abigail414's diaryland diary
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ummmm
Time for a house rehab update. Yes, I�m still living in my rented condo, while spending $$ on replacing floors, kitchen, bathrooms in the house I bought in December. The goal of this re-hab was to have a clean and lovely house in a nice neighborhood near work, with the feel of a Zen-like retreat. Also, keeping in mind what will contribute most towards re-sale value in case I decide to move. The above picture was around the block from my condo, and says it all. With a little 'Acck, what I am doing?' mixed in.
As for the house, the floor tile is mostly down. It is a lovely mix of sage/brown/red/black resembling Indian Slate (but is porcelain tile so lower maintenance and cheaper). It looks just like I wanted it to, and will be throughout the whole house (which is how people prefer it here). The overall visual effect reminds me of hardwood floors, which I miss, but no one does them out here because they don�t hold up in the heat and dryness. The bathroom shower tiles (light beige Mexican ceramic tiles) should arrive any day and my new 350# cast iron bathtub is unpacked in the garage. My burly little shirtless hairless contractor and his cute assistant are worried about how they�ll carry it to the bathroom � he�s a two-man shop.
My newly-configured kitchen is in, the counters paid for and being made, and my new stainless kitchen sink is in the garage keeping the tub company. I�m keeping the same stainless appliances and they, too are in the garage along with the washer and dryer. The ceiling cracks have all been repaired, a divider wall was torn down and re-built, and the place is wired with 4� recessed lighting with dimmer switches everywhere (which is also what people prefer here).
I have no bathroom cabinets for the master bath, and may be hiring a guy to make some and re-face the other bath cabinets to match. In hindsight, I shouldn�t have torn them out, but they were so ugly and odd and I had a strong negative reaction towards them. Nor do I have bathroom sinks or counters or lighting fixtures or an alarm system (except for Nelly) or outdoor lights or fence/gate repairs or window coverings. And, it looks like I�ll be keeping my aluminum single-pane windows for awhile (amazingly, the house seems to stay cool and it is 100 degrees today).
The most overwhelming part of this re-hab has been trying to figure out what to do with the pool, which wasn�t even in the budget. It looked �fine� when I bought the house, but on post-purchase inspection it needed re-plastering and a new filter system. (I had a pre-purchase inspection, but the guy did a marginal job). While taking bids and wondering what do, my pool became a fetid swamp. So, last night it became a fetid drained swamp, thanks to �Lucho� my new Peruvian pool man (who will come twice a week for $100/mo). And, now I can see how bad the plaster and tile actually is, so may have to bite the bullet and have it re-done and am being advised to spend the extra money and do �Pebble Tec� (again because that is what people prefer around here). The pool is a dominant feature of the house, so may be worth it.
In the midst of this, I'm trying to get my taxes together, spend time with HB (yes we're still a sweet item - going to his place is a mini-vacation from chaos), and work inordinately hard to pay my mountain of bills. OK, so I've whined enough for one day. I know, high class problems out here in Palm Springs, CA - it isn't like I'm homeless or ill or destitute (yet). But they're my problems and I'd like this all to be done and over with. I'm holding the thought of living in my house a month from now, taking regular lunchtime nude dips in my pool, and making it 'home' here (before the summer heat settles in).
3:02 p.m. - 2007-03-16
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
other diaries: |
