 . . . to create awesome remodels.
Based on my experiences, here's my list:
1. Being clear about what you want
2. Becoming clear about your budget
3. Getting professional design advice
4. Checking out the companies you're considering
5. Not taking the lowest bid
6. Sticking to the plan during construction
7. Not overestimating your ability to handle stress
8. Being realistic about how long remodeling takes
9. Respecting the crew
10. Appreciating what scores of workers have gone through to make your dream remodel come true
Feel free to download the PDF e-book I created on this topic.
What would you add to this list? What would you subtract?
 If you live in a condo, you know the truth about this: You often have to jump through hoops to do a remodel. There's the board to consider, and the neighbors. And the rules.
Frank Nelson wrote an interesting article on remodeling a condo, in today's Real Estate section.
As he writes: "Any homeowner who has lived through a remodel can attest to the stress of the experience. But for condo owners governed by association rules and regulations, this additional layer of oversight can heighten the strain and lead to conflicts with neighbors and boards." Read the whole story.
So that got me wondering, when remodeling your own condo, were you successful keeping your neighbors and the board happy? Did you even try?
(Photo: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)
 There's an interesting story by Michelle Hoffmann in today's Real Estate section titled: Weekend wasters struggle with DIY home-repair jobs.
The subhead says: That HGTV show made it look so easy. But growing numbers of budget-conscious homeowners are tackling jobs beyond their skills -- often to the dismay of their mates. Can you relate?
And the story starts out like this:
When her husband decided to fix a leaky pipe in the bathroom in their West Hills home, Ethel Brook, 78, watched his progress with chin in hand and furrowed brow. As one weekend rolled agonizingly into two, the retired market researcher gently suggested for the 450th time that her husband of 20 years hire a professional.
Undaunted, a determined Leonard Brook, 79, "sweating and hunched over," his wife recalled, plodded onward in his quest to fix the bathroom pipe.
Meanwhile, Ethel, desperate to get her bathroom back and save her husband from another lost weekend, called Rick Hill, owner of a House Doctors handyman franchise in Santa Clarita. Within a day, Hill fixed the problem and repaired the wall damage.
"Things got a little out of hand," Ethel recalled. "It was too big of a project for my husband. He couldn't repair it. And I couldn't take it anymore." Read the whole story
For me, I started to suspect my husband was in over his head replacing a leaky pipe when he bought a fire extinguisher in case his soldering caught fire. The job did turn out, even though it took one full weekend day to finish, including trips back and forth to the hardware store. And I couldn't help but compare what Bill makes in a day in his career to what it would have cost a plumber to come out. If Bill wanted to do it for personal satisfaction, fine. But, honestly, he didn't seem to be having much fun.
This brings to mind the story of Ian Denchasy of Culver City, who tore out his entire kitchen on a whim and finally realized he didn't have a clue how to get it back together again. A kind carpenter saved the day.
How about you? Have you ever gotten in over your head? And how did you survive it?
(Graphic: Los Angeles Times)
 A Good Housekeeping article titled A Cleaning Routine for Busy Women may be discriminatory. What about busy men? Do they not deserve a cleaning routine?
But that's beside the point of this post, which is: How do you keep your house clean during remodeling? And if your house is like my house, there are projects going on all the time. So the question is, how do you keep your house clean, period.
The Good Housekeeping piece suggests these strategies: Establish priorities, set time limits, delegate and finish tasks.
But, I've come up with another solution, which I think is a marriage enhancer: Pay an expert to clean your house.
I didn't know how to do this (my own mother was the stay-at-home type) until I did some publishing work with a woman in her Santa Monica home and she had a housekeeper a few days a week. I learned during this time how to talk to a housekeeper, how to stay out of a housekeeper's way so the work can get done and how to show appreciation.
My own program is modest: My friend Candy comes by every other Monday from noon to 5 p.m. and does her magic, for which we pay her $85. I pay one time, and my husband pays the next. She dusts, and does the floors and bathrooms and kitchen, and she even does windows when time permits. Most of all, she has organized our stuff -- luggage in one closet, camping stuff in another. Who knew?
And even though our house is in a constant state of improvement and upheaval, we always feel an emotional lift when Candy has been there. And I don't spend my days thinking I'm supposed to be cleaning the house. That's Candy's job.
So, how does it work for you? How do you keep your house clean, with or without a remodeling project going on?
 I was chatting not too long ago with an acquaintance who is a flooring contractor, known heretofore as "Flooring Guy."
So Flooring Guy had some recent client experiences that compelled him to explain to me the four types of clients he encounters:
1. First of all, there are what Flooring Guy calls the rats.These folks are cheap, miserable and borderline immoral when it comes to getting more than their dollars justify. Whatever is done for them, Flooring Guy said, they are unhappy because they have decided to be unhappy. There's no winning with people like that, and contractors run a risk of being ripped off by them.
2. Second are the regular folks who work hard for their money and are frugally trying to get a good deal but do not cross over the morality line to do it. They do their research and get their job done and have reasonable expectations about the quality they are paying for. Most clients are of this type.
3. The third and fourth type of clients, according to Flooring Guy, are "rich people" who have buckets of money to pour into their homes. And that's a good thing for the trades.
However, one of these rich types is miserable because they have decided to be miserable and are unhappy with most of what happens. These are the people who will get down on their knees with a flashlight shining underneath a cabinet and point out a slight imperfection where the sun never shines. And of course they want it redone. Now. You kind of wonder if that shift between ages 2 and 3, where most of us start accepting a few things about life, never occurred.
4. The last type, Flooring Guy says, are the rich people who are both demanding in their standards (with the money to back it up) and also very appreciative of the work done for them, and respectful of the people who do it. They will not accept bad work, but if there is a slight imperfection deep under a recess that no living human being will ever see, they are jiggy with it. They are happy, Flooring Guys says, because they have decided to be. And here's the kicker: These happy folks tend to get the best work done.
What do you think? Is Flooring Guy on the mark? Did he leave anyone out?
Photo courtesy of iStockPhoto
 As far as I can tell, half the battle in remodeling is maintaining some semblance of sanity during the chaos.
In a tragic coincidence, the people most likely to remodel are the very people who most need their homes for sanctuary, serenity and sanity. Unless you're flipping a house, that is, and then never mind.
But for those of us for whom home is everything, remodeling must be done, and sanity must be sought.
In the living room shown here, Betty Frazier of Leisure World, who was in her 80s when she undertook a whole-condo redo, had a few tricks to maintain her composure while her home was asunder:
• She went to Starbucks often to enjoy a latte.
• She brought home design magazines with her to keep her inspired and hopeful that this mess would become her haven. (And don't you just love what she did with the place?)
• Lots of driving around to find deals on stuff. When her friend asked if she was afraid of getting lost on her forays, Betty said no, in fact that's how you find tucked-away upholstery and tile and woodworking shops, by getting lost.
• And finally, Betty kept in mind her life philosophy, which is embroidered on a towel in her guest bath:
Life's journey is not to arrive safely at the grave in a well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "Holy Cow . . . What a ride!"
How do you stay sane during a remodel? Or do you?
|
|
. . . to create awesome remodels. 
