apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

What an exciting and challenging project! Those moments of wisdom are almost more important than knowing what's in your toolbox... I've learned a lot of them the hard way too. Best of luck.

Oh my..... there is no way that I would even attempt this. It seems so daunting. I have the utmost respect for people who do. This is more than therapy, this is rebirth.

Gah, that sounds just like our experience with the spray foam insulators.... they got that stuff EVERYWHERE! On the studs, the floor, the windows, the drywall that was waiting to be installed, and the shower. I mean, I know they have a crappy job (it's very toxic stuff to put in), but come on! Our house looked like the library in Ghostbusters when they were done!! How unfortunate that this homeowner had the same problem...

"wrong response to a mistake can quickly compound the error"

I like this little pearl of wisdom from James.

It applies to so many other situations in life.

That quote reminds me to stay cool. To think before I react. To put things in perspective.

James, good luck with your monumental project. You're a brave soul.

I've been renovating a Greek Revival house built in 1839 in upstate New York. The contractor who is working with me specializes in old homes, he told me that all his clients insist that their next home will be super-modern. Renovating a house when you're 100 miles away will cure you for life.

I Love Upstate, is your house, by chance visisble from I86/NYS 17? There is a greek revival home I see when I go that way (a few times a year) and I always think about who might lucky enough to live in this beautiful home way out in the country.

I guess building/renovating is one of life's biggest projects no matter how you do it,by yourself or paying lots of money for someone to do it all for you. I am renovating an old house from the 40's that I had moved near my own house and it is taking longer and costing more at every stage than I expected. Last week I was bummed to hear that sanding and refinishing the floors will be $3.500 and the whole house is just over 900 sg feet. I thought the floors were one of the good things about the house & will try some more estimates. Linoleum tiles are ok for the kitchen anyway.

Re Kate's comment -- Check around for estimates on your floor. In the past, I just hired a general handyman to sand and stain my wood floor, then I went over it myself with tung oil (time-consuming but beautiful). It was incredibly cheap, as compared to the flooring guy's estimate. In general, I find that hiring a handyman to take care of projects like that works out so much better. When I hire a "specialist" I always end up regretting it -- unless it's something complex like plumbing, of course.