There IS a light at the end of the tunnel!

Will we actually be done with this house by the end of December? I feel like it's a real possibility...I mean, we might squeak a little into January, but I'd say we stuck to a pretty tight timeline.

So, what is done:
Exterior Paint
Interior Paint (minus my brick in the sunken living room, which I'm going today to work on)
Kitchen Tile
Kitchen Cabinets
Trim
Upstairs bathroom shower tile and floor tile
Downstairs bathroom shower tile and floor tile
Downstairs carpet
Downstairs laundry room utility sink & floor tile
Crazy giant, ivy covered monster tree removed from front
Hot tub GONE
Concrete pressure washer
Roof pressure washer
Bark spread
80% landscaping done

What do we still need to do:
Electricians need to finish installing lights and switching outlets
Plumber needs to install laundry room toilet
Home Depot needs to install all new appliances (including washer/dryer)
Paint brick wall
Put hardware on cabinets in kitchen
Install bathroom mirror and trim it out
Mop hardwoods and apply wood oil
Paint stair trim & hand rail
20% more landscaping

I know our list seems long, but if you break it down it really isn't that much! What do YOU think?

Painting the fireplace brick white

Painting the dingy brick wall white

Soft-close cabinets and new back door

Larger opening into kitchen from dining room (granite slab will create a bar)

Our "transition" tile (see, we need to clean the hardwoods)

Large upstairs room (minus random french doors leading to a window well)

Downstairs room with a real window and carpet

Downstairs double shower...I love this shower!!

My flipping advice:
1) Try to make it nice, but not super expensive. I'd like to think we made some really great, but super affordable choices. We didn't cut corners, we either found a cheaper option, did it ourselves or took money from somewhere else to make things happen. I guess this goes back to my previous advice of looking for your own subs...if you don't like the price, keep looking.
2) Know your end plan at the beginning. Me and the Husband are having a rent or sell battle on a daily basis.

Our painter is AMAZING!!

It's been awhile, huh? We hit a lull...then work got busy...then there was more fighting about the lull...then people got to work and shit got done.

We went with our own painter, not the one the contractor wanted to bring in, because our friends used him and he did a great job AND his bid was significantly less (think about what YOU could do with an extra 10k)!

So every sub-contractor has their own timeline because they all have other jobs. Makes perfect sense to me, which is why people hire a General Contractor in the first place...let them juggle all of the subs and different timelines. Our GC needs some coaching and his guys definitely need a little work ethic, but I digress. Our painter needed to be done by December 16. The way things were crawling along there was no way this was happening so the Husband had to have a little chat with our GC. His sheetrock sub really came through in the 11th hour. There was one guy working from 5:30pm until who knows when. Not sure why they didn't send him with...I don't know...HELP, but he busted ass to get things done. HIS boss came a few days into the sheetrock project and was profusely apologizing to the Husband because even he thought it should be further along. Magically, the sheetrock, taping and mudding was done the next day. If only our GC got that mad about the lack of progress.
 
So, our painter came in later than scheduled (because of our GC) and worked 4, 16 hour days. Ceilings, trim, doors and walls are all painted. Done and done. He's amazing and pretty much got us back on track to be done by the end of December. We didn't add a lot of color because we wanted to keep it easy for our painter and we wanted it to be bright (aka white). I'll add more pictures of paint when my phone cooperates with me and my constant photo demands.

Downstairs Master closet (pocket door)

Downstairs Master closet (and bathroom door) Paint color: Sand 

Downstairs hallway (DOORS!!)

Downstairs laundry/half bath (toilet on left, w/d on right)

My flipping advice:
1) I know I've already said this, but see if your GC will let you get some of your own subs. We just got an invoice for $4,000 for our GCs guy to tile the downstairs walk-in shower. That doesn't include tile...just labor. What does that man make a year???? If your GC says no, I'd find another GC.
2) I would also have a weekly check-in about budget with your GC. If they don't have any overages in writing that I've signed off on, I'm not paying it. They cannot make those decisions without your approval. 

And...they're back

I'm referring to the laborers. Yes, folks, they took a little hiatus, which is why I had nothing to post. Sure, I could've written about how frustrating that was and how many not-so-nice conversations the Husband and I had, but where is the glamor in that? I still want you all to believe that flipping a house is fun and exciting. I mean, it is fun and exciting, but we're still pretty green so working with contractors isn't exactly a skill either of us possess.

According to our GC, his guys were at another job busting ass to get it done so they could have "all hands on deck" at our house. After a pretty heated conversation with the Husband, albeit one-sided, our GC got a text reminding him that not only are we on a budget, but we're on a tight timeline. Would you believe the very next day they were at the house putting up every last bit of sheetrock until 7pm? I'm still grinning as I type this.

We think it looks awesome, but I guess that depends on your perspective. We brought a friend and her husband over (he helped with demo) and she looked frightened...like straight up American Horror Story house frightened. Well, at least he thought it looked great compared to where we started.

Kitchen with added can lights

Dining room with sheetrock

Upstairs bathroom (minus the soffets and giant cabinet)

Downstairs Master (walk-in closet on left, bathroom door ahead)

Master bath - double shower

Downstairs bedroom with new, larger closet (he kept following me)

Laundry/Half Bath

The Husband planted 2, 500lb trees to fill in that space and one day block that house

A little landscaping

Oh, and all the kitchen cabinets

My house flipping advice:
1) Stay on top of your GC. You are paying them to manage all the subs. They work for you! Remind them of your timeline.
2) Don't have a heated conversation at Starbucks about your income property. The bitch behind you WILL be listening.

Calling in the troops

I've been on a bit of a blog-hiatus, sorry about that. I've been busy and there isn't a lot of useful information I can give you at this point about flipping a house other than patience patience patience.

Most of the framing is done, as is most of the electrical work, but we have to wait for an electrical inspection before insulation or sheet-rock. So now we wait. Wait. Waiting. Waiter.

SO...my dad, the amazing handyman, said he'd come help out with tiling the bathroom. He is the "troops" I'm referring to if you didn't pick up on that. This is awesome because the quote we got for flooring, which only included labor (not materials) was $12,000. Yes, $12,000. WTF! Our first call was to Empire, our second call was to my dad. With both of those calls we saved around $6,000 AND that includes materials. What what?

In order for my dad to tile the bathroom we had to remove the awful ceramic tile that was in there. Luckily, this little island has a pretty bad ass tool rental place and we rented an electric tile remover. While we had the rental tool, we decided to take up the kitchen tile and basement bathroom tile, too. I forgot to take a picture of the Husband removing the tile so you'll have to settle with this stock photo. This beast of a tool was heavy...and the tile was a pain in the ass, but we got it done.

The bathroom is really coming along. The new tub is installed (we removed the nasty jetted tub - do people know how gross and dirty jetted tubs are? eww! Remove your jetted tub immediately), the floor tile is done as well as the grout. Below are the stages. We decided to go white on white on white. White floor tiles, white shower tiles, white tub/sink/toilet. We're going to paint the walls navy blue to add a nice, sophisticated contrast.

Gutted and tile removed

My dad with my favorite floor tile (we used this in W. Seattle, too)

Tiled

Grouted (white grout - always)

What we've learned about tile/bathrooms:
1) Get an epoxy grout - you won't have to seal it and it won't stain. It's pricey, but worth it.

2) If you can, buy all of your tile at the same time. We needed 7 boxes of the white subway tile sheets for the shower, but they only had 4 boxes and a couple misc. sheets. We noticed at the register that the misc. sheets were a slightly, barely noticeable different shade of pure white. I about lost my OCD mind. We put the misc. sheets back and we're crossing our fingers that when we go back the new shipment will be the same pure white.

My advice about tile/bathrooms:
1) Throw your personal preference out the window if you're flipping. Don't get accent tile in Seafoam Green because you love that it reminds you of the seaglass you used to collect as a kid. Someone out there HATES Seafoam Green and that someone might be the person who is looking to buy. Oh, if you're going to say "...but Brooke, you're painting the walls Navy Blue, what if someone hates that color?" I would respond by telling you "it's paint...way easier to change than TILE".

2) Spend a little extra money to get sound absorbing insulation on the bathroom. I mean, if your walls are already open, why not? This particular bathroom shares a wall with the dining room...even with a fan on there could be some sounds that you don't want your dinner guests to hear while they're eating. :)

Any advice for me?

How to choose the right color!

I made the title of this post seem like I knew the answer to choosing colors. Well, I don't.

We knew we wanted to paint the outside of the house, but we weren't exactly sure what color. Our guru Realtor said "White House - Black Trim"! She's pretty savvy, so we thought those would be our colors. Well, some of our windows have wood trim and some have plastic; that's normal, right? I started getting nervous about painting plastic trim and then the Husband was all "...but what about the door?". So now we have to decide a door color, BUT we have 2 doors on the front of the house, 2 on the back and 1 on the side (great escape plans in the case of a fire or crazy Bainbridge Island serial killer).

Red! A red front door would pop against a white house with black trim. Well, according to our Realtor, red is out. No more red doors people, no more! What she told us next hit us in stages. First stage was judgement (of her, not the color suggestion), second stage was appall, third stage was Google, fourth stage was acceptance, fifth and final stage was love. Emerald green! Yes, that is a thing! 

I did, however, make the executive decision to forget the black trim and paint everything white. This may seem like it would be too much white, but this ranch style house needs as much light as possible.

These pictures are the stages and the last one is not the final final final result, but you get the general idea. Emerald green. Thanks, Cassie!

How will we ever choose INTERIOR colors? Oy vey!

My advice:
1) Go nuts on Pinterest/Houzz to find cool paint color combinations. Something might look awesome on a 2-story colonial, but on your ranch might look awful. As long as you have a little time, take it to find the right combo. 

Master Bedroom

OK - so when we were first walking the house and making our big flip plans the Husband and I had two very different ideas about what to do with a master bedroom. There is a large room upstairs that the Husband wanted to make into the master, which would involve adding an additional bathroom into the room...NIGHTMARE!! I personally think I had the better idea of making one of the rooms in the basement into a master. We were already taking out a kitchen in the basement...which has plumbing...so it made sense to make that into a master bedroom with a bathroom. I was clearly overruled...or so I thought. With all the walls in the basement out and the kitchen gone, it was clear to see that the master bedroom would be huge, but would have a tiny window. I'm okay with a tiny window...here's the deal, how much time do you really spend in your bedroom?..like actual awake hours hanging out? It would definitely make sleeping in super easy, which is always a win in my book.

So, one whole wall in the basement has a bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and laundry room on it (in that order). One night...after my plan had finally been agreed upon as the superior idea...I had a genius epiphany (I only have a few of these a year so I ran with it). Why put another bathroom in that kitchen area? Why not move the wall in the current bathroom to make it a little bigger and move the bathroom door to inside the master bedroom...boom, en suite.

But Brooke, now the basement doesn't have its own bathroom! There is another bedroom and a living room down there, that seems dumb, will people have to go upstairs to use the bathroom or god-forbid walk through the master bedroom to use the bathroom?! Well, I thought of that, thanks! The laundry room is enormous, already has a sink and can easily have a toilet added to the wall (the toilet in the current basement bathroom was plumbed through the wall, not the floor), which is already open and already has exposed plumbing. WIN - WIN!! So the laundry room will now be the downstairs half bathroom that happens to have a washer/dryer in it. I hope my explanation makes sense. I'm attaching some photos, although this is all still a concept more than a reality, but it is THE plan.

I think we're having fun now! It is definitely less stressful now that things are happening!

My advice:
1) Play with lots of ideas...check with your realtor about trends and ask their advice...think way outside the box.

2) Tape the floor where walls are going. That way you get a sense of how big (or small) a room will actually be when you stand inside the taped area. 

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

This post is going to be short, but sweet. It's been a long couple days (at work) and I'm too tired to try to be witty. Although it's only primer, it's pretty freakin rad! Can't wait to see the final result.

Oh, and if you're on Bainbridge Island tomorrow please come to the Pumpkin Walk and say hello.

Before

After (primer only, but it will be white)

YES!!!!!!! 

Demolition

First, let me give a shout out to the Husband's friends...Kes, Mike, Dylan and Chris...you guys are bad ass and the Husband could not have gotten as much done in 2 days without your help. Second, I would like to apologize that he thought you'd enjoy a girly hard cider to wash down all the dirt and dust in your throat. Thank god he also bought Rainier...this serves as the official apology! :)

If you choose to take on a flip, one of the many pieces of unsolicited advice I will freely offer up is DO YOUR OWN DEMO! This saves so much money, both on the project and therapy. When is the last time you got to break shit with a sledgehammer? When is the last time you got to tie one end of a rope to an awful laurel bush and the other to your car and slam on the gas? When is the last time you got a bust through a wall with a chainsaw like a crazy maniac? I suppose this may sound like torturous work to some of you...to which I roll my eyes...it's really fucking fun!

We got 2 dumpsters delivered, which are both nearly full. We budgeted for 4 so we'll see how that goes.

The painter came and pressure washed the house to prep it for painting, which is supposed to happen on Thursday (weather dependent). While pressure washing, he noticed how dirty all the concrete was around the house and took it upon himself to pressure wash most of that, too, at no added cost. Score! It pays to have a house that is in such terrible shape that once you see it you just get the itch to clean or paint or tear stuff out or pressure wash or landscape or or or. Yes, it's that bad.

I know I keep saying how terrible the house is and for that I feel a little bad. Maybe we should name her seeing as we're spending our hard earned money on her and giving her the makeover she's only ever dreamed of. I am now taking house name suggestions.

Here are some demolition pictures, in no particular order.

Kitchen (those last cabinets just need to be pulled out)

Goodbye soffits (what is the point of THOSE?)

This will be open to the Dining Room

Kitchen (view from Family Room)

Goodbye weird basement Kitchen

Opposite view from the photo above

Remember that non-conforming 4th bedroom, it's going to be huge!

Basement Bedroom #3

Basement bathroom (WHY would they drop the ceiling in the shower?)

Upstairs Bathroom (these damn tiles...seriously, these are going to kill us)

Bathroom (that giant cabinet is gone...and they made the shower area smaller! What?)

OK - now give us house name suggestions!

My advice:
1) If you rent a dumpster...fill it. Fill it like crazy and as fast as possible. You typically get a dumpster for a week and although that may sound like a long time it is heart-breaking when they take a half full dumpster.

2) Have a Demo-Party. Invite friends over, buy beer and pizza and go at it. People seem to really like the idea of breaking stuff.

Before the Storm

Here is a little info about the newest little addition to our family.

Year built: 1967
Sq ft: 2,880
Bedrooms: 3 (4th bedroom is non-conforming)
Bathrooms: 2 (soon to be 2.5)
Lot size: .59 acres

The photos:

Galley Kitchen (view from Family Room)

Kitchen eating area (looking into Dining Room/Entrance)

Family Room (view from Kitchen)

Family Room

Dining Room

Dining Room

Upstairs Bathroom (enormous cabinet)

Upstairs Bathroom

Upstairs Bedroom #1

Upstairs Bedroom #2

Upstairs Bedroom #2 (goodbye french doors)

Basement Living Room

Basement Kitchen area

Basement Bathroom

Basement Laundry Room

Bedroom #3 (basement)

Non-conforming Bedroom #4 (basement)

Side view of backyard (notice the crazy shed and retro hot tub!)

So, who thinks we're crazy? Wish us luck!

My advice:
1) Take a lot of before photos so you have something to compare your progress to. Hey, it might even be cool to have a before/after binder for any prospective buyers to look at.

Tomorrow's post...DEMO!!