**If you missed week one, check it out here. And here is our initial assessment during flip hunting.**
The boys have been busy at the Dalton house mudding and taping the drywall in preparation for paint. They are wrapping up the sanding tonight and tomorrow, so we should be ready to prime and paint the walls in the next few days!
Before we made an offer on the house, we did a quick inspection in the crawl space and knew we had a plumbing issue. The plastic sheet underneath the house was holding tons of water. The guys had the lovely task of popping the tarp to release the water (you can listen to the audio of that here... welcome to my world ;). With this in mind, we had no idea what kind of leaks there would be, but luckily, once the water was turned back on, there was one small leak that was simple and easy to repair. This allowed us to easily install some sparkling new toilets!
Out with the old...
In with the new! Oooh, ahhh!
Much to their chagrin, I pleaded with my husband and friends to save this little built-in (the guys were ready to take the sledge hammer to it). It is literally falling apart, but it is the only hint of character in this little manufactured home. We couldn't save the wood veneer on it, but I plan on painting the whole thing white (keeping the beadboard black and counters as is) and tying it into a fun board-and-batten wainscoting accent wall I plan on making in the kitchen - stay tuned.
A new heat pump and AC unit were installed, so we now have heat in the house! (#winning) Just in time for our painting extravaganza. If you haven't painted in the winter cold, I wouldn't recommend it. ;)
I have been doing what I do best - wheeling and dealing some online shopping. When we purchased the house, there were two appliances left behind: an over-the-range microwave and a dishwasher. Since we forwent any home inspections and the electricity/plumbing were off when we viewed the place, we weren't sure if either of those appliances were in working order. Sure enough, once the utilities were turned on, the appliances were not functioning. Womp, womp.
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We had originally budgeted for a new black fridge and stove for about $1500 collectively. The thing is, this kitchen is dark. Real dark. It was not in the budget to change the countertops or cabinets, but having to replace all of the appliances gives us the opportunity to go with another finish. Stainless appliances will really help to brighten up the place and could be a huge selling feature for potential buyers - who wouldn't want a flashy new set of appliances?
I had been looking online at Lowes and even Craigslist for appliances to no avail. Most complete sets were over budget (closer to $2500) and just wouldn't work for this renovation. Finally, one night I went into Lowes on the hunt for some clearance appliances and chatted up the appliance associate telling him we are looking for a full set and asked, "when can I get the best deal?" (no shame here, folks). He told me that the store doesn't know when things will go on sale, but he does know appliance prices on Lowes.com change on Wednesdays.
So, I set a calendar reminder to check online every Wednesday and see what goes on sale. And wouldn't you know, the following Wednesday I found a pretty nice set of appliances freshly marked down for about $1830 (plus tax but with free delivery), only going over budget $330 for four appliances instead of two! Of course, I also used my trusty Ebates and received $28 cash back! Can you tell I am excited?
We also splurged a whopping $19 on a new exterior light. High roller, I know. The original little white light was itty bitty and pretty weathered. The new light is not over-powering but adds a little more character. It also helps to tie in the shutter color. (P.S. How creepy is the front door? It looks like it was burned in the shape of a heart.)
As of week two, we are actually under budget and doing pretty well on timelines. Since all of us work full time, I think we are making great progress by only working a few nights a week on this project. Our goal is to have the house on the market in two months or less from the day we purchased it.
The next biggest variables will be flooring and paint. I hope my calculations weren't off with those! Here is this week's list of expenses:
WEEK 2 EXPENSES
Item Cost
Laminate 0.24
Drywall Repair 389.84
Temporary Lights 2.82
Lightbulbs 31.33
Exterior Light 18.98
Cleaning Materials 39.45
Vanity Mirrors 66.47
Plumbing Repair 20.96
Exterior Door Hardware 28.48
Toilets 188.1
Built-in Repair 30.55
AC/Heating Unit 4000
Shipping 15.35
Water deposit 50
Appliances 1961.19
TOTAL EXPENSES: 6898.82
TOTAL INVESTMENT: 34142.11
P.S. My blog posts are a little behind! Check out my Instagram for more up to date progress photos of Dalton. :)