Rose Cottage Ltd

In the midst of interior renovations yet again, I had a thought to myself yesterday that I will NEVER again buy a house that isn’t new. For about the tenth time in my life, I’m trying to work around noise, dust, scheduling issues, a 4-month old puppy, and last but not least yesterday – rain.

There is always something interesting to me about older homes though and no matter what I say today, the thrill of discovering what’s under that ugly tile or wallpaper will no doubt continue to intrigue. Dealing with the “in process” of renovations though can be frustrating.

Forgetting cost for the moment (PLEASE?) to begin, you must identify any issues or problems – and rank them as far as priority. Then you must rank them in best or most viable order-of-completion. As example, I’ve been walking around on plywood for flooring for about 4 years – waiting, because so many things ABOVE floor must happen first. My only fear is that I will become emotionally attached to the plywood and will see REAL hardwood floors as expensive and unnecessary!

Once these decisions have been made, you’ll need to find contractors to do the work you can’t, or shouldn’t do. It has taken me awhile living in the sticks as I do, to find people who know what they’re doing and who will actually show up to do the work – when scheduled.

Here’s my list of renovation resource”must-haves”:

++ A plumber
++ An electrician
++ A carpenter
++ A HVAC person
++ A guy with a backhoe who knows how to use it.
++ A painter (for me this is for that overhead painting I just can’t do.)

If you’re really up to some major renovation work you’ll need additional help. I just scored the name of a guy to do some drywall work – from the carpenter who is here today replacing a ceiling. These little referrals are often worth GOLD! Most often, the guy who is doing one job knows who locally is the best to work with – since they have worked together on prior jobs. These referrals have in past probably saved me a lot of time and money – and with only one exception in 30 years – have never been a bad choice.

I’m being summoned to the next room to make a “Command” decision.

And, is there any difference between “remodeling” and “renovating”? More soon…