Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with remodeling

Architect without the satisfaction

notcomputersavvy06 — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:16:46 -0800

Several house structural changes planned but due to finances, work will done as money becomes available (probably spanning 10+ years). Would an architect be interested in this kind of project? How would s/he determine fee? This summer, we bought a house in the school district we wanted but due to local prices, it's old and quite dated (ginormous, ear-splitting, wooden doorbell that rings in 25+ tunes (including Green Sleeves) anyone?) We've already made all the basic inexpensive cosmetic changes we can (taking down wallpaper and painting) but I hate to spend real money on items in rooms I know we want to completely re-do in a few years. Example, why tile a kitchen when I know I want to take out one of the walls? Would a residential architect be willing to draft plans for a house that won't be completed for many, many years? Also, how would an architect calculate her/his fee for this project since, I assume, s/he will want to be paid for the plans rather than base it on a percentage of the cost of the completed project?
Thanks for any help you can give.

Is it worth it to refinish our attic?

desjardins — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 08:30:43 -0800

Is it worth it to remodel our attic into a living space? Will it increase the resale value of the house enough to offset the cost and effort? We're living in our father-in-law's 100 year old, four bedroom house. The long term goal is to fix up the house and sell it when the market recovers. We're not looking for a payday; we just want to get rid of this albatross. There is a ton of work that needs to be done on the house. Have you seen The Money Pit? Yeah. Not nearly that bad, but some days it sure feels like it.

You'd think with four bedrooms, the place is big enough for three adults, but the bedrooms are very small and 2 are being used as home offices. So, my husband wants to refinish the attic (previously) to increase our space and privacy (we're newlyweds, we're living with his single-but-not-celibate father, so you fill in the blanks). I am not happy with the space/privacy as it stands now, but I could live with it if I had to. He has the tools, the technical knowledge, and access to people who can help him. This will be entirely DIY if we can help it.

My concerns are that he already works full time at a stressful job, and though he may think he can get this done in a few months, it will probably actually take longer, especially if we have other unexpected expenses. Our plan is to get the entire house into sellable (saleable?) condition in a year, and live in it for however long it takes to sell. Hopefully two years max. Honestly, the only upside I can see is if the remodeling will increase the resale value enough to offset the hassle and expense. Do people really want refinished attics? Is this something that I can just call up a local real estate person and ask? Do you know a reputable real estate agent in Oak Park?

I need some objective opinions. I will provide as much detail about the house as I can in the thread without giving the exact location - you can see the general area in my profile.

Flowers in the Attic, without, you know, THAT.

desjardins — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 10:44:07 -0800

We're finishing an attic to use as a living space. Said attic is ~400 sq ft and has sash windows and skylights, and Mr. desjardins is going to put white beadboard paneling around the walls. The floor is old, dark wood in bad shape, but we do not have time/money to sand/refinish. What colors should we paint the paneling and floor? The walls angle in dramatically so I don't want to feel claustrophobic. Assume I am a complete idiot about paint and interior decorating.

Some ideas about the furniture: The bed is metal and modern (similar). The dressers and nightstands are this color cherry wood. We have this floor lamp. The couch is mission style like this with these color cushions. We have a rug that's roughly similar to this, though I'm fine with scrapping it. I think that's about all we're going to be able to fit up there.

As you've guessed, I like modern and contemporary stuff but don't want to go too far out on a limb.

Help me be an informed remodeler.

medusa — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 18:59:56 -0800

Please recommend resources for learning about home remodeling, particularly basement finishing. I am starting the process of getting the basement of my house finished. (Note that I will not do most of the work myself; I'm planning to hire a contractor.) I would like recommendations for books, websites, or other resources to learn about the remodeling process, what questions to consider, common problems and how to avoid them, what to watch out for, etc.

So far I have read information at www.buildingscience.com, which I think is great. It has specific recommendations about basement finishing that I found helpful.

Other building science resources would be helpful, but I also want to learn about design and planning, budgeting, finding a contractor, negotiating with the contractor, dealing with construction, and anything else I should know but haven't thought of yet.

Meet our bathroom: the money pit.

siclik — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 08:57:24 -0800

Troubleshooting a weekend bathroom remodel: sealing a freshly painted tub and removing stains from said paint. Let me start off by saying I did research refinishing our tub and saw in most mefi posts that it was best left to a professional. We are renting this place, and weren't willing to spend the $300+ for a professional to come out and do it (especially considering that they won't guarantee their work to be any more durable than if we did it ourselves). So, this weekend we dove in and refinished it ourselves.

1.) The tub was just painted yesterday, and now needs a nice thick coat (or many many coats) of a waterproof sealer of sorts to prevent chipping and protect our beautiful paint job. After a lot of googling, I found an industrial strength epoxy primer/sealer and high traffic clear coat for submersible applications. We're willing to let this cure for 3-4 months if needed and will apply as many coats as needed. In your opinion, is this a safe and durable solution? If so, how many coats should we apply of each. If not, might you have another recommendation?

2.) We foolishly spray painted the tub (rather than using a brush). The valuable lesson we learned this weekend: when spray painting, fine particles of paint travel long distances and stick to everything! We spent more time cleaning up spray paint "dust" from the walls, ceilings, and counters than anything else. We used lacquer to clean up our faux marble countertops and it worked really well except in a few spots. It's almost as if the lacquer sealed it into the coutertop and now nothing will remove it. Your thoughts on how to remedy this?

Is it worth the trouble to vent our range hood outside?

odinsdream — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 07:55:50 -0800

Is it worth the trouble to vent our range hood outside? We are replacing our old range hood with an above-range convection microwave which can either vent outside or back into the room. Is there a good reason I should go to the trouble to vent it outside?

There is a pathway above the cabinets and it's a short distance to an outside wall, which I'd have to cut a hole in from the outside. I cannot easily reach the exterior wall from inside. I'd have to do most of the cutting work from the outside and fish the vent pipe over to the hole.

What benefits would I gain from venting outside?

Quartz floor tiles?

brujita — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 00:39:43 -0800

Has anyone installed quartz tiles on their bathroom/kitchen floors? Were you happy with the results? I currently have polished marble tiles in my bathrooms installed by the former owner--which I didn't realize weren't sealed. I'd like a rougher surface, but the company sites I've found don't give much info about alternatives.

Non-traditional building supply sources?

odinsdream — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 08:20:49 -0800

I'm planning a home addition but would like peruse building material sources beyond what's available in consumer hardware stores. What sources do architects and contractors use for non-standard windows and other items? Is there a McMaster-Carr-equivalent for building materials? I'm in the early design stages of a home addition and am trying to figure out windows, in particular. Pictures 4 and 5 on this page show what I'm looking for.

Would a large array of windows like that be a completely custom thing? I.e., I'd need to contact a glass and metal shop and get it totally made from scratch?

In general, who are the vendors for not-exactly-standard building components like this, and where are they listed? Perhaps sources traditionally for commercial applications that I could rework into a residential environment?

DIY websites for Fixing your Condo

matthelm — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 11:52:46 -0800

I just bought a condo and am looking for websites that are dedicated to doing DIY things to improve your home ranging from doing cheap/green projects, cool home gadgets, to major remodeling jobs... There is a site that I kind of view and is a good example of what i am looking for and that site is: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/la Any and all ideas are welcome!!!!

Stupid octagon window!

midwestguy — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 06:55:35 -0800

Octagon window ideas needed. Explanation inside My house has one of those octagon shaped windows near the front door. It is an old single pane window that I'd like to replace with something more energy efficient. However, pricing the window at the local big box showed that they cost $168 for a decent quality double pane version! I think this is outrageous for a little window that doesn't even open. I don't need this window--it is near a door with a large window, and just down the wall from a huge picture window. I'd just fill it in, but the outside of the house is covered with limestone that I couldn't fill in. I'm a very experienced remodeler, but I'm stumped on what to do with this darn window--I'm looking for ideas, either for ways to replace the window less expensively, or to fill it in without having the outside of my house look like a hillbilly lives in it. And yes, I know I'm a cheapskate.

Walk-in tub recommendations

Thrillhouse — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 16:19:38 -0800

What is the best option for walk-in tub for elderly neighbor? I have an elderly neighbor who has decided it is in her best interest to invest in a walk-in tub. I told her I'd look into it for her. So far she has seen the Ed McMahon commercials for Premier Walk-In and has called them but they're VERY expensive and in my opinion anyone that advertises by infomercial is always WAAAY overpriced and lacking in quality.

I can't seem to find any reviews online that don't like they were written by the manufacturer.

Does anybody have any experience with these things and/or recommendations?

Can anyone help me find the unfindable phone jack?

Teira — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:25:48 -0800

The phone jack of myth and legend: I'm looking for "A 4-conductor jack with Type 43A mounting bracket attached." In white, not hideous horrible old school beige. I've been searching for this damn part for about a month now. I'm fairly certain it does not exist in this universe, but just in case one of you has some deep dark telecommunications supply knowledge, I figured I'd ask.

My apartment has old school 4 pronged phone jacks. They have been painted over, they are destroyed. I'm renovating this place by hand. There was ONE updated jack in the entire place, which is why I know this part semi-exists, but this one jack was in ivory, and for aesthetics' sake, I'd kind of like it in straight up white.

The faceplate... it's all one congruous... thing. I'm not about to stick a standard phone jack faceplate next to a horizontal power outlet plate it just would not be right. The hole's 1.406" and the wiring'll work for RJ11/14/25. I already searched granger and mcmaster and leviton and the last one's the closest I got. Except: ivory! ugh! no! white!

Am I just going to have to bite the bullet and ivory it up?

How do I remove this strange glue from my previously carpeted hardwood?

bradn — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 12:37:36 -0800

How do I remove this strange glue from my previously carpeted hardwood? Here's a photo.

Just bought a house, tore out nasty carpet. Other rooms are fine, but in the living room, the outside perimeter of the carpet pad was glued to the floor with dots of this fibrous, brownish glue. "Oops" only makes it harder and doesn't seem to dissolve it at all. Same with laquer thinner. Tried a glue remover specifically meant for carpet glue on hardwood and that didn't work either. Fine sandpaper and steel wool don't take it off, we need something that will dissolve it.

We plan to refinish eventually, but the floor looks terrible with these glue dots all over and I'm not sure we can live with it like this for long. Anyone seen this type of glue before?

Pimp my house: Let's renovate my house to Awesomenessosity!

unixrat — Thu, 01 May 2008 14:55:15 -0800

Pimp My House: We bought a house, but we're not moving into it for another month. It's currently empty. What cool projects should I undertake before we move in? Right, so I'm going to be retopping the driveway, fixing the garage floor, shampooing all the carpets, tearing down some wallpaper, and remodeling one bedroom. These are all necessary, but dull things to do.

What sort of things would you do to your house if it were empty? All suggestions open from practical ("Installing that shower head that pours water straight down") to wildly impractical ("recessed disco-balls in every room!") wanted.

House is in Minnesota, so some climate-base consideration are necessary. We've been saving for some time for this, so we have a fairly large budget. Tiered gardens? X10? Escalators instead of stairs? Trash compactor? Permanent soap dispensers? Robot maid?

Redoing Bathroom Without Taking a Bath

Xurando — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 06:40:33 -0800

Bathroom Renovation Filter: DIY vs. Contractor We are planning for a bathroom renovation. We would like to keep the cost under $2000. We are replacing a vanity/sink fiberglass shower unit, and tiling floors. I think the hardware will be half the cost. I am concerned about the cost of labor.

When I look at the overall project, my brain says "I can do that." Can I really? What haven't I considered? In the end would I be better off just hiring a plumbing contractor and biting the bullet?

Bonus points for links to inexpensive beautiful, practical bathroom fixtures.

Bathroom breaks

Arch1 — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 10:47:46 -0800

Remodeling bathroom, and looking all over the web. Question: any tips for searching, sites that I should check out? And are the tubs and vanities listed on Costco online good or crap? All help appreciated, hivers. Just in case it helps, we're doubling the size of the (tiny) bathroom, and will be adding a new vanity and (possibly) pedestal sink, new floor tile and new shower (tile and fixtures). We're in the $35k overall budget range.

Oh, and the house isn't big (city bungalow built 1911), so we're not looking at anything oversize...

Bang bang, it's

mrunderhill — Mon, 28 May 2007 15:11:53 -0800

My landlord is renovating the apartment next to mine. It is very noisy from 9 to 6 every week day (even today). Constant hammering, squeaking, sawing, etc. The walls are shaking and I found paint dust along the walls of my apartment.. It's driving me crazy. I would like to move out now.

However, I'm on a month to month lease that requires me to cancel 30 days in advance.. Is the contract binding under these new conditions?

I moved in 6 weeks ago and my landlord never mentioned this..

Any tips on how to approach the landlord about this?

I would bite the bullet if I was planning on staying for a while, but I am only in town for the summer and this is really putting a damper on my stay here.

Thanks!

Garage Sweet Home?

B-squared — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 14:20:40 -0800

My partner and I are thinking about buying an old mechanic's shop and converting it into a home, but we need a little visual inspiration. Where can I find images (books, magazines, websites) of garages turned living spaces? And, does anyone have advice about commercial to residential remodeling?

Help me find the Hualapai Skywalk Bridge of bathroom sinks...

skyboy — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 20:08:59 -0800

RemodelingFilter: What's the name for the not-so-common style of bathroom sink in which (1) the back half of the bowl fits firmly within the vanity/countertop like a normal top-mount sink, but (2) the rounded front half of the bowl juts out several inches from the vanity, overhanging similar to the front edge of a pedestal sink? I really, really would like to find out the designer's term for the kind of sink I'm searching for. This has been vexing me ever since I saw a white ceramic one in a Scottish flat... sadly, my Google-fu has utterly failed me this time.

This sink style has a perfect room-enhancing, affordance-creating aesthetic, an antidote to the usual boredom of bathroom vanities... there's just something remodelly-fantastic about the idea of a shallower vanity combined with a sexy rounded edge cantilevering out of the otherwise straight countertop. (Yes, I'm a little smitten. With a freaking lavatory sink.)

BTW, I am not talking about those newly-trendy "vessel sinks" that rest entirely *on top of* the counter -- I don't really care for those, thanks. Bonus points, however, if you can point me towards a manufacturer or distributor of the mystery-name sink style...

Damage to home and liability

rryan — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 03:06:14 -0800

During construction on the common area of the town home complex I live in, workers may have damaged my water main, possibly causing damage to the interior of my home. They are trying to determine the damage now. Do I need a lawyer? This work was contracted out by the general condo association, not by me. The general contractor is now working to find any damage. That may involve tearing up my kitchen floor. I am concerned about any repairs and remodeling and the quality of work done to fix this. I'm also concerned that the repairs might be a 'quick fix'. Do I need to get a second opinion and/or a lawyer so that any future work related will also be compensated for?

Ideas for Remodeling with Salvage Materials?

LarryC — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 09:27:44 -0800

Is there a blog for doing home improvements and renovations with salvaged and unusual materials? Sort of a cross between This Old House and Inhabitat, with a scavenger bent?

remodeling

sharksandwich — Wed, 16 Aug 2006 12:03:08 -0800

Kitchen and bathroom remodeling. First time homeowner wanting to bring my kitchen and bathroom up to date. Never hired a contractor, nor do I have any recommendations from friends or neighbors. I own a duplex and did all of the simple work on the upstairs unit, but the lower unit that I occupy will be needing work that is out of my skill range (most likely a teardown to the studs and building up from there). I have some ideas on what I want done. I'd like to work with someone that can keep the project within what the neighborhood resale value can sustain and offer advice and refine my ideas. So how do I go about finding this person? I'm in Milwaukee.

Simple Bathroom Repair

crewshell — Sat, 25 Mar 2006 18:09:54 -0800

Where can I find good instructions for free and online on how to "choke" a bath tub? More specifically, rechoke actually. I tried google but i think I am missing a few bolts today, I cant seem to pull anything but spam sites up! I've rechoked a sink before, but I want this next job to look primo so I need to study up before I begin.

thanks ask.

Searching for crown moulding.

drewbeck — Thu, 09 Mar 2006 17:01:30 -0800

ISO crown moulding for bathroom to match rest of house. D/D free, must love dogs. I'm looking for any pointers anybody might have on finding crown moulding that matches or closely approximates our existing stuff. We got a quote for custom moulding that worked out to about $10/foot. Is that reasonable? Are there any good online places for custom moulding? What about brick&mortar stores in and around the SF Bay Area that you can recommend? Failing that, what about a company that stocks many many different styles? Most places we've been able to find will only have a handful of profiles. Help!

Gross! It smells like cat pee in here

Yukon — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 08:48:59 -0800

I'm currently considering buying a circa 1900 house that has one major issue, both the first and second floors reek of cat urine. Does anyone have experience with erradicating this odor from an older home? To further clarify, we're talking about a completely empty house (no furniture or rugs) with hardwood maple floors, that in all likelihood have had a pretty good bath with cat urine. One floor previously had carpet which has been removed. Our current plan is to sand, possibly treat, and poly the hardwood floors professionally. Along with removing all the wallpaper, possibly treating the walls and then painting.

We're contacting as many professionals as we can but it's always good to try for the homeowner POV.