0
0

Contractors Or Home Improvement Guru's Chime In


               
2010 Feb 3, 10:22am   1,879 views  4 comments

by OnTheFence   follow (0)  

Hi,

I would imagine that many people like myself who have never owned a home, nor worked on home improvements must weigh two options:

1. Buy a home with as close as possible the style and upgrades you want

Or

2. Buy a similar sized home in a similar area, but it needs updates in the kitchen, bathroom, windows, and floors. Generally needs to be upgraded to the condition in home #1.

I'd like to think that I could go on down to Home Depot and pick up all the material and install it all myself and it would come out looking great and I'll save myself a ton of money, but I'm not that naive.

Out of the 4 areas Kitchen, Bathroom, Windows, and Floors where have you found it to be much more expensive than you originally thought, and underestimated the amount of work?

As far as quality of the materials, this would be your guide:

http://www.redfin.com/CA/Sacramento/31-Mossglen-Cir-95826/home/19328790

My uneducated guess:

Kitchen: $20K
Hardwood Floor: $15K
Windows: $15K
Bathroom: $8k

Comments 1 - 2 of 4       Last »     Search these comments

1   ErikK   @   2010 Feb 3, 2:37pm  

Probably a bit high on the bathroom expenses, maybe a bit low on the kitchen especially if you want to match the granite countertops and professional grade appliances.

It's not hard to do if you're at all capable, but it takes at LOT more time than you think. If you're not going to be living alone your housemate might really learn to hate your guts.

I'd start on the spare/guest bathroom so your first attempts at tiling etc aren't in the kitchen and master bath. For that matter, waste the $50-$100 in tiling materials and tile a couple sheets of plywood first in the backyard. Ditto for plumbing/electrical. Make some fake runs in the garage walls then cut them back out. Better to learn and make a big mess outside of the prime living areas.

2   elliemae   @   2010 Feb 6, 12:18am  

You forgot to add the cost of hiring a contractor to fix what you screwed up, or to complete the job when your contractor absconds with your $ and leaves you owing subcontractors. It happens all the time.

Unless you're really good at home improvement, including plumbing, electrical, carpentry, etc expect to double your budget above. And it will strain your relationships & interfere with your job. Remember that the home improvement shows start & finish in half an hour, when the actual work can be weeks or months.

Comments 1 - 2 of 4       Last »     Search these comments

Please register to comment:

api   best comments   contact   latest images   memes   one year ago   users   suggestions   gaiste