Home Improvement Adventures!
In 2024 as young 30-year-old aspiring homeowners in the competitive and pricey housing market, an unfortunate reality in today’s economy, my wife and I decided against a new construction in favor of a 2-story brick ranch home built in the 1950s for our first home.
I preface this by saying my wife and I are extremely grateful and love our home as it suits our needs very well and is very affordable for our budget which allows us to have the margin to take trips every year. But... let’s say the owners who renovated the home before us did not do the highest quality work. So with that, we have a lot of future updates on our to-do list. Although looking at this on the bright side, as we grow our savings and put money aside for home improvement, we can mold the home and customize it as we like since we fortunately do not have an HOA (No fee!) stifling our creativity.
With family coming into town from Florida for graduations, we found it to be the perfect time to redo 1 of our two full bathrooms’ standup showers to have it ready for our guests in anticipation of their stay. This was also preceded by the shelves within the shower (secured only with grout affixing them to the wall unfortunately) falling causing the shower to appear not in the best shape with the remainder of the bathroom looking relatively modern and updated.
With us being on a timeline of about 1 week to bring this project to fruition, we quickly began our hunt for the ideal wall and flooring tiles. This took some time because my wife and I aim to only make decisions if we can both can agree on them equally and if we can’t, we just decide to keep searching until we can. While on our search for tile, our family friend, who was generously willing to do the work of the shower remodel for half the price of what we were getting quoted, was able to completely gut the shower so we could start from scratch in the effort of making the shower our own.
Home Depot and Lowe’s tiles simply were not up to snuff for the look we were going for so we ventured off into Floor & Décor to weigh our options. Shortly after arriving, we were pleasantly surprised with the variety the store had and we came across a display with a wall & floor tile combo that perfectly fit with a modern beige polished porcelain finish next to matte black accent tile that fit well with our idea for the built-in shelf or shower niche. We were excited to make our choice but there was 1 catch… the floor tile was sold out in all of Pennsylvania! Shipping the tile was an option but the costs and time it would take factored this decision out.
Luckily, after some deep diving from a friendly associate, we discovered there was just the amount of tile we needed in an Elizabeth, New Jersey location about 2 hours away. With the store closing at 8pm daily, to give us the best chance to complete this bathroom in time, I made the voyage New Jersey during rush hour after getting out of work at 5pm the next day and was able to acquire just enough to fit our square footage! It’s funny how something as simple as acquiring just the right tile can feel so gratifying with the odds stacked against you and even more so because it allowed the Mrs. to get just the bathroom style she wanted without compromise which is always a plus.
The final pieces we needed to arrive on time were the showerhead, knobs, and sliding shower door from Amazon. This was important because similar items at brick-and-mortar stores cost twice as much, while Amazon offered comparable-quality products that kept us within budget. Our contractor was then able to get to work and did an amazing job. We finished with just enough time for everything to set and dry before our family arrived. You can see the before-and-after pictures below.
Although I would not recommend taking on a project like this on such a tight timeline, it made the process exciting, and we appreciate the end-product even more as a result. Feel free to reach out and let me know what you think of how it turned out. The Mrs. and I would also love to hear about any home improvement projects you have done or are underway that you are willing to share. We would love to see some inspiration before diving into the next one!
Ticket #T010941
Investment Advice offered through Great Valley Advisor Group, a Registered Investment Advisor. Great Valley Advisor Group and Haas Financial Investment Advice offered through Great Valley Advisor Group, a Registered Investment Advisor. Great Valley Advisor Group and Haas Financial Group are separate entities. This is not intended to be used as tax or legal advice. Please consult a tax or legal professional for specific information and advice. are separate entities. This is not intended to be used as tax or legal advice. Please consult a tax or legal professional for specific information and advice.
