FWIW I replaced the slider in my house with French doors that have mini-blinds built in between the two panes of glass. I never have to dust them! Win.
When you upgrade the electric for the kitchen, check your local building codes for requirements concerning how many “convenience” receptacles/circuits you’ll need, requirements for dedicated circuits (dishwasher, disposer, fridge, range hood/microwave…), lighting, etc. A simple kitchen remodel can easily spawn requirements for eight or more circuits - it may be cost-effective to run a sub-panel to the kitchen rather than all those individual circuits from the main panel.
I guess I’m just coming from a “slider” background. What is the benefit of French doors? Wouldn’t they require space inside or out to swing open? And how do they work with screens?
We have an architect we like, and are going to have him look through the house to tell us what we can or cannot do structurally, as well as what we can do to give it a modern feel in our preferred style. We really want to only do this once.
This is a split, and the main level has an “L-shaped” LR/DR, with a kitchen inside of the “L”. The wall between the kitchen and LR is load-bearing, so we imagine we will keep that, while removing the wall between the DR/K. Or, we could enalrge the doorways into the K from the LR and DR, to create a more open feel. The K is currently linoleum, so we will need to extend/patch in the hardwood.
The kitchen is probably going to be the biggest single project we do right away, and it will allow us to get electrical and plumbing contractors in the house early on to size up our immediate and longterm needs. My wife is a violin-maker an dI enjoy woodworking, so it is a definite that we are going to be beefing up the electric in some way.
There are 2 baths up and a powder room down. One bath has a tub/shower and the other a shower. So we will do the upstairs baths one at a time.
The “weird” issue involves the lower level family room and addition. Let me see if I can explain it. The lower level of this split is a family room, with a fireplace. It is at ground level, immediately behind the garage. They added an addition into the backyard essentially doubling the size of the FR. I suspect if there are any structural/code problems, they will concern that addition. Weirdest thing - as far as I can tell, there is no ductwork into the addition. There is a gas grill with a hood and brick chimney along one exterior wall, and baseboard gas heaters in the 2 corners furthest from the original house. The grill and heaters are fed through a gasline that runs along the exterior of the house, and each of the heaters independently vents to the outside.
On the one exterior wall, there is a noticeable seam between the old structure and the addition. But it is not cracked, and there are no signs apparent to me of recent shifting, leakage, etc. But we will definitely have our architect let us know if we need that looked into further. Not sure when the addition was built, or even if it was permitted at the time.
So we are going to have to figure out if the heating scheme is allowed and, even if it is, if it is what we want. But our current plans have that level being something we tackle at sometime in the future. Hell, worst case scenario we can have the entire addition torn down, and either simply replace the original wall, or build a new addition. But I suspect something will allow us to keep and improve it.
Note - I’ve only skimmed the thread, so may have missed info, sorry.
Personally, I would have the foundation and envelope vetted, just to be sure.
Get the roof checked, of course. I’m not a big fan of siding, IME it often just hides bad things, so I’d be having that checked and making plans to replace it. YMMV, though.
Unless they’ve redone the roof & siding quite recently, you might want to look into updating the insulation.
Windows - I dunno. I’ve got original windows in my place with no plans to replace them. I’ve heard that the spiffy replacement windows are almost all great for a few years and then start breaking down, generally right after the warranty runs out. Somewhere I’ve got some information from a restoration guy who swears he can bring original windows up to the same sort of specs as the new ‘energy efficient’ windows.
At any rate, next I’d get the plumbing and accessories checked, all the way out to the main. Because I’d rather replace that before I moved in than after. Trust me on this one, you don’t want a case of the squits with a collapsed line two days after moving in. Really, just trust me.
Ask the plumber what updates he’d recommend - we tend to use a lot more stuff nowadays than a half-century ago, and codes have changed. As long as you’re dreaming, maybe a fire suppression sprinkler? What about some drip irrigation for the landscape? (Sorry, landscape sprinklers make me all grrrr.)
One thing I’d definitely consider is plumbing for a flash heater or two, even if you’re not going to replace the water heater immediately. Much easier to do it now while you’re working than after you’ve moved in. Especially for any rooms with a long run back to the heater.
Ditto all that for gas, if you’re using that.
I’d absolutely get the electrical checked over and recommendations for upgrade. The major things I can think of I’d like to do to our place, right off the top of my head, is to redo the panel and add a whole-house surge suppressor.
I guarantee you’re going to want to add lots of outlets. What do we generally have, 4-5 x as many electrical things as back then?
Plus you’ll want to update at least the kitchen & baths to GFCI outlets. Quite possibly the garage and basement as well, just for safety. Hey, might as well get some outdoor outlets wired while you’re at it, hmmm? And what about smoke alarms?
Not to mention making sure the wiring is up to current code. If you’re doing any major reno, you’re going to have to bring it up anyway, might as well do it all from the get-go. This is one area that is definitely better safe than sorry!
Now, if you have any money left ;), comes the pretty stuff.
Bath and kitchen are generally your best ROI, but I think I saw that you’re planning on keeping this one for a while, so that doesn’t really matter so much.
I’d say pick (1) the elements that will be most disruptive and (2) the things that bother you the most.
For instance, it’s easier to redo all the floors at the same time, if it’s all continuous hardwood. I’d think about doing that before move-in (although generally I try to do floors last so they don’t get mucked again).
Wall removal is a messy, messy business with dust everywhere. Definitely something better done ahead of time.
Having the kitchen out of action for weeks is a PITA.
'Twere it me, the landscaping would be dead last, after I’d gotten everything I wanted done to the house. But I’m like that.
Yes they require room to swing.
I had a 12 foot wide single pain slider. Faced southwest. Leaked heat like a mutha in the winter, and fried us like a bug under a magnifying glass in the summer. Very difficult to secure when leaving.
Part of the issue is covering the door AND being able to go in and out. Drapes, vertical blinds no good solution could be founded
So I put in a set of 6’ wide outward swinging French doors. (2 three doors)
No heat loss, very little gain in the summer.
I love these doors.
Hmm. We had a couple of nice Anderson sliders - 8 and 10 foot I believe. They seemed very airtight, and verticals worked like a charm.
Wife did a walkthrough with the architect and her dad (longtime RE player) yesterday. Both say the structure appears very solid.
-Removing the DR/K wall and redoing the kitchen is probably job #1.
-At the same time or soon thereafter, we’ll redo the largest bathroom. It is long and narrow. Double bowl sink. Part of it is taken up by one of 2 closets in the adjoining bedroom, with the tub along the same wall. We are thinking about making that closet a part of the bathroom. That bedroom currently has 2 closets and would still have a large closet.
-We’re toying with the idea of reworking the addition into a 3-season room with French doors leading to it off the FR. We REALLY love screened porches. If we could use the existing slab - and possibly the roof and other elements, and put in nice windows/doors, we’d have a space that we would really love and use. Also, as it is the addition has the most “issues” - with the built-in gas grill, the heating, the disco ceiling…
-We made an appt for our yard guy to look the place over, draw up longterm plans, as well as help us decide what to slash and burn and what to plant when. We spend a lot of time outdoors and consider our yards to be among our favorite rooms of our houses. We love trees, and if you want to enjoy them yourself instead of planting them for the next owners, it pays to plant them as early as possible.
Pretty much the one thing they both said is that quite a bit of work needs done on the electric. Not sure there is a single grounded outlet in the house, not to mention GFI. So we’ll have that done when we do the K.
After that - the list stretches on and on - but we anticipate loving living in our new home as we make it more and more our own.
Thanks for the ideas - keep them coming. Now we just need to keep calm until the July close!
Rather than removing the entire wall between the kitchen and dining room, what about making it a half-wall or passthrough window instead? It never hurts to have more surfaces in your kitchen, and then you could set up barstools on the dining room side. Very modern, convenient, and attractive. Great for parties, too. My aunt has a passthrough window in her house, and it’s really awesome at family gatherings. And (just IMHO here) open concepts are, how you say, overly trendy right now.
Thanks - food for thought. It seems “trends” come and go pretty regularly. Haven’t open floor plans been popular for some time? ISTR open lofts 2-3 decades ago. And great rooms pretty constantly since then.
But we’ll give serious thought to just about every possible configuration.
What is so cool is that we are in a position such that we are able to set this up exactly the way we wish it to be. Our youngest just graduated from college, and all 3 are employed and/or married and/or beginning a PhD program. So we can concentrate on creating the spaces we wish to live in, entertain in, and host our kids should they care to visit from out of town.
Sure, something could happen, but our desire is to move out of this home either into a nursing home or a crematorium. We are 51&52, so hopefully we should have at least a couple of good decades here. With that timeline, we don’t need to rush into anything, but we don’t need to wait too long either.
We’ve owned enough homes in the area for long enough that we are very comfortable with the location and general floor plan. Our kids and/or their kids can worry about resale after we are gone! But I don’t think we are going to do anything that is completely off the wall.
Except for the blue Tiki bar? 
Actually, I’ve got a buddy who is WAY into all things Tiki. He has a friend who salvages and resells, and she is very eager to pay us to let her remove just about anything we want gone. Could pay for part of our demo! 
Looked through some kitchen/decorating mags/books yesterday. So many beautiful kitchens in so many styles/finishes. Beyond stainless, I’m not sure it is clear that anything else is a dominant trend these days. Sure, there is still a lot of granite countertops, but other stones, concrete, glass, stainless seem to be on the rise. A lot of wood floors, but also a lot of bamboo. Lots of tiled backsplashes.
I’m very fortunate - my wife has proven to have a very good eye in creating beautiful and comfortable living spaces.
Atty review period ends tomorrow eve. Then it is essentially a done deal, and we simply have to wait until te close around 7/22.
Just curious—what kind of style do you all like? Modern, Old World, Shabby Chic, Arts& Craft etc.
Bungalow, arts/crafts, mission, prairie. We have several rooms of Stickley mission furniture.
The house is a 50s split-level.
We wish to allow ourselves options other than going full arts and crafts. Perhaps our furniture and artwork will provide enough of that feel, which could be complemented by something else. We could go however we wish with the bathrooms, or different levels.
Right now the bathrooms are pretty cool - mid-century, with chrome, glazed wall tile, and small tile on the floor. I’m not sure how much of that look we will be able (or wish) to maintain as we redo them.
If I were doing it myself, I’d probably go full arts/crafts, with woodwork and subway tiles. My wife has a really good eye for such things. I’m very confident whatever she comes up with will be beautiful and comfortable.
We’ve signed with a design/build firm that will be doing the kitchen and the largest bathroom. That will be “phase 1”, to be completed ASAP. Also contracted with a floor guy - he is going to redo the upstairs floors - actually before the kitchen and bath are done. Then he will extend the DR wood floor into the K and refinish that level when the K is being done. Also got quotes for appliances from a shop we like and have done business with before. Will have an electrician replace the electrical panel and upgrade to 200 amp pretty much as soon as we get possiession. My wife and I will focus first on a thorough cleaning, painting, and replacing 2-prong outlets.
Also in the first month or so we have a landscape guy coming over whom we have worked with before and like. He’ll give us ideas of what we could do with the outside, what needs to go, and we’ll probably have him plant at least some trees and shrubs this fall.
Our rehab contractor seems really good at being willing to work with our subs when they can clearly beat her price for discrete jobs, but then covering all of the details needed to do a thorough and seamless job in the remaining areas.
After Phase 1, we will let the dust settle momentarily, see where our bank balances are at, and start defining and planning for Phases 2 through infinity.
Close on Friday.
First order of business will be CLEANING!
Demo for kitchen and bath are well under way. This house is built like a fortress! Nice to see those 3x12 beams behind the walls, and they are having a bear of a time jackhammering the entry tile which is set in a couple of inches of reinforced concrete!
Done so far:
-New 200 amp box, properly grounded. Have replaced most outlets.
-Some minor plumbing work - new ball valves at the main and 2 sill cocks. More will be cleaned up when the kitchen and bath are plumbed.
-Upstairs floors are finished.
-We decided to remove and replace the pickled clamshell molding. Think we are going painted white in a very simple craftsman style.
-Chose windows - starting with the main level - we’ll see how long the money holds out.
-Selected new front, back, and interior doors.
-Tore down some mulberries and arborvitae.
I’m sure I’ve forgotten much. What an exciting pain in the ass!
Place needed a TON of cleaning. As we meet our neighbors, it sounds as tho our predecessor was a somewhat senile cat lady. Then when we got her filth cleaned up, we started dealing w/ demo dust…
Eager to get demo finished, as it will be fun to see things get put together. Sure involves more work (and more $$$) than they show on those HGTV shows! 
I’d just throw in the idea to wire the living room for surround sound and get some Ethernet cables run through the place while you’re digging around.
When I start my line of air fresheners, I doubt skeletonized-squirrel-in-the-chimney will be a big seller!
So starts another day…
Tried to eradicate some poison ivy over the weekend, but it started raining while I was doing it, so I expect the Roundup will be ineffective. Seem to have gotten away with it with just a few bumps on the inside of one wrist.
Had 9 guests over for a Labor Day cookout. Was surprisingly painless. Can do a lot with coolers and ice and an outdoor grill!
We’ve contracted to have 13 trees/shrubs planted end of Sept.
House is surprisingly comfortable - we love it and our new neighborhood more and more each day. Hard to imagine how nice it will be once this big kitchen/bath job is done.
Post some pics.