The couple-with-toddler who bought my MIL’s historic register farmhouse wanted to knock out the original stairs because they’re much too narrow and steep. The historical society wouldn’t let them. They then wanted to close them off and build a second, safer flight. The historical society said OK, but with a laundry list of stipulations because the stairs would have to bypass the oldest (aka the “historical”) part of the house without disturbing the integrity.
My in-laws had to jump through a thousand hoops to have an addition and a pool built before they moved in with the last of my husband’s siblings. I always wondered maybe they should’ve just bought a more kid-friendly house, but MIL loves country antique and dammit, you’re going to, too, whether you like it or not.
We’ve been in our circa-1970 house over (oh my god) 30 years now, and the best remodel we did was about four years ago when we repurposed a small bedroom (usable only as a nursery or toddler’s room) into a laundry room adjacent to the master bedroom. Technically we’ve downgraded to a 3 BR house from a 4 BR but in terms of practicality we’re ahead, I think.
Eventually we’ll want to downsize and there are certain things I’m sure a buyer would want to do. Everything I’ve read says that with most home renovation the most you can hope for is to recoup most - but not all - of the money you put into it. So remodel to meet your needs but don’t remodel expecting to make money on the back end. This leads me to conclude that rather than pour a lot of money into presale renovation one should adjust the selling price downward to allow the buyer to pour his/her money into renovating as they like. True?
It’s fine if the remodeling is for some practical purpose, to solve a problem. But the vast majority of remodeling I see on television consists of “updating the kitchen.” If the kitchen has a standard set of working appliances, then stupid stuff like replacing all the counters with granite slabs is just cosmetic bullshit.
So what if it’s cosmetic bullshit if the people who are getting it like that?
I don’t cook very often, so I don’t spend that much time in my kitchen. But I know people who spend several hours/day in theirs. Why shouldn’t they make it look “pretty” to them, even if their definition of “pretty” is influenced by what’s popular (to some extent, aren’t most people’s opinions on aesthetics based on popularity)? Staying in a functional, but ugly room when you have the means and ability to change it doesn’t make sense.
Also, I know from personal experience is how bad I am at understanding functionality (I’m guessing the same is true for a lot of people). I had to redo my kitchen after it was damaged, and I made choices based on the recommendations from the company that did the work. Now, my countertops are the wrong height and the drawers and shelving are not at good depths to make good use of space for the way I cook. (I didn’t really realize this until a few months after it was finished). With unlimited money, I’d rip it out and resize everything after consulting with some ergonomics experts and a better space designer. The way it is now doesn’t stop me from making delicious meals there (and it actually might be perfect for someone who is a different height and uses different appliances than I do), but that doesn’t mean there aren’t problems with functionality. I’m perfectly willing to believe someone who says their kitchen isn’t functional, even though it looks fine. Mine looks great; it doesn’t work.
The granite countertops are half the budget I got last month.
I asked my brother (who used to work in that sector) what, if any, are the advantages of granite, and he wrote back such an enthusiastic ode it’s almost a sonnet. But none of the things he lists are a real advantage to someone who cooks… well, who treats their tools the way I was taught to use them before I was old enough to be given a knife capable of cutting. And it’s half the budget for a camo surface. First thing I plan on asking the remodeler when I meet with him again is what other materials does he offer. In flat, light colors.
The other tops won’t be for free either, but the difference is enough to cover the work I’m doing in the rest of the house at the same time (the biggest drive for the work is actually this part, which needs doing; I’m doing the kitchen at the same time because hey, in for a penny…).
Modern Formica has some wonderful granite patterns without the upkeep. Formica lasts decades and wipes clean with a sponge.
I bought Wilsonart for my kitchen. Similar product and I preferred their patterns. I ordered several samples from the web site before choosing. I use the samples as coasters under plates in the living room.
These days, you order the top piece and the precut border pieces. The carpenter applies the contact cement and installs. Then uses a trimming bit on a router. Beautiful countertop in an hour.
We had renovations done on our current home before we moved in. Due to some weather related issues out here (yeah, disaster recovery takes longer than it shows on TV), we had to buy a 11 year old, pre-owned home that matched some but not all of our requirements. Many of the things we did improved the home’s value, some not so much. This made our home functional and comfortable for us, which is really all we cared about.
I wouldn’t say that we really obsessed over the process, but waiting to move in while we were in a rental did make us fret every time there was a delay.
I have finished concrete counters. It is the best. We had it sealed because of grease and splattering. I had it installed 20 years ago before the current trend started. My contractor thought we were insane. I have never be disappointed with it. It is durable , easy to clean and a great gray color, that I still love.
Then you set a hot dutch oven upon it, and it has a boil and a char mark. Since most of my kitchen was already updated, I replaced my Formica with granite. My two previous kitchens were complete gut-n-chucks, though, one with Corian, and the other with granite. I should mention, I go with very low-end granite. It’s actually not much more expensive than laminate, and a hell of a lot cheaper than solid surface.
Formica is not really worth it. It is easily damaged. My MIL had a Mr.Coffee sitting in the same spot for, god, I don’t know, 2 decades. A permanent brown, burned looking spot was under it. We replaced it with some solid surface we got on sale, before we sold the house. My understanding of solid surface is they are just as easily damaged, I have never had it in my own kitchen, so I don’t know.
Now that would be the worst of both worlds: the can’t see a thing of granite combined with the more sensitive to misuse of formica.
I can have formica, or pine, or… because I don’t plonk my hot pots directly on the countertop. Ever. But for people who do, formica or wood are bad choices.
I know! I can’t imagine how that show is going to fly these days. I think people’s expectations for a room makeover have changed a lot since it was last on. Although it has been true throughout the ages that if someone staples a lot of fake flowers to your bathroom wall you have ample reason to take their life.
At the granite countertop store. Don’t go to Home Depot or a kitchen showroom store; go to the people who do the work. The labor is fixed-rate regardless of the slab you choose; the price depends mostly on the slab you choose. Oh, and you go out into the warehouse and choose the exact piece of rock that you want.
We live in a house that was built in 1959 and had an additional added sometime in the early 70’s. No updating (or maintaining, in many cases) has happened since. Last couple that lived there were elderly and apparently never cleaned the carpet nor housetrained their pets (or maybe themselves!) In the last few years I have:
remodeled 1 bathroom, including replacing carpet (yes, it had a carpeted bathroom) with tile, wainscoting on the walls, built a new counter top for the double vanity and added new sinks and fixtures
gutted and completely rebuilt another bathroom. Tore everything out back to studs, ceiling joists and subfloor. Roof leaks from who knows when had ruined areas of the walls and ceiling. Put up fresh sheetrock, re-tiled floor and shower, put in new ceiling, painted, installed new vanity and all fixtures.
Pulled up the ancient carpet in the master bedroom and replaced with laminate floor. Built an additional closet in master, as original one is tiny.
Replaced 50+ year old linoleum in the kitchen with laminate.
*Currently replacing 20 year old laminate in hall to match master BR floor.
And much more. It was (and still is) a lot of work, but I don’t consider it obsessive. Houses need to be maintained and, especially when they are not, remodeled.
But there’s quite a difference between what you did, Doctor Jackson, and gutting a perfectly good, functional bathroom because it’s not your style or it’s slightly dated. Most people are objecting to the latter.
Understood, but all of the rooms I have remodeled have been “perfectly functional”. We could have continued to use them as they were, or continued to fix or patch vs. replace - as my grandparents did. Renovation was a pretty foreign idea to them, so perhaps it is a more “modern” mindset after all. I don’t think it’s particularly American though.
But again, why not?
On the one hand, my bathtub is functional. It doesn’t leak. I am quite capable of using it for all normal bathtub purposes. And it is well built enough that it may never need replacing for functional reasons.
On the other hand, it is a hideous peach/orange/pink (but not actually any of those colors or any other color that you could name, just something in that family) that is not found in nature and manages to clash with everything.
I hate it.
Should I just have to suck it up and stare at the ugly thing forever until I buy a new house?
Should I have passed on the place until I found one where either everything was exactly the way I wanted or was falling to pieces?
Should I do as I did and settle with a house that is mostly ok enough (and plan changing the things I don’t like once I could afford it)
Or something else?
