Home improvement: What would you do?

[InfiniteNow]

What the hell... this IS the watercooler, right?

 

Okay, I just bought my first house and am ready to go all DIY. I've got so many ideas for improvement pouring out of me it's rediculous. So, if you bought a house, and you wanted to pretty it up within a reasonable budget, what would you do?

 

 

Cheers. :eek_big:

[TheBigDog]

What the hell... this IS the watercooler, right?

 

Okay, I just bought my first house and am ready to go all DIY. I've got so many ideas for improvement pouring out of me it's rediculous. So, if you bought a house, and you wanted to pretty it up within a reasonable budget, what would you do?

 

 

Cheers. :eek_big:

Been there, am there. Here comes my best advice....

 

• Make yourself a budget for your improvements. This has to be disiplined or it can get crazy fast.
  
• Make a list of the things you want to do. All things big and small - list them all.
  
• Now comes the priority part. You need to look at the time and money required for each improvement, and fit it into your budget. And fit the sequence to make sense to you somehow.
  
• Do them one project at a time. But FINISH each project before you start the next. Having a list of completed projects will give you more satisfaction than a list of half done projects.
  
• Take time to both enjoy and show off your work. Positive feedback will help you keep goinng.
  

 

I try to keep things to what I can finish in two weekends at the most. For bigger projects I break them into smaller projects that I can start and finish. I also try to keep things in my comfort zone. I know they type of work that I am not good at and I either get help from a friend for that stuff, or hire it out (there goes the bidget!)

 

Good luck with it all. I love this stuff!

 

Bill

[Racoon]

Okay, I just bought my first house and am ready to go all DIY. I've got so many ideas for improvement pouring out of me it's rediculous. So, if you bought a house, and you wanted to pretty it up within a reasonable budget, what would you do?

 

BigDog knows what he's talking about; must be that experience thing...

 

What you Don't do is take out a home-improvement loan. :evil: :eek:

Don't bother about adding a pool either.

 

Paint, Plants , and a nice Patio :eek_big:

relatively cheap and makes big difference!

 

I also work for a Jewish Landlord occasionally(seriously), :eek2: ;)

Racoon

[InfiniteNow]

Thanks guys...

 

Anyone else?

 

 

So far, I've done a few necessary steps. The dishwasher was from like 1974 and didn't work, so I pulled that out. In the process of doing so, found out that the shut-off valves on the plumbing were coroded and don't work, so I've replaced them... Had to teach myself how to solder... not hard, but intersesting.

 

Next week, there are a few spots on the roof that need new tar paper and shingles. After that, I'll need to take a break to finish paying off the new high efficiency HVAC unit and refrigerator I bought. I've taken a 2nd job to help pay for it all, and it's been busy.

 

I will be painting both inside and outside soon. Want wood (real wood) floors and granite counter tops... After that, it's just getting in touch with my decorative side I suppose...

 

 

I'm asking anyone who is willing to speak what they would do, so asked it here on Hypo too.

 

 

Cheers. :D

[TheBigDog]

If you are making improvements in the hopes of upping the value of your home be careful not to go above the neighborhood norms in terms of what you install. An example is the granite countertops. In a typical middle class neighborhood homes will not have granite. And while you may believe that it will up your home's value, you still deal with the "value" of the neighborhood. And people will not pay extra beyond what the neighborhood dictates. So make imprvements to soot yourself to your heart's content. But don't try to be beyond the neighborhood with things you are doing for the market value of your home. It is good to find someone who does appraisals or a good realestate agent to talk to about what you plan to do to your home to see if it will really add the value that you are hoping for.

 

Of course if my wife want's it then the discussion is pretty much over.

 

Bill

[TheFaithfulStone]

See, I did this as well, and right now I really, dearly miss my rent house.

 

The problem with "small projects" is that they don't exist. Let me give you a fer'instance. When we moved into our house the kitchen had carpet. The carpet was all folded up, so there were these big "humps" in the floor. We decided an easy fix would be to pull up the carpet and put in cheap laminate flooring. So we pulled up the carpet and found that that the "humps" were actually in the underlayment. We pulled up the underlayment, made - against building codes, out of particle board. Then we found that the humps were actually in the subflooring. (These were not "little humps" either - easily two inches tall and running the length of the floor - we though that this ratty old carpet had just gotten bunched up, or the padding beneath it was disgusting.)

 

So we pull up the subflooring and discover, much to our suprise that A)The kitchen sink supply line leaks and has been spraying upwards into the subflooring for god knows how long and :naughty: The floor joists are destroyed by water damage. We pulled out the sink and decided to cut off the water.

 

The water shutoff valve to the house didn't work, so we had to have the city cut our water off. We have now dug a hole approximately 2ft deep underneath the house while we replace the main shutoff valve. The city shut off STILL doesn't do a good job, but at this point, I don't really care, and I'm happy to break code and use a span of PVC pipe with neoprene joiners.

 

Now that I have the water shutoff, I am able to replumb most of the water supply to the kitchen, whose ancient copper pipes have long since corroded. I get the leak repaired, then I have to jack up the house while I cut the floor joists and replace them with undamaged wood. Then I get to replace the subflooring (large sections) and because they don't actually MAKE this particular kind of underlayment anymore, I get to replace ALL of the particle board underlayment with the proper OSB. I also get to attempt to try to put my cabinets (which I had to remove to eradicate all the rotten wood and insect damage) back together, which suprisingly, I manage to pull off.

 

Then, finally, I can put down my laminate, only my floor isn't level enough, so I have to run self-leveling cement all over the kitchen before I can do that.

 

$3,000 dollars and 8 weeks later, both my remodelling budget and my patience for home improvement long since exhausted, I call it quits. There is no molding, I'm out of funds. The cabinets are beat up from being removed from the room, but I don't have the energy to strip and revarnish them. To this day, that room remains unfinished.

 

The punchline of this story is that that is NOT the worst remodelling story I have.

 

I'd suggest you invest in a good insurance policy, a tub of cooking oil, and a good lawyer instead.

 

Home ownership is for masochists.

 

TFS

[sob]

[InfiniteNow]

Wow... sounds tough. Sorry to hear it. Now you owe me $150 for my time. :confused:

[TheFaithfulStone]

The moral of the story was that if you needed to paint your walls or spackle a hole you should probably go ahead and empty your bank account and clear your calendar for the next six weeks because you'll probably discover a termite infestations of proportions downright biblical living behind that masonite panelling.

 

TFS

[InfiniteNow]

The moral of the story was that if you needed to paint your walls or spackle a hole you should probably go ahead and empty your bank account and clear your calendar for the next six weeks because you'll probably discover a termite infestations of proportions downright

biblical

living behind that masonite panelling.

Nope... that's what home inspections are for bro. I am pretty well aware of the major issues, and while the possibility certainly exists to find unknown issues, I think I've made the proper decision. Sounds like you bought a shithole... sorry. :confused:

 

 

As for the neighborhood, it's not upper class at all, but the values have been steadily rising and investors are gobbling up space on the streets around me like cupcakes... I mean, like pancakes. Oh, uh... like hot babes... I mean cakes. :hihi:

[InfiniteNow]

Well, I've done a bunch of work, but my original feelings on the timeline were a bit off. I went into this thinking I'd have the place all up and amazing by summer. I guess that was overly-optimistic.

 

I have the yard back alive, and pruned a bunch of the trees and bushes. The grass was completely dead when I moved in, but with some seeding, fertilizer, regular watering and mowing, it's looking good (just in time for the hot Texas summer so it can die again! :lol:)

 

I fixed some spots on the roof, but while up there decided I need to start saving to have the whole thing redone. I am considering a metal roof of some sort, but haven't quite made up my mind.

 

I fixed the fence, and installed a new gate so my dog can't get out. He likes to go exploring the neighborhood and pee on things... and sniff butts... and do, well, do things that dogs do.

 

I have gone through about 6 gallons of primer inside, and still am not done. I am putting up two coats because the inside was pretty yellow (former smokers). Soon, I'll be able to get some color on the walls.

 

I opened up a closet in the guest bedroom. They had closed it off and put a single door on it. Don't know why, but I tore down the framing and have that ready for a new set of doors. Want to find something different than bi-fold though... they never appealed to me. I've spent a lot of time spackling holes in that room. Just need to sand it all down now before I prime and paint that.

 

Finally got the kitchen in working order. Installed a bunch of new plumbing, and even ran a line from under the sink, behind the cabinets to my refridgerator. Now, I just need to hook up the new dishwasher I got (for $80!!) and I'll be all set. I'm contemplating staining the concrete instead of laying tile, but am still on the fence. Waiting for some female input before I finalize my decision. (You know who you are if you're reading this. ;) )

 

I knocked down a wall. There was a closet in the entry way jutting out from the wall right into the open area that made it feel really small and closed in. I took a hammer to it one morning and decided I'd better finish the job. Tore down all the drywall and yanked out the framing. It was really fun. I think when I redo my guest bathroom I am going to yank out the wall seperating the sink from the shower area... just because, I want to rip down another wall. ;)

 

That's about it. I redid the laundry room. Yanked out all the cabinets, primed and painted, put in some marble tiles and a new doorway into the garage. Now, I just need to hang the french doors I bought to close in the washer dryer. Anyway, I feel like a blogger, and just wanted to type this more for myself. So, if you've read this far, cheers, and thanks for your interest. ;)

[Mercedes Benzene]

If you really want to stick to a budget, you should start with the most necessary things...

This seems like an obvious rule, but I have known people who have gone out, bought a new 80 inch tv, when their front door was practically hanging off the hinges... =.=

 

Do the things that will make your house feel "homey" and "welcome" to you... and of course, the dishwasher replacement was probably a good idea too.:lol:

 

Best of luck to you with your new home!

[TheFaithfulStone]

Wow! You've done a lot of work. Thankfully it sounds like you're in pretty good shape structurally! Keep your fingers crossed.

 

(BTW, I got portions of my house actually fixed, so I'm less bitter about it now.) :eek:

 

TFS

[InfiniteNow]

Here's some pics... Still chipping away at my projects little by little.

 

In the first picture, there is now a hammock between those two trees... Ahhh... hammock. :D These have got to be one of the greatest inventions of human kind. :)

 

:wink::beer::doh:

 

 

 

In the second and third, you can see where I took out the closet (the shop vac in the picture would have been IN the closet if it were still there). Removing it opened the space WAY up. You can also see the old tile which I've been working to remove for the past month. I've gotten all of the tile pulled up, and have been working to chip out the remaining mortar off the cement with a hammer and chisel for a few hours each night after work.

 

 

 

 

 

When I'm done, I'll be installing this:

 

[InfiniteNow]

http://hypography.com/forums/earth-science/8251-positive-proof-global-warming.html#post130867

First thing I did when I bought my house was install a 17 SEER HVAC unit.

 

Here she is, my big lovely 17 SEER, 3 ton, 2 stage Texas mamma jamma cooling unit... :doh:

 

 

 

 

 

 

She's (hmmm... I wonder why I've espoused my cooling unit with a gender... :)) programmed with a Honeywell Vision Series Thermostat, which allows up to four settings per day, and you can program each day of the week differently as needed (i.e. Up to 28 settings). :wink:

 

 

[InfiniteNow]

I opened up a closet in the guest bedroom. They had closed it off and put a single door on it. Don't know why, but I tore down the framing and have that ready for a new set of doors. Want to find something different than bi-fold though... they never appealed to me. I've spent a lot of time spackling holes in that room. Just need to sand it all down now before I prime and paint that.

 

Well, tubs and tubs of joint compound later, and about a week's worth of evenings spent sanding, and the room is finally primed and painted. :)

 

It's the first room in the house that has color, and boy does it feel good. We chose a color called Russian Blue, and in the mornings when the light floods in through the windows it's gorgeous. I'm going to put in some crown molding painted bright white to make it really pop. :Glasses:

 

[Jay-qu]

looks great InfyNow :Glasses:

 

That backyard would be great for a game of cricket :)

 

Also I have been there done that with the tiles, if you can get your hands on a mini, hand held jackhammer, your life would be made a hell of a lot less difficult! What I had got done in an hour was obliterated in seconds..

[InfiniteNow]

Also I have been there done that with the tiles, if you can get your hands on a mini, hand held jackhammer, your life would be made a hell of a lot less difficult!

Oh sure, wait until I'm done to tell me... :cup:

 

 

I actually considered renting one, but since I'm working both jobs, I think you understand why I did it myself. Basically, it was a choice between renting a jackhammer and not having enough to buy the new floor, or do it by hand and get a really gorgeous floor...

 

Sweat equity... Is that anything like filthy rich? No, not at all... :)