For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for June 27, 2017

yeah, John, Elly is so demanding on the remodeling

Last minute remodeling changes? I think Elly must have been watching HGTV.

John will end up hiring a contractor, which is what he should have done to begin with.

It’s all too easy to imagine the possibilities when you don’t have to do the work yourself.

No wonder he was bangin’ other chicks in real life. Living with Elly (Lynn) would either drive me to that, to drink, or suicide…

Now you realize how prescient was your initial reluctance with the whole remodeling idea.

I just love how she come up with these bright ideas and expects John to do all the work. He’d better hire a contractor and take out a home improvement loan.

Scope creep at work.

The two most expensive phrases in remodeling:“Ya know, I was thinking . . . "“While you are at it . . . "

Where is Mike Holmes, I don’t think he would approve of this at all. lol

This is why govt projects tend to run over budget.

Flashback nightmare of my job as a contractor… the architect was the bane of my existence!

John, just do what Elly wanted to do in the first place and hire a contractor.

When a woman says, “I’ve been thinking. . .”RUN!!!!

Lynn’s Notes:

Yes, I realized as we were dismantling the kitchen that this would be the perfect time to remodel the dining room, too. This meant removing a wall between the kitchen and dining room to create an “open concept.” Open, much like my husband’s mouth when I made the suggestion.

Definitely hire a professional for this because that is a load bearing wall.

Should have hired a pro to begin with John!

Just hand Elly the hammer and say “Here, knock your socks off”.

It’s amazing how simple/easy tasks are when you’re not the one charged with doing them.

When we added the second story apartment and third floor roof patio on our home, we paid an architect to draw up the plans and used them to get the necessary permit etc. My wife ( La Generala ) did the hiring and firing of the various sub-contractors ( maestros ) and generally, with my assistance, oversaw the construction.

One of the reasons it went relatively smoothly, and inexpensively, is that we’d agreed ahead of time, not to digress from the original plans.

Tearing out an exterior wall is not a do-it-yourself project unless you have experience in construction. To tear out the wall you would most likely have to reroute electrical wiring and possibly plumbing if there was a gas line in the wall and a water line if there was a faucet outside. If you had hired a contractor, there would be an extra charge every time you changed and/or added anything.

When objectives keep multiplying – in the military we called that mission creep.

This is why the husband should enter a contract with the wife on the remodeling project…that she will not think up of other projects and stick with the plan, which in this case, is a kitchen remodel…no expansion, no wall removal, etc. Make sure the wife remembers her promise. The women always dream of a better house – always. The remodel project mean they have one opportunity to create a dream house by expanding the project beyond one area of the house. I know – I am one of them. I am always reminding myself we can’t afford big projects or hire a contractor. Stick to the simple project because it is necessary – in my case, gut the shower due to wet rot, remove the floor tiles because wet rot loosened them. We are still saving up money to install the shower glass surround – it’s expensive. You can’t exactly re-use the old one.

Keep remodeling long enough and you will have an entire “new” house – a very expensive, but not worth, it house.

I just finished doing a repair for a friends driveway gate.I even painted the repair.she said “Oh you didn’t have to do that….”I said I did it so you would think the fence and trellis would look better it were painted also…Then when you look out the kitchen window you can think about how nice the kitchen were painted too….She got that glazed Elly look on her face and mumbled ‘Oh Yeah….’Her husband just gave me a dirty look and said, ‘Yeah thanks….’Love it!….

I did the repair for free….I am not that big a rat to charge them for that…..