The Home Improvement Thread

Parents Forum Parent Cafe
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They were pretty good about letting us trim or take down anything that went over the house, and that was some really large trees. Anything that they considered an “invasive” species, they let us take down.

And there were two trees near the water that they let us take down - one was 98% dead, the other was planted right next to a concrete retaining wall and our argument was that over time it would destroy the wall.

We’ve been told that if a tree along the water falls over, they might make us leave it there until is rots naturally, because it would provide a habitat for various creatures.

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Wrong thread. :slight_smile:

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I’m debating a kitchen redo. Room’s outdated–it was last redone when we bought the house 20 years ago. It still has formica countertops! I will probably stay in the house another 4-5 years before relocating or down-sizing. FYI–The house a 3 BR/2.5BA rancher in a great neighborhood and school district.

My idea is to redo the kitchen, enjoy it and sell while it’s still fairly new. It is a classic design; I could live with it as is but the appliances will need to be replaced, etc. and it seems commonly accepted that one gets their money back on kitchen remodels, so why not remodel now and enjoy a new kitchen?!

Now, it gets tricky…there is a weird hallway that could be incorporated into the kitchen, making it a bit larger and more open…By doing so, it may mean giving up the powder room. I’m thinking that would be a mistake. Moving the powder room may be an option but it could add so much to the cost of the renovation that it might price the house out of the neighborhood…

So…without getting into further, more-difficult-to-explain details…Would you sacrifice the powder room for a bigger, more open kitchen or leave the weird hallway and renovate using the current kitchen footprint? Some of you have gone through this before…So, share your thoughts.

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^ Is there another bathroom on the first floor? If not, then I wouldn’t even consider getting rid of the powder room.

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How accessible is the kids’ bath in case dinner guests need to use a bathroom? Our friends have a ranch house with 2 full baths, and the kids’ bath is easily accessible from the kitchen doubles as a powder room. It also helps that they have no kids, so the bath is always clean. No issues with not having a powder room. Also, who is the target buyer of the ranch homes in your area? If empty nest couples are your target, not having a powder might be OK.

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Rejuvenating laminate countertops? I actually like our laminate counters. They are in a mid-century (modest) home, and fit well with the décor. No scratches, burns or stains – just dull in areas. They look great when wet, but once dry, the sheen in some areas is very uneven, so it makes them look worn. I don’t want too apply a new topping, but rather just polish. Cleaners such as Counter Magic Polish do the same as water – looks great when wet, but do nothing once dry. I googled options, and the only one that appears to make sense is to wax them periodically, but some posters argue that is not a good idea on any food prep. surfaces. Anyone try this - or have another alternative?

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@BunsenBurner and @notrichenough, it is a ranch house and the guest bath is nearby. We were always glad to have had a powder room, so we didn’t have to nag DS to keep his bathroom tidy for guests. We always thought the powder room added significant value to the home.

Suppose primary target buyers would be a young family or empty-nesters. School district is a big draw for families and one-floor living is a draw for those without children.

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If you’ve tried a polish like Hope’s Perfect Countertop and it didn’t work, then there probably isn’t much you can do other than wax it, which I agree that certain waxes probably aren’t suitable for a countertop.

Can you buff out formica with a super-high grit polishing compound or slurry? Or will that just strip everything off?

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Oh year I’ve seen that ceiling design. Ideally you’d remove the roof and put another layer of foam insulation above the existing roof. It’s almost certainly underinsulated by today’s standards. But I fully understand not wanting to do that!

I would never ever remove a first floor powder room unless there is another bathroom on the first floor.

I’ve heard of people painting formica, but have never seen what it looks like and wouldn’t think it would last.

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“it is a ranch house and the guest bath is nearby”
In that case then demolish the powder bath, strange hallway and expand the kitchen.
Any buyer is going to spend a LOT more time in the kitchen than in a nearby bathroom, and a more expansive, modern kitchen will be a huge selling factor.

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I agree. I’d say half the houses I work on we are enlarging the kitchen and/or opening it up to the living areas.

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I third that. Kids can live with an occasional guest using the hall bath.

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The project I’m working on now is empty nesters finally renovating their kitchen (and other things) which they plan to enjoy for several years before moving. You will definitely enjoy the new kitchen and, within reason, recoup the investment.

Just beware…the domino effect!!! Flooring throughout? New paint throughout? New windows and doors?

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Apparently, there are some epoxy paints for Formica:

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/epoxy-countertop-coating-over-laminate-94598.html

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It’s a new year and it is time to begin thinking about our plans for this 1980 house. We have been in the house 20+ years and made a number of big improvements in the first 10.

We redid the 2nd floor hall bath in 2015, need to redo the master bath, and had previously planned to tackle the kitchen during D2’s junior year. She’s currently a sophomore. Our finances are in good shape, but I am a bit concerned about DH’s health and work status. We are in process to receive an inheritance that will cover the remodeling costs.

Exterior is in good shape, but we can anticipate the removal of a large tree (that’s destroying the driveway) and the necessity of replacing the driveway and the tree. That will lead to resurfacing the front porch, to put a nicer surface on the slab. Our painter is going to redo the walls inside the garage in the spring ($1500).

Master bath has two sinks, one in the dressing area and the other in the bath. I’d like the remodel to include a water closet for the toilet. The sinks should probably be placed together. The floor will be heated. Bathroom has both a tub and stall shower. Master closet is adjacent, so we can steal space if needed. I’d like to add a built in ironing board.

Kitchen. We will make minimal changes to the floor plan and appliance layout. The refrigerator will move 90 degrees and about 3 feet. With the exception of the waterline to the fridge plumbing won’t change. Soffits will be removed. Cabinets will go to the ceiling. If there is plumbing in the soffits, I’m thinking we will carve the cabinets around the pipes. I don’t care if the top shelf is not useable. We will widen the door to the family room (not really into “open concept”), which will necessitate work (replacement?) to the hardwood floors. First floor is all hardwood. Second floor is carpeted.

Laundry is in the kitchen and that works well for me. There’s no cheap or desirable option to move it elsewhere. We are in our late 50s and do not want it in the basement. We have a laundry chute from the second floor hall, and I especially like being able to wash kitchen towels. Currently it is behind two sets of double doors…big laundry sink, washer, laundry drop area, dryer. I’m thinking of different options, to “compress” the laundry space — and have the sink/ plumbing as a decorative bar sink and more cupboards.

Our stairs are the project I thought we would do first — and here we are 20 years later. It’s a curved staircase with white painted metal railing. I’d prefer hardwood stairs. DH would like to keep carpet. We will need a new railing, exposed hardwood, and a runner fitted to curved stairs. $

We have a neighborhood guy who is good and fairly priced. Do we bring in a couple of design build firms to quote?

Are we opening Pandora’s Box? Where would you begin?

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is there only 1 child still at home?
If so I’d advise holding off on the kitchen remodel until she is away at college. It will be far less disruptive to the whole family to wait until there are only 2 of you still at home.
But I would tackle the master bath remodel any time you are ready.
Agree with consolidating the 2 sinks. Do you need/ use that tub? if not, is there another tub in the house for future
“little ones” to use?
If the answer is no the first and yes to the second then I strongly advise you take out the tub and put in an expansive shower, with a built in seat and an attractive safety rail for your use.
As to the stairs, put in hardwood with attached carpet on each riser.

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I was investigating putting laundry in the kitchen and found some good pics on pinterest. (Did not end up doing it though)

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I’m not a fan of design build (but I’m speaking as a stand-alone architect). Was an expert witness for a design-build firm recently where the issue was actually mistakes made by the architect, but the contractor was getting sued. Around here the work you are describing requires stamped plans from an architect, so that’s where most people end up even if they talk to contractors first. (I get lots of work from contractors who give them the names of a few architects.)

We did a bathroom while kid was in college. He came home to find all the living room furniture stuffed into his room after we decided to fix the living room ceiling while we were at it. (It made the plumbing part of the job easier.)

I agree with menlomom if you have a bathtub elsewhere in the house - I’d go for a nice big shower. Reinforce it for a grab bar even if you don’t put one in now. Our shower is curbless, and I love it.

Kitchen remodel and addition lasted for approximately six month, but with a temporary kitchen set up for all, but one day, we were actually fine. We ended up hosting Christmas even though we didn’t have countertops yet. (The contractor gave us temporary plywood ones.) It was fine.

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Had some walls ripped open in the kitchen today. Big window removed, and two smaller ones will be installed in the next few days. Everything is covered, but it’s still drafty and there’s a giant curtain of plastic tarp that is ballooning out from the work area. Still, it’s exciting!

Our carpenter was very pleased to see the inside of the walls. “An unusual arrangement of studs”, lol. He gets a kick out of seeing what’s behind the surface.

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I recently had a couple wood floor specialists come over to give me an estimate for laminating our stairs (currently, dirty carpet). To my surprise, both sort of balked at the idea of using laminated wood for stairs. They prefer to use real wood. While I understand that real wood is better, is there any hidden reason why I shouldn’t go with laminated wood for the stairs?