Hi Jayme, it hit 112 today but supposedly this is the last day of the triple digit temps, tomorrow should be in the 90's. You know when you get up at 4 AM and it's already 80, you're in big trouble! Humid here too. Why aren't you in the pool already???? OMG, I would have spent the whole day in it!

Jayme, question for ya - how can you be in critical but stable condition? It sounds weird!

Lisa, you crack me up ! Butterfingers and sweet-tarts! That's hilarious. Thanks for your kind words about the car, I hope you're right!

Hi Bobbi...
People can be severely ill, for example, after a serious heart attack, or having a serious infection such as sepsis (body wide infection in the blood stream), yet have stable vital signs, heart rate and rhythm, adequate urine output (kidney function), adequate cardiac output (heart pumping o.k.), and stable lung function. (neurological function is also a consideration). Basically they are not getting worse at the moment. That same patient can begin to show signs of erratic heart rate/rhythm, poor kidney function, labile (not stable) blood pressure or low blood pressure (shock like symptoms), etc, and in cases like that, they would be considered not stable.

Thank you Jayme, that does help me understand! I saw this on the news about Nelson Mandela's condition. I had this boss that used to say if they tell you don't worry, the helicopter is on it's way, it's definitely time to worry!

And also Bobbi...they can flip back and forth between the two and really take their poor families on a bad trip...(not intentionally of course)...but it becomes very stressful for loved ones...because they worry so much, and do not always understand what is happening. To them, it's like...One minute it's fine, now it's now..and what to do now? Very stressful for them.

@Bobbi...I have seen people on all sorts of meds and machines, who really should not have made it and they did and vise versa, so it's never for certain when people are that ill...they can flip in and out of dehydration and fluid overload rapidly, need to be on a ventilator, etc.
-Sorta miss doing it...it is challenging and u have to think on your feet all the time for what's around the next corner..watching the cardiac monitors, etc. I think the worst case I ever worked on was a patient who had 3 nurses at once...all we did was manage machines and i.v. meds..

I should think so, Jayme. That happened with my little Italian grandmother, but sort of via phone. She was in Florida and we were here in California. It was a tough one alright. Thanks for your great explanation!

Well I'm very sure the families and patients you helped were very glad it was you and not someone else!

Why is it that when you start one project, 5 more seem to pop up at the same time?

I noticed that the downspout and eaves on the garage need to be fixed... So I spent 45 minutes today trying to decide if I was going to fix that quick or just power ahead with the fence.

Robin, honey, it's called the snowball effect!

I've had a heckuva time posting this afternoon/evening, apparently so has Astraea. What's going on in nj on houzz? Glad to hear you found a new vehicle Bobbi, fast outcome.
Angela, sorry I couldn't help more, wouldn't let me post.
Lisa, happy birthday week to your kids!! Where are you that you can't get that stuff?
Fireworks in 23 minutes on Bradley beach, I hurt my knee, all alone here , sent the others to beach, not too bad really, I can see them from house, I'll be more comfortable.
Jayme, get in that pool girl!!!

Hi robin :)

Bobbi- I suggested the Honda so good for you. Its okay Michele.

Robin- I know what you mean with the house stuff

Got the estimate for the tile and I am pondering. $1900 for 220 sq ft

Angela, that seems high! Can you get a second estimate?

That is what I was thinking . He

eztia…this one is yours.
https://www.houzz.com/discussions/preparing-a-budget-for-a-rental-property-dsvw-vd~543915

?

Darn it!!! My posts won't come thru

Aaaahhhh!!!! Angela, sorry to sound blunt, I've typed it a million times now. Why not floating engineered wood? No trying to get the most wood looking, it is wood. Probably cheaper too!!

Angela - your quote is on the high side, but not totally out of line if he does the job to your satisfaction. If you want a number for comparison purposes, go to Home Depot and get them to send an installer out to give an estimate.

At this point, I suggest going back to the person and asking what you could do to lower the price. It's always good to feel them out about where they are on the price as some people bid high and expect that the client will come back with another figure. Ask how long they expect the job to require and base your offer on that number. If they expect to need three days to do the job, figure $250/day and add the material cost to that and offer slightly less, maybe $1400 and see what response you get.

Remember, this is only an estimate which is the first step in the negotiation process. Don't take it as a fixed price...if the guy wants the work, he'll come up with some concession...maybe less money or perhaps expand the scope of the work for the same price.

@bobbi..thanks! Tried to explain things in understandable terms, do a good job, gain trust of family..then they could relax better, eat, sleep a bit, etc.
@mforr...what did u do to your knee?...sorry!
Angela...I cannot tell the colors well enough from the pics...I like the flooring samples, whichever one u use, I think it is gonna look so nice!! I thought your quote sounded a bit high also. Linda has some good advise.
Today I haven't had any trouble posting, I wonder what's up?

Are any of my posts coming thru?

Linda-3 to 4 days

Michele-I have a little dog that pee-pee on command and that was why I was staying away from wood.

Michele, I see ya!

$90 for delivery? why not let the tile store load it into your SUV and the contractor can unload and shouldn't charge for that.then i'd also try to negotiate the hourly labor rate at least a bit.

I know it is the small things like that, that are irritating me, why would I pay for tile and then to for setting materials.

First of all, he is assuming that I will use the tile that he brought. I have a SUV and can go buy my own tile and pick it up myself and then to remove the existing laminate wood.

Do you have a compressor? Can you do your own baseboards?

He wants me to pay $1035 just to remove laminate and lay tile and baseboard.

Robin-No I do not own a compressor.

Bamboo?

Aw boo. Baseboards are fairly easy. I've never laid tile... though its on my to-do list. I'd come give you a hand but... well... It's a bit of a trip.

Our neighbors, their friends, brought about 50 little darlings, wearing lighted neck rings and waving flash lights, through our yard to walk up the hill to see the fireworks over Pleasant Bay. It is quite a spectacular event. We turned on all the outdoor lights and ground lights and played Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA very loudly on the outdoor sound system as the kids came through.

My kitty, being such a Patriot, ran under the bed.
http://www.wequassett.com/recreation

Look at the last pix on this link. That is my beach!

Sounds awesome Judy!

Ok Judy... I'm just gonna come live with you... Looks gorgeous!

Oh....!! I'm coming too!

Kimdee - carpool?

You got it! Start packing!

I've been packed for a bit! Just waiting for a destination!

Hi all, another beautiful day here and around 20 deg. Yesterday we hit 23, the highest July temp in 10 years. Have had a terrible time trying to get on here, has taken me most of the day, Houzz must be taking a holiday too.

Guys, I raised the other week about our own posts coming up with our title on a separate line. We worked out it only shows on your own computer and I guess is a way of quickly identifying your posts, they do stand out a bit.

Bobbi, glad you got a car ok, sounds like you got a good buy, hope all goes well for you.

One thing to consider when buying cars as you get older is access and egress. I'm definitely making sure my next one is much higher off the ground to give me a sporting chance.

Hi, Lisa and Busy, great to hear from both of you again. Love Johnny Horton and the Battle of New Orleans is a fave of mine too.

Talking sweets, I forgot to tell y'all, I finally got to try Salt Water Taffy, DD brought some over. It has always intrigued me, the name alone sounds disgusting but I have to admit it was really nice, I could become addicted. I am also being taught Spanish by Miss 7 - I guess I'm lucky too she goes to school to teach me things.

Can you get Green Ginger Wine over there? It is our favourite summer cooler drink, just add a decent slurp to lemonade.

mforr - have you tried Irish Coffee - great way to use up scotch (whisky) or I have a great recipe for putting it in gravy to go over steak. I will see if I can find it - dd may have hijacked the book it was in.

Angela - what happened to your id picture? Actually I must update mine, dd took a great photo of a roo the other day and it looks like it is talking. Thought it was very appropriate.

Well I'm so glad I got on here now you are all sleeping. Maybe tomorrow will be better.

It's already 7/5 here, but since most of you are alseep, I'll just post here :)

Normally I'm not the type to talk about the weather, but here's an exception.
What the heck is going on!?? It's steamy hot in the US, Finland had the hottest may in recorded history, while it rained on our vacation in the north of Spain two weeks ago. And on top of that some light frost was recorded in the Netherlands a week ago. Five months in a row with lower temperatures..

Is it due solar storms, climate change, are we getting tripping mad? I just don't get it.

JUDYG, when did you say the guest house would be ready for ollds? put me down for last 2 weeks of august please! WOW so beautiful.

Roo, I'd have to have gallons of Irish coffee to get thru even a tenth of this lot. The thought of all that just turns my stomach, lol. What on earth is happening with this site? Are they doing major overhauls? Nice if some kind of notice would go out, I've wasted so much time trying to post things that won't post or just even get into site. Poor Angela must have thought I'd lost my mind when I burst out with the engineered wood post, lol. I'm typing all of this, hoping that it won't get lost in the ether. Well morning to some and evening to Pamela and roo. Happy fifth of July to everyone. :)

Angela - I was thinking about your tile job. First of all, is this on a concrete slab? Good thing about that is no special backerboard is required.

What is the layout of the space? Is this a bedroom with closet/closets? I'm not sure the layout but it seems unusual to have only 220 sq ft of install but 80 linear feet of base. Is the 220 sq ft actual floor space (so, means he'll be buying more like 240-250 sq ft of tile to have enough for cuts)? Is that baseboard prefinished, painted grade? unstained? Who is doing the finish on the baseboard?

What size tiles are you using? Straight lay?

Thinset is purchased separately from the tile...you'll need all of two bags and probably part of a third at about $30/bag. Grout is also separate...if you are thinking you may have problems with the dogs peeing on the floor, I would upgrade to stain resistant grout. I don't have the numbers but I remember that was about double the price of regular grout. Ordinary grout is about $15/bag and maybe 2 bags (depends on joint sizes) would be $30

The $145 charge for removing the existing laminate and baseboards indicates to me that he would prefer not to have to deal with that whole issue. I'm assuming that the material is freefloating and not glued to the floor. If it is glued down, it might be worth it to make him responsible for the removal and cleanup, otherwise you should be able to remove it yourself and possibly even find someone to come get the material for free if it is in good shape.

Delivery costs are not unreasonable...he's charging about 15% of the tile price. If you want to save money, try offering him actual cost plus 10% for the materials. I know many contractors do charge handling fees and that fee covers the responsibility for getting the right materials and the right quantities to the job site. It's a transfer of risk from you to him. If we had a customer who decided not to pay such a fee, I would expect them to deliver all items to the location, not leave them in the garage or vehicle. Part of that fee also buys you the muscles that it requires to carry 50 pound boxes of tile and bags of thinset. It isn't difficult work, but by the time you've hauled the 20th box of tile, you'll be glad you aren't doing a larger space!

Let me know what other comments you have about the quote and i'll try to give you some guidance.

I won't be posting today, spent so much time trying to get in. Hi and bye aal

Linda the bedroom is 11 by 14 plus the hallway. I think the 220 is with 10%. There is a small walk in closet but he only has to do the front of the closet. The tile that I pick is 12 by 24 and he said that the size did not matter. I did not speak with him about straight lay or not. Yes on grout because that is why I am not using wood or bamboo. Bella is very small and sometimes when she gets nervous or scare she pees. I honestly do not have a problem with getting supplies and tiles myself because I did that for the other jobs. What I do not understand is how he is charging for tiling and then also charging to put thinset and grout down. Yes the laminate is not glue to the floor, some of it is coming up now. I can find someone to do the prep work. I think even the electrician can help me with that. But with all that it is still $1035 to do the tile.

Okay, it stop raining so going to try and get some gardening done real quick..