Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Budget Meeting...

Ahhh Yes - the Great Evil Word... BUDGET!  You know.. it should only have 4 letters in it... ha ha..

Most of it went as I expected it to.  I only have one concern .. the bid for the house windows.  We had picked out very special windows for our master sitting area and for the den nad kitchen.  They are tall windows with an arched detail on the top like this:

..Well the window bid came in from the company I really want to use - Pella, but it did not include this detail... so I know that bid is far from accurate.  sigh...

But - I did get a lot done during that meeting - picked out the roofing material, type of septic system, entertainment package  and a few other things..

After the meeting I went to a 'door store'.  I had met with a company earlier about providing doors for our house and during the entire meeting - I had this unsettling feeling .. Yes the company was reputable; yes the salesman was very nice and genuine... but you know when the Holy Spirit whispers to you... yes .. that is the feeling I was getting.  So - in going to this new "door store", I no more than walked in and was greeted by a salesperson - I saw the exact door I wanted for the carport .. one the other place had to custom make at a cost that was almost 1/2 as much!  It just got better from there!

Next, I went to the plant where they actually manufacture bath tubs and picked mine out.  I was jumping in and out of almost every tub they had... yes - I am silly!  I am ever so thankful for the assistance of a woman with this.  She asked me a series of questions.  I went in thinking I wanted a "jacuzzi'' type of tub, but she helped me realize that, that would have been a mistake.

This is me:
I take a hot hot bath almost every night.  Sometimes I opt to even wash my hair in the bath water - that is how much I enjoy it.  Unless I am in a huge hurry, I am not a shower person.

This is what I learned: 
With jacuzzi type tubs, if they are used daily, they tend to grow mold in the jets, which can be a bit difficult to clean outside of filling the tup with bleech and then having to run an additional clean water tup to wash out the bleech.  They are most enjoyed by people who use them occasionally.  I really respected  her opinion because these tubs are usually more expensive and she would have made money selling me the most expensive item she could...

Next I drove to meet with one of the flooring vendors.  I already knew that this company had a reputation of beating any price to get the jobs, and WOW... I had done my homework on  this one because I have a really large area that I want marble flooring ... and that can get really pricey FAST.  Armed with  internet quotes for the exact marble I wanted, I allowed him to give me his best price.  I showed him the quotes and he immediately lowerd his price to beat their AND I was able to get that price for the preferred tile size of 18x18!  I found the wood flooring I want for the study and the master as well looking through his selection of carpet for the upstairs.  I will wait until later to pick that out.

I was exhausted by the end of the day, but the kind of exhausted where you have a smile on your face!... until I got home and Dear Husband asked... "So when are we getting started??"

Thank You Lord for giving me favor and guiding me into making the right choices!

6 comments:

donna baker said...

Just remodeled an old kitchen online for the most part. It is such a hard job. I realized that designers have a really hard job. It almost always comes down to price - not what we want. What could I live with is more what I discovered. Got Carerra marble countertops and backsplash that I love. Had to cave on nearly everything else. Oh well.

bj said...

Hi, Julie...this all sounds so exciting. I know you can hardly wait to get started.
I'm sorry you are having trouble with my blog....
new address...
bj-sweetnothings.blogspot.com
Please give it another try...
Hope all is good with you and your sweet fella.:)

Patrinas Pencil said...

all in a days work! Exhausting for sure. I was exhausted for you...bu the excitement is exhilarating. you have waited a long time for this decisions...you are a patient woman :)

I had heard the same about those fancy tubs... I had one in 2 townhomes. They use so much water. they are are really nice to relax in ...but a headache to maintain. You made the right choice.

Janice Grinyer said...

Please rethink the tub.

I have a kohler top line jacuzzi bath with brass fixtures and a removable brass shower head so you can wash your hair if you so wish - (it so great for washing long hair!) I use my tub almost daily. I have no mold whatsoever...I would think if you were someone who did not clean regularly,or had multiple very dirty daily people using it and didnt clean regularly, then you would have a problem. You dont seem like that type of person... :)

However my bath is my bath, and my husband only climbs in occasionally with me :) or when the kids visit, then they want to "visit" the "spa". lol otherwise its just me...


Unless you live in a south american jungle or florida, i cant imagine it getting moldy unless there was neglectful cleaning going on...

I love mine. And make sure you have a ledge around yours that can support a magazine basket and wineglasses - my surround is granite with hickory cabinetry on the bottom, with a three window view from the second floor :)

And it is worth every penny if you are truly a bath person. YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT. Only true bath people would understand how important that end of the day bath really is lol shower people dont get it LOL...
so please please reconsider!!!!

vivian said...

HOW Exciting for you guys!! I cant wait to see it finished Julie. Its going to beautiful and you deserve it! Keep updating!!
have a great day my friend
xoxo
vivian

Justabeachkat said...

Lots of headaches, but so worth it in the end.

Hugs,
Kat