Scope creep

I was so, so, so sure I could stay under budget on this project. What was going to trip me up when we’re not touching the tile, the tub, the vanity, or the commode in a bathroom re-accessorizing? Buying too many washclothes?

Well. We did opt to replace the loud, old fan with a quiet model that includes a light bulb. And the fan hit one of our Achille’s heels. Turn fan on: fuse blows. Note that I did not say “breaker flips.” Yup, we still have a fuse box. And the entire kitchen, lights in four additional rooms including the garage and the bathroom fan are on one fuse.

We’re used to babying the fusebox but this is one of those situations where all of your money-saving efforts end up looking rather tired and dull when your choice is: return nice new fan because it’s too fancy for your wiring or join the 21st century of electrical invention.

So, we looked at the books, came up with a budget for electrical work, and developed a wishlist.

Snakelady: 1. make house stop breaking when I turn on the microwave. 2. If there’s money left over I’d like a breaker box. I then left the matter entirely in Hubby’s hands and went back to reading a very interesting decorating article about the “60-30-10” color scheme rule and trying to figure out if metal accents count as a color.

I thought I was being very clever. The budget wasn’t “robust” but there was enough money there, based on an estimate of installing a breaker box that we got when we moved in, to do that work, fix the broken-ness, and do a couple of other things.

Hubby has a laundry list of electrical work he wants done that has been growing over the years. I didn’t want to get into the weeds between ranking “new outlets in the workroom” and “adding an outlet for a generator” and “adding GFIs to the bathrooms.” I just didn’t care that much. I figured this way, it wasn’t me saying no if his entire wishlist didn’t happen, it was all between him and the budget. He could have whatever the budget said he could and he could rank his priorities how he pleased.

Well. He started talking dollar figures with the electrician and it turns out my priority list will only use half of the budget. The rest is like Hubby’s dream come true. He’s like a kid with a new train set. We’ll be doing something entirely unrelated to wiring and he’ll say, “We’ll get more outlets in the family room. Yes, new outlets in the family room.”

Being an outstanding Hubby he has re-opened the discussion but I feel it’s only right to stick to the original agreement: Snakelady has two priorities, the rest of the budget is his to do with as he pleases.

Enjoy it, Hubby!