Saving With Home Repairs

Hello readers.  This post doesn't have much to do with dividend investing but I wanted to share with you the things I do to save a buck (so that I can invest).  Houses are a money pit.  Things break in my house faster than I can fix them.  I will have the run the numbers someday but I am pretty sure I spend my on my house (not including the mortgage) than I do investing.

The Frugal Project

Toilet leaking

The Real Project (still frugal but not fun)

Fix that and more and more.

Estimated Cost of a Contractor Fixing

$300

My cost

$40

Savings for investing

$260

 My half bath on my first floor had a funky smell to it.  I had replaced the failing wax ring when we painted the room about 3 years ago.  Since then the nuts holding the toilet had become loose over time and the toilet must have rocked just enough over the past years that it would leak every now and then.  Eventually I noticed some discoloration in the wood and a wet spot in my basement.  Once my man cave had water in it I immediately shut down that bathroom and removed the toilet.  Sure enough the wood was soaked.  Tore up my nice hardwood floor and discovered moldy (and funky) wood sheathing underneath.  Tore that off and found a rotten sub-floor.  Tore that off and breathed a sigh of relief.  The joists were still good.  


So instead of spending my time researching investments or spending time with the family over the fourth of July I was working on this bathroom

 I reinforced the joists and laid down a new sub-floor made from plywood (stronger than OSB board that was previously there).  After that I put 1/4 inch plywood to bring the floor up to the same level as the rest of the bathroom (I only tore up half the floor).

 Luckily I still had some of the original hardwood floor left by the previous owners in my basement.  This I laid down myself and now all is well.

 So I still lost out on this one.  Had to put more money into the house and lost time.  That is what is most important to me.  That time I missed doing something fun with my family.  I suppose it could have been worse.

 Thank you for reading.  I am off to bed.  Just 1 more day until vacation.  Hopefully I will have some time tomorrow to look at some of the stocks based on my screen and share my findings with you.

 Worthy of the Dividend Family Guy blog?

Comments

  1. Living At HomeJuly 10, 2014 at 1:51 AM

    Nice! I did some repair work around the house recently. Youtube is very helpful. It's a great experience while learning some practical skills. It does take a lot of time ask you're constantly learning as you're doing. So there's that to factor in.

    Overall, you did a very nice repair job! The hardwood floors look super clean in the photo!

    - Henry

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dividend Family GuyJuly 10, 2014 at 9:17 PM

      Thank you. I agree. The internet has certainly made home repairs much easier.
      -DFG

      Delete
  2. Dividend LifeJuly 10, 2014 at 9:50 PM

    Hi DFG,

    Congrats on a great repair! How old is your house? I hope eventually you'll reach a point where most repairs have been done!

    I'm really bad at DIY and my first thought is to call in the contractors but that has its own hassle as well as cost. So I'm trying to be more self reliant but have only managed to lubricate my noisy garage door so far.

    Best wishes for your holiday tomorrow - I hope you have a great time with your family!
    -DL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dividend Family GuyJuly 12, 2014 at 12:18 AM

      Thank you DL. Stayed up late tonight to get my first analysis done before I leave.

      As far as my house it is only 20 years old. It is hitting that age where things are wearing out. I better start saving for that furnace as winter is just around the corner.

      -DFG

      Delete
  3. Johan MakineNovember 23, 2014 at 4:24 PM

    especially in some situation where the breaks and gaps seem difficult to Flooring company eliminate and fix. However, appropriate analysis and studying on how you can actually take care of this issue is an starting point to quality.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jesica SmithFebruary 5, 2016 at 8:44 AM

    nice

    ReplyDelete

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