Handy Husband

If you've read James' post, then you know about our new heating/cooling system that was installed on Tuesday. It's one of many updates we've done in the house, but so far cost the most. We're enjoying it, though. I'll enjoy it even more when we get our next electric bill and see that it's actually saving us money.

James decided to take off this entire week, since he has the time and felt like taking a break. He's kept himself busy. On Monday, he cleaned the downstairs for me. On Tuesday and Wednesday, he did some fancy wiring for our surround sound system (he'll have to explain it to you, but there are no more loose wires and four little plugs in the wall). Yesterday, we went to Home Depot, picked out paint and a new faucet for the powder room, and he painted the room (a light beige, which looks much better than the boring white) and installed the faucet. Today, he was planning on moving everything back into the bathroom and also installing new fixtures (a towel ring and toilet paper holder) as well as hanging a painting we bought. Several months ago, we bought new decorative accessories (lotion holder, rug, wastebasket in a palm tree motif and some green hand towels) and have been using them, but they'll look even nicer with the new paint and fixtures.

We have owned this house for a year now, and while we love it, we're beginning to realize just how much of an investment home ownership is. We had an inspection and did go in with our "eyes open", but have had some surprises. The house is 15 years old, and most everything is original. Plus, the owners seemed to like to do things cheaply/badly and from all appearances, didn't do a lot of upkeep. And in our humble opinions, they had horrible decorative taste. Since buying the house, we've probably spent $15,000 on repairs/updates/equipment, most of them absolutely necessary. Here's a list off the top of my head:
-Redid half of shelving in MBR closet (our first week, a bunch of shelving fell out of the wall during the night).
-Painted Susanna's room (not necessary, but it looks nice)
-Replaced hot water heater
-Replaced garbage disposal
-Replaced thermostat
-Bought lawn mower, weedeater, and tiller
-Installed doggie door for Simon
-Replaced heating/cooling system (the biggest expense to date)
-Installed wood blinds (the house came with no window coverings)
-Replaced ice maker in fridge
-Bought carpet cleaner (not essential, but the carpets hadn't been cleaned in ages)
-Painted downstairs bathroom
-Replaced faucet in downstairs bathroom
-Replaced hardware in downstairs bathroom
-Bought new furniture for family room and dining room (I got our dining room set-table with six chairs and a china cabinet- for $500 on Craigslist!)

I'm sure James can think of more that I've forgotten. We still have lots more to do, some of it essential, some optional. On the "wish/need" list:
-Replace roof (it hopefully has five years left)
-Replace siding and trim
-Replace windows (the gas seal has already broken in them)
-Paint master bedroom, family room, master bathroom, and Susanna's bathroom.
-Replace all flooring (We want engineered hardwood downstairs; carpet on the stairs and upstairs, and tile or nice vinyl in the upstairs bathrooms. It's currently a mix of ugly vinyl, plank flooring, and carpet.)
-Replace vanities in all bathrooms.
-Replace hardware/faucets in other two bathrooms
-Renovate kitchen and replace all appliances (we want black appliances, updgraded countertops and cabinets, and a new sink). This project will be even more $$ than the heating/cooling system, so it won't happen for a while...like 5-10 years.
-New deck/terrace/patio in back. It's currently poured concrete and I'd like to upgrade to brick, flagstone, or maybe a slightly raised deck area.

Yeah, so once all that's done, we'll pretty much have the house of our dreams, which means that we'll have to move. That's what always happened with my parents, anyway...

Our next project? Painting and decorating the master bedroom. I got a great deal on some paintings at a gallery in Roanoke, and can't wait to make our bedroom a nice "getaway" for us.