Hey Gather friends, I am in need of some help!
You see, the time has come for Bill and I to remodel our house and landscape the yard. We are beginning with the bathroom, as it is in the most need. This house was built in 1959 by Bill's father. His father did all the work himself. There has been no real work on this house since then. We are going to remodel the bath, build fencing around the place, including my white picket fence around the front yard! I have always wanted white picket fencing and Bill promised we could have it. Then we are moving on to the kitchen, new cupboards, appliances, flooring, paint, etc. There will be new flooring throughout the house and a small mudroom - a half bath, off the garage. The really big project will be next year when we are going to add an upper floor, making ourselves a master bedroom - bathroom suite.
We are getting ready to shop for all the materials, as we will act as our own contractor. We'll hire an electrician and a plumber as needed. I have heard a lot about a place to buy these things, called Direct Buy. I am wondering if anyone has heard anything, good or bad, about this place. You have to become a member, somewhat like Costco and you have to travel to the showroom to even find out about how to become a member, what the cost of membership is, etc.
The closest showroom, from us, is in Portland a 5-6 hour drive and with the cost of gas like it is, I am hoping to find out more about it before making that long of a trip. So if anyone out there can recommend it or conversely not recommend it, I would really appreciate it. If you would prefer your opinion about this business to not be posted publicly please email me with any information you feel might help me.
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Comments: 63
When we remodeled our bathroom, we went to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore.
We saved a TON of money there. Maybe there is one in your area??
Good luck with your remodel!
I think it might be worthwhile to research your prices at Home Depot, Menard's, Lowe's, etc., and then compare with Direct Buy's prices. If they won't allow you to look before joining, they have something to hide.
We have always used home depot and so have my parents.
Angel
Direct Buy was out of our price range.....
http://friendsofdanh.gather.com.
Our goal is to help you further your exposure and to support other gather members.
Good luck with your remodeling job. My advice is to carefully research materials and techniques on the Internet before choosing what you do and how you do it. If you can afford the solid plastic fencing (that never fades or needs painted) it's a lot less upkeep than wood that must be painted yearly (but expensive). We remodeled the kitchen in our house and saved thousands of dollars putting it in ourselves, but take care to make things LEVEL! LOL! Get the right tools for the job (esp. tile, laminate flooring, etc.). It will go faster and be a much better experience that way. We are also remodeling a house I bought from my brother-in-law (cheap). We gutted it ... add insulation wherever you can. Replace old windows and you'll have much greater energy savings (we got a window for a stair well that was in almost constant direct sunlight that contained a UV coated inner glass. The difference in temperature was immediate, even before the window was sealed.)
You can get windows cheap at certain outlet places. They're perfectly good windows, you just might have to do them 1 or 2 at a time (which is all most people can manage anyway).
Oh, and when you do the kitchen, be prepared for serious frustration for at least a week until you get your kitchen functioning again. No cooking, washing hands, rinsing stuff ... you just don't know how many times you use that sink until you can't!!! Also, if you're doing anything with dry wall, tearing out plaster lathe or removing cement fireplace hearths ... get a BIG FAN to vent outside and use plastic to seal the room, otherwise your entire house will be coated with a fine white dust. Bleah.
I just realized I should write an article on our remodeling experiences (and frustrations). It might make interesting reading. :)
I suppose it depends on what you want. We're preparing to remodel a similar house and are still in the info gathering/pricing phase. I looked into Direct Buy, but it's really too rich for our blood. We're doing the majority of the work ourselves, too, and, so far, Lowe's and Home Depot have the materials we want to use at the most reasonable prices and are closer to us. Good luck! I know that's going to be a HUGE project for you.
Your best bet would be to go through Home Depot or Lowes .... and if you need furnishings for your new master bed/bath suite .... use the $1,800 you will save by NOT joining Direct Buy and put it towards this through a department store or furniture outlet .... you will most likely get the best value for your dollar that way ....
We found everything we needed for good prices at Lowes and Home Depot and in our bath we did a total clean out and purchased marble tiles for flooring and around the tub/shower area, new tub, new toilet, new pedastle sink, etc. all at Home Depot!
Good luck it's a ton of work. Find a Happy Quiet place outdoors where you will be able to write my dear :)
When selecting new cabinets, we had most installed with the roll out drawers instead of just shelves under the counter tops. Oh the joy of not having to get down on your knees or reaching way back in there to get something, it's wonderful, LOL.
That and a few other neat cabinet things has made life in the kitchen a pleasure now...
Good luck.
As for Direct Buy, We checked it out quite a number of years ago. It wasn't anything to write home about then and I can imagine that membership is even more costly now. Shop around your local dept and furniture stores. Even some antique and second hand stores. Don't forget about ebay, and estate sales.
We used to live in Portland and besides the price of gas, I don't enjoy all the mass traffic everywhere you go and a lot of the drivers are just plain rude. We have to return there frequently and altho we enjoy shopping & dinning at some of our favorite old haunts, we can't wait to get out of the city!
best of luck to you in your project. Sounds like you'll have a nice new home when you're thru!
Thank you all for your help. With what most of you are saying I believe I will pass on Direct Buy and use Lowes, Home Depot, Jerrys, etc. (I am in CA so I will travel to my sisters to visit Jerry's.)
We have built in spice racks that swing out of a cabinet, waste and recycle bins that rolls out, a special drawer with pastic tubs for cat/pet food, pantry cabinet, etc. We really over-did it some dollar wise on the cabinets, but boy do I enjoy it all, ha ha.
Have fun now!
I have never heard of Direct Buy. I love these do-it-yourself places, though, and my store of choice is Lowe's. I'm not that crazy about Home Depot.
I've noticed that Lowe's caters to a better, more choice crowd, and their customer service is a lot better than Home Depot.
I have a friend who does a lot of that type of work, so I like to accompany him when he goes shopping for his job. Although he goes to Home Depot, I'll take him with me to Lowe's
Home decorating is sooo much fun.
I hope you and Bill have a blast!
Thanks to you all. The consensus is running against and after googling them, I am against it too. We went to HD today and found some great fixtures for the bath. Whirlpool bathtub, toilet, sink, shower, and vanity. I have picked out some great faucets, too.
I promise pictures and probably some whining and wailing. LOL
Barbara C. I think you should write about your remodeling story. It might help a lot of us. LOL