Basement Renovation

We have begun the process of digging out the basement in order to add in more space. Maybe it will be a utility room, or a guest room, maybe there will be a bathroom...

The plan evolves and changes as we excavate and discover new "challenges". We spent most of Saturday and Sunday without sewage upstairs, which meant no laundry and no kitchen sink. I washed dishes and gave Ben a bath in the master bathroom on Sunday evening. Quite a crazy experience. I also took 5 over-flowing loads of laundry to the laundry mat today.

But when it is done, we will have a little extra usable space. I can't wait to see what happens.

Advice for an Affordable Kitchen Remodel

After remodeling three houses, I can say Dave and I know a lot about remodeling and where to get good deals. Some folks want to hire a contractor, goo to fancy showrooms and pick gleaming examples - yeah, sure we all want that. But the reality is that you can do that or spend your money on a vacation when you are done with the remodeling woes.

So my advice for an affordable kitchen remodel:

Cabinets

You will spend close to $10,000 buying KraftMaid cabinets or similar brand at Home Depot. You will spend more than that on similar cabinets at a showroom. We found almost identical cabinets at an out-of-the-way supplier in South San Francisco called Vista Kitchen and Bath. They do have a showroom and different styles to choose from in their warehouse. The selection is not as extensive as a fancy showroom, but there are considerable savings. We spent no more than $3,000 on cabinets per kitchen. We did Ash in the rental house and Cherry in our house. The cabinets they offer are solid wood, no MDF. They deliver. They do custom orders. And they were super friendly and helpful.

Appliances

Again. You pay for the showroom and sales person. We went to Floorcraft and other showroom stores to determine which models we liked and to learn about the options but opted to order our appliances online at US-Appliance.com. After debating about the Viking stove, we instead outfitted our kitchen with all Bosch top-line stainless steel appliances for

the cost of the one Viking range. We found a deal where they threw in the high-end Bosch dishwasher for free. And they deliver right to your door. We had no problems with them and have been completely happy with our choice. We also ordered our washer and dryer from them as well.

Granite and Tile

The best prices for granite that we found locally was at Granite Expo in Oakland. I would recommend visiting other places and learning about granite before arriving here. The prices are amazing but the service is only so-so. It really is hit or miss, so be prepared. But this should not stop you from coming here and checking it out. We bought their pre-bullnosed granite already cut. They came and installed it. We saved a bundle. They also have tile here, but I found the best tile options at Floorcraft (high-end show room, unique tiles) and Best Tile (more big warehouse style, great prices) in South San Francisco.

Lighting

We have ordered several times from Bright Spot. They have a great collection of Craftsman and Mission style lights at great prices, with great quality. For inspiration, I recommend looking at Rejuvenation.

Choose the Wall Trim

After two samples and much debate, we selected a framed version of the lattice fence to match the adjacent wall area and offer the most privacy for the patio.

Resource List

Scott Deboi
Drywall450 Entrada Drive
Ste 39
Novato CA 94947
415-884-0206 office
415-261-4619 cell
Awesome. Detail-oriented. Inexpensive. Very nice. Responsible. Reliable. He is the best drywaller we have encountered. And Dave is super picky about drywall being museum perfect.

Chris Lamb
General Contractor510 Spring Street
Sausalito CA 94965
415-332-7501
415-332-1082 Fax
Great for big jobs where you need a permit. Says things like "critical path" and "I will take that as an action item."

Manny Ortiz
Electrician
415-516-1777
mail@cheapestelectrician.com
Cheap and good. Stays pretty busy.

All Electric
Thomas Tripolt
415.461.3509 / Mobile 415.336.7968
allelectric@comcast.net
Recommended by Lex Electric. Came out within the hour and helped us with an issue at tenant's house. Personable and very experienced.

Roberto Delo
Roofer650-438-2382
We paid $19,300 for three new roofs and 3 solar-powered whirlbirds. He was fast, reliable and inexpensive.
AAA Windows and Doors
1328 El Camino Real
Belmont, CA 94002
866-464-1449 Phone
650-622-0302 Fax
Contractor's License #610638
Email: aaawindows@comcast.net
http://www.aaawindowsanddoors.com/Contacts.aspx
We paid $13K for all new double-paned, double-hung windows for 507 Ethel plus 2 new textured bathroom windows. Let’s see that was about 20 windows. Installed. With a warranty. He was great.

Black Diamond RefinishingTub re-Enameling
2507 Asilomar Drive
Antioch CA 94509
510-260-6430
925-234-2245
Our tubs look like new now.

Vista Kitchen and Bath
http://www.vistacabinet.com/scripts/openExtra.asp?extra=1
537 Railroad Ave
S San Francisco, CA 94080
(650) 589-2995
We bought kitchen cabinets for 2 of the houses here. All wood – no particle board. Lots of wood styles (birch, ash, cherry, mohagany) to choose from. They assemble and deliver. A whole kitchen worth of Ash or Cherry cabinets cost between $3-4K (compare to 10K at Home Depot)

Granite Expo3401 Mandela Pkwy
Oakland, CA 94620
(510) 652-6898
We ordered granite for our house from this place. Affordable. Great selection of all kinds of ranges of granite. You can pick out your actual slab or piece from their nearby granite yard. $1600 for the countertops in 507 Ethel. Great installation as well. Terrible customer service.

US Appliance
http://www.us-appliance.com/
Wow if you need appliances order them online. We got all new Bosch appliances for less than a 30 inch Wolf range and they threw in a free high-end Bosch dishwasher for free.

Dotto GlassMirrors and Glass Shelves
74 Mitchell Blvd
San Rafael CA 94903
415-479-1274

RC Hardwood Floors
Ivan
Installation, sanding, refinishing, repair, staining, marble, granite and tile
650-474-0963 or 650-771-4969
http://sanfrancisco.kudzu.com/merchant/16634418.html
This guy is amazing and affordable. Dedicated, hard-worker. He even brought his Dad over to show off the work he had done at our place.

Mortgage Broker
Andrew Broughton
All California Mortgage
415-526-2434

Cindy Uriarte
Realtor
Frank Howard Allen Realtors
511 Sir Francis Drake Blvd
Greenbrae CA 94904
Cell 415-385-5941
Fax 415-461-5414
curiarte@fhallen.com


Geoengineering Inc
Geotechnical Engineering Consultants
124 Paul Drive Ste 105
San Rafael CA 94903
rhsettgast@hotmail.com


Tam Tool and Equipment
240 Shoreline Highway
Mill Valley CA 94941
415-383-7311


Delancy Street Movers
600 Embarcadero
(415) 512-5110

Ceramic Tile Designs
www.ceramictiledesign.net/
846 Francisco Boulevard West  San Rafael, CA 94901
(415) 485-5180
Putting the OMG! in tile options and design. This place is amazing and they have so many unique and beautiful tiles.

New Hardwood Floors in Beige Rental House

The new hardwood floors Ivan put in look awesome.

Goodbye Linoleum, Hello Hardwood Floors

The beige rental house was afflicted with linoleum floors in the master bedroom. But now, we have replaced the linoleum with beautiful new hardwood floors, done in the same pattern as the rest of the house so everything matches.

One More Day and 507 Construction Is Done

Seems like most of the finish work is done and we will be ready for cleaning next Tuesday and carpet next Wednesday and move in on Thursday. I am so excited and it looks so amazing.

March 26, 2009 Progress Update

The crew definitely got a lot done today - and I even made enchiladas for dinner. Check it out:

• Completed the landscaping and irrigation and cleaned up the yard
• Rocky painted tons of trim and walls downstairs
• Todd started the medicine cabinets
• Todd installed the shower doors
• More baseboard cutting and sizing
• Cleaned the guest bathroom
• Holly and Milson did a dump run
• Confirmed setup of irrigation system on groundcover with expert at Water Savers Irrigation
• Installed bath vanity hardware
• Cleaned front bedroom closet and moved all misc. stuff into closet for easier cleaning
• Spray painted soap tray in guest bath for clean, new look

Friday the 13th - The Photos

March 9, 2009 Progress Report

Progress was made on many fronts today. I spent most of the day in the city doing interviews and catch-ups all day. Those went really well and I am feeling optimistic I can find a job, despite the recession.

In the upper house, Todd and Ken finished putting in the tile in the shower and installed the tub. They made this fabulous drain to prevent water from pooling in the large lip around the tub.

Rocky and Milson, like speed demons, put in a French drain from the underside of the house to the top part of the yard to prevent water pooling in the family room. 

Ken and I went to dinner at Taco Joe's. Fabulous food. We devised our plan of attack to get done with the remodeling and I think we are set. I have spent most of the night making shopping lists for Home Depot and task lists for the crew. Project management never ends.

Progress Photos: Feb 14, 2009

Fantastic. We have remodeling progress photos/videos from Denise and Ken. 

The video is here on Facebook.

It is so amazing to see everything that has happened while we have been gone. We really like where everything is going. We are not sure how we feel about the peep hole window going down from the upstairs to downstairs. I am thinking we should just drywall over it. We have a fabulous huge, long painting that looks great there (and not much other place for it to go.)

Taking a Page from Restoration Hardware (More Master Bath Inspirations)

Master Bathroom Ideas

Pausing only for a moment to post some master bath inspiration photos.