Fixer Upper shows are expensive

[Liz CA]

Not to mention breed dissatisfaction with status quo even when nothing is wrong or malfunctioning.

We have been watching Property Brothers and Fixer Upper and now we are eyeballing our light fixtures with a critical eye and I was on a website looking for various "stuff." 

[Selkie]

I've never watched any of those shows, but I can imagine feeling the same way.

[TCB]

Fortunately for me I’m so dang lazy I never get round to actually buying the stuff!

[fairfarmhand]

We stick to things like Sell This House.  

[Garga]

Yes! This happened to me!  I love the fact that my home is 71 years old. I love it that it’s eclectic. I love all the colors on the walls.  I love it that it’s tiny.  I love the fact that it’s not open concept.

And then I started watching all those home improvement shows for about 3 months.  I’d watch them whenever I was cooking dinner.  

And I started being unhappy with my adorable little house!  Like, seriously unhappy.  😞

I stopped watching, and the feeling went away in about 2 weeks.   

Edited May 25, 2020 by Garga

[MEmama]

Our favourites are the shows—usually set in Toronto with its out of control real estate prices— that feature a young couple looking for their first home. The house they choose usually clocks in around the million dollar mark—“just a bit over budget“ (by a couple hundred thousand dollars, no biggie) which of course they buy and immediately proceed to tear out the kitchen, reno the baths and install some fabulous designer backyard oasis. Lol. DS and I just love those.  A total guilty pleasure. 🤪

[Sherry in OH]

When I watch shows such as the Property Brothers, I always find myself hoping they don't choose one of the houses.  One of the houses is always charming with unique or original features that they would  remove along with the load-bearing walls to form a new generic first floor.  All of the houses from the same season end up looking alike.  The last time I watched it was gray walls, painted shaker-style cabinets, and waterfall countertops.

Also, why are they always surprised that the walls are load-bearing?     

[Farrar]

I can't watch them anymore. They just make me roll my eyes.

The prices are the thing that really gets me. Like, ooh, this will be $4000. Yeah right. If I got that priced here from a contractor, it would be $20000 easily. That makes me nuts. They make it seem so within reach. Maybe if you're able to do your own major work (we're not) or if you live in a low cola area. 

[Liz CA]

3 hours ago, fairfarmhand said:

We stick to things like Sell This House.  

 

Haven't tried this yet. Sounds like fun. We got so hooked on "Escape to the Country" and "Grand Design" (some crazy designs too!)  that we were looking for similar shows.

1 hour ago, Garga said:

Yes! This happened to me!  I love the fact that my home is 71 years old. I love it that it’s eclectic. I love all the colors on the walls.  I love it that it’s tiny.  I love the fact that it’s not open concept.

And then I started watching all those home improvement shows for about 3 months.  I’d watch them whenever I was cooking dinner.  

And I started being unhappy with my adorable little house!  Like, seriously unhappy.  😞

I stopped watching, and the feeling went away in about 2 weeks.   

 

Good to know. From the time I stop watching, 2 weeks before I am normal again. We bought a small house exactly a year ago (moved in on Memorial Day weekend 2019) and I still love it. Since it was built in 1968, it is not open concept either but this has not bothered me a bit since I used to live in open concept and find it's not all that it's cracked up to be. Now, the light fixtures do need a little updating...

31 minutes ago, Sherry in OH said:

When I watch shows such as the Property Brothers, I always find myself hoping they don't choose one of the houses.  One of the houses is always charming with unique or original features that they would  remove along with the load-bearing walls to form a new generic first floor.  All of the houses from the same season end up looking alike.  The last time I watched it was gray walls, painted shaker-style cabinets, and waterfall countertops.

Also, why are they always surprised that the walls are load-bearing?     

 

LOL!  They have to create a bit of drama otherwise it's just hammer swinging, shiplap walls, farmhouse sink, every last kitchen white and very similar looking chandeliers.

I have now seen around 6 episodes of Fixer Upper and the houses are starting to look identical except for the front elevation and locations. I do wish that carpenter the Gains' employ lived near us though...  :)

 

[mellifera33]

I like Love It or List It. “I need the renovation to add three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a mudroom, two home offices, reconfigure the kitchen, and lift up the entire house to add a basement. You don’t know it now, but you’re going to come across a leak that has caused mold to grow throughout the crawl space, the electrical will have to be completely replaced because it’s knob and tube and you’re adding half of a house’s worth of service, and there will be a tornado during the reno that will cause you to have to start over halfway through. We’re having a baby in six weeks so we need it done before then. And you have $35,000 to do it all!”

 

[PrincessMommy]

I also like "Love It or List it" and "Love it Or List It Too".  I think it gives a more reasonable look at what renovations will look like - including the unforseen problems.  I also like that they usually talk money and exchanges people may have to make to keep on budget.. for example.  "We discovered your foundation has a huge crack that must be fixed to code.  You can either raise your budget or we can't fix up the master bath. "

I prefer the banter and chemistry between the two in Canada over the two in NC... the lady in that show is annoyingly condescending.   Of course, the Canadian prices (PNW) are incredibly high compared to NC.

 

[cintinative]

2 minutes ago, Arctic Mama said:

Y

 

After!  Peninsula rearranged, required and replumbed, gas stove, bigger fridge, repainted cabinets, new sink and faucet, new counters, better flow into living room and pantry added in the shadowy door in the rear.  It still needs two cabinet doors finished and some door trim, though.

 It looks fantastic! Did you get help with the redesign or just work on it yourselves?

[El...]

15 minutes ago, Arctic Mama said:

Yeah you need to do the work yourself.  Even counting appliances, we spent about 7k in materials on our kitchen remodel, and pretty much just finished on Sunday, just a few odds and ends left.

It’s not *that* bad, but contractors jack up the price ridiculously.  Plus then you lose out on gaining new skills yourself 🙂

Before, much more closed off and less functional, improperly wired, additional walls, etc.

 

After!  Peninsula rearranged, required and replumbed, gas stove, bigger fridge, repainted cabinets, new sink and faucet, new counters, better flow into living room and pantry added in the shadowy door in the rear.  It still needs two cabinet doors finished and some door trim, though.

It's beautiful! 

[Farrar]

Your kitchen looks fantastic. But... there's no way I can learn to be a plumber or lay tile that well in a century old home. Like, anything I've tried to do... it's a million times more complicated than the videos or books because they show these newish constructions. It's a different ballgame in a home with no drywall, no original wiring because it was built without electricity... It would be a full time job. It's not within my skill set. I wire the lights. I paint. I do what I can. But literally... I tried to put up a thing on the wall in the basement and a guy who is a contractor offered to help me. "It'll take ten minutes. Not a problem." Two hours later, I'm like, I'm so so so sorry.

[fairfarmhand]

2 minutes ago, Farrar said:

Your kitchen looks fantastic. But... there's no way I can learn to be a plumber or lay tile that well in a century old home. Like, anything I've tried to do... it's a million times more complicated than the videos or books because they show these newish constructions. It's a different ballgame in a home with no drywall, no original wiring because it was built without electricity... It would be a full time job. It's not within my skill set. I wire the lights. I paint. I do what I can. But literally... I tried to put up a thing on the wall in the basement and a guy who is a contractor offered to help me. "It'll take ten minutes. Not a problem." Two hours later, I'm like, I'm so so so sorry.

Oh goodness, my contractor friend says he HATED working on old homes because 99% of the time nothing was square, you found ugly “surprises” in tear down (like poorly installed electrical, mold or something) and everything cost more and took longer than anyone could have foreseen.

[Splash1]

I had to stop watching them because they made me dissatisfied with my home.  I honestly can't afford to gut it all and start over and would rather there be a show that focuses on making what you currently  have look its very best.  

 

[Lady Florida.]

I don't watch those shows but I really miss shows like Design on a Dime. Shows like that had a reasonable, normal people budget and if they went over it was usually by $20 or less. They made rooms look great using mostly what you have while mimicking designer looks. 

[Lady Florida.]

On 5/26/2020 at 1:11 PM, Arctic Mama said:

 

Here is another angle, from the dining room table, excuse the mess on the counters (all the stuff on the range wall is going into that bottle right cabinet once we finish it next weekend.  You can see a little better that we actually removed an entire wall separating the dining room from both living rooms, which was a ton of work

 

Then my absolutely favorite room in the house, the new pantry.  We changed the side door to a frosted window, tore out the useless shoe closet, and moved the clothes washer and dryer to the side wall after adding a utility sink.  Then DH built a TON of storage for me.  It’s bliss, and probably another 3k in materials, but no labor costs aside from his time (lots and lots of time).

 

 

I love organizing and space planning and we have remodeled or worked on every house we have lived in, so this isn’t really new for us.  But we have enjoyed testing our different techniques and strategies so we have a better idea of what we will and won’t do on the place we plan to build, and my husband’s skills in things like drywall finishing have REALLY improved from the practice on this place.  He is just amazing, and so smart and hard working. Anything we don’t know we learn to do.  And then monopolize every spare penny and weekend for months on end to enact my vision

It's beautiful! 

One of my favorite things about our new house is the kitchen pantry and the indoor laundry room (yes, we finally moved but I haven't had a chance to post about it). I was so tired of taking clothes out of a dryer in a garage with temps hovering around 100 in the summer.

My husband is good at doing all kinds of things too, and learning what he doesn't know. He's really never been able to do drywall well though but fortunately that's my brother's profession. He can do carpentry, plumbing, and electrical. Like your dh, he has to call in an electrician at the end so we can meet code. 

22 hours ago, Farrar said:

Your kitchen looks fantastic. But... there's no way I can learn to be a plumber or lay tile that well in a century old home. Like, anything I've tried to do... it's a million times more complicated than the videos or books because they show these newish constructions. It's a different ballgame in a home with no drywall, no original wiring because it was built without electricity... It would be a full time job.

When I got my first teaching job in S. Georgia my school principal and her husband bought an early 1900s house to renovate. Some of us teachers were helping them and that's when I learned how hard it actually is to renovate a house with plaster! That was not fun.

[mrsduenes06]

On 5/26/2020 at 4:16 PM, Arctic Mama said:

So. True.  That’s why we are never remodeling again.  We will build from scratch, but I’m so tired of fixing other people’s mistakes.  The waviness of the studs in here is unreal. We won’t even speak of the plumbing problems.  And did I mention we were not actually intending to rewire the ENTIRE FRIGGIN HOUSE?

This was supposed to be a 10k lipstick job to make it comfortable and update it.  I’d say we are 50k and 18 months in at this point, with probably another 5k to go.  Sigh.

50K and you kept your original cabinets? Just out of curiosity, where did most of them money go to? I have been contemplating a minor kitchen remodel but was hoping we could keep it under 10K.

[Sherry in OH]

14 minutes ago, mrsduenes06 said:

50K and you kept your original cabinets? Just out of curiosity, where did most of them money go to? I have been contemplating a minor kitchen remodel but was hoping we could keep it under 10K.

 

Were you planning on new appliances?  Miid-range, standard-sized appliances are likely to eat up a significant chunk of your 10k.  A six-burner range and oversized refrigerator such as Arctic Mama installed plus a dishwasher and vent hood could bring the total to more than 10K for just appliances.

 

[mrsduenes06]

4 minutes ago, Sherry in OH said:

 

Were you planning on new appliances?  Miid-range, standard-sized appliances are likely to eat up a significant chunk of your 10k.  A six-burner range and oversized refrigerator such as Arctic Mama installed plus a dishwasher and vent hood could bring the total to more than 10K for just appliances.

 

We already have a range that is still in great condition, maybe 6 years old. An anonymous friend sent us a gift card for a new dishwasher, but our refrigerator will definitely need to be replaced. It will match the stove, and we were thinking one in the $1300 range. But yes, new vent hood because we want to relocate the stove (requiring just a 3 foot extension of the gas pipe - plumber said maybe $300 to do it), a new window, new flooring (luxury vinyl plank), cabinets, and counters. We were hoping to do IKEA cabinets and laminate counters since our kids are still pretty hard on any surface of our home. Also, in this neighborhood I don't know that we would get our money back on something like quartz if we had to move. We are hoping to get a quote on the new window, knocking a small partition wall back a bit, and the gas line. We could install our cabinets and counters on our own, and get a friend to help with the dishwasher if needed. I'm just surprised that they spent 50K and they did most of the work themselves. But maybe I didn't see the full scope of what they did. I also am sure ours will be more expensive than what we originally thought.

[mrsduenes06]

33 minutes ago, Arctic Mama said:

Oh no the 50k is the entire house, and we are probably at 60k now, if I’m including the electrical stuff and some of the dumpster rentals and such.  We have remodeled three bedrooms, two living rooms, a pantry, a kitchen, and one bathroom.  This was an original 1969 ranch in good condition but not much in the way of updates. We had to redo the whole house electrical, strip out the wallpaper and patch drywall, paint, add new flooring throughout the entire house, about 70 can lights because there were three overhead fixtures in the whole house and the  rest was lamplight. 
 

We also had to replace the HVAC, that unit went out the week we moved in and that was 11k or so we didn’t expect to spend, which was the money we had saved for the whole reno originally.

The kitchen was a new fridge during a sale ($1100), new Bosch dishwasher ($800), new oven ($1600) and vent hood ($400), tile for the laundry room and backsplash ($1000-ish), Benjamin Moore paint (3 gallons at $68 each), continuing the laminate wood flooring (major sale deal at $1.50 per sq foot), and miscellaneous cabinet hardware, drywall mud, etc:  The pantry cabinets were built new too but DH did them himself for only about $300 in materials. If we bought them and didn’t just make them that would have been probably 3k in cabinets in the pantry alone, and the kitchen would have been more like 8k.

The butcher block along the short counter was $450, and the corian, faucet, and sink along the longer wall was around $2000 all together.

So I don’t know what that all is together, but just the kitchen and pantry were maybe a third of the reno expense.  If we hadn’t had to plumb new gas to the kitchen (there was none), redo the sink plumbing and laundry room plumbing, redo al the electrical and add multiple new circuits, and then drywall and refinish all the patches, it would have been much cheaper.  But several grand was just spent trying to get it to safe and functional, not on finishes.  Just finished would have been doable under 10k, I think.

Okay - that makes more sense! I know it is no fun to have to spend on safety and unseen things like electrical, but I am sure it was worth it. Ours is a 1959 ranch which is also generally in good condition, but it does need some updates, but I know that there were inevitable be surprises and things that need to be remedied once we start to open things up. Thanks for sharing the details! It helps to know where the money goes. 

[hjffkj]

We moved into out new home a little over a year ago.  It is the definition of a move in ready home that does not have a defined looked.  It will look well no matter what is trendy I think. When I was giving a tour of it to my friend she kept asking, what color are you going to paint this room, this would look really good with X type of light fixture there, etc.  She loved the house but couldn't look passed the fact that every single thing didn't look like the trendy colors and fixtures you see all over hgtv.  I was confused because for me there is only one room that if I felt like painting I'd change the color of but since it doesn't need to be painted what is the point.

[Liz CA]

On 5/26/2020 at 9:38 AM, PrincessMommy said:

I also like "Love It or List it" and "Love it Or List It Too".  I think it gives a more reasonable look at what renovations will look like - including the unforseen problems.  I also like that they usually talk money and exchanges people may have to make to keep on budget.. for example.  "We discovered your foundation has a huge crack that must be fixed to code.  You can either raise your budget or we can't fix up the master bath. "

I prefer the banter and chemistry between the two in Canada over the two in NC... the lady in that show is annoyingly condescending.   Of course, the Canadian prices (PNW) are incredibly high compared to NC.

 

 

Are you talking about the lady in Fixer Upper? The wife? She does seem to come across a tad "superior." :)

 

[Liz CA]

On 5/26/2020 at 2:45 PM, happysmileylady said:

It looks like so much more space than I remember lol

 

I have to keep going up to the original picture to orient myself.

You guys should have filmed this - I can see the potential for the next reality show. "Our Fixer Upper..."

[hjffkj]

8 hours ago, Arctic Mama said:

I am totally happy I took a gazillion before and after pictures though, it’s hard to remember what it looked like, especially since we have been working on it for so long 🙂

 

In the next year or so dh and I have to  completely renovate my parents house to get it ready to sell.  An entire new kitchen, new flooring throughout, new light fixtures, 2 full baths, one half, paint throughout, landscaping, and new windows that we'll have someone else do.  I have to remember to document this process because it will be quite the change.  It is a lot of work but putting in $20,000 or so will get a $280,000 house that won't sell quickly to be a $350,000 house that sells in a day or so.

[PrincessMommy]

10 hours ago, Liz CA said:

 

Are you talking about the lady in Fixer Upper? The wife? She does seem to come across a tad "superior." 🙂

 

The British lady in the NC "Love it or List it" show.   They are not husband and wife team.

I always felt like the wife in Fixer Upper had to put up with her goofy husband while she was trying to get a job done. Not so much superior though, IMHO.    But, I prefer both "Love it Or List It" shows over "Fixer Upper" (even with the condescending designer)