a cardboard box under the motorway

[the_siobhan]

Kitchen renovation plans continue apace. We have had more people in this house over the last two weeks than in the entire year previous. It has been surprisingly stressful. I'm not good at having people in my space any more.

The guy we are probably going to hire isn't the cheapest, but I like how up-front he is about timelines and cost and he was very willing to explain everything in detail. The whole tear-down and rebuild is going to take longer and be more expensive than normal just because you can't get machinery into our backyard so it all has to be done by hard manual labour and hard manual labour charges by the hour.

On the plus side, we won't have to move out while the work is going on, so that will save us a bit of dosh.

I am occasionally tempted by listings of houses in other cities where properties aren't going for a billion dollars. But I'd probably end up starting the renovation process over again from scratch, and I'm not sure I'm ready for that either

Comments

[greylock]

I am occasionally tempted by listings of houses in other cities where properties aren't going for a billion dollars.

This sounds like me. I find it calming, sometimes.

[houseof9cats]

I am occasionally tempted by listings of houses in other cities where properties aren't going for a billion dollars. But I'd probably end up starting the renovation process over again from scratch, and I'm not sure I'm ready for that either

Hard relate. Because of this exactly, when we moved we bought a 1995 house on the edge of town instead of an older one in the city centre, many of which are exactly the same housing stock as downtown TO — lovely but in dire need of gut and reno. Also, they're still on lead pipes even in the nice-y neighborhoods downtown.

I had a weird/bad dream about renovating and selling our Toronto house again last night!

We targeted 1995 specifically because it was the most recent 'lull' in the Ontario RE market, where companies had to build quality in order to move inventory. The new particleboard stuff today — I wouldn't buy that either, and the 50s-70s stock carries a big risk of asbestos. We looked at a number of those, too.

Turnkey while we're old, pls.

[the_siobhan]

Oh Gods, the new houses - I would only buy one if I was planning to move in 5 years. We watch them go up in our neighbourhood and they're going to be falling over before the mortgage runs out.

[elusis]

Here, Sio: enjoy imagining life in Baltimore.

https://www.redfin.com/MD/Brooklyn-Park/228-Townsend-Ave-21225/home/10392075

[the_siobhan]

How the heck do you decorate a house in spiderwebs and gravestones and still manage to make it look so whitebread?

[elusis]

I mean, I think it's the football material? And clearly the more "interesting" stuff is in storage.

[the_siobhan]

I think it was the completely featureless lawns that did me in. I actually checked out streetview to see if the HOA forbids trees and plants other than grass, but no it was a purely aesthetic choice.

[hel_ana]

I think it's because it's so performative, like a jock's idea of what "goth" is.

I also always wonder about people who need that many angles to see themselves having sex.

[the_siobhan]

What does it say that my first thought was to look at the stairs and think, "Hey, that's not code!"

[elusis]

Sio, he's a basement waterproofer, not a basement stairs-er. Have some patience.

[elusis]

He's apparently a horror film fan, a group that also has a tendency to imagine what "goth" is in some rather party-store type ways.

https://www.baltimoresun.com/business/real-estate/bs-bz-goth-house-20210329-seybhhhr4zf67mmko6hs7bepxi-story.html

[greylock]

Some people like what they like.

I mean, I can't figure out why they half-arsed a Munster's vibe, with grid iron shit, and destroyed the re-sale of the house, and had a sexless sex dungeon; and in my experience weirdos who like mannikens put them out the front to let their freak flag fly...

That house is owned by the guy who loved the 2002 Twilight Zone theme. You know it.

[elusis]

He totally, totally did. He also loved that cover of the Halloween theme.

[greylock]

I am so out of the loop, I have no idea what cover you mean!

Unless this is a Lil Nas X reference, somehow.

[ysilme]

Oh dear, that sounds like a lot of hassle! I'm also with you in not being good wiht having people in my space anymore (or being around people, at that). Best of luck with everything, and strong nerves!

[the_siobhan]

I think it's going to take a while for me to be able to stand next to a stranger without twitching once this is all over.

[greylock]

I'm no expert, but I reckon you'll be surprised how quickly life snaps back.

I reckon the whole Asian thing of "wear a mask if you are sick" will vanish too.

I get dirty looks for my constant hand sanitising. I mean, I sanitised before, but now I do it in the open.