DaveNV: Making a Home in the Desert

[WinniWoman]

I'm told termites like the paper on sheetrock and insulation, too. I guess it's the cellulose they want. So all steel doesn't necessarily mean no termites. Good luck!



Absolutely smart, and right on all counts. The reason I sold my Washington home was because the time was right, and I was ready to move. Getting settled in Nevada is the right place for us, for now. Although in recent days the lure of vacationing (at least) in Mexico in a drive-to location is really starting to get our attention. And that discussion always turns to "Would we want to live there?"

So we'll see whether DaveNV will become DaveMX at some point.

Dave

No! You’re not seriously already thinking of moving again?! Omg...

 

[Passepartout]

Oh yes, as I told another Tugger, I have learned more in the last few weeks about termites and the "mud tunnels" of their waste left behind than I ever wanted to know. But I also now have a clear plan of action and prevention in place. As a homeowner, I will do my own regular and frequent inspection of the house perimeter, and a pest company will come and spray monthly for any other sort of insect trying to "bug " us.

Thanks for the primer on termites. Not a thing we worry much about hereabouts. Glad things are working out as quickly as they are. Happy Moving Day(s)

Jim

 

[Jan M.]

Dave you might consider a tankless water heater or a solar water heater. An electric water heater uses more power than anything else in the house, even the AC. We're all electric and have a solar water heater with a switch for electric back up. In the rainy season in Florida we do get overcast days, sometimes several in a row, so we flip the switch for 20 minutes and we're good for the whole day. When the sun comes out it doesn't take long at all to get the water back up to temp in our 80 gallon water heater tank. For just the two of us we wouldn't put that large of a tank in if we ever have to replace it. A tankless water heater would probably be cheaper to put in.

 

[DaveNV]

No! You’re not seriously already thinking of moving again?! Omg...

Haha! Not "considering" it. Just not ruling it out as something we might look further into several years from now. I like exploring real estate in various places. We like visiting coastal Mexico. We've talked about buying a vacation condo down there, so we'd have a place to go that would help pay for itself when we weren't using it. Then, later on, we might consider moving there. Having a vacation place we could drive to from here might make it easier to support the idea.

We have a friend who did that in Puerto Vallarta. He was from our town in rainy Washington, and he bought a vacation condo in PV. He visited every few months for a week or so, renting it out through a management company in between his visits. He retired early, and started visiting there for longer and longer periods. Eventually, he moved there full time, and put his Washington home into a rental pool. After several years of that, he married a PV local, sold his Washington home AND the vacation condo, and now lives comfortably in a beautiful hacienda style home in PV. Lucky dog.

Dave

 

[DaveNV]

Dave you might consider a tankless water heater or a solar water heater. An electric water heater uses more power than anything else in the house, even the AC. We're all electric and have a solar water heater with a switch for electric back up. In the rainy season in Florida we do get overcast days, sometimes several in a row, so we flip the switch for 20 minutes and we're good for the whole day. When the sun comes out it doesn't take long at all to get the water back up to temp in our 80 gallon water heater tank. For just the two of us we wouldn't put that large of a tank in if we ever have to replace it. A tankless water heater would probably be cheaper to put in.

That solar option is something I do want to explore. We just had a conversation about the water heater with a plumber who installed two new toilet fixtures for us. The water heater is 12 years old, original to the house. Due to the water quality here, water heaters tend to only last about ten years. So he warned us we're on borrowed time with the water heater, and we should expect it to fail at some point, probably sooner than later. If that happens, I want to see if a solar water heater is an option for us. May as well use some of that free sunshine we have all day.

Dave

 

[Jan M.]

Haha! Not "considering" it. Just not ruling it out as something we might look further into several years from now. I like exploring real estate in various places.

We like playing the could I or would I want to live here game when we travel.

We've been to some places we thought were beautiful and would like to go back to but for one reason or another couldn't or wouldn't want to live there. On this trip we encountered a definite not only would we not want to but we couldn't! It was on the way from Angel's Camp, CA to Las Vegas when we got out of the mountains and were driving across the desert. We entertained ourselves talking about what it must have been like for the wagon trains crossing the Mojave and the people who settled in the desert. There are desert areas we've liked but this wasn't one of them.

 

[easyrider]

Haha! Not "considering" it. Just not ruling it out as something we might look further into several years from now. I like exploring real estate in various places. We like visiting coastal Mexico. We've talked about buying a vacation condo down there, so we'd have a place to go that would help pay for itself when we weren't using it. Then, later on, we might consider moving there. Having a vacation place we could drive to from here might make it easier to support the idea.

We have a friend who did that in Puerto Vallarta. He was from our town in rainy Washington, and he bought a vacation condo in PV. He visited every few months for a week or so, renting it out through a management company in between his visits. He retired early, and started visiting there for longer and longer periods. Eventually, he moved there full time, and put his Washington home into a rental pool. After several years of that, he married a PV local, sold his Washington home AND the vacation condo, and now lives comfortably in a beautiful hacienda style home in PV. Lucky dog.

Dave

We have a few family members and friends that have a home in Mexico. My wifes first cousin lived in Bucerias for many years. They also bought a place on the beach near Manzanillo, which is or was for sale. Had a place in San Miguel de Aldende . Currently for the last few years they live in Ajijjic and seem to really like it there as it is nice weather all year.

I like the Mexican timeshares and do not think we want to actually own property in Mexico. I'm thinking Maui or Big Island is a better fit for us if we were to purchase a second home.

Bill

 

[WinniWoman]

Haha! Not "considering" it. Just not ruling it out as something we might look further into several years from now. I like exploring real estate in various places. We like visiting coastal Mexico. We've talked about buying a vacation condo down there, so we'd have a place to go that would help pay for itself when we weren't using it. Then, later on, we might consider moving there. Having a vacation place we could drive to from here might make it easier to support the idea.

We have a friend who did that in Puerto Vallarta. He was from our town in rainy Washington, and he bought a vacation condo in PV. He visited every few months for a week or so, renting it out through a management company in between his visits. He retired early, and started visiting there for longer and longer periods. Eventually, he moved there full time, and put his Washington home into a rental pool. After several years of that, he married a PV local, sold his Washington home AND the vacation condo, and now lives comfortably in a beautiful hacienda style home in PV. Lucky dog.

Dave

I see.

That’s one thing we used our drive - to timeshares for in Vt and NH and how we ended up here in NH permanently.

 

[geist1223]

In our prior house we had a gas fired tankless hot water heater. We loved it. If you decide to shop for one buy a bigger unit than you think you will need.

 

[WinniWoman]

We have an on demand water heater. We have gotten used to it now. In winter here it takes awhile to get the hot water. You won’t have that issue in your climate.

 

[DaveNV]

And the pretty is back...

The hickory hardwood flooring has finally been installed, and the entire house has been cleaned up. We are in the process of moving in. It'll be slow going, as we're moving boxes first - staging, sorting, and trying to eliminate what we don't want or need. After that, the furniture will be moved from the rental house to the new place. If I squint and tilt my head in just a certain way, I can almost see the end of the long and winding road that got us here. We arrived at the rental house in Mesquite back on June 27th. Now, three-plus months later, we are finally moving into our home here.

Here are a few pictures of how the flooring turned out:



You may remember that the entry foyer inside the front door is circular. Here is a before and after, to show why we wanted hardwood to flow continuously throughout the house:



We also switched out five exterior light fixtures, (two on the garage, and three in the courtyard), from a worn-out old school round style, to something more in keeping with our taste:



There is still more to do, but the big stuff has been done. New kitchen appliances are on a truck heading our way, and should be here in another few days. New laundry appliances are due about a week after that. A few furniture pieces are being delivered this week. A new front door and plantation shutters for several windows are both due in about a month.

There is more to come. Stay tuned.

Dave

 

[Karen G]

And the pretty is back...


There is more to come. Stay tuned.

Dave

Dave, that all is just stunning! Can't wait to see it all furnished. You might have a new career of flipping houses over there in Mesquite.

 

[Luanne]

@DaveNV it seems like just yesterday that you moved into the rental house. I can't believe it's already been 3 months!

The new flooring, paint and new light fixture looks great!

 

[slip]

Looks great. You’re in the home stretch now.

 

[DancingWaters]

Gorgeous, hickory is my favorite wood! Are the floors engineered hardwood or laminate!

 

[Rolltydr]

And the pretty is back...

The hickory hardwood flooring has finally been installed, and the entire house has been cleaned up. We are in the process of moving in. It'll be slow going, as we're moving boxes first - staging, sorting, and trying to eliminate what we don't want or need. After that, the furniture will be moved from the rental house to the new place. If I squint and tilt my head in just a certain way, I can almost see the end of the long and winding road that got us here. We arrived at the rental house in Mesquite back on June 27th. Now, three-plus months later, we are finally moving into our home here.

Here are a few pictures of how the flooring turned out:

View attachment 27259 View attachment 27260 View attachment 27261 View attachment 27262 View attachment 27263View attachment 27264

You may remember that the entry foyer inside the front door is circular. Here is a before and after, to show why we wanted hardwood to flow continuously throughout the house:

View attachment 27265 View attachment 27266

We also switched out five exterior light fixtures, (two on the garage, and three in the courtyard), from a worn-out old school round style, to something more in keeping with our taste:

View attachment 27267 View attachment 27268

There is still more to do, but the big stuff has been done. New kitchen appliances are on a truck heading our way, and should be here in another few days. New laundry appliances are due about a week after that. A few furniture pieces are being delivered this week. A new front door and plantation shutters for several windows are both due in about a month.

There is more to come. Stay tuned.

Dave

It looks like it’s coming together very nicely. Can’t wait to see the completely finished product.

 

[DaveNV]

Gorgeous, hickory is my favorite wood! Are the floors engineered hardwood or laminate!

Thanks! These are engineered hardwood. We had this same flooring for three years at our home in Washington, and they looked as nice on the day we moved out as they did when they were first installed. Impervious to damage from us, or our dogs and cat. We knew we wanted that same thing here. We now have nearly 1300 square feet of it. The only other flooring in the home now is ceramic tile in the kitchen and bathrooms. The rest is this new hickory hardwood.

Dave

 

[Monykalyn]

Floors are GORGEOUS!! Huge difference with entry way too-love the circular entry way and now it looks like a part of the house instead of a turntable deciding what area to step off lol!

 

[DaveNV]

Floors are GORGEOUS!! Huge difference with entry way too-love the circular entry way and now it looks like a part of the house instead of a turntable deciding what area to step off lol!

I know, right? My major issue with the way the foyer was done before was the flooring adjacent to the circular walls were squared off on two sides. One side was the front door itself, which couldn't be changed. But the edge of the vinyl plank flooring against the ceramic tile that was there? No need to square that edge, except the installer was lazy, and chose not to finish the look. Notice the carpeting on the other side of it has a rounded alignment. but now that it's all hardwood, it flows as it should. And it looks nicer in person than it does in these pictures.

Dave

 

[DaveNV]

Dave, that all is just stunning! Can't wait to see it all furnished. You might have a new career of flipping houses over there in Mesquite.

Thanks very much, but no. Once is plenty.

Dave

 

[lynne]

Love the seeded glass outdoor light fixtures as well as your flooring choice. A beautiful transformation.

 

[pedro47]

Your seeded glass outdoor light fixtures, foyer and floor looks very nice.

 

[Panina]

Love it, so right for you home.

 

[WinniWoman]

Everything looks wonderful!

 

[amycurl]

Love how the floors seem to change color with the light....lovely, and ties the lighter paint together with the darker paint. And I do love the more mission-style light fixtures.