We're comfortably living in our home with an eye toward more improvements in the future. Almost all of them are outdoor projects; landscaping, house painting and so on. Yes, we do want to remodel our bath but I'll have to be institutionalized during the process. The entire experience was very good, the pluses way outweighed the minuses. Except for the tile people, every subcontractor that worked here was excellent, respectful, clean, professional and had a sense of humor. We couldn't have asked for more and managed to snag all their business cards for future projects we'd like to handle ourselves.
Things we love:
1. Brazilian Tiger Mahogany floors - just beautiful, darkening with time, strong and scratch resistent (we've already babysat the dogs to prove that point) and enriching the feeling in the house.
2. Simington dual paned windows and doors - there were dual paned here already but what garbage!! Not only do we get a $1500 tax credit, we get much less noise and heat in the house. Very worth the money although the tax credit v cost of the windows is huge.
3. New front door - oh my goodness, no ugly dried up wood with huge air leaks! Who wouldn't love that.
4. Kitchen counters and appliances - all great, easy to clean, beautiful to look at and very functional.
5. Bathrooms - a huge improvement however, limestone is tricky so I wouldn't select this product again. Basically I can't clean the tiles with anything other than hot water and have to be careful when using harsher products in the sinks and toilets. Limestone is a soft stone that doesn't hold up well to lots of use. When asking why I wasn't told this the "designer" said "well these are bathrooms that will get little use so I didn't think it would be an issue". Didn't think!! Both bathrooms are beautiful but not practical. The guest bath, because the floor is not polished stone, will be less problematic.
6. Yard - we've lost our hardworking gardener to the bottle - a factoid that came up late in our relationship. As you can see from the pictures, landscaping the backyard presents challenges. Stan is the Mountain Goat and does all the up hill work. He enjoys it, so he says, but I'm not crazy about his being up there. Most of the plants are now in place on our hill of granite. Our only concern is debris (rocks) sliding down during the rainy season. Everything would head straight for the pool which wouldn't be fine with us. Our plan is to plant ground cover to keep everything in place. You can see that there isn't lots of soil to work with, a totally different way to garden for me. Note that most of the succulents and cactus on the patio level of the garden came with us (in pots) from Cambria. They are so much happier here, growing like weeds. Everything is happier. I had fabulous begonias this year and two orchids are blooming now. I wasn't anticipating this good fortune. It's likely the very mild summer weather has helped more than anything.
7. Living in a single story house - oh this is so nice!
Although this place is bigger than our main house in Cambria it doesn't hold as much. The walls are not as large so decisions about where and how to hang pictures has been frustrating. There is little storage space which means more of what came with us has to go.
To sum up this experience I would say we shouldn't have moved to remodel so quickly but what's done is done and we're content with the final product. Without question a major remodel has to include moving out, there is no other way to maintain sanity and live comfortably. The people you hire will become your family for awhile so it's important to have a good feeling about them, it's important to know you can communicate easily about tough things. Add 25% more time and 25% to the budget you are quoted because no matter how hard you try to stick to it, something will come up. You'll see an opportunity to make a cubby hole with glass shelves (that requires dry wall, paint, counter top, glass for shelves) or need to cover windows you hadn't figured on - whatever......if you factor those %'s in at the beginning of the budgetary process it will allow you wiggle room. Easier to feel you've saved rather than overspent at the end. A couple of things we learned before our first remodel, years ago, that still hold true for us....request a budget meeting with your contractor weekly or biweekly (difficult for us to do on this project which was frustrating) and always get "materials releases" from every contractor or sub working on your project. Materials release is proof that your sub or contractor paid "in full" for materials used on your house. Since you will be responsible for those bills in the end and you who will have the mechanics lien placed on your house if the contractor goes fishing in Montana or kayaking in Hawaii :-) with your money, you just gotta do it. If your contractor is unwilling to agree, you need to find another one.
So the B&B on Broken Bow Ct. in Rancho Bernardo is open for business. Come one, come all!! Thanks for following this, patiently waiting for the last post (some of you were patient :-) and being so supportive.
Much love,
Ellen & Stan
Below is a link to "Broken Bow Finished" You can view the pictures or slideshow. Photo's begin at the entry/front door and travel through the dining room, living room, kitchen/my work space, Stan's work space/den, powder room, guest bedroom, guest bath, our bedroom, hallway, laundry area and the mountain of granite. Please enjoy!
You are invited to view Elly's photo album: Broken Bow Finished
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