House Remodeling Thread (long)

[tulip]

Such good info here!

I haven't closed on the house yet; that'll happen the end of July. Still a hoop or two to jump through with the bank, but I'm almost there. After that I'll post pictures.

I'm in the thinking-about-all-my-potential-options stage right now, so this information that you all have provided is really helpful. I didn't think about the weight of the concrete countertops, for instance. And the pull-out cutting board--I am there!

I will interview contractors and get recommendations and make sure they are local, reliable, and good. Central air will depend on if the ducts are large enough to handle the a/c. If they are too small, the friction heats the air as it goes through the ducts, and that's counterproductive. Window units would only be a stop-gap measure.

I also will do much research on the water heaters. I've been told that the electric ones are not very reliable yet. More work to do there. I lived in an apartment with solar hot water and it rocked! But this place has huge oak trees around it, so solar won't work, but the trees help save on cooling costs.

Luckily all the floors are original wood, recently refinished with a dark stain. I like it, so I won't change that. Even in the kitchen--nice.

Oh, and very good info about redoing the floor in the bathroom when I replace the toilet. There's cheap linoleum in there now, and I can do better than that for sure.

there is some insulation in the attic under the floor, and the house inspector suggested putting fiberglass batting between the rafters. I want to investigate effective insulations of other materials, too.

The good thing is that the place is livable (with a microwave and dorm fridge) so I can move in and live there while the work is going on. I like that because I like to learn about this stuff. I gotten fairly adept at plumbing in my old house, and I'd like to learn more with this one. I might take a carpentry course at the community college. But FlyingScot, I don't want it to last 11 years!! Ugh!

And then of course, there's the outside. As a landscape architect, I'm really excited about that (and can do it myself!)

I will post an update when it becomes officially mine.