Our remodeling rules

We like to work on the house for several reasons: its a hobby we can enjoy together, it makes our house something we really love, and, ideally, it is an investment that will see financial returns. We also want our remodeling hobby to fit in with our beliefs, which lean toward environmentally conscious, socially responsible, and frugal. With that in mind, we set the following "rules" we will try to follow with the house. Like all rules, they will probably be broken from time to time. But, I am hoping that by setting them ahead of time, we will me more likely to follow them.

Our 7 Remodeling Rules (and their origin)
1) Look at salvage and used stores for supplies (frugal and green).
2) New supplies are most acceptable when purchased as overstock (frugal), scratch-n-dent (frugal), or when purchased from a non-profit who received the supplies as a donation (socially conscious).
3) Choose energy-star appliances (green).
4) Use renewable resources when possible (green).
5) Choose the eco-friendly alternative when the cost difference is less than a 10% premium (green).
6) Use native landscaping (green).
7) Garden organically (green).


note: I am using the term "green" to label things that I feel fit with general environmentally conscious ideas such as reduce, reuse, recycle, minimize pollution, renewable resources, etc. I do not claim my verion fits perfectly with the eco movement, and there are some ways where I know it specifically doesn't. For example, we love real stone.

About the house

The house we are about to buy is a 1968 split foyer home that sits on about 3/4 acre. There are 4 bedrooms and 2 baths (3/1 upstairs, 1/1 downstairs), and it also has a one car gargae, a fairly large kitchen, hardwood floors (some covered by carpet), and a small deck.

Water is supplied by a well.
Sewage is a private system (i.e. septic system).
Heating is force air furnace fueled by heating oil.
Air condition is central a/c through the force air system.
Hot water is also heating oil fueled.

The house is located approximatly 3 miles from the main entrance to where Ruby works; unfortunatly, there are another 4 miles from the gate to her office. 7 miles, however, is a vast improvement over the 31 mile one-way commute she had a mere 4 months ago.

About our individual skills

As could likely be expected, our skills do follow general gender stereotypes.

Ruby - The designer. Watches far too much HGTV and house shows. Specifically, a fan of Flip This House (especially episodes with Richard Davis and Trademark Properties, soon to be on The Real Deal), Property Ladder, Designed to Sell, and Curb Appeal. Loves to find new projects and ideas. Not so good on the follow-through. ADD tends to let her get 80-90% through a project, then lose interest. Specific skills include painting (walls & decorations), crafting, sewing, and drywall.


Wirenut - The worker. Trained as an electrician, with prior work in flooring. Skilled with a hammer, saw (as long as its powered), and a fish tape. Makes sure every room has the best lighting and a dimmer. Not a fan of finish carpentry. Is very tolerating of Ruby's endless ideas and her lack of follow-through. Slightly less tolerating of her Tivo-ing every possible home improvement show. Prefers Tivo-ing Mad Money, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, The Daily Show, and The Simpsons. Specific skills include electrical work, landscaping and gardening, general manual labor, and cooking.

Bugsy and Gandy - The cats. Fans of mice, both real and toy. Trained as hunters. Specific skills include rodent extermination, sleeping, and leaving fur everywhere.

About our skills in general

Our first home was a small townhouse built in 1985. When we moved in, it had all the charm and charecter of a developer built spec home of 1985. The original dusty rose and sage green country duck themed border was the highlight of the bisque colored kitchen. Over the course of the 4 years we lived there, we did a lot of updating including:
* Updating the full bath
* Adding a half bath in a closet
* Putting down laminate floors
* Repainting all the walls
* Expanding the brick patio
* Adding a water feature to the back "yard"
* Remodeling the kitchen
* Replacing a sliding glass door

Over course of these projects, we learned quite a bit as many of these projects were not as simple as they appeared. For example, our upstairs bathroom had a back outlet toilet, the wonders of which I hope I never, ever, ever encounter again. Since the unit had been a rental for 10+ year, said toilet was not maintained. Now normally, toilets require little maintainence, but a back outlet toilet, especially when used on a non-solid floor (i.e. a second story over wooden subflooring) requires some attention to ensure the wax seal is not compromised. And if it is compromised, gravity is not kind. So after owning the house less than one week, we were replacing subflooring. Joy.

Other valuable lessons of home ownership include:
* How to recognize a load bearing wall that, according to basic rules of construction, should NOT have been loadbearing.
* How to gain 3/4" of room along a wall so that the cabinets and the dishwasher fit.
* Why the sink drain must be higher than the exit end of the p-trap.
* The joys of finish carpentry
* Hot peppers and green peppers cross pollinate
* 20 year old Bradford Pears land fairly softly when they fall into your house (we can thank my neighbor's tree and Hurrican Isabel for this lesson)

I'd say the biggest lesson from the townhome projects was that we learned when to do it ourselves and when to call in pros. Even with his training as an electrician, there are a few things Wirenut and I agree is better left to a pro.

About us

Wirenut and I have been married for 18 months, but we have known each other for 16 years now. We dated in high school in the deep south, went our seperate ways, then reconnected in 2001 when we were both living near Washington, D.C. Wirenut has been a restraunt manager, floor service technicial, and is now an electrician. When we lived near D.C., he worked in the residential market. I am an Industrial Engineer by training, with a strong focus on occupational and consumer safety along with human factors psychology. I've been a software developer, engineering psychologist, and am currently working for DOD as an industrial engineer. We are the proud parents of two spoiled kitties.

The combination of my occupational safety background and his labor background means we discuss safety a lot. Mostly the scene goes like this:
Ruby: Don't forget your safety glasses.
Wirenut: I'm fine.
Ruby: But something could fly up into your eyes.
Wirenut rolls his eyes
Ruby runs to the shed to find safety glasses and hands them to Wirenut.
Wirenut laughs and may put them on.

The scene doesn't play out nearly as well (from my perspective) when it comes to ladders, hard hats, safety shoes, and table saws.