Quote me on that

We finally got a contractor to give us a detailed quotation for the renovation of our house. Unfortunately, the number he gave us was about $5,000 shy of how much we paid for our house, so I don’t think it’s a very good idea to spend that on a renovation. If we really want that, wouldn’t we be better off just buying a second house and letting the kids have that for their bedrooms?
I was gobsmacked at this, especially as the contractor quoted it to us in two parts, and the first part was already well above our budget. So now we are faced with something of a dilemma; do we continue with the project as is, or reconsider the scope, or hope that this estimate is just somebody chancing their arm to get the highest amount they think they can get away with? The contractor even mentioned himself that it was a lot of money relative to the price of the house – as if we weren’t surprised by that…

The rest of the day was cold and rainy, to me a welcome return after the incessant heat of the last few weeks, but not the greatest way to keep the girls entertained. I drove out and bought some picture frames for some photos we had done recently, so that was a minor achievement, as was buying 48 cans of cider. You look for the little victories when they’re available.