What and Where are the Wiser Buys?

Ever stand in front of two similar products at the store and you wonder which one is the better buy? Do you go for cheap, or do you try to determine the value in the more expensive product?

A lot of purchase decisions come down to individual goals and priorities. You may not care if something lasts long because you have short term need. Or you may want the longer value, but are not sure if the extra price is really worth it.

This article is for discussing the “wiser buys”. Wiser buys are determining if paying more is worthwhile, why, and perhaps even the better place to get the wiser buy.

For example, I renovated my basement a couple years back. Tore out everything down to the concrete floor, studs, and joists above. Redid the electrical wiring, put up new drywall, taped and mudded, textured, painted, and installed new outlets and fixtures.

I outsourced the carpet installation, though, because by that time I was tired and frustrated with the project, and I did not want to mess up such a visible element. Even though I heard from many people I could probably do it myself, my goals were such that I had already saved enough money and was willing to pay a little more for a professional carpet installation.

I learned a few things about wiser buys from that renovation. For example, drywall sheets typically come in two thicknesses. The thicker ones are a bear to carry and lift into place. However, the thinner ones will eventually sag if used on ceilings. So the wisest buy is thicker drywall sheets for the ceiling and thinner drywall sheets for the walls.

Drywall also typically comes in 12′ and 8′ sections. You may get slightly better value from the 12′ sections, but they are much harder to handle. Unless you have a strong crew helping, you’ll likely break more sheets and lose that value. Therefore, the wiser buy is the 8′ sheets.

When hanging your sheetrock, you can use nails or screws. The wiser buy is to use screws, as you exert less energy and it’s easier to control the dimple. If you are drywalling anything more than a small room, it is also a wise buy to get a screwgun. I got an Hitachi model at Lowe’s for about $90, which seems excessive compared to using a $2 accessory for your existing drill. However, starting and stopping your drill as many times as you will hanging drywall can actually break down your drill. When I finished my project, I resold my screwgun for $50, making it a very wise purchase.

Drywall sheets need their seams taped for seamless walls. You can apply mud then tape then more mud by hand, or use what’s called a “taper gun” that feeds out the tape with mud on it automatically. Again, if you are drywalling anything more than a small room and you’ll want to invest in this taper box. Most local shops only carry metal taper boxes for about $80. Search online for “plastic drywall taper box” (or something to that effect), and you can get a plastic version for about half the cost of a metal box! It only takes a couple days to deliver the box, you save half the money, the plastic box is much easier to clean up than the metal box, and again you can resell it afterwards. Again, we have the wiser buy.

Speaking of joint tape, I want to know what others think is the wiser buy: paper or fiber mesh? They both cost the same, but a buddy advised me to get the paper tape. His reasoning concerned the sanding portion of finishing your walls. He said with mesh tape, you could sand through and have fibers pop out, creating a headache to fix. Paper tape just fuzzes up a little, which you can mud over easily. I don’t know if this is true, but I went with the paper tape and my walls came out great.

When applying mud to your drywall seams and screw dimples, you mix mud in a five-gallon bucket, then load out a workable load at a time into mud pans. You can get a stainless steel mud pan for about $10, or a plastic mud pan for about $4. However, the plastic mud pans usually have little metal ridges on the sides, which make them much harder to clean up than the plain all-metal mud pans. I had one of each during my renovation, and the stainless steel mud pan was always the favorite, therefore the wiser buy.

When texturing your walls, I really like renting the mud blower thing (can’t recall the correct term). It covers your walls in just a moment or two, so it takes care of business fast. However, it also throws mud all over the floor, so it create a huge mess if your area is already carpeted.

If you use texture brushes, you’ll generally find a single brush for about $8, and a double-sized brush for about $18. The double-sized would seem better because you could get the job done faster, however only the single fits nicely into your five-gallon bucket, so it is clearly the wiser buy.

In another area, consider trampolines. I heard this from a friend, that Wal-Mart sells trampolines for about $150-300, depending on if you get the enclosure netting or not. A locally-owned store on west Broadway, Ben Franklin, sells trampolines for about $475. However, go to that Madsen’s Ben Franklin and the owner will show you how their trampolines are much better quality than Wal-Mart’s trampolines, and that theirs will often last 20 years while the Wal-Mart version will start coming apart in the first couple years. The Ben Franklin version also has a repair or replacement warranty, making it an even clearer wiser value. Obviously you also have the benefit in this instance of supporting a local business owner.

What examples can you describe of a wiser value in a choice between two products?

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