House Rebuild Update

[MickinMD ★]

They've finally cleared all the trees. shrubs. etc. out of the yard so I can start with the clean slate I want.

The tentative projected finish date for the house has been moved up from May-August to sometime in April.

They're finally tearing down the old roof, some of the walls and working on that this week but we're supposed to have 3 days of snow, so it may take a couple weeks to complete.

We finally found a good place on the first floor for the washer and dryer - which were in the basement.  There's a relatively small kitchen with a 10' x 12' enclosed, unheated porch outside of it.  We decided we could run a small alcove with an entrance from the kitchen through the former exterior wall to the porch -insulated from and with no entrance from the porch- and put a stackable washer/dryer in the space with enough insulation, heat from the kitchen, plumbing etc. to work fine.

State Farm was going to pay $1105 to replace the wall-to-wall carpet that "allegedly" was in the living room.  I don't want it: I love hardwood floors.  So that money is going to pay for the dishwasher and garbage disposal I'm adding that wasn't there before.

The hardwood floor called for is oak and we may go for less expensive maple (5/8 the price of oak) that still looks great on floors.  State Farm is paying for oak in the living room and two bedrooms and I can apply the difference to other stuff.

The sink can be up to 33", I want a single, simple sink with garbage disposal, hot/cold water, and a spray hose, not the double sink I had before.  33" seems huge. The one in my apartment is 21" and seems big enough. I have time to check out Home Depot, Lowes, etc.

We tentatively decided on a marble (5 choices from muted to bold swirls in it) formica countertop. We'll look also at granite. We liked gray cabinets better than wood grain.  My sister will pick out the floor color - probably solid - after she can compare the choices with the counter/cabinets. The floor will be "not too light, not too dark, not too busy."

Here is the tentative countertop and cabinet colors combination:

[Razors Edge ★]

Keep the updates coming!  I am enjoying you and DH's regular updates (and Dottie's periodic ones)!

[Randomguy]

Hows come nobody talks about butcher block anymore?

[Airehead]

Definitely keep the updates coming. 

[Bikeguy]

3 hours ago, MickinMD said:

My sister will pick out the floor color - probably solid - after she can compare the choices with the counter/cabinets. The floor will be "not too light, not too dark, not too busy."

When we first start looking at floors, we were going to have a solid color hardwood floor.  Our builder showed us a floor he had installed at another location (the picture below).  That's when we changed our mind and went with this oak floor.  The different colors kind of help blend with the cabinets we have, and the furniture, etc..     This worked for us...   

[Thaddeus Kosciuszko]

4 hours ago, Razors Edge said:

Keep the updates coming! 

You betcha!

I can't wait until we get to the part about the kitchen hood fan over the stove!

[donkpow]

11 hours ago, Bikeguy said:

When we first start looking at floors, we were going to have a solid color hardwood floor.  Our builder showed us a floor he had installed at another location (the picture below).  That's when we changed our mind and went with this oak floor.  The different colors kind of help blend with the cabinets we have, and the furniture, etc..     This worked for us...   

Good quality laminated wood flooring outperforms solid wood floor. Laminated wood is more stable. Just be sure to get good quality. The surface layer needs to be thicker than you get with cheap flooring. It's possible for laminated floor to off gas when new, though. If that is a problem. Of course, new carpet off gases, too.

[maddmaxx ★]

11 hours ago, Thaddeus Kosciuszko said:

You betcha!

I can't wait until we get to the part about the kitchen hood fan over the stove!

Not the parts about the breaker box and specific outlet designs for various uses?

[Ralphie ★]

2 hours ago, donkpow said:

Good quality laminated wood flooring outperforms solid wood floor. Laminated wood is more stable. Just be sure to get good quality. The surface layer needs to be thicker than you get with cheap flooring. It's possible for laminated floor to off gas when new, though. If that is a problem. Of course, new carpet off gases, too.

I thought laminate was not made with real wood. I guess there are many varieties. I always heard it was a picture of wood. 

[Longjohn ★]

8 minutes ago, Philander Seabury said:

I thought laminate was not made with real wood. I guess there are many varieties. I always heard it was a picture of wood. 

I would guess the kind you can buy at Big Lots is not top quality.

[donkpow]

1 hour ago, Philander Seabury said:

I thought laminate was not made with real wood. I guess there are many varieties. I always heard it was a picture of wood. 

I checked with my good friend and mentor on this topic. I guess you are right that the term "laminated" flooring is generally associated with plastic laminate. "Engineered wood" flooring is what I was referring to. (Technically, I am still right.  )

https://www.bobvila.com/articles/best-laminate-flooring/

https://www.thespruce.com/engineered-hardwood-vs-solid-flooring-1821677

[Reverend_Maynard]

For the kitchen sink, I really like our new one where the faucet itself is the sprayer.  Just pull down on it to remove it from the base and use as a sprayer.  Much better than any separate sprayer I've ever used.

[MickinMD ★]

17 hours ago, Randomguy said:

Hows come nobody talks about butcher block anymore?

I thought of that! I mentioned a light-colored butcher block countertop like hard rock maple and my sister and Kristi, the contractor's expert, both shot it down.  My sister has much better insights and exposure to what's in modern homes since she moved into a newer house in 2012 and has since done some major remodeling - so I'm relying on her for the big decisions.

They said that since I'm 70 and going to be selling the house in 5-15 years, butcher block makes the house less sellable in today's market.  The butcher block can require re-sealing with mineral or walnut oil every 1-3 months, can easily get dinged, and may need stains sanded out every several years. 

Right now, we're leaning to Formica as shown in the picture with the cabinet door but granite is also still in play - either solid or tiles with grout.

If I was rebuilding in my sister's $500K homes neighborhood, I'd more strongly consider more expensive stuff in the kitchen and elsewhere, but I'm in a $250K neighborhood and I don't want to price myself above the neighborhood and beyond what works fine for me.

[MickinMD ★]

11 minutes ago, Reverend_Maynard said:

For the kitchen sink, I really like our new one where the faucet itself is the sprayer.  Just pull down on it to remove it from the base and use as a sprayer.  Much better than any separate sprayer I've ever used.

Thanks a lot - I've added this for future discussions with my contractor.

[dinneR ★]

45 minutes ago, MickinMD said:

I thought of that! I mentioned a light-colored butcher block countertop like hard rock maple and my sister and Kristi, the contractor's expert, both shot it down.  My sister has much better insights and exposure to what's in modern homes since she moved into a newer house in 2012 and has since done some major remodeling - so I'm relying on her for the big decisions.

They said that since I'm 70 and going to be selling the house in 5-15 years, butcher block makes the house less sellable in today's market.  The butcher block can require re-sealing with mineral or walnut oil every 1-3 months, can easily get dinged, and may need stains sanded out every several years. 

Right now, we're leaning to Formica as shown in the picture with the cabinet door but granite is also still in play - either solid or tiles with grout.

If I was rebuilding in my sister's $500K homes neighborhood, I'd more strongly consider more expensive stuff in the kitchen and elsewhere, but I'm in a $250K neighborhood and I don't want to price myself above the neighborhood and beyond what works fine for me.

I had a butcher block. It was awesome and required zero maintenance. We never resealed it or sanded it and it never got dinged. Wood never goes out of style. All other surfaces look good when you install them, but they don't all age well.

I have granite now. I hate it. It's hard, ugly, and difficult to keep clean. 

[Bikeguy]

1 hour ago, Reverend_Maynard said:

For the kitchen sink, I really like our new one where the faucet itself is the sprayer.  Just pull down on it to remove it from the base and use as a sprayer.  Much better than any separate sprayer I've ever used.

I agree 100%. Of course our faucet is black.

[Ralphie ★]

7 hours ago, MickinMD said:

Thanks a lot - I've added this for future discussions with my contractor.

We installed one of those a few years ago and we love it. It is nice to have all that clearance, Clarence, for bigass potses. 

[Further]

8 hours ago, Reverend_Maynard said:

For the kitchen sink, I really like our new one where the faucet itself is the sprayer.  Just pull down on it to remove it from the base and use as a sprayer.  Much better than any separate sprayer I've ever used.

Ours is similar, I like it, a lot.