As I mentioned in my last post in August – 2021 was a very busy year! Both my business and getting my mom moved here were two of the biggest reasons! But another reason was that we finally finished our basement this year. I say finished…there are still a couple of very small things that we are waiting to have completed but 99.9% is done!

We had been planning this for a while, so we had already figured out our basic layout and picked the materials (flooring type, bar cabinets etc.). In January we ordered furniture to replace what we had in our great room as that furniture was going to go down into the basement. It would take six months to get our new furniture and in January we thought surely by then we would have things done downstairs. LOL. How naive we were. Revelation number one…no rush on anything!

I’ve remodeled three homes in my married life – renovations of kitchens, bathrooms, floors etc. But in all cases, we were redoing what was already there. Changing backsplashes, refacing cabinets, installing new appliances. It’s easy to envision what needs to be done when you already have a template so to speak. Finishing a completely unfinished space is a different animal. Not only do you have to be able to envision what will be -you also have to be very careful about where you place outlets, cabinets, walls etc. You can make serious mistakes if you don’t have electricians and tradesmen who are willing to collaborate a bit with you and give you some advice. They know what code requires and then you work around that. Our project started in earnest in April…4 months after I ordered my new furniture. Revelation number two…building from scratch is harder than a remodel.

The next revelation is how much money must be spent on things that will never be seen.…and believe me it’s a lot. Like 80% of your budget. Let’s start with systems. We replaced our old HVAC, and water heater. Our home warranty company had a wholesale program for HVAC replacement so we would not be using the old R Factor Freon. And while we did save a lot of money with this program, it was still a nice chunk of change. Once the systems were replaced, then plumbers had to come in to dig for piping for a new bathroom. After that we decided to remove a structural post that was in the middle of what would become our family room. Engineers were consulted and new posts were installed after removing old post. I’m glad we did it but damn. I suppose in the grand scheme of things it wasn’t that bad.

Only after all this was done was the framing was able to begin. And can I tell you wood studs were 8+ dollars each! A couple of years ago they were 3.50/each. So, I have a small fortune inside my walls. Lucky me. Framing took a while. Carpenters would come for one day, then half a day, then not at all, then another half day, then another full day. These guys are so busy and help so hard to find, it was unreal. Revelation number four…budget-smudget.

By now it is June. And guess what has arrived? My new furniture! But now we had to move the old furniture down into the storage area of the basement where our washer/dryer were (did I mention we did laundry at a laundromat for a month?) and other things that would be used in the new basement. We wrapped all furniture in plastic wrap and all items went down our stairs with ease. Except one. The larger piece of our sectional was tall and needed to tilt so that it could be taken down the stairs. Mike and our carpenter couldn’t do it. And at this point the whole decor plan was based on this furniture. To say I was upset is putting it mildly. What was happening was the ceilings were tall enough to accommodate the piece but in order to tilt the couch so it could go into the stairwell and down the stairs it had to clear a lower door casing. One evening after this problem arose, I asked Mike to show me what the issue was, so we moved the piece into place – I was inside the half bath where the piece had to tilt in to and Mike was in the stairwell. Luckily it was not a heavy piece- it was also wrapped in plastic and soft and cushy. We needed four inches. I kicked the lower part of the couch towards Mike and slowly (and thankfully) the couch gave enough to clear the doorway and SUCCESS – we got it down. No damage to couch or ceilings. Mike was amazed that we did it. I told him after having two babies…and experiencing something seemingly too large having to exit a certain space…this was easy! Decor plans and marriage were saved. There was much rejoicing and laughter in the Pappas household! Revelation number five…where there is a will (and a determined woman) there is a way.

Once the framing was done, the electrician came in to wire everything. In between all of these trades, the inspectors from St Louis County had to come in and approve all. Plumbing, framing, electrical, etc. Most of our inspectors have been very helpful and easy to work with and if your tradesmen know what they are doing, they will also have an easy time of it. When doing any sort of build from scratch or any change in an existing layout YOU MUST PULL PERMITS! The inspectors make sure things are done correctly and you will not burn your house down or flood it with shoddy work. It also will be filed with the county so any buyer of your home will know the work was done properly. This is revelation number six. Our plumber and Electrician are now pseudo family members! I fed the electrician more than once.

The next (and final divorce causing mistake) was who Mike hired to do the drywall. After all the unseen things were completed (including a lot of insulation) and signed off on by St Louis Co. we hired a drywaller who was very cheap. The guy Mike hired was actually very good, but he was working after his own day job which meant he was very slow. He also hired a guy to help him that did not know what he was doing. The drywall was a mess and we had to hire another company to come in and fix it. The one thing that EVERYONE is going to see – your walls- and my husband chose to go “cheap” on it. We ended up paying what we should have in the first place for an actual drywall company and the walls were saved. Revelation number seven- HIRE COMPANIES THAT DO THEIR TRADE FOR A LIVING NOT PART TIME HANDYMEN. As nice as the guy was, he didn’t have the bandwidth or the help to do our job properly and in a timely manner.

Once drywall was done the flooring and fixtures started to go in and the vision took shape. This was the “fun” stuff. Even this phase took longer as the jobs became less extensive, the carpenters had moved on to bigger jobs and were fitting us in when they had time to do trim work, install doors etc. Same with install of cabinetry (three months lag time) and counters one month for template to be made and install to occur. One door for cabinetry was damaged so waiting for that now. New carpeting was the only smooth and timely order. Infact, I had to postpone them a week because of drywall debacle. Revelation number eight – if you want it to be done for Thanksgiving- plan on Christmas. During Thanksgiving when all my family were here, we had plywood counters instead of quartz. Quartz was installed 12/8.

The final revelation – number 9 is that while this process can be painful and stressful, in the end it’s so worth it. I will use the childbirth analogy again, this is a terrible process but, in the end, you are usually very happy. Now we have a beautiful space for entertaining and nightly binge watching. We’ve also added value and usable square footage to our home. And with the market as it is, have made a good investment in our largest asset. This is something I recommend to all my clients. Keep your homes current and updated. When you do some remodeling, you see what’s going on behind your walls and can head off major issues. So often I see homes that people have lived in for a long time and done nothing to for years and then during a sale, inspections surprise our sellers. Renovations get a better sale price every time. Adding extra living space is also a great move. It adds value to any home. Always consider what you spend vis a vis your homes current value – don’t over improve! But keeping your home current is key.

Our market for selling is still extremely hot. And we anticipate this going into Spring 2022. If you are considering a home sale, now is a great time to do so. And if you want to plan some updates, please reach out…we have tried and tested tradesmen that we are happy to recommend to you. We always appreciate your referrals- it’s the lifeline of our business.

Mike and I wish you and your families a very Happy Holiday Season, Merry Christmas and Happy 2022!