We Need A Contractor!

So, let the contractor search begin. Mind you, our track record has been less than stellar. The last contractors apparently got bored and walked off the job when we redid the kitchen and we suffered the same fate with the unlicensed guy we hired to redo our master bedroom a few years back. This time, I'm taking a bit more time during the interview process.

Here's what I found out: you get what you pay for. Since we're dealing with a, a-hem, less than unlimited budget here, it narrows down the choices substantially. Only time will tell if choosing contractors based upon the fact that they CLAIM they can do it within your budget guidelines, is the truth. In the end, I suspect that there's a good chance we'll end up paying the same for any contractor we chose.

So....our search. Let's just say that it was like the United Nations of contractors parading through our house for 3 months. The South African guys, The Isreali guys, The American guys, The Mexican guys and maybe even a few other unclassified nations were represented too. Absolutely Americans tend to value their work the highest. Either that, or they're the most realistic about final costs. Again - time will tell.

We finally made a decision. We based it on these facts:
1. We gelled with the guy.
2. He was hungry and willing to bend a bit with our budget.
3. He was the only person that "guarenteed" that we would not exceed our budget by more than 5%! What that means, we're not exactly sure, but we like the sound of it!
4. We liked the "architect" that he works with. (More on architects later!)This was HUGE. Since we're messing with the front of our house, we knew that we needed to select someone that understood that we could either vastly IMPROVE our house, or completely ruin it!
5. He came close to our budget.
6. His total persistence in not giving up on us. He did what he needed to do to get the job. Yep - the guy wouldn't give up. He walked a fine line between bugging us, and just being present, and for that I give him credit. There were others that just bugged me -- calling too much, no additional input, just "are your ready to hire us" kind of thing. Just annoying. Eric was not.

So, he's refining the contract just a bit for a few changes that we made when we met 2 days ago. Then we'll sign and give him the $1K deposit that is allowed by law. After that we'll meet with Roni, the "architect" and begin the design! Can't wait to get started. It's going to be a mess, and there will be tons of tears, but we're hoping that keeping a positive attitude and anticipating what's coming up will ease the stress a bit and make the project move along with precision, speed and accuracy!

In the beginning....

...there was a family. Seemingly happy in their 1940's home, they plodded along with life - day in and day out. And then something happened - the families son became a teenager and started to grow...and grow. And as the boy grew, the house oddly became smaller. And then something else happened - the family adopted a darling little sweet potato from Russia, who obviously needed a bedroom to call her own. Not having the room, they did the best they could with what they had and transformed a lovely, but seldom used formal dining room into a bedroom. Voila! Rarely did guests discover their little secret, the room was adorable and they lived happily ever after. Right? Wrong! Teenage boy keeps getting bigger (will he ever stop? Stay tuned!), little girl will someday be a teenager in need of her own space and possibly even her own (gasp) bathroom, and the family is kinda bumping into one another!

What to do.... So, like others, we explored the idea of moving to a bigger, better house. Here's why we didnt: 1. We love our charm-filled little house. 2. We love our neighbors (not the neighborhood so much, but definitely LOVE our neighbors. 3. We love our backyard and live a fairly outdoor lifestyle. We spent a small fortune putting in a nice pool and have spent a large fortune on landscaping through the years. I just don't have it in me to start all over again, and the houses I was looking at had horrible backyards. 4. Houses in Los Angeles are not so easily affordable. Basically 700K buys you a fixer-upper in 2011. :( So, like others, we explored the idea of expanding our house. I won't bore you with the details other than to say that I'm the type of gal that does her homework. I have ideas. I'm a planner. I'm a list maker.

So, after 4 months of planning, exploring, learning, budgeting, planning some more, and finally ---- interviewing a parade of contractors (more on that subject later!), we are finally ready to begin! So if you're interested in doing the same thing, or just dreaming about "someday", or simply enjoy design and decorating - stick with me! It's bound to be interesting. Will the family stay together? Will the mother lose her mind? Will the father declare bankruptcy? Will the children be able to withstand the torment? Only time will tell! ~~~