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DaveNV: Making a Home in the Desert

DaveNV

TUG Review Crew: Expert
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Location
Mesquite, Nevada
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The intention of this thread is to document our ongoing experiences with adjusting to life in the desert southwest. I've found life really is a journey, and my journey keeps me on my toes!

For those who may not know who I am: I'm Dave, a Tugger of around fifteen or so years. I retired earlier this year, after a long and varied career in IT, including a twenty year career as a computer tech in the U.S. Navy. Because of Covid-19, my husband Jeff took early retirement from his career with Costco a few months ago. We have just recently completed an exhausting move from Washington State to Mesquite, Nevada. We left and sold our family home of seventeen years, and moved lock, stock, and baggage to the desert at the height of Summer heat. (Yes, I know - what the heck were we thinking??? :D ) We've recently closed escrow on the purchase of our home here, and we're now starting the process of updating that house to make it into our forever home. We're excited to continue the process of turning our lives upside down, as we continue to see where this path leads.

We invite you to follow along, and please contribute your thoughts and ideas, as our journey continues. Tuggers are an amazing bunch of people, and ideas shared here are reaching a very wide audience worldwide. Your thoughts and opinions may help another to resolve a difficult decision about something in their life. I look forward to hearing what you have to say.

Thanks,
Dave

[The beginning: The moving adventures ...]
 
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We spent time at the house yesterday, measuring things, figuring out where certain items will fit, calculating furniture placement, and closely inspecting things. The house has really good bones. It just needs a bit of elbow grease, and some loving attention to detail. The previous owners purchased it new twelve years ago. In that time they've made minimal changes to things, so a lot of original systems are due for updating.

We've decided the kitchen cabinets are in pretty good shape (we found the sales receipt in paperwork left for us - they were a major upgrade when the home was built.) They just need a thorough cleaning. Some Murphy's Oil Soap and Liquid Gold will go a very long way here. Seeing things in a different angle of light showed the entire kitchen will benefit from a deep, VERY deep cleaning. The previous owners were an elderly couple, and I suspect the cleaning that happened was just superficial, or perhaps only in areas convenient to reach. Once that happens, suitable drawer/door hardware is selected and installed, and new appliances installed, it'll go a long way toward improving the appearance of things. The kitchen layout is quite good, and makes the most of the available space.

I ordered new kitchen appliances yesterday. They'll be here in a few weeks. We're donating the current appliances to someone who is trying to update her father's home on a minimal (nonexistent) budget. Happy to do so, and it'll keep things out of the landfill. The existing appliances all work, but they're worn, and between four items (stove, fridge, dishwasher and over-the-stove microwave), they're three different brands. Nothing matches. OCD Dave is insane about such things. LOL! :D

We've hired a painting company to do the interior painting, which will do much to improve things. We're going over to the house today to test out a bit of our chosen paint colors on the walls, to make sure it's the right choice, and to see how easily existing colors will be covered. We need to know whether we'll need two coats. We're hoping one coat will do the trick.

We're meeting with three flooring companies this coming week, to get bids on the process of replacing the flooring. There is vinyl plank flooring in several rooms that is good quality, but the color is just wrong. Nothing will warm it up, or make it look right. Carpeting in a few rooms will also come out. We're replacing all the flooring with an engineered hardwood hickory flooring. We had it for three years in our previous home, and it wears like iron. We have two active dogs and a cat, and they did no damage to that flooring. We have high hopes it'll be great in this new home.

I'll try to post some "before" pictures later today.

Dave
 
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Best get the shutter guys out for quotes too -- regular lead time could be up to 8 weeks (although I believe you are thinking a late year move in), Lord only knows what a covid lead time might be! In normal times they would also cut you off at Halloween for a by Christmas installation.
 
@DaveNV are you sure you don't want to keep those loving window coverings? :p You could create a whole theme around them.
 
Best get the shutter guys out for quotes too -- regular lead time could be up to 8 weeks (although I believe you are thinking a late year move in), Lord only knows what a covid lead time might be! In normal times they would also cut you off at Halloween for a by Christmas installation.

Good idea. One of the flooring companies also does window coverings, so I'll ask him about it. I believe a different person at that company is the window coverings person, So I'll see if that one is available. Thanks for the tip!

Dave
 
@DaveNV are you sure you don't want to keep those loving window coverings? :p You could create a whole theme around them.

Well now that you mention it, no. No, I don't. LOL! :D I'll be posting pictures of those so everyone will be able to appreciate what changed. Seeing them yesterday in bright daylight - Yikes, they are soooo ugly!! :D

Dave
 
Welcome to the SW!
There’s a lot to like about it and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
We spent time at the house yesterday, measuring things, figuring out where certain items will fit, calculating furniture placement, and closely inspecting things. The house has really good bones. It just needs a bit of elbow grease, and some loving attention to detail. The previous owners purchased it new twelve years ago. In that time they've made minimal changes to things, so a lot of original systems are due for updating.

We've decided the kitchen cabinets are in pretty good shape (we found the sales receipt in paperwork left for us - they were a major upgrade when the home was built.) They just need a thorough cleaning. Some Murphy's Oil Soap and Liquid Gold will go a very long way here. Seeing things in a different angle of light showed the entire kitchen will benefit from a deep, VERY deep cleaning. The previous owners were an elderly couple, and I suspect the cleaning that happened was just superficial, or perhaps only in areas convenient to reach. Once that happens, suitable drawer/door hardware is selected and installed, and new appliances installed, it'll go a long way toward improving the appearance of things. The kitchen layout is quite good, and makes the most of the available space.

I ordered new kitchen appliances yesterday. They'll be here in a few weeks. We're donating the current appliances to someone who is trying to update her father's home on a minimal (nonexistent) budget. Happy to do so, and it'll keep things out of the landfill. The existing appliances all work, but they're worn, and between four items (stove, fridge, dishwasher and over-the-stove microwave), they're three different brands. Nothing matches. OCD Dave is insane about such things. LOL! :D

We've hired a painting company to do the interior painting, which will do much to improve things. We're going over to the house today to test out a bit of our chosen paint colors on the walls, to make sure it's the right choice, and to see how easily existing colors will be covered. We need to know whether we'll need two coats. We're hoping one coat will do the trick.

We're meeting with three flooring companies this coming week, to get bids on the process of replacing the flooring. There is vinyl plank flooring in several rooms that is good quality, but the color is just wrong. Nothing will warm it up, or make it look right. Carpeting in a few rooms will also come out. We're replacing all the flooring with an engineered hardwood hickory flooring. We had it for three years in our previous home, and it wears like iron. We have two active dogs and a cat, and they did no damage to that flooring. We have high hopes it'll be great in this new home.

I'll try to post some "before" pictures later today.

Dave
I have hickory floors in my current home and you are right like iron and are the best kept secret. Definitely worth the extra cost.

Take before and after pictures. I would love to follow your transition. Sounds like it will be amazing.
 
Welcome to the SW!
There’s a lot to like about it and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks! It feels great to be here, and so far, is exactly what we expected it would be. :)

Dave
 
I have hickory floors in my current home and you are right like iron and are the best kept secret. Definitely worth the extra cost.

Take before and after pictures. I would love to follow your transition. Sounds like it will be amazing.

Thanks! We were so pleased with how it "lived" in that house, we knew we wanted to use it here. The few marks that came up were mostly along edges that were quickly covered with a floor marker pen. The natural grain of the wood hid scratches and most marks. Really great flooring idea. :)

Dave
 
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Hey Dave,

So I’m curious. Are you using any Costco service vendors for the home projects? ;)


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Hey Dave,

So I’m curious. Are you using any Costco service vendors for the home projects? ;)

Hi Ken. Not really, mainly because they aren't providing what we need right now. I'd try to use them if I could, but in this case, it doesn't fall in line with what's needed.

The only vendor at Costco we've seen so far that fits the need is a Window Coverings company, who we may call for an estimate on installing Plantation Shutters. That depends on the bids we'll get from the others, who are also flooring companies. They're a good brand (Graber) but prices will tend to be higher than we're really needing. For the few windows that need the shutters, it'll probably be simpler to go with one of the flooring companies' bids.

Dave
 
Hi Ken. Not really, mainly because they aren't providing what we need right now. I'd try to use them if I could, but in this case, it doesn't fall in line with what's needed.

The only vendor at Costco we've seen so far that fits the need is a Window Coverings company, who we may call for an estimate on installing Plantation Shutters. That depends on the bids we'll get from the others, who are also flooring companies. They're a good brand (Graber) but prices will tend to be higher than we're really needing. For the few windows that need the shutters, it'll probably be simpler to go with one of the flooring companies' bids.

Dave

FWIW, I used Costco for my window shutters I had installed years ago. Have fun!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
A little update, some of which may have been mentioned previously:

We've been working some at the new house, getting familiar with the installed equipment that is new to us (e.g. water softener, reverse osmosis system, central air conditioning, landscape irrigation timer.) Before we can put in what we want, we needed to configure things, or remove some of what was already there.

There are a number of large windows in several rooms, and they all had fabric valances left behind. They were heavy, ornate, dusty, sun-faded, and/or absolutely not our style. There were four different valances on four windows, and none of them were the same style or color. I'm sure the previous owner liked them, but they don't suit our style at all. They were the first things to go.

Window.jpg Window2.jpg

We've received estimates for putting in plantation shutters, but haven't made the decision yet on which company will do the work. Those will come later, I think. They're a common window treatment here, so there are choices.

As I mentioned previously, the floor coverings in the house are newer, but again, they don't suit our style. Vinyl plank flooring, ceramic tile, and carpeting are installed in various rooms. I think I mentioned that we're going to have it all removed, and replaced with engineered hickory hardwood floors. We've accepted a bid on having that work done. The flooring is being ordered today, and they'll start the work in about two weeks. Finally! :D

As part of that installation, the old flooring will be removed, and the new flooring landed. We're going to wait a few days for the flooring to acclimate in the new location. We're told with engineered flooring it's not as necessary, since it's dimensionally stable, but never a bad idea to let it adjust for a few days. During that time the painting contractor we've hired will do the interior painting. When they're done, the wood flooring will be installed in all but the wet areas, (kitchen and bathrooms have newer ceramic tile that will stay,) after which things will be mostly ready to move in.

There are four main colors used in the house now - all but one color will be replaced. We're going with a simple color palette, one we've used before, that we really like. A lighter, natural tone will be the main color on most walls. It's a nice color, conducive to the desert area here, and that compliments the house color well. A secondary color, a darker tone in the same family, that "grounds" things well, will be used for a few accent walls. These colors happen to be among those that change tone with the ambient light, so throughout the day, it appears like there is more color on the walls than there actually is. The Guest Bedroom and bathroom are currently painted a nice sage color that we'll keep. It's in good condition, and will fit the color palette we're using. No reason to paint over it.

The old kitchen appliances have been removed, and were donated to someone who needed them. In the process of doing that, we found a leak under the kitchen sink that had to be addressed. Due to the hard water here, there is a reverse osmosis system installed under the sink. The shutoff valves for it had completed failed, and were unable to be shut off. One of them had started leaking. They've now been replaced with new, easier to use control valves. I think we dodged a bullet on that one - no damage to anything, and a potential problem was avoided.

The new kitchen and laundry appliances are on order, and should arrive in about three weeks. We're working on trying to move in around the beginning of October, so that will fit the timeline. We'll see how it goes.

Outdoors, we've also been learning about life in the desert. Landscaping is on a timed irrigation "Rain Bird" system, that had issues. During the home inspection, it was discovered a shutoff for the water system was broken off, and was unable to be shut off. That was replaced. But the irrigation system went into an "error" condition, and watering of the landscaping was not working right. Some lines were cut, some plants had been removed by the previous owner, so irrigation heads were putting water where it wasn't needed, and the system was a mess. A few plants suffered, and are probably goners. I met with a landscaping guy a few days ago, and we got the system back to a normal schedule, we repaired the broken lines, and made sure everything is now being watered regularly. Things already look better.

We started the process of exploring whether we'll install a swimming pool in the back yard, We met with the first swimming pool contractor, and will receive his ideas next week sometime. They're kind of an overall contractor - pool, landscaping, hardscape - so I expect their estimate will be substantial. Other pool contractors will also be contacted before we agree to a certain plan, going forward. I'm told it may be several months before the work would be completed, This is a very busy time of year for them.

A few exterior "before" pictures:

Front.jpg Courtyard.jpg Back.jpg

The house has an entry walkway that goes through a gate to an interior courtyard, where the front door is located. Everything you see in the courtyard image above has been removed by the former owner. All the add-ins but the failed low-voltage lighting in the backyard were also removed. So other than plants, it is pretty much a blank slate.

Wall and yard art is a "thing" here, to bring a splash of color to a rather somber desert landscape. The previous owners took most of their additions with them. Everything in the back yard and the courtyard was taken when they moved out. The curved bridge in the front yard was left behind, but has since been gifted by us to someone here who wanted it. We're keeping the landscaping as much the same as we can, but after a bit of cleanup, we've added a couple of pieces of our own wall and yard art:

Iguana.jpg iguana2.jpg sun.jpg sun2.jpg

The Iguana is made of cement, with embedded stones along his back and tail. He's about 30 inches long, and is made in Mexico. His name, of course, has to be Iggy Juana. :D

The sun face on the courtyard wall is an amazing piece. It's about three feet across, and is made of hammered metal. There are many similar sun faces on walls everywhere around here, all sizes and styles, but we've never seen one as nice as this one. Jeff decided his name should be "Sonny," rather than "Sunny." He says because it's a male face, not a female face. I kind of agree.

I'll post more images once things inside the house start to change.

Dave
 
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How exciting making it your own. For a moment the outside of your house looked like the homes in Florida. The courtyard is lovely.
 
I love it - what wonderful outdoor spaces! And it's so nice to hear that the plan is coming together!
 
A little update, some of which may have been mentioned previously:

We've been working some at the new house, getting familiar with the installed equipment that is new to us (e.g. water softener, reverse osmosis system, central air conditioning, landscape irrigation timer.) Before we can put in what we want, we needed to configure things, or remove some of what was already there.

There are a number of large windows in several rooms, and they all had fabric valances left behind. They were heavy, ornate, dusty, sun-faded, and/or absolutely not our style. There were four different valances on four windows, and none of them were the same style or color. I'm sure the previous owner liked them, but they don't suit our style at all. They were the first things to go.

View attachment 25832 View attachment 25833

We've received estimates for putting in plantation shutters, but haven't made the decision yet on which company will do the work. Those will come later, I think. They're a common window treatment here, so there are choices.

As I mentioned previously, the floor coverings in the house are newer, but again, they don't suit our style. Vinyl plank flooring, ceramic tile, and carpeting are installed in various rooms. I think I mentioned that we're going to have it all removed, and replaced with engineered hickory hardwood floors. We've accepted a bid on having that work done. The flooring is being ordered today, and they'll start the work in about two weeks. Finally! :D

As part of that installation, the old flooring will be removed, and the new flooring landed. We're going to wait a few days for the flooring to acclimate in the new location. We're told with engineered flooring it's not as necessary, since it's dimensionally stable, but never a bad idea to let it adjust for a few days. During that time the painting contractor we've hired will do the interior painting. When they're done, the wood flooring will be installed in all but the wet areas, (kitchen and bathrooms have newer ceramic tile that will stay,) after which things will be mostly ready to move in.

There are four main colors used in the house now - all but one color will be replaced. We're going with a simple color palette, one we've used before, that we really like. A lighter, natural tone will be the main color on most walls. It's a nice color, conducive to the desert area here, and that compliments the house color well. A secondary color, a darker tone in the same family, that "grounds" things well, will be used for a few accent walls. These colors happen to be among those that change tone with the ambient light, so throughout the day, it appears like there is more color on the walls than there actually is. The Guest Bedroom and bathroom are currently painted a nice sage color that we'll keep. It's in good condition, and will fit the color palette we're using. No reason to paint over it.

The old kitchen appliances have been removed, and were donated to someone who needed them. In the process of doing that, we found a leak under the kitchen sink that had to be addressed. Due to the hard water here, there is a reverse osmosis system installed under the sink. The shutoff valves for it had completed failed, and were unable to be shut off. One of them had started leaking. They've now been replaced with new, easier to use control valves. I think we dodged a bullet on that one - no damage to anything, and a potential problem was avoided.

The new kitchen and laundry appliances are on order, and should arrive in about three weeks. We're working on trying to move in around the beginning of October, so that will fit the timeline. We'll see how it goes.

Outdoors, we've also been learning about life in the desert. Landscaping is on a timed irrigation "Rain Bird" system, that had issues. During the home inspection, it was discovered a shutoff for the water system was broken off, and was unable to be shut off. That was replaced. But the irrigation system went into an "error" condition, and watering of the landscaping was not working right. Some lines were cut, some plants had been removed by the previous owner, so irrigation heads were putting water where it wasn't needed, and the system was a mess. A few plants suffered, and are probably goners. I met with a landscaping guy a few days ago, and we got the system back to a normal schedule, we repaired the broken lines, and made sure everything is now being watered regularly. Things already look better.

We started the process of exploring whether we'll install a swimming pool in the back yard, We met with the first swimming pool contractor, and will receive his ideas next week sometime. They're kind of an overall contractor - pool, landscaping, hardscape - so I expect their estimate will be substantial. Other pool contractors will also be contacted before we agree to a certain plan, going forward. I'm told it may be several months before the work would be completed, This is a very busy time of year for them.

A few exterior "before" pictures:

View attachment 25834 View attachment 25836 View attachment 25835

The house has an entry walkway that goes through a gate to an interior courtyard, where the front door is located. Everything you see in the courtyard image above has been removed by the former owner. All the add-ins but the failed low-voltage lighting in the backyard were also removed. So other than plants, it is pretty much a blank slate.

Wall and yard art is a "thing" here, to bring a splash of color to a rather somber desert landscape. The previous owners took most of their additions with them. Everything in the back yard and the courtyard was taken when they moved out. The curved bridge in the front yard was left behind, but has since been gifted by us to someone here who wanted it. We're keeping the landscaping as much the same as we can, but after a bit of cleanup, we've added a couple of pieces of our own wall and yard art:

View attachment 25837 View attachment 25839 View attachment 25838 View attachment 25840

The Iguana is made of cement, with embedded stones along his back and tail. He's about 30 inches long, and is made in Mexico. His name, of course, has to be Iggy Juana. :D

The sun face on the courtyard wall is an amazing piece. It's about three feet across, and is made of hammered metal. There are many similar sun faces on walls everywhere around here, all sizes and styles, but we've never seen one as nice as this one. Jeff decided his name should be "Sonny," rather than "Sunny." He says because it's a male face, not a female face. I kind of agree.

I'll post more images once things inside the house start to change.

Dave
I love the outside and totally agree with you on those window treatments! :oops:
 
How exciting making it your own. For a moment the outside of your house looked like the homes in Florida. The courtyard is lovely.

Thanks! The stucco walls and overall exterior design are pretty common to sunnier climates, so I'm not surprised it looks a bit Floridian.

The courtyard is a major reason we bought this house. Of the dozen or so floorplans they initially built in this development, this is the only home with a central courtyard like this. A couple of others have a low entry gate into an open patio space, but none have this private courtyard. They have since stopped building this plan, so the only way to get it is on the resale market. In the three-or-so years we'd been coming here to look at real estate, this specific floorplan was the one we kept coming back to. So when we moved here, it was an easy choice for which one we were likely to buy.

What made this home particularly nice is the lot location, and views from the back yard. There are mountain and mesa-top views, and a lot of privacy in the back. Where a lot of homes back up to the back yards of other houses, so privacy is limited, this one is raised above but adjacent to a wide street, so the closest neighbors across the back fence are quite far away. With the right landscaping, the back yard can be quite private. I like that quite a bit, especially if we choose to put in a pool.

Dave
 
Thanks for the tour! We'll feel right at home when we come to take advantage of your hospitality! :)

Jim

Somehow, you taking advantage of our hospitality seems only natural. LOL! :D

Dave
 
I love it - what wonderful outdoor spaces! And it's so nice to hear that the plan is coming together!

Thanks! Going forward, as we fine-tune the outdoor areas, it'll become more the home we want here. The desert can be hot and dry, but it doesn't have to be boring. :D

Although I admit: It's frustrating to wait day after day while nothing happens. But now that the flooring contractor has been selected, things should start moving faster. We have a lot of interior changes we want to make (light fixtures, door hardware, even the front door itself), but first things first. Once the floors and painting are done, we can move in, and work things from the inside. :D

Dave
 
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Wow, it’s nice to be able to take care of all that while you are close and out of the house. Things are moving along at a good pace and it will look great when you’re done. :thumbup:
 
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