Purchased

Giant Joint Compound

January 10, 2006

Funny story... I went to Lowes on Sunday looking for some more joint compound... I had a 12lb bucket that ran out and I was looking for another, knowing it would cost me 5 dollars. So there I am, walking down the aisle, when I see this huge bucket of joint compound. I thought to myself, "gee, that's a big bucket, must cost a fortune." I almost passed it by when I looked down at the price tag.

10 dollars...

...for this (the bottom one):

That's my 12lb bucket on top of the 61.7lb bucket.

I don't think I'll ever use all of it, so I have a feeling this is something I'll be passing down to the grandkids.

Posted by house at 09:52 AM | Comments (3)

Purchased

2x4's too short

January 03, 2006

So I go to Lowes last night thinking that I need regular 8 foot long 2x4s to build out the bathroom wall. Sure enough, I get home and realize that the studs will be 6 inches too short! I know I should have gotten the 104" studs.

Looks like I'll be shelling out another 20 bucks!

At least I can use what I purchased on the kitchen/bar opening and the top and bottom of the new wall.

Hopefully they'll fit in my Jetta, as the studs I bought last night fit pretty nicely through the trunk and up into the passenger seat.

I'll keep you posted.

Posted by house at 08:20 AM | Comments (1)

Purchased

Sold

April 29, 2005

Well... I did it. I bought a house. It's something that I wanted to do for quite some time. After seeing photos of the older home Michael Eades put to use, my jealousy took a turn for the worse (or the better, depending on how you see things) and my mind started wheeling.

When the night came, I couldn't sleep as thoughts of what I would do with my own home rushed through my head. After a number of weeks I found a local realtor and began looking at houses in the area.

The first home I spotted was very unique in nature. It is a double wide but before you shake that thought, the unique front of the house throws off the notion that double wides can't look good. Suffice to say, the inside was a little different and showcased features that come with a double wide. But... with the right amount of money and time, I thought I would be able to make this house a home in the (eventual) style of a Californian Ranch home. I let a week pass before I decided to continue my search.

As a note, my search for a house began mid-February, so quite some time has passed before today.

Over the span of a few weeks I looked a number of other houses on my lunch breaks and I just couldn't find one that I could call my own. Something was missing and I just couldn't put my finger on what it was that I needed.

I was ready to give up when a friend suggested that I look at two houses for sale in a nice neighborhood that are across from one another. I looked at the first suggested house and something really irked me about it. Maybe it was the older gentleman we encountered upon entering who was in desperately ill health. Also, the house screamed "grandma's house" to me and I just couldn't force myself to go with it. So we tried the house across the street and I'll be honest when I say that my first impression wasn't that strong. But I gave it a chance, seeing as how I'd seen it all from the good to the bad to the ugly.

Upon entering my opinion of the place strengthened and I saw lots of room for improvement which I discovered to be the missing link. A fixer-upper was the thing I wanted. The thing I was looking for in a home.

After a couple of days I decided to place a bid on the house which was listed for $68,000. I low-balled the asking price to $60,000 and the seller returned with $65,000 as the lowest they would go. Seeing that this strategy wasn't going to work, I countered with $65,000 but requested 3% of the offer goes towards the closing costs. What this means is that I would pay the full $65,000 but the seller would have to use 3% of that total towards the closing costs for the buyer. %3 was the magic number ($1,950 total) and the seller approved the bid.

Fast-forward past a mortgage approval, a home inspection, a termite inspection and a first year home insurance premium to today. Closing day. After about a hundred initials and signatures, the keys came across the table and the house was mine. What a feeling. So what did I do as soon as the closing was over? I went to the house and started making changes! Well... not really, I just sifted through the "junk" left by the seller who gave the approval to keep, toss, or sell whatever was leftover. (You'll see some of those items posted here after things get settled.) I then decided that the downstairs carpet had to go (to restore the hardwood floors underneath), so I started tugging. And tearing. And pulling. And cussing. And you'll see those results in the coming days.

As for the purpose of this site... I want to show the progress of fixing up the house and making changes that will reflect my personal touch. Stay tuned, as I'll try to post new stories and photos when the time comes!

Posted by house at 10:04 AM | Comments (3)