If you had 15-20K to update/remodel...

[StaceyinLA]

Okay I tried to do this as a poll but clearly failed - Nevermind I see it actually worked! ;-p

 

If you had 15-20K to update/remodel, would you:

 

A) update a couple of things and do them top-notch

 

B) update more things and use nice, but not most expensive, materials

 

 

We are about to update bathrooms and paint. If we do top notch bathrooms with best available materials, we'll only be able to do bathrooms and paint.

 

The other option is to do more moderately priced materials in the bathrooms thereby allowing us to do some other updates of things that annoy me.

 

Which would you choose?

Edited July 11, 2016 by StaceyinLA

[SparklyUnicorn]

Our house is old so more things "nice", but not top notch.

 

 

[BrittanyM]

Ditto SparklyUnicorn. Our house is old and not in the "best" neighborhood so I would do more nice things, as it would increase the value of our home more than a few super nice things.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sheryl]

Stacey,  yea, I agree with SparklyU. 

 

I guess though it depends on the house and how that is visually defined.  if I only updated 2 rooms and the rest of the house looked blah that would be too much of a contrast, especially  for selling.

 

We're trying to sell our house and I applied your question to what I would do now.   I would do more room that are turn-key from a selling standpoint. 

[Guest]

Be careful when going with "top notch" that you don't end up pricing your house out of your neighborhood market. You don't want to have the best, nicest house in the neighborhood, for financial reasons.

[Luckymama]

Stacey, what are the other things you could do?

[Guest]

It depends on the pricepoint of the house and neighborhood. But unless it is a fairly flush area I'd do nice, mid range upgrades that got me the most for my money :)

[regentrude]

Depends on too many factors:

What other remodeling will be needed in the future to provide basic maintenance (roof and windows come to mind)?

How long you are going to stay in the house (forever? Sell in five years?).

How does you house compare to properties in the neighborhood?

 

I would not create top of the line bathrooms if my house was modest, in a modest area, and this would be grossly out of line with other properties in the neighborhood - unless I felt that it would so greatly enhance my living quality that it is worth the effort.

OTOH, if all other homes in the neighborhood are fancy and your bathrooms are below local standards, I would use the opportunity and bring them up to standard, so that the home compares in quality with other homes in the area.

 

I would invest in those remodelings that gave me the best combination of enhanced quality of life + increased property value, with an eye on the time frame in which I might sell.

Edited July 11, 2016 by regentrude

[StaceyinLA]

Well first off, we are in a fairly rural area, and we will potentially be here forever (or at least a good, long while). I just know myself and know that even though I'll love having those perfect bathrooms I've always wanted, other things will annoy me.

 

Other things we could do would be:

 

A wall to wall built-in unit in the playroom downstairs which would allow us to eliminate an afterthought closet that sticks out off one wall, and also allow serious organization of the grandkids' play area (and cover the unsightly electrical box that is on the dang bedroom wall for some unknown reason).

 

Updating all the hallway bedroom doors with nicer doors, and new knobs, fixtures, fans, etc. all throughout the house (or at least the downstairs - we don't really utilize our upstairs rooms at this point).

 

Converting my upper kitchen cabinets into open shelving like I'm wanting and maybe adding my dishwasher drawer.

 

Possibly even more small things we have talked about.

Edited July 11, 2016 by StaceyinLA

[Spryte]

Are you looking to recoup the costs when you sell? If so, be careful with the top notch stuff. I'd do more upper midrange things.

 

If it's your forever house - that's a different story. Make yourself happy!

 

And, really, it can be both. We just bought someone's forever home. They did top notch upgrades. They had multiple offers, full price. Hot market, though. The top notch upgrades were a big selling point.

[StaceyinLA]

Well I'd like it to NOT be our forever house because the house is probably never going to be able to be what I would want. The property, location, etc., are all pretty great, so it's quite possible we will be here until we need a retirement home or dh convinces me to move away from my grandkids and live on the beach.

[StaceyinLA]

Depends on too many factors:

What other remodeling will be needed in the future to provide basic maintenance (roof and windows come to mind)?

How long you are going to stay in the house (forever? Sell in five years?).

How does you house compare to properties in the neighborhood?

 

I would not create top of the line bathrooms if my house was modest, in a modest area, and this would be grossly out of line with other properties in the neighborhood - unless I felt that it would so greatly enhance my living quality that it is worth the effort.

OTOH, if all other homes in the neighborhood are fancy and your bathrooms are below local standards, I would use the opportunity and bring them up to standard, so that the home compares in quality with other homes in the area.

 

I would invest in those remodelings that gave me the best combination of enhanced quality of life + increased property value, with an eye on the time frame in which I might sell.

Well we got a new roof after Hurricane Gustav, and less than 2 years ago my husband pulled off all the exterior, reinsulated, put new plywood and Tyvek then had the entire outside done in vinyl siding. While he was doing that, he replaced all the windows with new, double-insulated ones. Our exterior is in good shape for a long time to come.

 

The main reason for the bathroom remodels is some jacked up, backwards plumbing between the two showers (they are back to back). We have no leaks or anything, but it's literally backwards AND my husband thinks there may be an uncapped drain line which is causing a stale smell in our closet. We just need to do the bathrooms to take care of that issue, so we are taking the opportunity to update them (which is much-needed).

 

At this point, we owe well under half of what the house appraises for, and we aren't planning to spend more than 20K, so we will still be right around half the value with our mortgage. Our property value has more than doubled since we bought the place (we did an overhaul before we moved in, and the property values out here have increased as well). I'm not super worried about getting everything we'd put in back because we would make a nice amount if we ever did sell.

 

We are certainly on par with most of the houses in the neighborhood (not really a neighborhood per se, but a street with houses on 5 acre lots). There is one really big, extravagant house, and maybe 2 that are nicer than ours, but most of the rest are about on par with ours (a few being lower quality).

 

Not positive if this is forever, but quite possibly yes. Maybe going more middle of the road with the bathrooms would be smart though, just to be able to get more things done. I just think there would be more contentment with that.

[Guest]

Yeah, I'd go nice but not top end unless you truly want it. My goal is always to make it as nice as I can for a reasonable cost, because I just don't have the caviar budget. But when I'm looking at one or two decades of being there it means my preferences and comfort factor in first, before resaleability :)

[Seasider]

Be careful when going with "top notch" that you don't end up pricing your house out of your neighborhood market. You don't want to have the best, nicest house in the neighborhood, for financial reasons.

Agreed! And how long you plan to stay in the home also makes a difference. If it's your forever home, get exactly what you really want. If you plan to resell at some point, get what you like that will also help your home be more marketable without overpricing it.

[kbutton]

Is middle of the road more of an upgrade in materials thing or are your trade-offs in the range of wants?

 

Wants meaning something like "I want a stall shower and a tub but I could be happy with a tub/shower combo or a shower stall. 

 

We ended up doing more bathroom than we wanted because we wanted a cast iron tub, and then the cast iron tub doesn't play nice with a surround...and on it went. We ended up with tile, which was not at all on our radar. We couldn't easily go without a tub for what is expected around here, or else we could have had other middle of the road options. We also opted to fix major plumbing/electrical issues that come along with owning a moderately old home (sounds like you are doing that). We ended up fixing even more because the bathroom backs up to a half bath, and when we had a wall apart, it was a great time to replace all the plumbing and electric in that wall--less chance of damaging tile while working on the other bath, etc. It fixed enough in the half bath that we're likely to be able to do about 85% of a remodel on that room ourselves at some point for very little cost.

 

We did not opt for an expensive sink, but sinks are easy to replace, and there isn't a lot of fun stuff in the size range we needed anyway.

 

So, I vote expect some things to come that you'll want to do. If quality is not a factor, I would do "less" and spread it around. It sounds like the other stuff bugs you more. We've never felt like doing less has been bad afterward as long as we're happy with the quality of the upgrade we did.

[madteaparty]

I would upgrade to just nice enough for me :) a house is not an investment, it's where one lives

[Alte Veste Academy]

I would do all your extras along with mid-range bathrooms. I can't tell you the difference in my daily level of house happiness after we replaced door hardware, cabinet handles, a few light fixtures (fluorescent to a lovely three light fixture in the kitchen with a matching fixture in the dining room). It made the house feel more cohesive and I stopped seeing what was wrong (door handles that didn't match the light fixtures, for example). And oh how I HATED that fluorescent builder grade light!

 

Sometimes it is the little things that matter. As a matter of fact, I wonder if perfect bathrooms wouldn't make you feel worse about the other things that bother you, by contrast I mean.

[lexi]

Be careful when going with "top notch" that you don't end up pricing your house out of your neighborhood market. You don't want to have the best, nicest house in the neighborhood, for financial reasons.

This. I would use nice materials but not most expensive. We are contemplating some updates and that is our plan. If we use most expensive and nicest options we might price our house out of the neighborhood.

[Ali in OR]

I would go with nice, but not top of the line and then fund the other projects that would make life in the house more pleasant. My reasoning keeps coming back to "I don't live in the bathroom." I don't want ugly 70's fixtures, but I don't need fancy features either. But that playroom wall sounds like it would give me great pleasure.

[gardenmom5]

need more information.

 

if you do top notch bathrooms - will it permanently put off doing anything else?  or just for a year or so?

what are the other things that need doing?

 

I'd be more willing to spend on mine than kids bathrooms.  functional and durable, and if they look nice, that's good too. (but it doesn't take high end.)

[elegantlion]

I would try to do as much as I could, even if that meant downgrading just a bit. I would not downgrade to builder's grade or remove elements (like doing a pedestal sink instead of a cabinet if you want a cabinet). 

 

I feel odd when a house is unbalanced. I've lived that way a lot with ex being a contractor. I did my own kitchen floors last year because I was sick of the poor laminate in the kitchen (we did not put in) while the rest of the house has original hardwoods. 

 

The house my mom and I are moving into has had some oddly balanced renovations. The kitchen is new, great cabinets, granite countertops, but they didn't replace the wall oven or fridge. the back door is particleboard and old, and there is 25 year old carpet in other rooms. It's great to be moving into a new kitchen, but that wasn't what sold us on the house, it's a bonus. 

 

That said. It's nice to have an upgraded bathroom. I would budget out your "best of" list, your "I like it and it's cheaper" option and look at what the difference can get you. 

[Guest]

I would almost always choose nice but not tippety-top so I could update more items. I put granite on the basement bartop, but it was the "C" choice; i.e., a perfectly nice granite but more common and not super special, thereby less expensive by square foot.

[slackermom]

Applying the 80/20 rule:

 

$16,000 for the 2 bathrooms, $4,000 for the little projects. You can make your home life more convenient and pleasant with 20% of the budget ear-marked for fixing a lot of little things.

 

 

edited for grammar

Edited July 12, 2016 by slackermom

[Guest]

Well first off, we are in a fairly rural area, and we will potentially be here forever (or at least a good, long while). I just know myself and know that even though I'll love having those perfect bathrooms I've always wanted, other things will annoy me.

 

Other things we could do would be:

 

A wall to wall built-in unit in the playroom downstairs which would allow us to eliminate an afterthought closet that sticks out off one wall, and also allow serious organization of the grandkids' play area (and cover the unsightly electrical box that is on the dang bedroom wall for some unknown reason).

 

Updating all the hallway bedroom doors with nicer doors, and new knobs, fixtures, fans, etc. all throughout the house (or at least the downstairs - we don't really utilize our upstairs rooms at this point).

 

Converting my upper kitchen cabinets into open shelving like I'm wanting and maybe adding my dishwasher drawer.

 

Possibly even more small things we have talked about.

I would definitely rather have these things.

 

(Except open shelving kitchen cabinets. I'm not a fan of those.)

[Audrey]

Okay I tried to do this as a poll but clearly failed - Nevermind I see it actually worked! ;-p

 

If you had 15-20K to update/remodel, would you:

 

A) update a couple of things and do them top-notch

 

B) update more things and use nice, but not most expensive, materials

 

 

We are about to update bathrooms and paint. If we do top notch bathrooms with best available materials, we'll only be able to do bathrooms and paint.

 

The other option is to do more moderately priced materials in the bathrooms thereby allowing us to do some other updates of things that annoy me.

 

Which would you choose?

 

Where I would spend money in the bathrooms is on flooring and on the tub/shower.  I would look for attractive, but more functional and moderately priced other fixtures.  This should give you some room to address some of those annoying things. 

[StaceyinLA]

Where I would spend money in the bathrooms is on flooring and on the tub/shower. I would look for attractive, but more functional and moderately priced other fixtures. This should give you some room to address some of those annoying things.

Well our flooring isn't gonna change. We have slate ceramic in the entire downstairs, and I'm really hoping that our changes won't force us to bust up floors - that'll be a huge mess! Ideally we will either use spare (if we still have some) or find something that's a match or near match.

 

I'm thinking the idea of going more moderate in the bathrooms might work and it'll leave a good bit of money for lots of those other things.

 

I actually already have the vanity piece for my hall bath. My niece gave it to me. We will buy a sink that sits on top and a new faucet. The toilet won't need changing because it's fairly new. We have to rip out the tub and work on the enclosed area around it. What I want to do is a clawfoot, but, depending on the flooring situation, I may wind up with just a slightly larger tub than what I have now; one that will fill the space. My bathroom isn't large, and my husband will be doing most of the labor.

 

For the back bath, I wanted a walk-in shower, but I'm not sure our space is big enough. I know I do NOT want a tub/shower combo. I also know I don't want it to be cheap looking. We have those funky yellowed fiberglass enclosures now and I can't stand them. I just need to lose that look forever.

[Um_2_4]

If you are thinking to stay here permanently, I would think about making one of those showers/baths, if not wheelchair accessible, at least maybe wider/lower to allow for adding maybe a stool, hand holds, etc later if someone needs them. Maybe get a walk in shower with a bit wider door, do the shower nozzles that can be hand held, etc.

[catz]

I would start by doing your updates in the bathrooms and then figure out what you can do from there once that is done.  If you're updating an older home, there can be unexpected expenses and surprises once you get into it.  Ask me how I know.  :cursing: :lol:

[Audrey]

Well our flooring isn't gonna change. We have slate ceramic in the entire downstairs, and I'm really hoping that our changes won't force us to bust up floors - that'll be a huge mess! Ideally we will either use spare (if we still have some) or find something that's a match or near match.

 

I'm thinking the idea of going more moderate in the bathrooms might work and it'll leave a good bit of money for lots of those other things.

 

I actually already have the vanity piece for my hall bath. My niece gave it to me. We will buy a sink that sits on top and a new faucet. The toilet won't need changing because it's fairly new. We have to rip out the tub and work on the enclosed area around it. What I want to do is a clawfoot, but, depending on the flooring situation, I may wind up with just a slightly larger tub than what I have now; one that will fill the space. My bathroom isn't large, and my husband will be doing most of the labor.

 

For the back bath, I wanted a walk-in shower, but I'm not sure our space is big enough. I know I do NOT want a tub/shower combo. I also know I don't want it to be cheap looking. We have those funky yellowed fiberglass enclosures now and I can't stand them. I just need to lose that look forever.

 

Oh!  You should be able to do them nicely and still have enough for the extra stuff, then.  The reason I said spend on flooring is because it really needs to be a workhorse in a bathroom (or kitchen for that matter) and going cheap on it doesn't pay off in the long run, or even the short run.  What you've got is great already, so I wouldn't worry about being able to spread the money around.  If you aren't on a tight timeline, you can take your time looking for best prices for what you want.  That's how we do stuff around here.  Buy when a good thing is a good bargain, and take our time before diving into the reno phase of it.

[Melissa in Australia]

I would spend as little as possible to make the bathrooms working/nice and use the rest to pay off some of the mortgage.

 

it is so unbelievable to have no mortgage.

[bettyandbob]

You always wanted top notch baths. If you are there forever you might as well enjoy something you always wanted. Can you go top notch in one bath, nice in others-- perhaps in a way that upgrades might be added, and have a little left to do other stuff.

[StaceyinLA]

I appreciate all the input! I think I'm gonna shoot for going a little more moderate in the bathrooms (or at least in my husband's), so I can do more things. I really do believe that I'm going to be frustrated if my bathrooms are perfect, but I haven't been able to touch any of the other annoyances. That wall-wall playroom thing is huge for me, and something I've wanted to do for a very long time. I've wanted to do doors and fixtures for a lot of years as well. The thing is, when we bought this place, we nearly gutted it, but we were on a tight budget and raising 4 kids on one income, so we really had to buy the least expensive of almost everything. Eighteen years later, it's just time to do some nicer stuff! Since we have to address a plumbing issue in the wall between the bathrooms, now is the perfect time.

 

I'll have to try and remember to take some before and after pics and share them. It'll probably be at least a couple months before we complete much of anything (we have to do dh's bathroom first because of the way the plumbing is set up), but I'm gonna try to remember to post some pics!

[BlsdMama]

Okay I tried to do this as a poll but clearly failed - Nevermind I see it actually worked! ;-p

 

If you had 15-20K to update/remodel, would you:

 

A) update a couple of things and do them top-notch

 

B) update more things and use nice, but not most expensive, materials

 

 

We are about to update bathrooms and paint. If we do top notch bathrooms with best available materials, we'll only be able to do bathrooms and paint.

 

The other option is to do more moderately priced materials in the bathrooms thereby allowing us to do some other updates of things that annoy me.

 

Which would you choose?

 

 

I voted for more improvements but moderately quality... But actually my answer really varies based on your location.

 

 

If you live in an upper end area - really, for the most long term (potentially sell) perspective, you should do fewer things but high end.  If you're like me and live in a nice, solid, middle class rural environment, super high end would never pay off.  So I'd opt for more things, just very nice but not high end.  

 

My husband keeps telling me to stop remodeling with reselling in mind.  He says this IS the forever house.  My point is no house is a forever house these days.  Eventually we will be old and weary ;) and not be able to keep up the maintenance on this acreage.  I'm always trying to keep in mind nice, high quality, but not over the top high end that we'd never get back what we put into it if we ever re-sell.  KWIM?

 

 

On the other end, if you live in a high end neighborhood, your house would look "cheap" in comparison and potentially not sell on a market because people shopping for houses in your area are looking for specific qualities in remodels, kwim?

[BlsdMama]

Well first off, we are in a fairly rural area, and we will potentially be here forever (or at least a good, long while). I just know myself and know that even though I'll love having those perfect bathrooms I've always wanted, other things will annoy me.

 

Other things we could do would be:

 

A wall to wall built-in unit in the playroom downstairs which would allow us to eliminate an afterthought closet that sticks out off one wall, and also allow serious organization of the grandkids' play area (and cover the unsightly electrical box that is on the dang bedroom wall for some unknown reason).

 

Updating all the hallway bedroom doors with nicer doors, and new knobs, fixtures, fans, etc. all throughout the house (or at least the downstairs - we don't really utilize our upstairs rooms at this point).

 

Converting my upper kitchen cabinets into open shelving like I'm wanting and maybe adding my dishwasher drawer.

 

Possibly even more small things we have talked about.

 

 

Are you guys DIYers at all?

 

I have to ask because while we have a great attitude, lol, we were not DIY exactly.  With YouTube and some practice, we've found that we are remarkably capable. (We just added four bedrooms - drywall, electric, windows, etc., with a little professional help and supervision.)  After this we're doing two bathrooms and then we will feel prepared to start tackling our kitchen.  

 

Many of the things on your list are actually easy inexpensive fixes.  The wall to wall built in, for example, if your DH ever does shelving, woodworking, etc.  Covering the electric box can be as simple as a wall hanging (see Pinterest) or a beautifully refinished cabinet from ReStore.    The doors, knobs, and fixtures can be updated out of the monthly budget - one or two bought every month and they are easier to replace that way too rather than having to do 15 doors in a week because they are delivered and  taking up space.

 

I find big things (contractor things) are best done all at once.  But so many moderate and little projects can be worked in on the "free" weekend and just planned into budget and time, kwim?

 

 

So sayeth the woman with 1,000 projects on The List.

[goldberry]

I voted more things.  Mid-range or upper-mid materials usually make me very happy and satisfied.  That is what I would be going for, unless I already lived in a very upper end house that I was worried about the value.  (I would not want my updates to look "out of place" or undervalue compared to the rest of the house.) 

 

Also, if certain things bug you, do them now!   Goodness knows how long it takes to come up with money for updates, it always seems longer than you want, and you might not get to those things for years otherwise!

 

(Saying this as a person who had a list of projects for this summer, then DH's car died and we are now getting another car instead of house things.  :glare: )

 

 

[StaceyinLA]

Are you guys DIYers at all?

 

I have to ask because while we have a great attitude, lol, we were not DIY exactly. With YouTube and some practice, we've found that we are remarkably capable. (We just added four bedrooms - drywall, electric, windows, etc., with a little professional help and supervision.) After this we're doing two bathrooms and then we will feel prepared to start tackling our kitchen.

 

Many of the things on your list are actually easy inexpensive fixes. The wall to wall built in, for example, if your DH ever does shelving, woodworking, etc. Covering the electric box can be as simple as a wall hanging (see Pinterest) or a beautifully refinished cabinet from ReStore. The doors, knobs, and fixtures can be updated out of the monthly budget - one or two bought every month and they are easier to replace that way too rather than having to do 15 doors in a week because they are delivered and taking up space.

 

I find big things (contractor things) are best done all at once. But so many moderate and little projects can be worked in on the "free" weekend and just planned into budget and time, kwim?

 

 

So sayeth the woman with 1,000 projects on The List.

My husband is very much so, and he will be doing a lot of the stuff himself.