Garbage for sale at Home Depot

[fredfighter]

Uh, umm, errr, really now.

[Prometheus]

Yesterday, the wife and I took a road trip, and stopped in at a HD for the first time in several years. I'd have to agree with everything you said above- We were looking at flooring, and while they carried vinyl stick-on tiles for $.29/sq ft., they also had nice quarried marble in the next aisle. Who cares if they've got some junk- at least they carry some higher class materials as well. Around here, all we've got is Menard's, and all they've got is junk piled next to the junk- you don't get the option of buying a higher quality product unless you have a contractor's account with a smaller commerical vendor, or drive two hours to another chain.

[Prometheus]

Hmmm.... Come to Wisconsin, and attend a county fair. Bet you'll change that tune pretty quick! :)

[Dave in Fairfax]

I believe I covered that earlier in the thread, but what the hey. I grew up not far from you, MI and IN. I've seen big girls with not a lot on, visit the neighborhood sauna or go skinny dipping. Given my druthers, I'd rather be lookin' at the backside of the ladies. But hey, that's just me. It's a free country, more or less, if you wanta look at the guys, I won't tell. %-) But I'm still gonna watch the ladies.

Dave in Fairfax

[kzinNOSPAM99]

I guess I should chip in here. I recently bought kitchen cabinets from the despot. I can't say that everything went smoothly but the cabinets themselves are gorgeous. Hardwood doors and face frames, laminated high density chipboard sides and back, tongue and groove joinery with glue, no fasteners. They aren't the highest end you can obtain but they are plenty high quality in this day and age.

And they have those triangles too.

One key reason I think they use those things is that the cabinets get beat up pretty good during shipping. If they are racked too hard the tongues will snap off and the cabinet will be ruined. Those triangles keep the racking from getting too severe. I of course could be wrong. Note that this is a load that has no relation to the load that the cabinet will experience during it's normal use.

At any rate just because the despot happens to sell bottom of the line items doesn't mean that you can't get better quality there. You may have to special order it.

I think it's fairly mean of the OP to imply that those that can't afford the highest quality should go without anything at all. Why shouldn't I have a functional, if cheap, kitchen, just because I can't afford to hire Tage Frid to custom build me some cabinets?

Having said all that I still don't really care for the despot. They have too many customers for their folks to properly and carefully deal with and thus stuff is always falling through the cracks with them. Nevertheless OP's post and other subsequent ranting replies just aren't true.

ml

[Mark & Juanita]

So ya'll put thongs on the cows and pigs up there in WI? Guess that adds to the romance, eh?

GD&R :-)

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

[Robatoy]

I have no opinion.

[Prometheus]

I try not to look at anything that is 600lbs with a hairy back- male or female. :) Seriously, there should be an application process for spandex tube-tops and visable thongs. Just got some new neighbors, and the first look I got at one of them nearly made me tear my own eyes out- lady musta been 300 lbs, all sallow, cottage-cheese looking cellulite, and she was bending over in shorts which, while not particularly short or revealing in themselves, became short and revealing because they were jammed up her ass crack. *gag* And of course, the three-sizes-too-small tube top was in attendance as well, to complete the ensemble.

Then again, when you see the college girls running around, it's a whole different tune.

[Prometheus]

Sometimes it's hard to tell :P

[fredfighter]

IMHO the fact that thongs and tube-tops are available in those sizes is evidence that a sgnificant part of the clothing industry is controlled by gay men intent on revenging past discrimination by straight men.

[Ba r r y]

Or that the same clothing is being worn by cross dressing men, hence the larger sizes.

Barry

[bridger]

a three hunnert pound guy in a miniskirt and tube top?

AAAAAUUUUUUUGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

[Prometheus]

ROFL!!

[Glen]

Thank God I haven't had breakfast yet. That visual would make me lose it for sure. As it is my appetite is lost.

Glen

[Upscale]

Good thing then, you weren't here in Toronto last Sunday for the annual Gay Pride Parade.

[Renata]

I currently have my house on the market.

It has custom built, 3/4 (not that chintzy 1/2" stuff ;-) plywood (thank goodness I didn't use solid wood...) red birch cabinets with all kinds of nifty storage thingamajigs built in. Top of the line Congoleum floor. Appliances that are higher end. It has a host of upgrades I've done over the years including: upgraded outlets, refinished hardwood floors, ceiling fans, a whole house fan (that people don't understand), 2 fireplaces (well, OK, they came with the original house), "large" landscaped yard, etc.

It doesn't have central air and is 1/2 a step above a starter home.

The lack of central air is a killer, even with lower asking price AND a CAC installation allowance built into the price. Earlier in the year I asked the realtor if I should go ahead and have it installed. Nah, don't bother in this hot market. The market's cooled a tad.

We also have a lot of extended families looking and this place really shouldn't suit them. Living in the basement (or, rather, sleeping) isn't something I'd want to do. 'Course, they can't afford the size home they really need.

***main point below in all this ramblin' ***

The folks in the market for this kind of house don't give a $hit about woodwork, custom cabinetry, etc.

'Nother guy just sold his house in DC, with all kinds of neat renovations for 57 grand above asking price (700K). Folks looking at that house asked about the various renovations and he spent quite a bit of time talking about them to several of the potential buyers.

***

My potential buyers'd rather have a semi trashed "grass" (or the potential for, once you reseed it) yard rather than a landscaped yard

- because it's too much work.

Seems they're finding perfect homes elsewhere. How they define perfect is beyond me.

Given that, I'm debating.

I also bought a "new" place that's a custom built home from 1961. It's the drab sister in a pretty good (so far) neighborhood. The kitchen (and, mainly, exterior) needs renovation. e.g. Appliances from 1961. The custom built touches show in all kinds of places, where a tract builder just wouldn't have gone to the trouble. Most folks didn't even realize it was custom built.

The question arises, do I build new kitchen cabinets with solid cherry raised panel, cathedral style doors; build new ones in a more contemporary style (that's easier to build also) w/ply doors and nifty handles (style would seemingly better match the SS appliances); have someone build me the doors while I build the carcasses; go to Ikea and get some nice termite barf units?

Folks across the street seem to be ones that buy, upgrade, live for the required minimum 2 years, sell at a nice profit, move to next place. They just moved there (in fact, I'd bid on that house also and lost - thank goodness, after the fact). They're getting those nice Ikea cabinets. In red (which may actually look kinda cool).

Renata

[kzinNOSPAM99]

once upon a time people were concerned more with enjoying the house they lived in than the overall profit margin obtained at resale.

If your intent is buying a house to sell for profit then I'd talk w/a local realtor about what the hot ticket items are for that market and do those. Even if that means not enjoying living in the place as much.

If your intent is to enjoy the house and place your mark on it with higher quality built-ins etc. then that is what you should do.

you won't find answers here....

ml

[Prometheus]

Well, maybe not all of them- but it only takes one, after all. To be sure, I got a good deal on my house with all the little extras, but I shut up and paid the asking price as soon as I saw the place. I would have bargined a bit, but it has custom cabinets, doors and trim, as well as a landscaped yard and I was not willing to lose the bid. It's not a high-end mansion by any means, but the extras made the difference to me.

How long do you plan on staying there? It's your house, after all. If you're just looking for a quick turnaround, go for the barf- most people don't know the difference and wouldn't care if you explained it to them. If you're going to stay there a while, get what you like. As I said above, mine are custom, with ply doors, and I'm really quite pleased with them. They're not fancy by design, but the maple veneer on the ply was chosen for figure (or by some terribly odd accident) so they don't need any frills to look great, and they'll go with anything.

[Renata]

Making a profit isn't a problem. I'd guess 2 months into the deal I could already sell it for more than I paid, enough to even recover my closing costs. Been to DC area lately?

Part of the issue is my putting in a whole lot of effort (that went way beyond kitchen cabinets) only to find that folks don't know the difference.

Yes, I've enjoyed it, but...

as to placing my mark - what mark if the next owner is gonna tear everything out to put some nice Ikea $shit?

I guess since this isn't my forever house (I hope) and maybe not even my domicile for more than a few years, the personal enjoyment aspect has to be balanced with the level of work and ensuing owner's potential appreciation to make it worthwhile to go thru with the effort.

Renata

[jo4hn]

[snip] My previous house had a large family room and a "formal" living room, the latter of which was never used. Maggy saw a photo of C.B.DeMille's library so I rebuilt it into a tudor style library with a vaulted ceiling, "walnut" bookcases, and the dark trim. We sold it to a Chinese gentleman who said the bookcases were bad feng shui. I volunteered to remove them free of charge. I now have two rooms of bookcases in my new house. Sometimes you win. mahalo, jo4hn