Yes, rewiring and re stumping are big costs in renovations. First Hubby saved a bit by running the wires along himself but not connecting them, and when we replaced pipes he dug the trenches. After that I always tell them we will do labour, demolition, digging etc.

I always buy my own light and bathroom fittings on sale. Some tradesmen will tell you their wholesale outlet, you need their business card.
Here it is the "Nanny State" though, and many jobs have to be certified by licensed tradespersons.

I wasn't familiar with VFM term, but am familiar with "cost benefit analysis" and that was how we decided to hire out the retaining wall project. The money we will spend is worth it to avoid the physical labor involved and the time we would spend doing the job working on our days off.

I wouldn't want to discourage anyone else from joining the discussion, but I must say, I've been enjoying our three way conversation, especially since between us we are quite spread out geographically. I have learned quite a bit.

I have some advantages in hiring trades people, in that I live in a very small town ( pop. 1700) and trades people who price gouge or give poor service are quickly out of business, and if I need work done I can ask friends and coworkers for recommendations about work they have had done recently.

Chookchook2. I agree doing the unskilled labor part can save lots of money. We turned an unused "bedroom" into a closet for an adjoining room and an office alcove. I didn't even ask the cost of demolition because I didn't want to pay for something I knew we could do, so we took down all the old horsehair plaster and added batt insulation before having the electrician and drywall guys come in. I knew we could hang the drywall ourselves but I also knew from experience that they could do a much better job of mudding and taping than we could. The drywall people asked if we wanted them to paint the area (room and adjoining hall). I HATE painting and was very temped but I couldn't make myself pay $200-300 to avoid a task I am capable of doing in less than a day.

It is a bit unorthodox but with the electricians we hired for that job, I made a prioritized list of all the small tasks we wanted done, told them I had $1000 to spend, and asked how far down the list they could get for that amount of money. Since they were able to do more than I had anticipated, they got the job (they had already been recommended by a friend, they had worked on her 1916 house). That job had a tighter time line because we were using a number of trades. There is an electrician in my area (town 30 miles away) who, if you are willing to wait, will schedule a number of smaller jobs in your town on the same day. Because it increases her efficiency and decreases her travel costs, she will pass those savings on to the consumer. Because she also has received excellent recommendations, we will use her services on jobs that aren't time sensitive.

I put "bedroom", previously mentioned in quotation marks because the room in question was 7x14 feet and three feet of that was needed for attic access, so a bedroom that's useful floor space measures 7x11 (and has no closet) isn't really a bedroom. Our house was built in 1890 and so has any number quirks that owners of modern homes don't have to consider, but I do love my "house with character".

I'm enjoying this discussion as well..and katelyn..thank you..I'd forgotten and was reminded about your' I have $1000' to spend premise. I had that as an initial principle and it seems to have dropped away. So I'll re-introduce it. In time I'd like to see the retaining wall and chookchook if ever you get to build that Gazebo - the same applies :). If anything, saving money isn't always about buying the least expensive it's being aware that we live in a world now where we expect more, expect it now and are dissatisfied potentially with anything less than we think we need. and yet our grandparents or even farther back I'm sure weren't quite so spoiled for choice! To be honest the term VFM isn't so common - the 'corporate job' was actually a diplomatic one and I preferred not to refer to that initially. One of the roles I had was to administer multiple properties as well as all money matters pursuant to the operation. As we were using 'tax-payer' funds it was a requirement that for every single form of expenditure, we had to ensure we were spending wisely. and i'm sure we'll have plenty of ideas to share in the future. Looking forward to it :)

I like to spend money preparing my property for disablement and/or old age, even though the second is a way off. We want to put in more paths, ramps, modify the bathroom etc. We moved a lot before and don't want to move ever again, so we deliberately moved to a small block. Lately we have been putting up solar powered gutter lights and it is so much easier to walk around the perimeter of the house now, for no running costs! I bought them cheaply on eBay.

Seems to me our discussion isn't so much about budget as it is about balance. That may be saving on fixtures to enable a wall paper purchase or doing demolition to pay for a tradesperson's skill and knowledge. I know in my youth, I bought whatever it was I wanted if I could afford it ( or afford payments). Now I try to have a spending plan not only for short term goals but for long term plans. I hope to retire late next year debt free and with the major work on the house done. A number of friends and acquaintances talk about how lucky I am, but it isn't luck. It is planning. While many of them were flitting around taking vacations at tourist destinations I was paying off my mortgage, now I will be able to retire at a younger age than they will. Then I can travel leisurely (to mostly non-tourist destinations) if I wish. Though having lived and travelled all over the US and some overseas, perhaps my desire for travel isn't as strong as theirs.

Chookchook2. I wish we had been as far sighted as you. We purchased a two story home built in 1890, not exactly handicap accessible, but I do love our "house with character" as we call it. So far my only adaptations looking toward old age, have been raised garden beds and paved walkways. We are considering beefing up the structure in the walls of the stairway so if a chair lift becomes necessary that will be in place. I'll post some photos. My SO did the bulk of the digging, we laid the base together and I placed every one of the pavers. Each walkway or patio area was a summer project.

The paver photo shows about 20% of the total pavers laid. Extend the walkway in the foreground of the photo about another 12 feet, and that was one summer's work. At the rear of the photo it branches to the left to a patio/work area, to the right it surrounds the porch. There are additional walkways from the front door to the street and from the back door to the alley. I made so many trips to the home improvement store picking up one pickup truck load of pavers at a time that when I was there Christmas shopping (with snow on the ground) an employee asked if I was there for more pavers. I guess there are worse things to be recognized for.

Loving your pavers. Nice pattern. Raised garden beds need to be about hip height to be useful for wheelchair person. Ours like that is fun to weed, not getting down on the ground is nice.

I see you here, Curt, join in!

Boxes are about 20", tall enough I was able to manage using a walker with a seat when I broke my leg a couple of years ago. They are modular with soil only in the top section so I can add height later if needed (or wanted).

That's great, and if you can grow veggies that's a money saver right there.

This year I have peas, broccoli, spinach, lettuce (3 kinds), carrots, onions, garlic, peppers, two kinds of squash and tomatoes planted. I've already harvested one crop of spinach and have my second planted, I am hoping to get 3 plantings of spinach this year. I am currently harvesting the peas as they are ready, and am on track to harvest 10 lbs of shelled peas from this planting. If I can harvest it all this week I may be able to get a second crop in this year. Almost forgot the herbs; rosemary, parsley, sage, dill, oregano and cilantro. I use the square foot gardening method so the plantings are dense and and you can get a variety of crops in a small area. My ultimate goal is to expand my garden a little each year until I am providing at least half the vegetables we eat. Haven't saved any money yet as I am still expanding the infrastructure but I like gardening and you can't get fresher than garden to table in 30 minutes or less. In another year or two infrastructure will be complete and it will mean big savings.

Do you get snow? We don't. Are you putting a shadehouse?

My last post seems to have disappeared into cyberspace, so if it reappears and you get duplicate comments, I'm sorry.

We are roughly 80 miles from the Canadian border, so get at least some snow about 5 months a year. Our earliest and latest frost dates are 1 November and 1 June. Currently we are having pretty typical temperatures for July, daytime temperatures are hovering around 100 degrees Fahrenheit so we get a wide range of temperatures in one short growing season. With a little work I can start planting in early April and finish harvesting in October.

I am not building a shade house, I build small tent like structures out of shade cloth and PVC pipe and place them over my raised beds. Early and late in the season, I want all the warmth I can get, but in the middle of the summer by using them I can keep my cool weather vegetables ( lettuce and spinach especially) from getting bitter. They are small enough and light enough I can put them up and take them down by myself. If you look at my post from the 7th you can see a couple of them in the background.

Clever! Have you a greenhouse?

I had what was little more than a tent, but after several years of use it was falling apart. I have an un assembled green house. It is going to go in the area where we are putting in the retaining wall (and leveling the site). I am anticipating having the retaining wall put in in October and hopefully we will have the green house ready to place then. It is small 6x6x6. But enough to get things started earlier in the spring. I've read other Houzz readers say they were able to better prices by waiting till October to have landscaping done. That would be a nice plus, but my main motivator is that I will be completely debt free then. Whether is is October or not, I'll post a picture when it is done. What about your garden? Is it all raised beds? How long is your growing season? When will you start planting? Living in different hemispheres it will be interesting. to discuss some gardening issues.

The veggies are hubby's area, we have a cottage garden, fruit trees and flowers. we are gradually reducing the lawn, by putting in paths, and more beds, however we mow the laneway behind us. We took downsome of the back fence and put a wrought iron double gate to the lane, which gave our small garden a vista through to the next street.

We have 2sheds, one we replaced. We also put the chook run and a double carport which we don't put cars in. We sit in it, play board games etc and I refinish furniture undercover there. My 50 th bday party will overflow into it next year, so i want it paved before that. I think we will be putting solar panels on it. The round trampoline, which can take adults, takes up alot of space.
I would like to have mostly raised beds eventually, but gradually : as we dig more paths, the soil can fill them.
We can grow things most of year as it doesn't snow here, we are close to the coast. Our big prob with the veggies is our Jack Russells. In Summer they trampled all but the tomatoes, (then most of them didnt fully ripen, as the neighbour put up a very high garage, cutting out all our morning sun.) this Winter the dogs got all but the beetroot and spring onions. We thought they wouldn't get up onto such a high raised bed, but they do. The herb garden does ok though. I have all my solar lights up high because of them chewing, and I'm a fan of raised plant stands. I've even got a couple of reused bakers stands outside for pot plants. The kids have a succulent collection on them, plus hubby's strawberries, to keep them from the dogs. I bought hanging bag thingys to grow strawberries and tomatoes this coming Summer, we shall see if they live up to the advertising.

Your place sounds lovely, I love the look of a cottage garden but mine always turn out much more regimented. What do you use for your paths? The walkways I've put in are like everything else in my landscape, very linear and overly organized I'd like to get away from that look if I can.

We also have two sheds one a prefabricated metal one we purchased when we first got the house (no garage so nowhere to store mower, snowblower, rakes etc. and one we built ( I got a little whimsical there and added lace curtains and flower boxes much to my SO's dismay.

I envy you, your carport, our only outdoor space is our porch, though with only two of us we don't need much space. I hope you get everything done that you want done so you can have a large and wonderful birthday bash!

You obviously have more energy and patience than I to have Jack Russells ( plural!). With my work schedule I would never be able to give even one the attention it needs and deserves.

Let me know how your "hanging bag thingys" work for you? I didn't have success with mine but that was "operator error". Poor placement and not enough watering on my part ( it was my first attempt at tomatoes and I had NO idea what I was doing.

We have crushed granite out the back but I would prefer pavers. With so many trees we need a permeable surface. Plus I would like a sandstone colour (cream). Need a large area for daughter to practise her dancing so may concrete behind the house for a smooth surface.

I like the look of the pavers I've chosen but am constantly fighting weeds and grass between then. I am looking for something low maintenance to put between the raised beds in my garden. My SO hates mowing between them and I hate trimming the edges.

I think pavers are too hot and to hard for the garden. Are your paths the crushed granite that becomes almost solid after wetting?

We are slowly taking up more lawn, to reduce water use and for ease of maintenance. While we still do most of the work and projects ourselves we are 60 and know that can't continue forever. Better (and cheaper) to get those thing in place now while we can do the manual labor for most of them.

The crushed granite we have is grey, but on TV gardening shows they call one crushed granite that is a tawny colour. It firms down nicely when wet, and weeds only seem to grow about 6 monthly. Its not a problem for the lawnmower like gravel. You have to dig deep during preparation, to remove the weeds. If ageing in place, level pavers or concrete are best. I would like stencilled concrete, but worry daughter might trip, dancing.

Thanks for the information on the granite paths.
If we can find something suitable I'll probably go with a low growing ground cover between the raised beds. If I can't find anything suitable we'll stick with grass and just have to mow and trim. We are planning on aging in place. New garden problem this week, I've had my raised beds for about 7 years now, and suddenly the neighborhood cats think the are litter boxes! I'd just planted a second crop of peas and spinach and found the soil disturbed. Spent the evening cutting wire fencing ( free from a friend who'd replaced it with a solid wood fence) to cover the boxes. Put a slight bow in it so plants can get a few inches high before I need to remove it. They don't seem to disturb beds with plants 2-3 inches tall, just those with tiny plants or freshly turned soil.

Took me long enough but here is the potting bench (white) I built for my friend. Black bench is mine and was made from a 1950s desk and family member was taking to the dump. Last picture is the cabinet I built to hold the jointer/planer and scroll saw. Each tool is mounted on plywood and slides out to rest on top of the cabinet. It is not great carpentry but it is made entirely of scrap wood. The only expense was casters. Even the handle was left over from another project (2 to a package).

Good idea with the wire fencing, lime deters cats but you will need to put the opposite chemical (acid?) to counteract it.
Great benches and cabinet, good for you!

Well, we got our retaining wall in. It still needs a finish coat to make it look nicer but that has to wait until spring, as it is too cold to apply now. We had to make some changes for a couple of reasons. One the decorative cement blocks I initially wanted were several thousand dollars more than poured concrete. That savings allowed us to start our fence (a multi year project). The other was I retired a year earlier than planned. I had reached my limit and saw no reason to be miserable for an other year if I didn't have to be. The wall was done by a contractor. My SO and I put in the fence. I also laid a sand and paver base and got my green house put up this year. Here are the before photos. First two, then the afters.

Hello @ katelyn and chookchook. Genuine regrets that it's been so long. Looking very good and so much better. You can be proud of what you've done. I've been endeavouring to get a march on the hot weather before it hits and one of those areas has been the vegetable garden with the constant battle with weeds etc. so my solution is to lay crushed rock, the idea being that any weeds that come through can be isolated. And you can see those 2 water tanks that was part of my first commentary. If ever you're interested I've kept a blog going so I can look back at what I've been doing - it's also been a few weeks since I've added to it but there is some progress. Hope all is well. http://northlandkaiwakahome.blogspot.co.nz/

Michael: Read your blog this evening and found myself smiling (or was it grimacing) in recognition and sympathy. We have called our home our "house with character" since we purchased it. I am amazed at how much progress you have made in a relatively short time, though I'm sure it doesn't feel that way as you are living it. I am hoping our progress will accelerate as I am no longer working.

I too retired rather precipitously, got fed up on a Friday night, gave myself three days to talk myself out of it (and couldn't) and less than an hour after waking on Tuesday morning I had turned in my letter of resignation. I decided that life is too short to be miserable for mere money unless you absolutely have to, and since I didn't have to, goodbye job, hello life!

I've spent the last few weeks preparing for winter (when not putting in fencing), cleaning out garden and flower beds, putting outdoor furniture and accessories away, draining, cleaning storing water barrels and I could have used another few days but we got our first snow and below freezing temperatures last night. Yesterday I harvested the last of the spinach and today the ground was frozen.

Since my work out doors is essentially done for the next few months (cold weather vegetables will get planted in mid April) my focus is moving inward. My plan is to deep clean, organize and declutter as we change the purpose of a number of rooms, preparing for a major remodel next spring. We have a small bathroom (approx 1.6 by 2.6 meters) and an adjoining closet of the same size both of which open off of the master bedroom. There is a smaller very inefficient closet on the other side of the bed room. We plan to turn the bathroom and adjoining closet into a larger more functional bathroom and rework the other closet, as well as some cosmetic work in the bedroom. As usual we will do as much of the work as possible, and hire out only what we can't do. This will affect approximately 25% of our home. The other aspect of this preparation is to start looking for bargains in building materials and fixtures.

This has been a bizarre winter in regards to our weather. We have had almost no snow, which means no snow pack and most likely drought conditions this summer. Good thing we have a water collection system. We've had much warmer than usual, to the point the spinach that I didn't get pulled last fall started to grow in January. Of course, it has since frozen but it was fun to dream for a week or so. As we are heading into spring my to do list is growing rapidly. Currently I am collecting clear 2 liter plastic bottles to used as garden cloches. This month the water collection barrels will be placed and attached, spinach started, tomato seeds started indoors and the garden prepped for other cold weather vegetables to be planted next month. It is also getting to be time for my least favorite task, winter clean up, raking up dead leaves, branches and wind fall fruit that has been rotting all winter. Our bathroom remodel is currently on hold but we will continue the less expensive outdoor projects and hopefully start the remodel later in the summer or early fall.

We're in the middle of drought grrr. If it's not sun then it's a drying wind. Interesting aboutn the 2 litre bottles katelyn..I've also used them upside down with the neck in the ground, buried a bit. If I place them near to a vegetable plant etc (as in the appearance is not so important as for a shrub), then I pour water into the container knowing that it keeps the soil a bit moister deeper down away from the sun and wind - and it encourages the roots to seek the moisture. I assume it works of course but not tried it without them. Looking at your list of things to do..uff..nice Spring images in magazines don't show the work involved. And me? I've given up doing anything to the house until Autumn - must update the blog by the way. Nice to hear your progress @ katelyn :)

Michael: regarding your watering system, I've done something similar but attached a piece of PVC to the "spout" end. But prior to attachment, capped off the other end of the PVC and drilled holes along its length then inserted it into a tall flower pot. It seemed to help get water throughout the whole pot, not just the top few inches (my goal was deep root growth), not sure how it could be used for plants that are planted in the ground. By capping the lower end I wasn't sending the majority of the water out the pot's drainage hole.

Shame we're so far away..would be nice to 'pop over' and check what yours looks like :)

It will be awhile but when I can dig stuff out of the shed (or make a replica) I'll post a picture. Right now the shed is filled floor to ceiling with out door furniture, water barrels, shade structures and other "stuff".

Couldn't find any pre made ones so made an example. Used these in tall pots. They would be harder to add after the fact, but would probably be doable if put in place when a shrub was planted.

Hello, Michael, long time no see! How's kiwi land these days?

Cool device, Katelyn.

As predicted we did have water restrictions this summer. Fortunately, they were voluntary, with the warning if water conservation goals weren't met, they would become mandatory. So far they have remained voluntary. I've been working on a drip irrigation system that uses gravity feed and collected rain water, though I could use "city" water if necessary. It involves using a sump pump to pump water into garbage cans raised on platforms, then running hose to the raised beds with the system ending in drip emitters at the base of each plant. It should make watering easier and use less water. It isn't pretty, but if it lets me have a garden and use less water I can live with ugly.

If you get a duplicate post, I am sorry, my last seems t

Chookchook2 good to hear from you. Bear with me, I seem to have only an intermittent internet connection.

Disguising utilitarian things like tanks is why God invented lattice.

chookchook and katelyn. Long time I know..surfacing from what it seems is interminable rain and chills - always the same. God's humour has the grass and weeds growing in leaps and bounds whilst the ground becomes bog-like. Will be outside reversing the advance; don't know about you or any other gardeners..I've a bad habit of buying flowering shrubs dreaming of how they will look only to have them sit on the wooden deck in pots for months or even a year. Currently have 5 rose shrubs which are very hard to find sitting in pots waiting to be planted..hope to be out there soon and getting ready for the warmth of Spring/Summer :). Speaking of lattice, gales have blasted a hole in one of the walls of the greenhouse - my predecessors had little money so essentially built a greenhouse covered in sheet plastic, so now I have a giant plastic bag as a house :) Lattice is on the list to buy eventually to mask the bag effect :)

Here where there are bushfires not far away, I would really like laser cut metal screens. They are dearer, so on a very long list of wants.

I won't bother with lattice, barrels are partially obscured from the street by fencing and if I put it up I would have to work around the lattice in order to turn the valves for water. If I can just make better use of collected water I'll be happy. We are at the end of our growing season so I should be cleaning up the garden and putting it to bed for the winter, just can't seem to get motivated. We had our first frost last week. Usually, our average early frost date is 1 November. I got almost no produce from garden this year, but there is always next year.

Chookchook2 I've seen some of those decorative metal panels and they are gorgeous, sure hope your budget will allow you to get some before too long.

Most of our state has been on fire for a good part of the summer. The closest is across the river from us and they have been battling it for almost a month. Some friends have had to evacuate repeatedly. We've only been concerned once, a small grass fire on our side of the river on a day we had wind gusts up to 65mph.
Fortunately, it was put out quickly.

Australia and New Zealand have both sent firefighters to help with the blazes. I can't begin to tell you how appreciative we are. The closest fire was fought for almost a week by local volunteers only as there were no other resources available. They were all on other fires. The Army National Guard (reserve troops) were called out to help with support duties and for the first time ever the federal Department of Natural Resources (DNR) asked for civilian volunteers to help with non firefighting tasks, cutting fire breaks, moving supplies etc.

Must go out but will reply later :)

Katelyn, are you ok with the fires today? How are you with the smoke? I know ours were 9 km away but affected my athsma. It is a good idea to avoid lattice and combustible mulch, due to ember attacks.

Michael, are you related to Peter Garrett, I really like Midnight Oil. You don't have to answer if too personal. I went to your blog, my word you have been busy and accomplished heaps in the time.

We've been ok with the fires. The closest was across the river (about 40-50 miles away). I had friends that had to evacuate but they and their properties we okay, but others in their area lost homes. Last month the smoke was bad, visibility was down to 1/4 mile some days but since we've had some rain it hasn't been bad, though they are still fighting some of the same days.

I'm relieved to hear that, Katelyn! Yes some firefighters from our town do go overseas and interstate to help out. When we have big fires the favour is returned. I think that's great. My hubby is in a rescue service called SES , they do car accidents (jaws of life), floods, trees on houses, searches in the bush, etc.

In the US at least some of those services fall under the heading of EMS. Emergency Medical Services. In my youth (20s) I was an Emergency Medical Technician prior to becoming a nurse.

We are considering switching to a propane fire pit as we are frequently not allowed to use the wood burning one due to the fire danger from embers. The pit itself isn't a problem as it is 1 foot from the pond and surrounded by sand, rocks and concrete pavers. I don't think we have used it at all this year as the lack of rain and voluntary water restrictions have left everything so dry.

I have heard about your drought. As El Niño is back , drought will return to our region, although things don't get as bad in this area I moved to, as we are. Near the coast.

we just got a new prime minister

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-14/malcolm-turnbull-beats-tony-abbott-in-liberal-leadership-ballot/6774546

Please vote and comment

https://www.houzz.com.au/discussions/high-school-image-poll-for-yearbook-dsvw-vd~3435868