Thursday, October 28, 2010

Remodeling and biking

Amazingly, we picked the one day this week without rain, and yesterday went for a perfect fall bike ride down in Seattle. Colorful trees, bike trails along the water, trails covered with leaves (and puddles from previous days rain), and actual sunshine for much of the day! Followed by the best meal I've had at a restaurant in a long time, and for only $15. Turns out Seattle has this thing called "restaurant week", twice a year, with many restaurants offering 3-course meals, $15 for lunch or $25 for dinner. I will definitely put a restaurant outing on my calendar for the next round of this, in April.

As for the remodel: I got the drawer quote back from builder #1, and it said, in total:
"DRAWER FRONTS AND BOXES with side mount full extension glides -- 788.00 "
No quantity, nothing about installation, nothing about the type of wood. What the heck? So I emailed back with some questions and got the reply "Does not include installation. I can give the name of some installers if you'd like". This, after I specifically said that I wanted drawers built and INSTALLED. This is the same place that was about to skip including drawer fronts and glides until I reminded them. Crossing them off my list.

Builder #3 came in with a quote of $750 including installation, but has not specified the type of drawer glides. Builder #2 at $1000 still inspires the most confidence but possibly #3 will win out after I talk to him a bit more.

I went to a couple of local flooring places and was pretty sold on getting Marmoleum (aka linoleum) instead of vinyl, even though its about 50% more $$. Much more environmentally friendly, as it's made out of natural ingredients like linseed oil and sawdust, and it has a 25 year warranty. And has some colors that I love. BUT.... they don't recommend installing over existing vinyl, or even over particle board. They want to install directly on plywood. I have no idea what's under my existing vinyl and am kinda afraid to look. And, surely ripping out the vinyl will add to the cost. Or can I do it myself? Once again, stay tuned.....




Monday, October 25, 2010

Adventures in Home Improvement

My project for this winter is to remodeling my kitchen.

I started a few weeks ago with taking all the doors off of my cabinets and repainting. I decided to replace the ugly old "hammered copper" knobs with nice sleek new brushed nickel handles. Oh, that meant I had to replace the hinges to match. You'd be amazed at how many different types of hinges there are! Finally figured out I needed 3/8 inch inset, partial overlay (as opposed to no inset, 1/2 inch inset, full overlay, hidden, European style, etc, etc). Could not find locally in brushed nickel, had to order. Finally last week they arrived, I've rehung my doors, and they look FABULOUS! I am SOOOO happy to have ivory cabinets now instead of 1970's era ugly brown wood. I am totally amazed at how much brighter both my kitchen and the adjoining living room look. It's like having totally new cabinets, but for under $200!

Well, except for.... I still need to have the drawers replaced. Really ugly, 1970's plastic, fake-wood-look, falling apart drawers. I need 10 of 'em. Great, I found a place on the web where I can get custom dove-tailed drawers for less than $30 per drawer. Well, except that the drawer glides are at least another $30, and the shipping brings the whole shebang up to at least $80 per drawer, plus I have to assemble and install myself. Oh, and that doesn't include the drawer faces, another $10-15 per drawer, minimum. The installation looks dicey as you have to have all your measurements correct within 3/8" or you've just paid $$$ non refundable for your custom drawers. This having kept me awake for several nights, I am now getting quotes from several local cabinet builders.

Last week a guy came out to measure and quote, but I was less than impressed as I had to "remind" him that yes, I would need new drawer glides, and yes, I would need drawer faces. Which should've been more than obvious to anyone taking even the quickest look at my existing situation. Than I asked him what type of drawer glides he would quote, and he said, oh there are many, many kinds. Not helpful.

And it's true, there are many, many kinds. Side mount, undermount, center mount, self closing, soft closing, plastic, metal. I've seen prices varying from $7 to $70, no kidding. I settled on undermount, as they look easiest to install, seem to be the standard at kitchen showrooms, and are fairly reasonably priced at $20-$30. However, although nearly every cabinet system on display at Lowe's and Home Depot has undermount glides, they do not actually SELL undermount glides. I can get them through the internet but once again the shipping will up the price to more like $40 per set.

This morning a local cabinetmaker came out and gave me a quote for $1000 for the whole shebang, 10 drawers, assembled and installed. I liked this guy a lot and will probably go with this. Close to twice what I originally thought I would have to pay, but still a lot less than new cabinets. Just going to check with one more cabinetmaker tomorrow.

Next step is new countertops. Again, an amazing array of choices. Installed prices vary from about $25/sq. ft. for laminate, up to $90 for granite, or much, much higher for really cool granite. At the intermediate level is quartz composite, which seems to be more durable than granite and almost as pretty. Still, even here you can pay anywhere from about $45 to $90. With the quartz composite, from Lowe's I can get a free undermount sink or integral sink (actually part of the countertop) for free. Still dithering over this, as ... what if the sink needs to be replaced? Does that mean you have to replace the whole countertop? And, i don't know that any of these prices include removal of old countertop.

Another option is "Granite Transformations" which will install a granite-like layer overtop of my existing counters. They will be out later this week to take a look.

And after that comes flooring. My floors are so wavy that I can't use laminate unless I spend god-only-knows to get them levelled. So, sheet vinyl or linoleum will be fine with me. Prices for sheet vinyl look like a little under $4 per sq ft, installed. At 268 sq ft (no my kitchen is not that big. Includes hallway, bathroom, office) lets call this $1000.

So: Paint and hardware: $150
Drawers: $1000
Countertops: $1500?
Flooring: $1000
I am hoping to come in under $4000.... stay tuned!