Various thoughts

People have stated that us Californians haven't any reversations about discussing issues that are better left unsaid. Money in particular. What it cost, what it's worth, etc. In that vain, I thought I would throw out some numbers. If any one actually reads this, and begins to worry about how much they're spending on a remodel.
Look at my numbers, and feel relieved.
For lifting up my house and holding it in place, it costs $20,000.00, which was the best deal we got.
For digging out the old foundation and replacing it with a new one, we paid $42,000.00. Still feeling pretty good about the price; it was a lot of bricks to move, dirt to dig, wood to cut down and concrete to pour.
For attaching us back to the foundation - $63,000.00. I'm not sure if this was a very good price. Especially when you consider that it turns out several walls were NOT reconnected. One of the places that was shored up, wasn't suppose to be shored up, wood in the wood floor was pushed out of place, and there is still a lump in my floor. This was the contractor we ended up firing.

Since then, we've spent $115,000.00. That was to build a staircase to the 3rd floor; finish attaching the house to foundation; new porch deck; 2 new outside sets of stairs; taking down to frame my bedroom, bathroom and kitchen; removing the very ugly kitchen floor and sanding the beautiful wood floor we found underneath it; plywood, sheetrock, insulation in my bedroom; building a sweet outside cooking area with lots of new cement; six new windows (that all work!) and a door for my room; three new windows and a door for the kitchen. That's all I can think of at the moment for that money.

It cost $27,000.00 for the new cabinets by KitchenMaid bought from Santa Cruz Kitchen and Bath.
$10,000.00 for ordering the Corian countertops, and I'm hoping and praying that price includes installation.
Anyone figured out the bottom line to date? Well, it's not over. We still have to built the kitchen and intall the new cabinets; (which arrived on time!) paint all of it; move some odds and ends; build my new closet; build the half bath for downstairs; replace the very old sewer pipes under the house and in the kitchen ceiling, new carpets for at least one room; oh and the biggies - new appliances: cooktop, oven, microwave, washer, dryer, dishwasher, and maybe a refridgerator.
I've been having two reoccuring dreams; we run out of money or I drop dead the week before it's done.

A humorus note to finish on. To replace to old kitchen door and put the new one in a different place, we went a night without a kitchen door. The cats were confused and very mad. I would go the the front door or my new bedroom door and try to beg/plead them to follow me inside. No way! All three, Marley, Rocky and Pie, wanted to come in the door that wasn't there. We finally ended up opening a window and they came in it.

Another day, another $20 thousand

So getting home from work yesterday,
Pete greeted me with a worried look. "Gee, we've uncovered termite damage. Looks like it might even be active. What do you want to do?"
"Well, gosh Pete, just cover it up. Why waste an extra thousand fixing and replacing the wood? I mean, we've only spend 100 thousand so far."
So any way, rude as I was, he got the point. Damaged fixed today. Needed a couple of new pieces of wood for the framing of the floor. Also ended up cutting a hole in the floor near the new doorway. So now we have to figure out a way around that. Was going to do linoleum, but the first cost estimate was $2700.00. We're going to sand and varnish instead. Now with the new hole in the floor, we have to figure a way out that will look cool. Eric, our master carpenter, has some good ideas.

Speaking of Eric, he asked us to tape out the floor plan for the bathroom. Got a call at work, what's up with the tape? Husband decided to move everything to different locations. Now the guys have to move all the plumbing to meet his plan. At least with a wide open basement and lots of head room, it won't be too bad.

Love this part... my kitchen designer, who happened to get hurt snowboarding (a concussion), made a mistake in the measuring. Length off by ~10", width off by 6". She had to reorder a cabinet and I'm getting a smaller sink than originally planned. We think the length won't matter, as most of it can be absorbed by the kitchen table. It did cause a few tense moments.
Our bedroom has walls! and is so much warmer than before. I need to pick a paint color for it soon. What excitment! Think I'll let the husband decide this room, as I have real strong opinions about the rest of the house.

One other note, behind the big cabinets, behind some slats, we found another wall. Must be the original dining room wall from 1880. It was so beautiful!!! We had to cut it out, but the guys did a nice job and we have it saved. I have no idea what to do with it, but am including a picture of it also. Keep in mind, when viewing this; it is redwood, painted to look like oak.