Anyone Try to Build or Remodel anything lately $$$$

a reply to: JAGStorm

Over this past summer, I started work on turning our cabin into a tiny home. I had an addition built, bought $2,000 worth of 2 x 4s, kitchen cabs, sink, faucet, stove, paneling, shower, toilet and insulation. Besides the price of plywood being high and 2 x 4s costing nearly $10 each, we were able to source every single piece we needed from Lowes or Amazon. Everything I needed was available in various price ranges from el-cheapo to way more expensive than I was willing to spend. The only real issue I had was sourcing the insulation - Reflectix - which was plentiful in April but sold out by August. Reflectix is good because it can go up to R-21 and mice don't like it. I did find some half rolls at Lowes and bought the last 6 they had.

What I learned is that patience and hours on web sites pays off in the end.

In the end, our cabin went from 155 square feet to 400 and now has a bath, kitchen, bedroom and living room and air conditioning all off grid.

a reply to: JAGStorm

Went to get a soap dispenser for the kitchen, since the other one broke. Can’t find one to fit, unless I buy the whole kitchen sink faucet kit! WTF. I used to see those all over the big box HD stores. None. Not even the correct size chrome hole plug. Stupid.

952 dollars for a vanity made in Spain with rock from deep underground all assembled to last years upon years with a little care for less than a weeks pay

www.lowes.ca... 0

299 Canadian dollars so 200 usd can get you a vanity (40+ in stock) cheaper materials but again be gentle

Americans wear outdoor shoes in there homes, like on beds and #

So I don’t know if you really can be “bougiee” when you are tracking dirt on carpets and floors and #

a reply to: JAGStorm


Ummm…why yes…yes I am…

I’m building a 2011 4500 Ram crew cab flat bed utility dually…with a 6.7L Cummins turbo diesel…

I just put on a 5” down pipe to a 4” stainless exhaust with a performance 4” in/out stainless muffler…

Last week I installed a Banks pedal monster…

I undercoated the frame and rails…and will be covering the entire white cab and front clip to also include the flat bed utility with raptor bed coating…black of course…

I’m also going to change the intake into a Banks performance intake…and remove the egr and egr cooler…
And upgrade to a dual turbo system…add a performance exhaust manifold…lift pump and tuner…

Currently it has a hauling tune…which gives 50 extra horsepower in the lower gear ranges…

When I’m finished…the engine will breathe a lot better and It will burn fuel a lot more efficiently…

I’m not a fan of rolling coal…I think that’s inefficient and retarded…

My aim is to completely burn as much fuel as possible…with massive amounts of compressed air to fuel…
Plus of course increasing wheel horsepower…although I’m not planning to upgrade the injectors or engine internals…
So I’ll keep my tunes fairly tame…not looking to drag with it…

It currently has a full aluminum intercooler and I’m thinking of adding another intercooler for the additional turbo…
Perhaps slung under hood with a couple of electric cooling fans and ram air…


…here’s to keeping the stock block and head intact…



YouSir

originally posted by: ADUB77
952 dollars for a vanity made in Spain with rock from deep underground all assembled to last years upon years with a little care for less than a weeks pay

www.lowes.ca... 0

299 Canadian dollars so 200 usd can get you a vanity (40+ in stock) cheaper materials but again be gentle

Americans wear outdoor shoes in there homes, like on beds and #

So I don’t know if you really can be “bougiee” when you are tracking dirt on carpets and floors and #

Honey I’m Asian, anyone that wears shoes in my house is getting a major butt whooping!
We simply do not allow it.

originally posted by: 38181
a reply to: JAGStorm

Went to get a soap dispenser for the kitchen, since the other one broke. Can’t find one to fit, unless I buy the whole kitchen sink faucet kit! WTF. I used to see those all over the big box HD stores. None. Not even the correct size chrome hole plug. Stupid.

I think they are doing something with plumbing and fixtures. Over the years we have replaced so many faucets.
I noticed they are making things different and changing the sizes every so slightly so you have to replace every thing. It is so frustrating!!!

A local plumber here wanted $340 in labor to install a new bathroom faucet. A simple 30-45min job. Plumber tried to take advantage of elderly family member.

originally posted by: JAGStorm
I'm done, just done.

Our powder room faucet gave out. It was old and needed replacing. I got a great faucet for a good price.
It did not fit well into the counter. (Don't you love how one thing ALWAYS leads to more remodeling?)
I never liked the vanity in that room so I thought now was a good time to replace everything...


WRONG..

Went to three hardware stores. Found out real quick we aren't changing the vanity.
The stores either had horrible cheap bottom of the line vanities, some of them looked like they were one notch above cardboard.
The ones that were middle of the road were all sold out.
Then there were some that were just normal but priced in the over 1K range... for a powder room vanity.
Keep in mind I would spend that if I thought it was actually worth it or would last. nope!

Now for the building part. I want to put a room on the back of our house apx 20x20, ONE SINGLE ROOM onto the back of our house, nothing fancy...
the quote we got... wait for it, ....................................
wait for it.....................
wait for it.....................


wow 160




k?!



$160,000😲

get a stainless steel one like they have in resto kitchens, sturdy durable and unique. could get some nice flairs on the side for grooming stuff, plenty of space. easy to clean and probably could get it custom made to specs, lol i'll see myself out.

originally posted by: JAGStorm
a reply to: DAVID64

You CAN do it and save yourself loads of money.

I am doing this!!! by I, I mean my husband.

The problem is the materials! It's crazy. I'll admit, I'm a little bougie and like things on the finer side. I'll take quality over quantity any day.

Here is a perfect example, I looked at this yesterday. It looked like crap

www.lowes.com...
$952.99

There are some that are more middle of the road, around 500ish, but they were built soooooo cheap. I really believe if they get wet they will fall apart.

Wow - sincerely, those used to be like $250-400.

Not really a remodeling job, but...

We live in Florida, so building codes and whatnot are far different from my former home state.

A couple days ago, we discovered that the main water feed to our home had broken, and was pouring water into our crawlspace.

My wife called Roto Rooter to get a quote. The main line is a 3/4 inch pvc pipe, comes laterally from the street to a 90, then vertically a foot up, then another 90 to tie into the home plumbing. One of the 90s had cracked.

Roto rooter guy quoted $975 PLUS PARTS. I told him no way, I would do it myself, and the guy gave me a real bad attitude about it.

I crawled into the crawlspace, cut out both 90s and replaced them with new ones that my neighbor gave me for free. Total project time took 15 minutes. The 90s would have been 91 cents each at home depot.

I can't even imagine how he was justifying this 975 dollar quote. I'm a retired electrician, maybe I should have gotten into plumbing years ago? Seems like a far more lucrative career.

That's all I do....all day!!
I just finished a house nearly solo.
Prices and sub performance was so redic where I was, I just decided to do electrical, plumbing, framing, siding, kitchen, baths, flooring, etc..
A little tip, is to find a small cabinet seller..one that fabs them, not a middleman.
Don't even consider box stores. I cannot stress that enough.
I picked up a 48" vanity from a small cab place in Cleveland, Tn for 175 bucks.
Pre finished, nice, grey matte color, actual 3/4" plywood construction.
Yeah, the supply lines are being intentionally pinched right now.
York cabinets is the one, I think. Might gv them a buzz and see about freight rates.
Prob 150 bucks.

A get a second quote

B do it yourself

C you have a “powder room” you’re wealthy enough to need not complain. Many struggle with day to day expense you’re a bit too privileged here.

a reply to: JAGStorm

originally posted by: Skepticape
A get a second quote

B do it yourself

C you have a “powder room” you’re wealthy enough to need not complain. Many struggle with day to day expense you’re a bit too privileged here.

a reply to: JAGStorm

Guess you don’t want to hear about my butlers pantry, or how crowded my 4 car garage is?

a reply to: JAGStorm

Try finding a cabinet maker, or some friend that likes woodworking.
Some cabinets makers,at least in my area are reasonable, other are outrageous.

I built our Cabinets and Vanity out of real wood and cabinet grade plywood. Of course price of lumber wasn't that bad back then. Most expensive cost was tops and hardware. Had to get the tops made cause of the cheaper stuff at the boxes stores don't hold up, and hardware can make or break cabinets.

originally posted by: JAGStorm
I do agree it's greed and now they figured out people will pay more for home improvements.
We'll see if they ever come down.

It's not greed. It is economics. No matter what it is when the supply is low, prices go up. There's no better example right now than the labor market. In my area McDonalds IS offering $15 an hour. This has created an interesting side effect. A friend works for a local hospital. A few years ago she was bragging about how their Union stuck it to the hospital with their new contract. Last Thursday her Union staged a walkout because wages have gone up, but, their still bound by their contract. She was ranting about it last night. I told her that she was lucky I wasn't running the Hospital. When she asked why, I said I would have fired everybody who walked out for violation of contract.

originally posted by: TomCollin
a reply to: JAGStorm

Try finding a cabinet maker, or some friend that likes woodworking.
Some cabinets makers,at least in my area are reasonable, other are outrageous.

I built our Cabinets and Vanity out of real wood and cabinet grade plywood. Of course price of lumber wasn't that bad back then. Most expensive cost was tops and hardware. Had to get the tops made cause of the cheaper stuff at the boxes stores don't hold up, and hardware can make or break cabinets.

We have very talented cabinet makers here, the problem?
EVERYONE is backlogged!
I don’t want to wait a year for it.

I can get the tops pretty easily here.

a reply to: JAGStorm

I'm not doing any re-modeling, but I WAS saving for a house before things went crazy. House prices go up more than I make in a year. I'd need a $300K downpayment to get into a tiny fixer-upper, and that's with an above-average job and salary. In retrospect, I would have been better off not going to school, getting some $20/h job and buying a house 10 years ago. Instead I'm SOL if I want to live in a city or near a place where my education/skills are relevant.

Oh well, home ownership doesn't sound so great anyway, based on this thread.

My wife wanted a modest desk to meet out above ground pool, well the prices are as such that we instead opted for a nice BBQ grill and a new weedwacker to better use the space we already have for a few thousand less.

Win

I'm waiting on a few boxes of parts to finish my girlfriends .458 SOCOM rifle build for Christmas. It's the last item on her gun bucket list.

originally posted by: Butterfinger
My wife wanted a modest desk to meet out above ground pool, well the prices are as such that we instead opted for a nice BBQ grill and a new weedwacker to better use the space we already have for a few thousand less.

Win

I’m assuming you meant deck, if so yes I know what you mean.
I looked at trex type of decking and it was near 120 for a single BOARD!!!!!