What is the one thing you would do to your house if you had the cash?

[tod evans]

Think about putting in a downstairs bath.

The plumbing is already in the laundry room...

[tangent4ronpaul]

Specs,

You were replying while I was, do you might have missed the post immediately before yours.

I know you were talking about getting rid of stuff, but as far as kitchen items go, this thing is heaven! We got ours through Emergency Essentials and liked it so much we got another one as a spare or if we were cooking for a lot of people so we could use 2 at once. I know the vid is an infomercial. This device wasn't invented for the prepper market... It seriously does cut down on cooking prep time and all the attachments fit inside so it's got a small footprint. Amazon sells them for $20, you can find them for less on E-Bay and Emergency Essentials seems to be out of stock of them, but normally sells them for $17 and regularly puts them on sale for $12. It might let you get rid of some of your other kitchen junk.



http://www.amazon.com/Kitchen-Plus-2.../dp/B005HX9ZC4

If you want an indoor climbing wall, you will need to take out a floor, or at least a section of floor. Be sure to put one of these under it, ans as it's to catch falls, I'd go for at least 2" thick.

http://www.amazon.com/Bonded-Foam-Gy...gymnastic+mats

and as you seem of that bent, check out:
http://www.amazon.com/Cowstails-Cobr...ils+and+cobras

-t

[Suzanimal]

I am totally going to build that out, maybe even this weekend. Working simple is hard, genius.

I'm jealous, I'd love to see pics when you're done.

We're both lifelong lapswimmers. I fell in love with her the first time I saw her, she had just finished a fast 1mile swim, immediately freedove down 30ft, swam completely through a submerged bus and burst through the surface in dramatic mermaidish fashion. It was over for me at that point, she just didn't know it yet. Plus, then we can get rid of the gym membership since all it is used for is lap swimming.

Awww, that's sweet. I'm a swimmer too, the endless pool sounds like a great idea.

[brushfire]

What would I do? Nothing that would possibly raise my taxes.

[satchelmcqueen]

id add solar power. gtf off the grid! id save $120-$180 a month.

[specsaregood]

./

[oyarde]

id add solar power. gtf off the grid! id save $120-$180 a month.

I blew $215 this month on gas & electric and I heated with wood on all the days sub 20 degrees . That's a helluva alota beer .

[oyarde]

so I had a talk with the MIL yesterday; she agreed with my position so I enlisted her help --it really is nice having great inlaws. We saw our favorite 6 houses today and none of them really were better enough to warrant the PITA of moving and selling this house. Then had dinner with the MIL and she brought up the idea of doing the remodeling instead and talked about how great the location we are in is for kids, etc. In short, we changed the wifeys mind and she didn't really care about doing the bathroom remodel or the kitchen. But she is really onboard with finishing the garage, removing the garage door/replacing with a wall, knocking down the wall between the garage and utility room and putting in the endless swimming pool.

Although, we did see this one place with 7 acres, a farm exemption (low taxes) and current organic egg business that almost had me sold... But it didn't have access to fast internet and that just wouldnt' work for me at this point...

If you were closer , I could loan you a dozen of my organic eggs ....

[specsaregood]

./

[tod evans]

So the people here with more knowledge.
One of the pools we are considering requires a 220v, 85 amp GFCI outlet.
That sounds like a lot of amps. Is there a possibility that our wiring/fuse box would make it very expensive/impossible to add? I'd obviously have a pro do it, but Is there a way to tell if its even possible just by looking at my fusebox? We currently have an extra unused 220v but it is probably around 30amp not 85.

Most homes don't have the ability to exceed 200 amps total...

Adding a continuous 85amp draw will probably require a new transformer (utilities cost) a new meter head (their cost too) then depending on how your service comes on to the property possibly new 0000 ought cable and another panel (your cost)

Worse case scenario the materials to get power to your new toy will be under 1k....

Labor and permits, who knows....

Some places provide 400amp residential service as the norm now? But that's at the pole.

[specsaregood]

./

[tod evans]

Thanks Tod. All of their competitors only require 220v/30amp which we should be able to handle. i'll just cross that one off the list.

85 amp on single phase is LOTS!

A true 5hp motor running on 220 single phase only pulls 23 amp

[specsaregood]

./

[tod evans]

^^^^^^^^^^^Everybody please rep the hell outta this!^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[Suzanimal]

^^^^^^^^^^^Everybody please rep the hell outta this!^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Agreed and done, that was great specs

[MelissaWV]

Getting to the question in the topic, the next project is the smaller bathroom (mine). The people who owned the house previously put in one of those bath fitter type things, which is great for kids (so easy to clean, all rounded edges, easy to put up little hooks and caddies for toys and washcloths), but not so much for adults. It could benefit greatly from a window and having just a large shower instead of a shower/tub combination. The vanity is too big for the space, too, so while I was fixing the other stuff I would address this. I would want a step-in type shower which would fit smartly into the space.

[specsaregood]

./

[Suzanimal]

So after having to upgrade our fuse box (was only at 100amp!), tear out a wall, put up showerboard everywhere, water proof paint stuff, putting in some exhausts and cleaning out a whole garage of junk... they finally managed push this beast into the garagepoolroom.

Thanks for the ideas all, it got us all talking and figured out what was optimal for us.

Awesome job! Enjoy your pool!

[amy31416]

I'm quite late to the game here, but what I love about my house:

1. Paid for.
2. 2 car garage with a lot of storage shelves.
3. 2 bathrooms.
4. Lots of land.
5. Most windows replaced.

What I want:

1. Fireplace. I can't stand not having one. Ideally I'd have two, one in the basement, and one on the main level. Perhaps even one in the garage and barn.
2. Better landscaping--been planning that out.
3. Front porch rather than the ugly old deck. Decks are for the back yard.

Good luck--sounds like you picked a good electrician, be careful who you let into your house and always check the work they do, I'm sure you know that already.

[Danke]

I'm quite late to the game here, but what I love about my house:

1. Paid for.
2. 2 car garage with a lot of storage shelves.
3. 2 bathrooms.
4. Lots of land.
5. Most windows replaced.

What I want:

1. Fireplace. I can't stand not having one. Ideally I'd have two, one in the basement, and one on the main level. Perhaps even one in the garage and barn.
2. Better landscaping--been planning that out.
3. Front porch rather than the ugly old deck. Decks are for the back yard.

Good luck--sounds like you picked a good electrician, be careful who you let into your house and always check the work they do, I'm sure you know that already.

No improvements to the dungeon?

[JK/SEA]

i'd sell mine and move closer to the equator.

[amy31416]

No improvements to the dungeon?

I might make a "laundry chute" to deliver the food and put in a wash tub next to the washer/dryer to hose down the place. Other than that, naw.

[specsaregood]

./

[tangent4ronpaul]

I
might make a "laundry chute" to deliver the food and put in a wash tub next to the washer/dryer to hose down the place. Other than that, naw.

When I was really young, my parents had a dumbwaiter running between the garage and the hall outside the kitchen. I was stupid enough to say 'that looks like a perfect "me" sized elevator. it was boarded up that afternoon and turned into a closet shortly afterwords.

Now we have a laundry chute that one of the cats uses as an elevator to get into the basement...

-t

[amy31416]

When I was really young, my parents had a dumbwaiter running between the garage and the hall outside the kitchen. I was stupid enough to say 'that looks like a perfect "me" sized elevator. it was boarded up that afternoon and turned into a closet shortly afterwords.

Now we have a laundry chute that one of the cats uses as an elevator to get into the basement...

-t

My aunt had a laundry chute from the 2nd story of her house all the way to her basement...I loved that thing. Great for hide and seek....

[specsaregood]

//

[Suzanimal]

I'm jealous. I just closed our pool down for the summer.

I'm glad you're having fun.

So we've had this bad boy for about 6 months now and can't imagine having made a better choice. Its low maintenance and we use it pretty much everyday. The surprising part is that it really hasn't impacted the power bill much at all; I suppose its because its inside and they really insulated the thing well.

We've got into a rhythm where we generally keep it in the mid 80s and swim "laps" or workout in it M-Th. I've worked my way back to about my pace from when I was a decade+ younger and swimming long distance competitions for fun. 1.35m/sec or about 3 miles per hour sustained. I usually do about 40 minutes (about 2miles) a day over "lunch".

Then we turn up the heat to 98 for Fri night and use it for relaxation over the weekend --takes until Monday for the heat to drop down enough to swim laps in again. The wife and I will generally setup a laptop on a shelf I installed on the wall opposite, pour some drinks and watch a movie. Sure beats sitting on the couch.

The kids turning into a decent swimmer too . He's go absolutely no fear of the water -- runs in the family -- which is a good and bad thing; but we keep that door locked with a key and have drilled it into his head that he NEVER gets in without one of us.

[Deborah K]

Vaulted ceilings look great and make the space bigger but will also add to heating and cooling costs. Turn on that heater and the upper half of the room is toasty and the lower half is still cold. At least need some fans to move air around in it. (I have a vaulted ceiling).

I have a couple small windows in the upper portion but would like to add a skylight but being in a condo association, I can't change anything outside.

Ceiling fans help with that, assuming you have an attic.

Edit: actually you don't even need an attic. we don't have an attic in that part of the house, and Mark put a light fixture in one vaulted room and a ceiling fan in the other. No cords showing either.

[dannno]

I would buy it - since i'm renting.

[mad cow]

I would jack up the TV antenna and build a new house under it.