From an early age, thanks to memorable pop culture moments like Jesse Spano’s infamous caffeine-pill-fueled freakout on Saved By The Bell, I embraced the invaluable lesson that chasing perfection is often a futile and even detrimental endeavor. This foundational understanding shaped my approach to life: strive for excellence, certainly, but always acknowledge that true perfection is an elusive myth. This philosophy extends profoundly into the world of home improvement and our daily lives, where the unexpected and the imperfect are not just possibilities, but inevitable companions on our journey.
Embracing the Unpredictable: The True Reality of Home Life and DIY Projects
It’s often quite peculiar when individuals suggest that we inhabit a flawless world, one where every detail aligns seamlessly, conflicts are nonexistent, and life unfolds with idyllic perfection from dawn till dusk. They might envision a landscape painted with unicorns and rainbows, where every day is hunky-dory. We’ve tried to demystify this perception, notably by sharing the unvarnished truth about Clara’s birth story – a day that was anything but the fairytale we had envisioned. Yet, beyond navigating such serious and often frightening life events, we are also intimately familiar with the constant hum of everyday stresses. In essence, just like countless others worldwide, things don’t always unfold as planned in our lives. We experience disagreements, our home inevitably succumbs to mess, budgets are stretched or broken, projects extend far beyond their anticipated timelines, and our moving truck once infamously got hopelessly stuck in the snow. Our running joke is that we’re so remarkably normal it’s almost outlandish; so if you contend with challenges like dust bunnies, burnt dinners, trivial arguments, spilled milk, or even shattered china ceramic animals in your home, rest assured, you’re in good company. These everyday realities are very much a part of our world too.
Beyond the Pretty Pictures: Sharing the Authentic DIY Journey
Given that our blog primarily serves as an extensive diary chronicling our home improvement projects and the ongoing endeavor of truly making our house a home, it seldom feels appropriate to dedicate a post solely to a recent argument about Clara’s missed nap or to document a particularly stubborn dust bunny lurking beneath our TV stand. (To state the obvious: dust is an inescapable reality, and if you don’t spot it in our photos, it’s simply because we haven’t zoomed in close enough, haha!) However, when obstacles arise and things don’t go as anticipated within the realm of home renovation, we are steadfast in our commitment to transparently share these trials alongside our triumphs. We believe in presenting the good, the bad, and the undeniably ugly aspects of our journey, as each has a valuable place here.
This commitment to authenticity is why we’ve openly discussed a plethora of mistakes we’ve learned from and hope to avoid repeating. We’ve recounted tales of project failures, like the disappointing outcome of a recycled glass endeavor, and the frustrating experience of a string lantern attempt that fell flat. We even posted a remarkably candid video showcasing an average day in our home, complete with clutter and disarray, and I’ve divulged my own ‘goo-related’ secret. Our house, unequivocally, is not a showroom, and we find immense value in demonstrating that genuine living and genuine home improvement come with their fair share of imperfections and unexpected turns.
The Budget Blowout: A Patio Project’s Unforeseen Costs
Despite our deep-seated pride in being frugal individuals who relentlessly hunt for deals, meticulously save every penny, and research projects to an inch of their life, we still, without fail, manage to completely break obliterate our budget from time to time. Our current patio installation project serves as a prime, albeit painful, example. As we embarked on this undertaking, I was intensely naive. My initial, overly optimistic proclamation was, “I’m absolutely certain this will be a two-day project costing under $500.” Those, as it turned out, were famous last words.
Our original vision for the patio involved using those inexpensive 12×12 inch gray concrete pavers readily available at Lowe’s and Home Depot, typically priced around $1 each. My simplified plan involved merely digging out a flat area and laying them down. I estimated the total cost, including some ground-tamping tools and all the pavers, would cap out at around $450. However, our desire to “do it right” and ensure a cohesive aesthetic led us to a different decision: we opted to match the fancier cobblestone pavers already present in our driveway. This seemingly minor upgrade introduced a significant shift in our financial outlook, with these higher-quality pavers costing approximately $2.67 per square foot at Home Depot.
The cost further escalated to a hefty $3+ per square foot at Lowe’s. Considering our patio would span roughly 300 square feet, this meant the stone alone would amount to $900 ($3/sq ft * 300 sq ft), not even factoring in any other necessary supplies. Determined to salvage our budget, we hoped to find better pricing locally and visited Southside Builder’s Supply. To our delight, they offered even higher quality cobblestone pavers than the big box stores, perfectly matching our driveway and locally produced – a definite score! Their price was just $2 per square foot, a substantial saving of 67 cents compared to Home Depot (the “Orange” store) and a full dollar less than Lowe’s (the “Blue” store), which truly adds up when dealing with such a large area. The visit was also an enjoyable experience, allowing us to wander through their multi-stone sample patios and visualize how different layouts would appear once installed, further solidifying our choice.
From Digging Disasters to Budget Negotiations
Feeling quite pleased with our deal-seeking skills after our reconnaissance mission to the local stone yard, we returned home, ready to commence digging up the side yard. In a previous post detailing the initial stages of this project, I mentioned our revised budget goal: under $1,000. This adjustment came after realizing that the cobblestone pavers, chosen to complement our driveway, would naturally be more expensive than the original $1 concrete square pavers we had initially planned for. How did I arrive at this $1,000 figure? Well, 300 square feet of stone at $2 per square foot equated to $600. We then estimated that approximately $400 for gravel, sand, and various other materials and supplies should be sufficient. More famous last words, indeed. But we’ll delve into that soon.
Before placing our substantial order with the stone yard, we decided to tackle some preliminary digging. This crucial step was to ensure we could achieve a properly level bed for the stones and, more importantly, to avoid any unforeseen calamities – such as unearthing a buried car or some other bizarre obstruction – that would render a non-returnable $600 purchase of cobblestone pavers a very poor decision. You might recall John’s liriope digging party from the previous week, but we still had that old brick path to contend with. Initially, its removal seemed incredibly easy…
…until we discovered that nearly half of it was laid directly on top of a massive, thick slab of concrete. This unexpected revelation was a significant setback and a stark reminder that this was unequivocally not a two-day project, especially since we were already on day two with not a single paver in sight.
Overcoming this obstacle required some pretty major, grueling sledgehammering. It was an arduous task that effectively demonstrated the true scale of the project’s physical demands and its deviation from our initial, modest timeline. The sheer effort involved highlighted the unpredictable nature of home improvement, where seemingly straightforward tasks can quickly escalate into monumental challenges.
But lo and behold, John persevered and got ‘er done! Ding dong, the old path is out. The entire process took considerably longer than we had estimated, and John was more than a little sore, but it was an incredibly sweet victory nonetheless. We had genuinely worried that we might need to rent a heavy-duty demolition hammer for the stubborn concrete slab, but John proved to be an absolute rock star with just a sledgehammer, saving us both time and additional rental costs.
The Final Tally: Negotiating and Accepting Reality
John will soon provide more intricate details about the extensive digging process, but for now, let’s revisit our stone order. After all the brick and concrete were finally removed, we made our way back to the stone yard to finalize our purchase. We were utterly stunned when they presented us with the grand total. Are you ready for this? $1,565. I nearly dropped our baby, not literally, but the shock was palpable. How could $600 worth of stone nearly triple in overall cost? Once I regained some color in my cheeks, I managed to stammer, “Okay, what can we possibly do to bring that price down, because it is waaaaaay over our allocated budget.” You’ll notice I was the one doing the talking stammering – John, bless his heart, abhors negotiating, so it naturally falls into my purview. Oh well, he handles the laundry, so it’s a fair trade. Anyway, we spent at least an hour working diligently with Jeri, an absolutely fantastic lady at the yard, to reduce the costs. We strategically decreased the amount of gravel we were ordering, which brilliantly allowed all our cargo to fit into a single truckload, thereby significantly cutting down on delivery fees. We even successfully negotiated a discount on the stone itself and opted to downgrade from the fancier, top-layer sand to standard sand. Every little bit helped.
In the end, we managed to bring our total down substantially, though it still fell short of our original $1,000 goal. We left the stone yard having paid $1,260 for all the stone, gravel, sand, border edging, and stakes required for the project. (To be precise, it was actually $1,340 initially, but we’ll receive an $80 deposit back once we return the bags our shipment came in.) Crucially, this total still does not encompass the additional expenses for tamping tools, landscaping fabric, and a few other supplies we still need to purchase or rent. And if you recall, we also expressed our intention to add a 6-foot privacy fence along the back wall of the patio area. Factoring in that expense on top of everything else, it’s quite reasonable to estimate that this entire undertaking might ultimately cost anywhere from $1,500 to $2,000 once it’s all said and done. This final figure is undoubtedly a far cry from the incredibly naive, “stupid-me” $500 budget I optimistically tossed out at the very beginning. Oops.
The DIY Way: Perseverance, Community, and Free Therapy
However, there’s absolutely no point in dwelling on the complaints, right? Don’t misunderstand me; I certainly whined the entire way home from that stone yard, even after we successfully negotiated our total down from nearly $1,600 to $1,260. But there’s little sense in “blog-whining” about it now, although sometimes “sew-crying” can indeed lead to blog-whining. Nevertheless, we genuinely wanted to share this significant budget explosion with all of you, primarily to illustrate a fundamental truth: unexpected complications and financial overruns are simply part and parcel of the home improvement game. It doesn’t happen every single time, but it certainly occurs a significant portion of the time, making preparedness for the unpredictable a crucial aspect of any DIY journey.
Despite the financial hiccups, we remain incredibly psyched about the substantial money we’re saving by tackling this project ourselves (hiring professionals to construct a 300-square-foot patio with the same quality materials would easily cost upwards of $5,000+). We are confident that we will get an immense amount of use and enjoyment out of this new outdoor space, making the investment of time, effort, and even the “loot” well worth it in the long run. See there I go, managing to be cheerful about something that initially felt quite annoying! Haha. There are additional perks, too: I get to see John get all wonderfully dirty, which is always my idea of a good time. And once the patio is complete, Clara will have a fantastic new area for chalk drawings and a baby pool, which will be absolutely priceless. We simply strive to keep plugging away, even when curveballs like broken budgets or momentarily broken spirits threaten to derail our progress. Such is the true essence of the DIY way, I believe. You just have to keep on keeping on, or you risk losing momentum entirely and might never pick up that old hammer, crowbar, shovel, or paintbrush again.
So, all of this serves to say, I recognize that I’m often annoyingly enthusiastic, and John can be a pretty chipper guy too. But, let’s be real, crap happens. Our approach is simply to make the best of it. And you’d be genuinely surprised at how immensely helpful it is to blog, or simply to “blab,” about our failures and shortcomings. (The entire reason we initially started this blog was because John needed an outlet to blow off some steam during kitchen planning, and we thought it would be a fun way to keep our family updated on our progress). Therefore, I highly recommend publicly airing your “dirty home improvement laundry.” It’s an incredibly effective way to come to terms with challenges, and you might even discover a community of fellow DIYers who can commiserate, offer truly helpful advice, and encourage you along your journey. Seriously, blog-venting is our Prozac. And you, our wonderful readers, are our therapists. So, thank you. You know how much we cherish a good deal, and free therapy is right up there with fantastic paint sales and appliance close-outs in our book of highly valued things!
Psst – Ahhh, Mother’s Day is just around the corner. Be sure to check out this week’s BabyCenter post where I reflect on how I spent the last one and how I anticipate we’ll spend this upcoming one (aside from, hopefully, laying some pavers!).