I'm back! After a two or three week break from writing, I couldn't hold back any longer. Honestly, I don't have too much to say tonight, but I will say that I missed writing, and I can't wait to share some stories about the projects I've been working on the past few weeks. Life gets so busy, and now that I'm back to work, I've been trying to focus on my family and friend when I am home from work. And as much as I enjoy writing, it takes up a lot of time! I feel that my time has been well spent the past few weeks with the things that matter the most to me.
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I just thought I would share a my top ten tips for when you are going through a home building process or a renovation. It is so easy to get screwed over in the construction industry. It's usually not over just nickles and dimes. It can often be the difference between your dream home and your worst nightmare.
3. Find a good contractor Do your research before hiring a contractor. Don't just look them up on the internet. A company with really strong marketing, doesn't necessarily mean they are quality builders. Just because a picture or a website or ad looks great, doesn't mean that it's not photo-shopped or even a picture of their work. Ask around. Have your friends just built a new house or gone through a renovation? Talk to them about their experiences in dealing with a certain company. Would they do it again? Any problems they encountered? Word of mouth really is an important aspect of the construction world. Visit the company's show room or shop. Ask to see their portfolio of work, and make sure the buildings have actually been built, not just rendered pictures. They could have a great designer on staff, but if their workmanship is not in the field, it's best to move on. Visit the sites of the actual buildings they have built, and take note of the quality you would expect them to deliver. Again, get quotes. This is where people get screwed over. If you do decide to go with a certain company or contractor, get everything in writing. Make sure you have legal documents and contracts. There are different times to pay for certain things, so know exactly what is due and at what point. NEVER pay the entire amount until the work is finished, and you are satisfied. Deposits should be around 50-60%, and no more. Make sure everything is accounted for, and this is where you need to be sure that you have a honest contractor. 50-60% would be a lot to walk away with on a $100,000 budget. Yikes. I can't even imagine. I'd even recommend going so far as to hire them for a little project before hiring them on a big project, just so you really know their work ethic and integrity. 4. Get second opinions In the construction world, it's not only normal, it's encouraged, to get at least three quotes from different contractors. That gives you a feel for the different guys out there, and let the best man or woman win. Remember that the cheapest option is not always the best option. Often, the cheapest quotes have forgotten something, and then is added later on the invoice. Make sure you watch for this. Having three quotes to compare is helpful too, to make sure that nothing gets missed. The middle quote is usually the one to go for- not too cold, not too hot, juuuust right. (I think I've been reading too many story books.) Once you've hired a contractor, and something seems not right to you, feel free to get a second opinion before it's too late. Sometimes contractors can be moody about this, being a pride thing, so try doing it discreetly. If something doesn't seem right about the work that is going on, chances are you are right. Better to nip it in the butt before it turns into a messy and sometimes legal mess. A second opinion can either calm your nerves and let you know that everything is OK, or it can confirm your suspicions about your contractors work.
A) The plumbing for the bath faucet needed to be removed, which meant ripping out drywall and patching it, and changing the plumbing. Also the drain for a tub is in a different position than a large walk in shower. That needed to be changed as well. B) Having a shower base instead of a bath meant the need for more tile on the walls. The difference in height between a shower base and a tub is about 2 feet. Doing the math here: The difference in square footage was about 22 square feet. (3'x2'x5') Using a mosaic tile, which is around $25/ sf= a difference in about $550. That's just for the tile. No tile edge, no extra grout and tile adhesive, which are small costs, but it adds up. C) The bath tub and bath/ shower fixture combo was already ordered. Often, you cannot return special orders, so this would be an extra expense. Hopefully, another bathroom could use the bought and paid for fixtures. 7. Be Involved It doesn't hurt to be aware of what is going on with your renovations. This is a good way to make sure the project is going as planned. You wouldn't want to walk into your house to find missing walls or extra walls because someone read a drawing upside down. Imagine if you told someone a paint colour and they misheard you and your house was bright orange or something. Mistakes happen, and if you have a clear idea about what's going on in your house, it's easier to pick up on mistakes before they become a big deal. Being around is also a good way to appreciate the workmanship that is happening. I always think it's neat to see the project before, during, and after.
10. Be safe There are two parts to this safety rant. Firstly, if you are doing it yourself, make sure you know what you are doing, and that what you are doing is safe and done correctly. Don't do things that you are uncomfortable with or things that are unsafe. Get help when you need it. Unless you are very handy and know what you are doing, I would stay away from doing any electrical work yourself. Ideally, electrical work should be permitted and it would help to avoid circumstances like below. I was helping my friend remove a basement wall, and as soon as we had ripped off the paneling, I see this cut wire among the insulation. Not cool. Thankfully, with a closer look from a distance (yes, that is contradictory), I realized the wire was cut on both ends and just left there, so it was not a live wire just hanging out, starting fires. Thankfully. It's not always the case. We were lucky. Secondly, if you are getting the work done by someone else, and they come across a safety issue, such as mold, rot or structural issues, this needs to get fixed. It is not your contractor trying to screw you over. In fact, it is them looking out for you. As much as this sucks for the budget, it is important to fix it. Safety first, my friends! I hope this helps when picking out a contractor when renovating or building. I don't like seeing people getting screwed over in this industry. Life can be pretty ruthless sometimes, so if this saves you a headache, then I've done my part. Home is where the heart is, and it shouldn't be a traumatic experience to get your home the way you want it.
Happy Building! Jena xo I'm not sure why it is, but the harder you work at making a delicious meal, the less likely you are to get to enjoy it together. As is the most likely the case with busy families anyways. Now that I am back to work, I've realized that I have to actually start planning meals. I guess you could say, working is making me more efficient at time management. For instance, instead of having all day to do the never ending chores, I only have half the time to get it all done. And amazingly, it gets done. But back to the meal! I had this wonderful meal planned out, and of course, it took me a bit of time. Adam had to leave to a meeting the second it was ready. So much for me becoming more efficient at time management! It's only the first of many meals, though, so hopefully I get better at planning.
Then I started with the potatoes. I had bought a mixture of baby potatoes, just to add a little more colour to the meal. I boiled them until they were sort of soft, and then threw them into a mixture of rosemary and those fresh green onions. I smashed them, not mashed, smashed, and then fried them in olive oil with some garlic until they were crispy. Of course, I added sea salt and pepper. I don't usually use salt on my food, except potatoes and corn on the cob. How can you not? It's like peanut butter without jam. Or whatever you think goes best.
On my last spray painting project, I definitely over did it on the thickness of paint and it turned into a crackly, textured project. I was going to try to redeem myself, and prove to myself that I am not the worst spray painter in the world. But then I tripped over the matching lamp and smashed it. Don't ask... It was a pretty simple project, not going to lie. I wish I had a before picture, but my mind was elsewhere at the time. I'm sure you can imagine the before.
Happy Colouring Your World! Jena xo Now I'm not totally OCD when it comes to parenting, if the little man falls, I pretend like I didn't see and he carries on. Inside, of course, I'm heart-broken. No mother wants to see their children get hurt. But that's how they learn, and man, do they learn a lot! Our house is fairly baby proofed. We have one baby gate where his landing would be on concrete and the other stairs (only five stair) do not have a baby gate. He's pretty awesome at stairs now, and we have not had one falling-down-stairs incident to date. One thing that does stress me out though is electricity. Because that can really hurt a child. I need to be protecting my baby from serious danger. I have baby proofed every single electrical socket in my house. Maybe I am a little OCD about that one.
I did decide to keep it in a journal, though, where I would tell him about all the crazy things that happened throughout the year in his life. I figured that I could add pictures and drawings and whatever I feel like. There are so many moments this year that I can think of to write about. Like what a little dare devil he has become, or how much he loves his favorite green "Shrek" shoes. Both conveniently shown in the picture below. I love my little boy, and I don't want to forget a memory with him. Maybe this is my way of helping myself remember them all too!
Happy Memory Making! Jena xo
Lay it out for your potential employer. I did, and it was a seriously liberating feeling. As much as I scored an interview with this one particular company, it went both ways. What do I want out of this job? It was not as much an interview, as it was a conversation. And there are some important questions that you, as a potential employee, need to ask. Is the company worth my time to go back to work? Are they flexible in my hours? Raising my son is 100% priority, and if a company doesn't allow an employee to put family first, their values are not the same as mine. Thus, that would not be a good match. Does the company interest me? Do I like their long term and short term goals? Would I be excited to explain to someone what I do for work? Working hard at something you believe in and enjoy makes work purposeful and well, enjoyable. Who doesn't want to enjoy their job? Am I a good match for the company? Be honest with yourself, and if it's a job that is just going to put bread and butter on your table, and you're not passionate about it, maybe the next person in line is a better match than you. Passion is what makes you happy with your career anyways, so without it, it's not your perfect job. If you answered yes to all of these questions, you'd better put your best foot forward going in! Chances are, if you are a good match, an employer will see that. On that lovely note, I hope you all have a great day at work. Good news! It is almost the long weekend, and I know I'll need it. I'll be tired from my new job, which I am VERY excited about! More of that later!
Happy Career Searching and Finding! Jena xo Lately, I feel like we have been on a Mexican kick. One of my favorite things is fajitas; I don't think I could get enough of them! I love how fresh they are, with avocado, cilantro, peppers, cucumbers, you name it! The beauty of it, is they can taste so different depending on what you feel like adding to your wrap. Adam and I found this awesome bowl down in Mexico, which is perfect for our favorite meal (or one of them, at least) Taste Serving Set design by Sagaform from: Burke Decor LLC I had never really thought about what was actually in the packaged seasoning until recently, now that I have a baby. He loves any and all food, so I try to make sure whatever I do feed him is at least as healthy as possible. No need for extra sodium or MSG or who knows what! I found this recipe for homemade fajita seasoning from Annie's Eats ,and I will never go back to buying packaged seasoning. So yummy and much better on my conscience.
There we have our Mexican themed post, and to finish it off, here's a picture of me snorkeling right there in Mexico from our vacation a few years ago. Happy Mexican Eating! Jena xo The little man has been a little under the weather the past week or so, and I can officially say, I'm not scared of snot anymore. I'm turning into one of those hardcore moms that just pulls boogies right out of their kids noses, so that the dreaded Kleenex episode can be avoided. I don't understand why every kid is so terrified of a simple snot napkin. Each to their own. I'm pretty sure I've overcome my snot fear thanks to this deep love I've got for this little kid. He melts my heart every day, the least I can do for is wipe his nose and butt and face, and rarely, tears. Thankfully!
That leads me to talk specifically about wiping butts. Very deep topic, I know! Before he was born, I decided on cloth diapering. A lot of people questioned me and told me how hard it would be, but I went with my favourite motto: oblivion is bliss. It's my first child, so I didn't really know one way or the other. I have to change butts anyways, so why not reduce my impact on the environment? It totally has similarities to snot wiping, basically that both are nasty, but you've gotta do it anyways.
This I have to share, in case anyone else uses cloth diapers and bleaches the shit, literally, out of them. Apparently, I am the worst at reading directions, and they say right on the tag "DO NOT BLEACH". I bleached them. When all of a sudden, they started leaking, I freaked out, thinking I had wrecked them all, which I probably had. Then I had one of those moments when you actually think of the best idea ever. We had a bunch of this soft shell stuff by Nikwax, which is really meant for our snowboard coats to get them all water-proofed again. I used it on the diaper shells, since it's pretty close to the same material. Thankfully, that stuff totally worked. So if you are like me and have this problem or you just want to give them that extra protection again, this stuff is the solution. I've never tried BumGenius! Biodegradable Baby Odor Remover for Cloth Diapers, but I would like to try it! No one like a stink butt.
If you do decide to commit and go to cloth diapers, I'd definitely recommend buying a set. I use a Grovia Live set, and they have been awesome. They are not like the cloth diapers back in the day, that's for sure. They are actually cute now, too! Happy Butt Wiping! Jena xo
We looked at getting new windows installed as they are pretty ugly and old, but as our energy assessment told us, they actually are not bad when it comes to their energy efficiency. To upgrade them would change our house's energy efficiency so minimally that an immediate upgrade was immediately put on the back burner. Except for this window, the rest were in fairly good shape. Unfortunately, replacing even this window just wasn't in the budget. A little tape just to keep the wind and rain out seemed like a good option. Then I got the great idea. Out of sight, out of mind. And thus began yet another project.
I wanted something plain for the bathroom, but not too plain, so I opted for a faux Roman blind. I had picked out a linen that would have worked perfectly, but it was $19 per yard, so I decided I'd settle on the less expensive linen that would still be ok... thinking the less expensive, second choice linen was $12 when it was actually $21. Damn dyslexia. I took it home, and the colour just didn't work. I wished so badly I went for the other first choice of material, but no... I told my mom about the mistake, nearly in tears, and when my sister came to visit me last week, she had sent a flat sheet that she scored for $4. Of course, mom's ALWAYS know best, and the colour worked perfectly.
Next up was the second dowel. I covered the ends with purple duct tape (the colour choice is optional) and placed it in front of the shade. Tension is what is holding it in place, so that duct tape is not only hiding my beaver like cuts, but it is also providing grip and that extra 1/8" that the hand saw thought I didn't need.
Hope you appreciate it as much as I do!
Happy broken window hiding! Jena xo |
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