed with fumes filling the house and my wife, with a rather pissed look on her face, greeting me at the front door. As it turns out, our neighbor decided to refinish all of his hardwood floors next door and didn’t even think to let us know. By the time I got home they had just finished stripping the floors and the stink was permeating the walls.

While we can’t stop him from improving his property, it would have been nice to have had a heads up. After all, we spend a couple of hours going back and forth and double checking that our son would be okay sleeping in his own bed. This frustration could have easily been avoided.

The following days was met with more stink as the finish was applied. It wasn’t until I left for work this morning when the smell finally somewhat dissipated and the noxious wall finally fell (it still stinks but it isn't as bad as when it started). So hopefully this is the last of the leaks and soon to be the last of the smells for a while but one thing that this reinforced for us is the fact that we are definitely going to look for our own free standing home with a little bit of a buffer of land around us. Thankfully, that was already part of our list.