Extreme Craigslisting

The deal has been dealt!  With a major Craigslist buy now official, I can share the details.  Thanks to the new owners of a Minneapolis condo having extremely different taste than a former Timberwolves coach, we were able to buy a lot of extremely high-end, pristine Kohler bathroom products valued at approximately $15,000 for $2,300.  We had $1,800 budgeted to purchase some of the products that we were able to buy, that meant that we were able to purchase the $9,000 for only $500.  

The tub!

The tub was not included in the build budget.  Our plan was to rough in the plumbing, but add the tub later.  Now with our dream tub in hand, we have decided to do it right away.  How big of a deal is this to us?  To give you an idea, we have vacationed in Kohler, Wisconsin for the last 2 years enjoying the plush bathrooms and drooling at the design center.  

Nuff said.

Let the framing begin!

It truly has been quiet - nothing to report.  After a week waiting for the delivery of the framing materials, then there was a delay while our carpenter recovered from an injury.  Finally after 2 weeks of quiet, it's time for major progress!  Terribly unfortunate that our house couldn't be the one that got framed by toasty, warm carpenters during the 50+ degree weather.

Yesterday, the carpenters spent the day planning, measuring and installing the sill plate.  That's the wood frame that is installed directly on the foundation walls.  I stopped by the site around 7:30 this morning and the first floor joist was in place.

As of 7:30 this morning.

I stopped by again after work around 5:00 and found this!   

At 5:00, all the joists are in place - I pray that floor won't squeak like our current floor.

And the bearing wall in the basement is framed in.  This will be the stairs to the basement which will someday be a family room.  

The only bearing wall section in the basement, otherwise it's wide open.

I was asked by the carpenter - in a nice way - if I was going to stop by every day.  I said I would want to visit if cool stuff was happening.  I didn't have the heart to tell what I think qualifies as cool.  We shall see each other often.

Craigslist Update

While it's been a bit of a dry spell, Craig finally came through this weekend.  I have been watching for a new garbage disposal.  Our contractor had 2 stipulations, it had to be an InSinkerator and it had to be 3/4 horse power.  He had spec'd $150 for one.  I was able to buy a new InSinkerator Cover Control (a batch disposer model) which retails for around $300 for $80.  Never knew that there was such a thing as a batch disposer, but per Consumer Reports, the only downside is the cost...  <smug grin>

Please Pass the Cheese-martini...

Blame it on a mouse

Tomorrow, there will be no demolition.  We didn't pass the rat inspection, but not because there were actually signs of rats.  A mouse tripped one of the traps - hard to believe since there is no longer a front door on the house (salvage), but rather a nailed-on louvered closet door.  The place is probably a prime vacation spot for every neighborhood critter, I picture mice sipping cheese-infused martinis.  Fingers crossed we pass Monday's re-inspection for demolition on Tuesday.

Finally a little daylight

This weekend allowed us to take a closer look at the garageless lot in the daylight.  Looking good!  We can finally get a sense of the view from the back of the house.  The lack of daylight during the winter might make our ability to track progress a little challenging.  Curse you, Northern Climate!

Craigslist is taking a snooze

With no lack of effort on our part, our Craigslist bounty has taken a bit of a pause.  Possibly the parameters of our remaining items are narrowing, regardless it's been a real dry spell.  Our big wants are a front entry door, dining room and kitchen lighting, possibly a mantle, and a kid's bath tub.  We must not tire!

Color Kismet

Timeline Update: Demolition
We appear to have a date for the demolition - it will now be Tuesday, December 6th.  All previous calls for gawking/toasting still stand!

Color Inspiration
This has been a pain in the rear.  While I realize that we can't paint until it is built, or the spring flowers are popping out of the ground, materials can be purchased NOW.  That means we need to get the color scheme figured out.

If you love to look at books and magazines for inspiration, you need to discover Houzz.  Architects, designers, and builders upload their project pictures and there are hundreds of thousands of searchable photos to browse for inspiration.  With hundreds of thousands of pictures, still nothing that made the color combo come to life for either of us.

So, Andy has been trolling local architect sites.  He showed me one yesterday that I quickly dismissed.  Today we were on a Craigslist buying tour of the city and came back through an area with lots of tear-downs.  We snapped pictures as we went.  Sure enough, one stuck out to me!  Back at home Andy put the iPad under my nose, looking a little smug... it was the same house he showed me the day before.  I call it destiny, he calls it "I told you so."  Either way, we both seem happy with it.

The architect's shot, not ours.

Craigslist Delivers
The Craig-o-Meter is climbing!  The long weekend has yielded some excellent scores.  A few items are   New in Box (NIB) such as a kitchen sink, the previously discussed hood (from White Bear Lake) and a faucet for the kid's bathroom.  Thank you to everyone who we have purchased materials from - I have to say, everyone has been wonderful!

Count down to tear down.

Demolition Update
A first in construction history, things are moving ahead of schedule.  It looks like the house might actually be demolished as early as next week.  Here are some of the events that need to fall into place and their projected dates:

Close on loan Wednesday 11/30

Demolition Thursday or Friday????

The biggest open item is how the demolition will be celebrated.  My first reaction is to give the old place a proper send off (read, a round in it's honor).  My second reaction is...  I guess I don't have a second reaction.  Let me know if you might be interested in a viewing of the house's remains, then adjourning to a local establishment to share in a farewell round.  

Craig-o-Meter 2.0
The fact that people care about the Craig-o-Meter makes my thrifty side so pleased.  The fact that there is confusion about the terms of the Craig-o-Meter makes the engineer in me uneasy.  So here are the rules of Craig-o-Meter 2.0 (legalese thanks to Andy):

• The Craig-o-Meter shall only register savings for items specified in the building specifications.  The Craig-o-Meter shall filter out any items that are out of scope from said specifications. 
• Craig-o-Meter savings shall be delineated in two separate formats: (i) cost savings vis-a-vis the specified allowance for said item and (ii) cost savings vis-a-vis the lowest online retail price for said item from a respectable merchant.

The house that Craig built.

What did we do before Craigslist?  We have both gotten to the point where we have memorized the postings of all relevant materials and can discuss them in regular conversation.

Rachel:  Andy, do you think the Euro Vent-a-hood on Craigslist would work?

Andy:  The one from Eden Prairie, or the one from Maplewood without the vent cover?

It seems like a strange way to shop, but the deals are outrageous!  This weekend we came out $580 ahead.  We bought a Kohler sink and faucet that had been installed for 2 months, the lady even delivered it to our home.  Then we helped a couple from Hudson by agreeing to sell them the tear-down's corner tub as a replacement for theirs that was ruined by a refinisher.  I think this will be a significant source of savings, so much that I have created a Craig-o-Meter to our blog to tally our deals.

The other topic that has consumed the weekend is COLOR.  We need to make some decisions on exterior and interior colors so we can continue to accumulate materials on Craigslist.  I uploaded our drawing to a color visualizer and asked Lucy's advice.  What do you think of her submission?