LONG POST..........
So as the title sugests I am seeking advice on how to go about doing an apt remodeling project in Santiago to start in March/April 2011.
Background:
My mom has an apt in an old area of Santiago - La Zurza. It is two blocks away from the monument and it's located in a VERY old building. She has had this place for quite some time and has been renting it all along. If you walk into the apt you think you are back in the 80s (that's how old everything looks and is).
Today:
Being the good son that I am (I'm her only son) I plan to cover all the expenses associated with getting this place up to date. We are doing this soon because my mom isn't getting any younger and I want her to have some type of enjoyment in her life. As she gets older she hates the winter here in NY and she really loves spending time in her home city. We concluded that we need to redo the floors, bathrooms, kitchen (including cabinets and counter tops), closet doors and all the windows throughout the apt. As well as the metal rails in the balcony and the sliding glass door that leads to the balcony.
It is EXTREMELY difficult to find honest people in this day and age. I know that I will probably get screwed here and there when doing this project. I am just trying to be as smart as possible to limit how screwed I end up :cheeky::cheeky::cheeky:.
I was thinking of planning a 1 week trip sometime towards the end of the year or beginning of next to get estimates from different people. If this isn't possible I thought about having someone "close" to me do this for me to save me the costs of this trip. One confussion I have is do I go with the 1 person that does it all (interior designer/decorator) or do I get a guy for the floor and bathrooms, a guy for the kitchen, a guy for the windows etc etc etc. :ermm::ermm::ermm: To me the benefit of doing it with the 1 person that does it all is that this person has all of the workers aligned and probably has years of experience in the field. I currently know two people that do this. However, this can be much more expensive because you have to pay this person for this time when you can actually do it yourself???
If you were in my shoes (I live and work in NYC, so does my mom) how would you approach this project?
So as the title sugests I am seeking advice on how to go about doing an apt remodeling project in Santiago to start in March/April 2011.
Background:
My mom has an apt in an old area of Santiago - La Zurza. It is two blocks away from the monument and it's located in a VERY old building. She has had this place for quite some time and has been renting it all along. If you walk into the apt you think you are back in the 80s (that's how old everything looks and is).
Today:
Being the good son that I am (I'm her only son) I plan to cover all the expenses associated with getting this place up to date. We are doing this soon because my mom isn't getting any younger and I want her to have some type of enjoyment in her life. As she gets older she hates the winter here in NY and she really loves spending time in her home city. We concluded that we need to redo the floors, bathrooms, kitchen (including cabinets and counter tops), closet doors and all the windows throughout the apt. As well as the metal rails in the balcony and the sliding glass door that leads to the balcony.
It is EXTREMELY difficult to find honest people in this day and age. I know that I will probably get screwed here and there when doing this project. I am just trying to be as smart as possible to limit how screwed I end up :cheeky::cheeky::cheeky:.
I was thinking of planning a 1 week trip sometime towards the end of the year or beginning of next to get estimates from different people. If this isn't possible I thought about having someone "close" to me do this for me to save me the costs of this trip. One confussion I have is do I go with the 1 person that does it all (interior designer/decorator) or do I get a guy for the floor and bathrooms, a guy for the kitchen, a guy for the windows etc etc etc. :ermm::ermm::ermm: To me the benefit of doing it with the 1 person that does it all is that this person has all of the workers aligned and probably has years of experience in the field. I currently know two people that do this. However, this can be much more expensive because you have to pay this person for this time when you can actually do it yourself???
If you were in my shoes (I live and work in NYC, so does my mom) how would you approach this project?
