Cost-Benefit Ratio
Posted on May 12, 2008 - Filed Under Housing |
My dad has been very instrumental in finishing all the little remainder items on the back house.
Last fall, my mom suggested I pay for my dad to fly out to California and assist finish the work on the houses. At the time, the contractor and electrician were working full-on to finish the front house. My thought: “A $400 ticket could be used to pay the electrician to get a few more things done.”
With my parents visiting, my dad has been working right along on finishing up these remaining projects. Based on my previous experience, I punched up some numbers.
| ITEM | Hired Help | Dad Power |
|---|---|---|
| Fridge Waterline Hookup | $200 | $45 |
| Vanity Mirror Light | $50 | $15 |
| Bathroom Vent and Light | $150 | $45 |
| Range Hood | $200 | Free |
| Broken Window Replacement | $125 | $25 |
| Window Screen Installation | $40 | $2 |
| Total | $765 | $132 |
Suddenly the $400 ticket seems like a good investment.
With all fairness, the Hired Help doesn’t eat a Chez Cliff like dad does. Probably $3 could be added for each task to cover the cost of the meal.
Steak au poivre with rice jayel
Maple Glazed Pork Tenderloin, wrapped in bacon
Baked Cod, basted in soy, ginger and lemon sauce
Coq au Vin
And the beat goes on . . .
If you liked that post, then try these...
I wanted to . . . on August 18th, 2006
More than anything in the world, I wanted to write today and say "It's finished!"
That's it.
Making It Along on May 31st, 2005
The Real Estate Agent called.
Comments
3 Responses to “Cost-Benefit Ratio”
Leave a Reply
ok… it’s 9 am, and I want to eat everything that you wrote down… Even those that I can’t pronounce properly…
So when are you going to add the Chez Cliff recipe corner? They probably make a widget for that somewhere… “Recipe of the day…”
We have long enjoyed the power of family to help with work on our house. To be honest, we have yet to have a professional do anything to our place. (This will soon change as we tackle our bathroom renovation.)
We are currently on task with tiling our backsplash. The details of that can be found on our post for today… joy joy joy…
Matts last blog post..Things that go bump in the night
@Matt: I didn’t think anyone was really interested in recipes, only eating!
Bathroom renovation? The magic words you want to hear “Your sub-flooring is just fine.”
Repeat after me: Your sub-flooring is just fine.
Oh… Don’t get me started on the subfloor… That’s what spurred the idea of the renovation…
Ok, you got me started… Not long after purchasing the house, Holly was taking a shower while I was cooking.
After a while, I noticed water dripping from the microwave. I started wondering if this was some kind of exotic European model of microwave until I opened the cupboard above it and found water dribbling from a hole that was onced used as a range vent.
After some cursing and several towels, we investigated the problem. Apparently the previous owner was aware of an issue as the old vent hole was plugged with an old towel. I figured this was for correcting heat loss, but revised my thinking that it was controlling water drippage.
Apparently the bathtub is slanted slightly, where the water that runs down the wall of the shower collects on the edge of the tub and runs out of the tub instead of in. This collects on the floor near the toilet. We found that the grout and caulk were in very bad shape. We removed the old and tested the subfloor.
The word Sponge comes to mind…
We didn’t have the funds to fix this problem the right way. So we re-calked and grouted as needed. We are very conscious now of water leaving the tub to collect there. Now that we know about it, there have been no further leaks.
Further water damage was found when we replaced the carpet in the bedrooms. Our closet happens to share the wall with the bathtub/shower. The carpet, pad and subfloor all had mold on them.
I had to cut out a three foot section of the floor to replace before the carpet could be laid. Luckily the damage was only to the floor. not the floor joists or the 1st floor ceiling.
I learned much from the process, but I’m still frightened about what I’ll find when the tub comes out. I’m already prepared for the replacement of the floor, just not looking forward to it.
Here I go, putting WAY too much into your comments section… Sorry about that…
Matts last blog post..Time management and the kitchen backsplash…