One of the ways Paul and I have been able to renovate the house is to take advantage of the 12 or 18 month no interest from Home Depot or Lowes. And, as long as you pay it off within the requested time frame (which I do) you are golden. The only problem is sometimes the promotion does not fall within the time frame we are looking at to remodel (normally it is before). So we go buy and store stuff either on the sun porch or in the dining room (where currently resides 30 bags of insulation for the attic).
And admit it, you have seen us (or folks like us) at these places. The ex-jock looking guy with the clipboard, measuring tape and gloves and his faithful companion (that's me) getting distracted by all the pretty shiny stuff.
When we are buying large, it normally takes around 2-3 hours in Home Depot and/or Lowes. And, there are certain things we buy only at Home Depot and only at Lowes. For example, paint, beadboard, and the adhesive for the flooring is at Lowes and crown molding is at Home Depot. 2x4's, sheetrock, tape and bedding, plywood, and/or mdf are anyone's guess. I always ask Paul to try to get everything he think he might need. But there are always as he puts it "incidentals." Those "incidentals" normally consist of caulk and screws. For the amount of caulk we have purchased over the years, I should own stock in caulk.
And when we are buying 2x4's, 4x8's, 2x10's, or any type of lumber, Paul examines them like they are a fine wine, looking at them from all angles. I never understood why until we watched an episode of Holmes on Holmes. He is checking the "crown." Here's the "official" definition that I found on the "internets":
"Traditional lumber floor joists and wall studs are rarely perfectly straight. Most of us wish they were straight so that walls and floors would be in the same plane. This would make the installation of both floor and wall cabinets a breeze. In fact, just about every finish material applied to a wall, floor or ceiling benefits when the framing members are in the same plane. The crown of a piece of dimensional rough lumber is the upward arching curvature you see when you look down its narrowest dimensional edge. To see the crown of a common 2 by wall stud or floor joist, you drop one end of the board on the ground and pick up the other end. Rotate the piece of lumber so that the 1.5 inch wide surface is pointing to the sky. As you orient your eye, so that you are looking down this finished edge towards the ground, you will almost always see some amount of curvature. It is possible to have a piece of lumber that is perfectly straight or one with very little curvature, but they are few and far between."
Not only does Paul peruse the crown, he also looks at sheet rock for broken corners, plywood for knots and straightness, beadboard for imperfections. I have been known to go through 2 or 3 boxes of bullshots and flint blocks for to find that perfect one.
And DIYer's take heed, when you are getting sheet rock, plywood, lumber, please stack it neatly back like my husband does. It takes a little more time, but it helps the folks coming in behind you.
Two trips, one to Home Depot and Lowes - 3 carts at Lowes; 2 carts at Home Depot. I am sure there will be "incidentials."
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