The Money Pit

One of the best parts of DIY for me is searching out a deal. Luckily my partner on the Munro project is also a deal hunter—willing to spend hours at a time looking for liquidation sales, scratch and dent centers, and wholesalers. He also combs Craig’s List and eBay several times a day for everything from plumbing fixtures to tile. (Step back, girls, he’s mine!)

He found $600 shower doors for $25 at a local Habitat for Humanity resale center, along with a $400 toilet for $100. We found a big salvage warehouse in Atlanta that yielded some inexpensive floor tile for the laundry and half bath. And my friend Julie turned me onto Fabric World in Stone Mountain—gorgeous upholstery fabrics for $5.99 a yard. Last time I went, they had a sale, so the living and dining room drapery fabric was only $5 per yard. Bonus!!

In addition to the Munro house, we’re also working on my place so it will be ready to sell once we move. My favorite deal so far is gorgeous granite countertops with back- and side-splash, installed for $700. That’s around $25 per square foot for premium granite—Chengde Green, not the ubiquitous UbaTuba. There was a warehouse liquidation sale in Lawrenceville and they were selling 7-ft runs for $150+. The Chengde Green was $195. I bought two, and the good folks at Innovative Marble & Granite cut and installed them. If you ever pay someone to do granite, these are the guys!! They are artisans, not just subs. They know their business well and take great pride in their work. Of course usually their customers buy the granite from them, but they had some free time and agreed to help us out! Great folks!!