Quiet weekend for rest and reflection

Phase One of the reno has definitely passed the half-way point. It's been a mostly smooth and (relatively) pain-free experience but there have been a few bumps. We recently got our first bill from the contractor which sent us both into a state of shock. We knew this was not going to be an inexpensive renovation (are they ever?) but we've been in a kind of finance fog from the start since we never received an estimate for the project. We also thought that the second phase would be the most expensive one since the main house is a lot larger but it looks like the first phase will probably be the more costly. Why? The cabinets. The cabinets for both phases are being built at the same time and are part of the first bill.

We have a significant chunk of money in the bank resulting from our sale of the Palm Springs house and it was the reason we started the project when we did. We knew it certainly wouldn't cover the entire project but we thought it would be enough to cover the first phase. When we realized it wasn't going to be enough we applied for a home equity line from our bank which we are still waiting for. Patience, patience, patience.

The day after we got the bill we had a two hour meeting with Mike. Chip, the king of spreadsheets, had come prepared with his laptop and a long list of questions. Fortunately, Mike was able to answer them all and, at the meeting's end, almost all of our anxiety had been put to rest. Speaking of rest, that night we both got a good night's sleep which certainly wasn't the case the night before.

We now have a clearer sense of what the reno is going to cost which is going to be a bit under a hundred thousand dollars of what we paid for the place four years ago. We're confident that when we're done, our home will be worth over a million dollars. Not bad for two guys who were both broke when we met sixteen years ago. But we really don't care how much it's worth because we have no intention of ever selling the place. Ever. Which is why we're okay with spending the money to do things right the first time.

So it's been a quiet and pleasant weekend on Steinback Mountain. The temperatures have been in the mid to high 70s, nice enough to work outside on the old deck where we finished staining the window light boxes for the BBQ room. We also did some long overdue house cleaning. For a long time we've had boxes of recently purchased lighting and tile and flooring samples scattered all over the main house. We now have a designated space for lighting (unfortunately it's part of the dining area) and a place for all of the samples. The place still looks overcrowded with stuff but at least the stuff is organized.

Late in the week the Tombleson crew finished installing the fence posts and we came home Friday afternoon to see, for the first time, sheetrock! Yes, the guest house now has insulation and a wall of sheetrock.

 

We also found out that one of the embedded pipes in the BBQ room's half bath was corroded beyond repair and needs to be replaced. Friday, Corey got out the concrete cutter and worked his magic so hopefully the plumber can fix the pipe early next week. Another bump, but a minor and inexpensive one. Who knows what next week will bring….