Be wary of forms that ask for your info. I was looking for Armstrong cabinets and ended up filling out a form for more information. Little did I know that that form was associated with Service Magic and somehow I had signed up to have contractors contact me. I'd made my cell # public. For the past 5 days, I've received non-stop calls from numbers I don't recognize. The problem is, I've also been calling contractors and people, so I can't ignore unknown numbers right now. Finally, today, service magic called me and they've "changed my account". It's been a frustrating couple days. Actually, they started calling me within 1 minute of my pressing "submit". So, watch out!
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Craigslist search list
I've created a Google Doc Spreadsheet with links to each of my searches of items I'm watching for.
The list contains items like appliances, tools, yard items, furniture, construction tools. I've shared the link. The links work for Seattle.Craigslist.com. If you want to have this document work for you and your city for craigslist, copy the spreadsheet into excel, then search and replace "seattle.craigslist.com" and replace with ___________________ whatever your cities link is. For example, if you live in Portland, you can replace it with "Portland.craigslist.com"
Here is the link to the spreadsheet:
The list contains items like appliances, tools, yard items, furniture, construction tools. I've shared the link. The links work for Seattle.Craigslist.com. If you want to have this document work for you and your city for craigslist, copy the spreadsheet into excel, then search and replace "seattle.craigslist.com" and replace with ___________________ whatever your cities link is. For example, if you live in Portland, you can replace it with "Portland.craigslist.com"
Here is the link to the spreadsheet:
How to Organize Wood Scraps
One of the things we "inherited" at the house is a lot of wood scraps. The former owner was definitely a wood worker. I've found a handy cart on wheels, a wood screen for the furnace in the basement I'll be putting it back there soon since it was found in the garage) and lots of scrap wood. Our first order of business is to make room in the garage for all of our belongings, including the kitchen that I bought on Tuesday. How are we going to do that when the garage is already full of lots of items?
Here are the steps I've narrowed down for us to focus on:
1. STACK IT
For the large flat pieces, stack the wood in like sizes in a divided space/ possibly made of some of the scrap wood you have.
2. BOX IT
use a bucket or box for the smaller scraps.
3. PILE IT
Pile the smaller pieces that are bulky in depth in cubbies
When I started cleaning up on Tuesday night, I was "Stacking" the flat pieces and tall pieces against one wall. I also boxed the smaller scraps but filled up two small boxes very quickly. I'm not sure what I'm going to do when we find more. That sounds like a lot of "small" boxes to move around. I almost need a larger box to keep the scraps in.
I'll update this post with pictures later.
Here are the steps I've narrowed down for us to focus on:
1. STACK IT
For the large flat pieces, stack the wood in like sizes in a divided space/ possibly made of some of the scrap wood you have.
2. BOX IT
use a bucket or box for the smaller scraps.
3. PILE IT
Pile the smaller pieces that are bulky in depth in cubbies
When I started cleaning up on Tuesday night, I was "Stacking" the flat pieces and tall pieces against one wall. I also boxed the smaller scraps but filled up two small boxes very quickly. I'm not sure what I'm going to do when we find more. That sounds like a lot of "small" boxes to move around. I almost need a larger box to keep the scraps in.
I'll update this post with pictures later.
Heated floors
One of the reasons I keep going back to tile for our future floor is because I want heated floors. I found this web site that lists they have "infrared heating" for laminate, tile and floating hardwood floors. That's very cool!http://www.infrafloor.com/?gclid=CLaVyJTb5a8CFYYHRQodnEzb1A
Give the Silent Treatment...
My mom told me that there is an article in Money Magazine about renovating your home and how to save money. There are some interesting tips on dealing with contractors.
1. Negotiate: Let them know that they have competition. - I have about 2-3 contractors for each project coming. They all come recommended, either by Angie's List or through friend's recommendations.
2. Set a low bar: This says you should mention a price about 20% less than you're expecting to pay. This will make the contractor scoff but it will also help him know that you're on a budget.
3. Take a collaborative approach: My husband has a demanding schedule, so I'm the one dealing with the contractors. They are going to know that, me, the female knows nothing about these projects and what has to be done. But that also gives me the opportunity to ask about the process and each step involved. It also gives me the chance to ask about ways we can cut the costs. i.e. for the HVAC guy, is it automatically in his plan to remove the old system? We can do that ourselves and remove the wall baseboards all around the house.
4. Give the Silent treatment: This step is my favorite. When the contractor gives their opening bid, be silent for a bit and if they have any wiggle room, they might come down before you even say anything.
To read the entire article - go to money.cnn.com
1. Negotiate: Let them know that they have competition. - I have about 2-3 contractors for each project coming. They all come recommended, either by Angie's List or through friend's recommendations.
2. Set a low bar: This says you should mention a price about 20% less than you're expecting to pay. This will make the contractor scoff but it will also help him know that you're on a budget.
3. Take a collaborative approach: My husband has a demanding schedule, so I'm the one dealing with the contractors. They are going to know that, me, the female knows nothing about these projects and what has to be done. But that also gives me the opportunity to ask about the process and each step involved. It also gives me the chance to ask about ways we can cut the costs. i.e. for the HVAC guy, is it automatically in his plan to remove the old system? We can do that ourselves and remove the wall baseboards all around the house.
4. Give the Silent treatment: This step is my favorite. When the contractor gives their opening bid, be silent for a bit and if they have any wiggle room, they might come down before you even say anything.
To read the entire article - go to money.cnn.com
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
More Faith and Patience
Monday night I found a kitchen and Cate emailed me back on Tuesday morning. She said she had a lot of interest so I committed right there and promised a deposit. When we talked on the phone, she said she was fine with a $100 deposit. We tried to figure out a way for Mike to come see the cabinets but she didn't want us coming late at night (her husband works nights) and Mike wouldn't get off work until after 7. This is a big day, we're supposed to get the keys tonight but this kitchen sounds like too good a deal! It's not quite the $500 but still... on the phone call, Cate mentioned she had sold her fridge and stove already. I emailed her after the call to ask if she had a dishwasher/microwave to sell and that we'd be interested in those. She told me she'd tell me the price when I got to her house that afternoon.
When I got to her house, she told me other people offered to put down a $800 deposit but she had already agreed to sell the kitchen to me. Also, the person who bought the stove offered to buy the dishwasher but she promised that to me too :) - even though she hadn't even given me a price yet.
The house is really nice and looking at the cabinets - they are very nice and a reputable company, I don't really understand why she needed a new kitchen.
To make it easier to see everything, she had the contractor set the kitchen up in the layout that it was in inside the house (it was already removed and in her garage). A lot of people sell kitchens on Craigslist and a lot of those people require the buyer to remove the cabinets... so Cate had already done a lot of work for us.
This picture was the only picture she posted on the ad.
I committed without seeing other pictures and then she sent some that her contractor had taken.
Here are some of the pictures I took in the garage:
When I got to her house, she told me other people offered to put down a $800 deposit but she had already agreed to sell the kitchen to me. Also, the person who bought the stove offered to buy the dishwasher but she promised that to me too :) - even though she hadn't even given me a price yet.
The house is really nice and looking at the cabinets - they are very nice and a reputable company, I don't really understand why she needed a new kitchen.
To make it easier to see everything, she had the contractor set the kitchen up in the layout that it was in inside the house (it was already removed and in her garage). A lot of people sell kitchens on Craigslist and a lot of those people require the buyer to remove the cabinets... so Cate had already done a lot of work for us.
This picture was the only picture she posted on the ad.
I committed without seeing other pictures and then she sent some that her contractor had taken.
Here are some of the pictures I took in the garage:
I love this kitchen! It's very similar to the color and style I have in Portland. While I was really excited and pretty sure we were going with the Cabinets to go Kitchen, we cannot pass up this opportunity to buy this kitchen. I think there are more pieces that we can use but we can repurpose the other pieces for another space or re-sell them. Either way, we have a lot of cabinets to work with and Mike approved them!
We're getting a uhaul on Saturday morning and we'll pick them up then.
Lesson learned: I need to continue to have faith that we'll find things instead of giving up and going retail.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)