**Here is week 1, week 2, weeks 3 + 4, and the analysis of Dalton before purchasing.**
We are FINALLY getting to some of the pretty stuff! Since most of the work has been done after work hours, the Dalton House flip has gone a little slower than I think we would all like to see, but the light is definitely at the end of the tunnel! Everything should be done at the 8 week point, so we are getting really close to being able to list this little house!
Two big things that have made the house look a lot better are paint and the laminate flooring. I am sure Jake and Brian were cursing me as they pulled out all of the tack strips from the living room subfloor, but having a wood-looking floor in the main living area makes it seem so much nicer. We used the Style Selections Auburn Stained White Oak laminate flooring from Lowe's and have been impressed so far. It is very affordable ($.99 a square foot) and seems to be decent quality. We chose that finish to tie into the existing cabinets and I think it complements them nicely.
Here is a before and messy in progress shot of when you first walk into the house (walls are just primed in this photo). Sorry for the terrible phone pictures. Not a huge transformation, but I think the stainless appliances and laminate flooring make this investment property seem a little more up to date.
The guys also finished installing my DIY wainscoting! The board and batten design mimics the top of the built-in and I hope will help to define the dining area in the eat-in kitchen (no dedicated dining room in this house). Here it is primed; I can't wait to see it with wall paint and glossy white trim paint.
I pulled the trigger and went with Manchester Tan by Benjamin Moore for the wall paint. I am not a beige wall connoisseur by any means (although I may or may not have the gray paints from Sherwin Williams memorized...) but everything in this house is beige so we had to go with a warmer tone. I scrutinized the heck out of BM Manchester Tan and Bm Cream Fleece but in the end went with the former. I was worried Cream Fleece would be too yellow. Man oh man am I glad I went with that choice! It has plenty of yellow undertones and the Cream Fleece definitely would have been off for this house. We hired a painter to come work on the evenings, so all of the walls should be complete in the next week.
We were trying to make sure the wall color meshed well with the existing vinyl flooring that we are salvaging. This flooring is in two bathrooms, the laundry room, kitchen, and master closet, so I was relieved to see it all coordinated pretty well. It's not too dark either, which was a concern of mine since there aren't a ton of windows in this place. To be honest, probably ANYTHING we did on the walls would be better than that horrible greenish gold wallpaper. You know what else is better? Doors that don't have giant holes in them! The guys started to get up the new 6-panel doors and I must say, they are adding a little class up in this joint.
The carpet is being installed next week and we are going to start painting the deck. The boards are pretty rough, so I didn't think a normal stain would cut it. I happened to find a few gallons of Olympic Rescue It Max Resurfacer at 60% off due to a mistint. The color is called Eiffel Tower and I hope it looks okay with the outside.
Really all that is left to do after painting is complete are finishing touches and a little landscaping! The next blog post should be my final update before the official before and afters. I'm really excited to meet with our realtor, do a little staging, and see what happens with our first flip! Here is the budget breakdown so far:
ITEM COST
Laminate Sample 0.24
Paint 206.11
Painting Accessories 29.83
Drywall Repair 401.21
Interior Doors 267.2
Interior Door Handles 89.98
Door Hinges 37.69
Temporary Lights 2.82
Lightbulbs 31.33
Exterior Light 18.98
Cleaning Materials 39.45
Vanity Mirrors 66.47
Plumbing Repair 20.96
Door Casings 41.23
Exterior Door Hardware 28.48
Bathroom Hardware 17.09
Deck Repair 159.09
Toilets 191.89
Landscaping 4.35
Blinds 37.41
Wainscoting 113.04
Appliance Accessories 81.23
Built-in Repair 30.55
Baseboard 60.4
Caulk & Misc. Hardware 17.62
AC/Heating Unit* 4000
Shipping* 15.35
Water deposit* 50
Appliances (with tax) 1961.19
Water bill 12/31/2016 21.01
Laminate Flooring 418.69
Returns -37.86
Carpet and Pad* 743.75
Appliance delivery tip 20
Electricity 1/20/2017 88.79
Insurance for 12/8-1/8 32.75
TOTAL MATERIAL COST: 9442.849
TOTAL INVESTMENT: 36686.14