CBS News reported earlier this month about an interesting turn of events in a homeremodeling project in Troy, Michigan. Erika Pope and her parents have lived in their home outside of Detroit for more than a decade. Workers were remodeling a portion of the homewhen they called out to the 20-year-old that she was rich. She went to the portion of the house where they were working and discovered them pulling large amounts of cash out of the wall. According to Pope, inside the walls were sheets of printed bills in $5 denominations totaling about $60. Unfortunately, it was $60 of counterfeit cash. Pope and her family have since turned the funny money over to the authorities, and it has been forwarded to the U.S. Secret Service, according to the news report.
Pope’s is not the only case where homeremodeling has unearthed some unexpected results. Some remodeling projects have unearthed lace handkerchiefs, old newspapers, and coins. Others have found valuable trading cards and colored glass. Still others have unearthed old photographs, love letters, vintage tobacco tins, and a 14k gold wedding band.
Although not every one in San Diego will experience such intriguing finds when remodeling a home, remodeling is always an adventure. And, as with all adventures, it brings with it a certain amount of stress. One of the ways to combat or at least cope with stress is to plan ahead. If a family is going to add on to or remodel a portion of the home, it is a good idea to sit down ahead of time in order to manage expectations. If someone is going to lose living space because of the remodel or if bathing habits are going to need to change, it helps if a plan is in place before the upheaval occurs. Telling a teenage girl that she doesn’t have hot water to wash her hair is not something that is going to go over well in the morning before school.
Make sure that everyone has seen the plans of what the finished remodeling product will look like. It is easier to tolerate the dust and disorder when there is a visible goal in mind. If the contractor has guaranteed a completion date, be sure that everyone in the family knows when that is. Most people can tolerate quite a bit when they know that an end to the turmoil is in sight.
When the homeremodeling project is looked at as an adventure instead of a disruption, everyone’s stress level will decrease, and hopefully, the project will go smoothly. And, who knows, maybe a San Diego, CA, family will discover a long lost treasure!
