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How Don and Gigi Maurizio spent the money on their Rosarito Beach remodel:
Construction
Demolition: $3,000
Scraping textured plaster walls: $500 (labor)
Staining beams: $500 (labor)
Cabinets: $7,200 (materials)
Tankless hot-water system and connections: $1,800 (materials)
Tile for floor, patio, shower and bath countertop, including grout: $7,700 (materials)
Granite countertop in kitchen: $2,000 (materials and labor)
Tube-type skylights for bathrooms: $500 (materials)
Glass block for windows, shower: $250 (materials)
Exterior doors, windows, screens: $2,000 (materials and labor)
Interior doors and hardware: $2,100 (materials)
Mirrors, mirrored closet doors: $700 (materials and labor)
Closet shelving systems: $300 (materials)
Sinks, toilets: $1,000 (materials)
Plumbing fixtures: $900 (materials)
Lighting, bathroom fans: $1,900 (materials)
Forced-air heater, ductwork and specialized vent covers: $2,000 (materials and labor)
Window coverings, shutters: $1,000 (materials)
Appliances: $3,200 (materials)
Fireplace gas logs and propane adapter: $340 (materials and labor)
Change/move plumbing and gas lines: $1,200 (materials and labor)
New electrical wiring, outlets and switches: $1,100 (materials and labor)
Painting: $1,500 (materials and labor)
Additional labor: $5,000
Miscellaneous and hardware: $5,200
Related costs
Duty fees to declare items at the border: $1,000
Gasoline/insurance for weekly trips: $4,000
Termite fumigation: $200
Lodging until condo was habitable: $2,000
Furniture and electronics: $6,800
TOTAL: $66,890
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 So what do you do when your prized market umbrella goes flying off in the wind and breaks two spokes? And what do you do when your avocado trees are putting out so much fruit you fear the boughs will break?
In my case, with this very scenario, I put a free ad on Craigslist saying I would trade organic avocados for umbrella repair.
Five people answered my ad, including one fellow who had a list of electronic gizmos he was trying to unload. Seems he could almost taste the guacamole such a trade would bring him.
I chose the guy who said he had a carpentry shop nearby, and I was to drop off the umbrella the following Saturday. When I couldn't reach him that day, I feared I had a flake on my hands. Maybe barter is too much trouble, I thought.
As it turns out, his pregnant wife had gone into premature labor and they had been at the hospital. This is what happens with barter. Instead of some impersonal clerk at a big box store, you're dealing with individual human beings with real lives. It's kind of shocking. But I think I can get used to it.
I dropped off the umbrella the weekend before last, along with a bag of avocados as a down payment, and went out of town for a few days. When I got back, I e-mailed the carpenter, who said the repairs had been done. I brought another bag of avocados to settle the bill and got a tour of the shop where he makes furniture out of salvaged wood.
My umbrella is home now, with two new spokes made of some kind of salvaged exotic hardwood, and lovely copper nails where the pieces hinge together.
In this uncertain economy, I feel like being more careful with my cash. And with avocados as my new currency, who knows how far I'll go with the bartering?
After this, I think I'll start referring to myself as a writer and a farmer. It has a nice ring to it.
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 My entry into the world of barter — the new world order referenced above — is the result of a perfect storm consisting of (1) a broken Pottery Barn market umbrella, (2) my ridiculously fruitful avocado trees and (3) the miracle that is Craigslist.
The umbrella is a delightful red and blue paisley that goes so well with my newly red house. I got the umbrella at the end of the season last year for only $39 plus shipping. So for about $50 I got an umbrella that originally cost $129 plus shipping.
After I enjoyed its shade on my back patio for a few months, we had some unusual wind events (global climate change?), and one day it went flying in the wind, landed on its side and ended up with two broken spokes.
I pondered those broken wooden spokes for a few months. They have hinges in the middle, and the spokes are broken there, so it's not just a matter of glue and screws. I could not send this umbrella off to the landfill, but neither could I fix it myself nor find an umbrella repair shop nearby.
Finally it occurred to me that someone I might find on Craigslist could fix it, and I soon realized a big basket of organic avocados of uncommonly good taste (according to many witnesses) would be the perfect barter bait.
I posted my proposal yesterday with photos of the broken umbrella and a close-up of the fruit ripening in the sun. Within 24 hours I had two responses, and I chose the one that sounded most promising. I'm dropping the umbrella off to the guy today, with a bag of avocados as a "down payment."
I'll let you know how, and if, it works out.
Have you ever bartered? Would you recommend it to others?
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 Question: My contractor just handed my contract to me, and I’m in shock! He wants 22% of the cost of materials, 22% over the cost of labor, 22% for subcontractors and 22% for labor management crew. I think this is way too much. First, the subcontractors are making a profit, and now the builder wants 22% on top of that for the same job. I feel if he can’t do the job and he has to subcontract out, then it should be no more than 5% for babysitting. That also goes for paying his employees’ wages. I have no control over the employees he hires. What if they are slow and lazy at my expense at $30 per hour plus 22%? No way! What should a contractor charge?
Answer: Oh my, where to start! First of all, I can understand your frustration. Every dollar the contractor charges for markup is another dollar you don't have to upgrade your project. So if you don’t like the markup, don’t hire the contractor. It’s so simple. There’s no need to get upset, just find someone else whose numbers are more to your liking.
That being said, what’s the obsession with contractor markups? What kind of markups do you think Wal-Mart or Home Depot make on that stuff they import from China? I’m sure it’s a lot. And contractors are people from your own community, hiring your neighbors, purchasing from local lumberyards. By the way, subcontractors are not hired because the contractor's employees cannot do the job. Subs are usually hired because they are state-of-the-art experts in what they do. Professional plasterers or masons or plumbers are often elegant artisans in their respective crafts, and that's who you want doing the work.
I think the confusion over markups is based on misunderstanding how a good contracting business works. There is an office and office staff to maintain, and bookkeeping, and employee benefits, training, insurance, licenses, certifications. And there should be money for callbacks when things go wrong. You can find a guy with a pickup truck and a dog in the back who won’t charge any markup. He’s scrambling from one job to the next barely making wages. And if something goes wrong later on with your job, he won’t have time to take care of it.
Also, you don’t want your contractor undercharging and then going out of business. The most important issues to consider when hiring a contractor are the company’s reputation, staying power and quality of work. Focusing too much on saving money on the markup just brings grief. If you think “babysitting” subcontractors is what a contractor does, you might consider acting as your own contractor and hiring those subs. Then you could save the 22%.
Am I being too harsh? From the disasters I've seen when markups are challenged, and sub-standard contractors are hired, I get a little riled up about this topic. Any answers for this person that are more sympathetic than mine?
(Photo: www.istockphoto.com)
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 The solarium above, once rotted to the studs, was lovingly restored by a couple in Akron, Ohio.
What makes this story newsworthy enough to land in the New York Times is that this room and all rooms in the 1913 Tudor were fixed up by the homeowners without incurring any debt. Other than the home's mortgage (David and Gina Giffels paid $65,000 for it), they have no debt and no credit cards. Everything that was done to the house was done with cash on hand.
David wrote a book about the 12-year process of saving the house in a book, “All the Way Home: Building a Family in a Falling-Down House,” coming out next month from HarperCollins.
According to the story, David's obsession with fixing up the house, spending vacation time and weekends with it rather than with the family, put a strain on the marriage.
Still, you have to admire a guy who (1) fixes up a house and (2) is debt-free. Is this the new cool?
Read the whole story and view the slide show.
(Photos: New York Times)
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 At the tile store the other day, salivating over the $30-per-square-foot tile, I asked the clerk a brilliant question: "Do you have any free stuff?"
I was with a friend who is pretty classy, and she gave a little laugh and I wondered for a second if this question was crass. But the clerk said, well, yes, we do have free stuff, and showed us a door leading to the alleyway behind the store. It seems they regularly place broken, extra and discontinued items out there, and all one has to do is drive by and check out the selection.
On this particular day, one of the treasures was a 26-inch-square, 1/2-inch-thick piece of plywood covered with gorgeous glass and ceramic tiles. I grabbed it and put it the car.
Bringing it home, I almost had buyer's remorse. Or was it "takers remorse?" I wasn't sure what I would do with this new thing, and I wondered if I now had another 30 pounds of stuff I needed to get rid of.
But I finally found a place for it, on top of a side table in my living room (seen here). I crackle-painted the top of that table some years ago, but I'm ready to go in another direction. I need to figure out some kind of edge molding.
By the way, that red metal lamp is just about my favorite "get"; I picked it up at the swap meet for $15, bargained down from $20. Wherever I place it in my home becomes my favorite corner. And the wooden horse? Five bucks at a yard sale.
Do you have good-looking free or cheap stuff? E-mail me some pictures.
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As Kay asked in a previous post, what do you do when the house across the street goes into disrepair? Or, what if it's in danger of being torn down and replaced with something you fear is not compatible with the neighborhood?
This might sound radical, but you could think about buying that house and turning it into a rental. Think about it. Despite the current market, owning real estate is generally acknowledged to be a long-term path to wealth. And in light of the current market, in fact, this is a great time to buy. Sellers can be desperate and buyers have the power. So, this is actually the best time to make such a purchase. Check out the L.A. Land blog to read up on falling house prices.
Plus, if you were going to buy a rental or investment property anyway, wouldn't it be convenient to have it right across the street where you could keep an eye on it?
The Venice house shown here was purchased by Stefan Hammerschmidt, who had just finished a $250,000 remodel and addition to his own vintage cottage across the street. When this house was nearly bought by a developer with a reputation for tearing down cottages and replacing them with stucco behemoths, Hammerschmidt feared the views from his house would change forever. But when that deal fell through, Stefan snapped up the house.
As you can see, he painted his new rental lime green with purple trim and you might well say that's a worse fate than the stucco behemoth would bring. But hey, Stefan and his partner had just been to Hawaii when this all happened, so the views out of their front windows remind them of a tropical vacation, and that's not a bad thing to be reminded of.
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 When the housing bust started and home prices began their slide, some homeowners thought the cost of remodels might slide proportionately. That did not happen because the cost of remodeling was never temporarily and artificially inflated, as were some home prices.
For instance, a $50,000 oak and granite kitchen remodel done in a Long Beach home that was valued at $425,000 in 2002 did not cost $100,000 in 2006 when the same house might have risen to $800,000 in appraised value. The $50,000 kitchen remodel of 2002 probably cost $55,000 or $60,000 in 2006.
So when the party was over in the real estate and new-home market, the party did not end in the remodeling business, though it slowed down a little bit.
According to Harvard University’s Joint Center on Housing Studies, remodeling activity has held pretty steady at about $172 to $176 billion in 2007 and is projected for the same in 2008, up from $143 billion in 2004 and down from a peak of $181 billion in 2006.
So the cost of remodeling will not drop 20%, as have the prices of homes in some areas, and waiting for that to happen is useless.
Still, there are reasons why this is a good time to remodel:
1. Interest rates are low, so if you have any untapped equity, the price to borrow against it is very much in your favor.
2. Houses age no matter what the market is doing. Roofs need to be replaced and exteriors painted and worn appliances fixed or replaced.
3. As this is not a good time to sell, and may not be for a few years, it could be time to make the current house a better place for you and your family.
4. Competition is strong among remodeling contractors and the new-home builders who are now remodeling. One contractor told me he is more interested in making price adjustments to get the work. Not radical adjustments, because wages and materials are still high, but there is more flexibility than before.
5. Unless it's a very hot contractor, you won't have to wait six months to a year to get started. And if you begin now, you can be done in time for Thanksgiving.
Remember a few years ago when the biggest complaint was that contractors did not return calls? They do now.
Any thoughts on this?
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 Perhaps you've heard that fable about how "but for a nail, a kingdom was lost."
It goes like this: But for a nail, a shoe was lost. But for a shoe, a horse was lost. But for a horse, a battle was lost. But for a battle, a war was lost. But for a war, a kingdom was lost.
After walking around a SoCal neighborhood recently and seeing the infuriating sights at the right, I've got my own version: But for the proper nail, a house was lost.
Here's how it happens. You make your weekend project plans, figure out your shopping list, and head for the hardware store, big box store or lumber yard. There, you compare prices for 1-pound and 5-pound boxes of nails or screws, mystified at the choices, shocked at the price spans. You pick the cheapest, recalling how the economy is tanking.
And here's the salient moment: You ask the employee on duty: "Are these the right nails?" Or, "Will these screws work?"
And here are the red-flag answers: "I don't see why not." Or, "They should work."
Six months later when your fasteners have rusted or corroded, you won't even remember that little interchange, but you and your house will be in a heap of trouble.
Here's the Cliff Notes version on fasteners:
• Galvanized are more rust-resistant than nongalvanized.
• Hot-dipped galvanized fasteners are much more rust-resistant. (Look for the "HD" on the nail itself.)
• Double hot-dipped are even better.
But, here's a new wrinkle: ACQ pressure-treated lumber (which is what we use now that arsenic in PT lumber has been outlawed for residential construction) calls for different rules altogether. There is copper in this wood that will react to the zinc coating on galvanized fasteners. If you are using ACQ pressure-treated wood, you need to find fasteners that are rated compatible for this wood. If the box doesn't indicate this, contact the manufacturer. When salty ocean air is involved, pricey stainless steel fasteners may be necessary.
Read more discussions in Coastal Contractor magazine, and from a DIY guy who chose to remove 3,000 rusting nails on his new deck. And here's a nail puller in case you find yourself in a similar fix.
Bottom line: Trying to save a few bucks on cheap, noncompatible fasteners is a bad economy.
And my disclaimer: This blog is for conversation purposes only. Do your research, make your selections and deal with the consequences accordingly.
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 Project: Kitchen remodel in an Eagle Rock bungalow
Designer: Bethany Orlemann
Contractor: Norm Peters, H&S Cabinets & Construction, Glendale, www.handshomecenter.com, (818) 249-1156
Windows and doors: Taylor Bros. Architectural Products, Los Angeles, www.taybros.com, (323) 805-0200
Countertops: Expo Design Center, Monrovia, (626) 599-3400
Countertop installation: Pacific Stone Designs, Commerce, www.pacificstonedesigns.com, (323) 869-9764
Interior painting: Brothers Painting, Raffi Chobanian, Glendale, (818) 550-0349
Backsplash tile: Nick Reynolds, Eye 4 Design & Renovation, Eagle Rock, www.eye4la.com, (323) 491-0073
Appliances: OSH, Burbank; Howards, San Gabriel
Construction duration: Eight weeks
Cost: $57,612
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