House Remodeling Thread (long)

[Aggie_Ama]

Oh fun!! DH is finally giving in to making some changes around here. We bought a standard track house think ugly fixtures, cheap flooring.

I think I just got an okay to ripping out the cheap, white counter/basin in the guest bath and putting in a pedestal sink. Is this a negative when selling a home? It would be a kid's bath if we had such critters here. I like it because it would make the bath feel so much bigger and play into the bike theme I have planned for there. Plumbing is always our first change since my BIL is a plumber and will do minor work for free as long as we do it on his schedule.

[Trek420]

Oh fun!! DH is finally giving in to making some changes around here. We bouI just got an okay to ripping out the cheap, white counter/basin in the guest bath and putting in a pedestal sink. Is this a negative when selling a home?

Buyers like space, they like things to look big, and they don't want to see your stuff. The problem with pedestals is there's no storage. So where do the towels, spare rolls of TP, cleaning supplies, rubber duckies go? Oh please don't tell me you'll have one of those plastic towers that go over and around the toilet for storage .... 'cause the sellers of my condo had one and that's why they could not sell, gross!

Pedestals can be really stylized, roman columns to hyper modern. Are you planning to sell? Then your mantra should be "ohmmmmm, neutral neutral neutral ohmmmmm". There goes the idea of the pedestal welded of bike frames and bathroom mirror suspended from spokes on a wheel.

Think neutral!! If you want to sell take the cheap cabs out and put in some simple quality solid wood cabinetry. Cheap pressboard in a bathroom disintegrates, even if it looks good on the outside buyers see it as something they will have to replace right away.

But if you love pedestals and that makes you feel warm and fuzzy in the bathroom get what you want!! Even if you plan to sell you may be there for a while in this market so get what makes you happy.

There are some wonderful sinks out there made of hand thrown pottery, hammered copper, hand blown glass ... Put that atop a pedestal and you'll never want to leave the room

Or do what I did in the kitchen, neutral but good quality cabs, I'm planning on fairly plain tile but it will have some fun decorative tiles popped in here and there for no apparent reason.

I can only do so much neutral and then I implode

[Tuckervill]

Oh fun!! DH is finally giving in to making some changes around here. We bought a standard track house think ugly fixtures, cheap flooring.

I think I just got an okay to ripping out the cheap, white counter/basin in the guest bath and putting in a pedestal sink. Is this a negative when selling a home? It would be a kid's bath if we had such critters here. I like it because it would make the bath feel so much bigger and play into the bike theme I have planned for there. Plumbing is always our first change since my BIL is a plumber and will do minor work for free as long as we do it on his schedule.

Don't forget to plan for what the floor looks like under the cabinet.

Don't take out the cabinet unless you can add back in the storage underneath it in some other way.

Karen

[Tuckervill]

I have a real problem with fancy bowl sinks, fountain faucets, and the like in ordinary, run-of-the-mill homes. They will quickly become dated, and they look out of place when the floor has linoleum and not custom slate or something like that. I also think the bowel sinks on solid counters would be hard to clean around. There's no point in hanging them on the wall, like they show in some kitchen and bath places--you need a place to set your toothbrush while you rinse your mouth! I think they're totally impractical.

In our upstairs bath, we pulled out the cabinet and sink and plan to put in a pedestal sink. This was forced by the location of the toilet, which can't be moved. It was less than a foot from the front of the cabinet (at a right angle). You could brush your teeth and use the toilet at the same time! Since there is no linen closet, and the bathroom has a knee wall on both sides, we cut into the knee wall behind the tub (clawfoot) and built in some shelves. Above where the tub will go, we built in three nooks between the studs to provide a space for the soap and shampoo. As soon as I get around to calling the plasterer, we might be able to actually use that bathroom.

Karen

[Aggie_Ama]

I have a real problem with fancy bowl sinks, fountain faucets, and the like in ordinary, run-of-the-mill homes.

Karen

Yeah, it would probably be out of place in our house. I think the best bet would be to replace the ugly counter top (BRIGHT white is not my thing) and the white sink. The cabinets seem like the standard old cabinets and I can live with them. It is the bright white sink and counter top. Of course the cabinet is way too big in my opinion for the little cramped bathroom.

[Pax]

I have a real problem with fancy bowl sinks, fountain faucets, and the like in ordinary, run-of-the-mill homes. They will quickly become dated, and they look out of place when the floor has linoleum and not custom slate or something like that. I also think the bowel sinks on solid counters would be hard to clean around. There's no point in hanging them on the wall, like they show in some kitchen and bath places--you need a place to set your toothbrush while you rinse your mouth! I think they're totally impractical...

Totally agree...the first time I saw one was while we were house hunting, I couldn't figure out why they had a large mixing bowl on top of the bathroom counter. Once I figured out it was actually the sink I just stood and stared at it trying to figure out why they chose such an impractical fixture.

[Trek420]

a

In our upstairs bath, we pulled out the cabinet and sink and plan to put in a pedestal sink. This was forced by the location of the toilet, which can't be moved. It was less than a foot from the front of the cabinet (at a right angle). You could brush your teeth and use the toilet at the same time!

Oh joy! Not that you would, but you could. My half bath used to be 3 small dark rooms; tiny half bath with sink directly across from the pot, that off the tiny dark hallway. Opposite that was the laundry. We knocked out walls and now it's one larger open room half bath with laundry room.

Pictured waaaaaay on the bottom is when we first knocked open the walls. The old sink here is still opposite the toilet.

http://onyourleft.gaia.com/blog

Toilet stayed where it is, it's now low flow! We moved the sink and now I have a utility sink with a nice storage cabinet next to the stacking washer drier.

I'll add an "after" picture and write up soon.

[Tuckervill]

I have one low-flow toilet in the house and that's enough! I know water is fast becoming a commodity, but we have lots of it here, and I want the damn commode to FLUSH when I press the button.

I would consider one of those jet-assisted ones, though, if it came time.

Karen

[tulip]

Closed on the house today and immediately went over to mow the lawn and take down the 15-foot (no exaggeration) weeds that had sprung up in the back. Oh and I had to round up the poison ivy that had made itself at home during the long vacancy. The previous owner had not lived in the house for a while.

Anyhoo, yea!! Now I have to go on a business trip for a couple of weeks, so I won't be moving in until later in the month. Then the renovations start.

Everything went smoothly, I'm so glad to soon not have to pay rent anymore! And I'm super psyched to make it my own place.

[Pax]

WOO HOO!!!!!

Congrats Tulip!

[GLC1968]

Closed on the house today and immediately went over to mow the lawn and take down the 15-foot (no exaggeration) weeds that had sprung up in the back. Oh and I had to round up the poison ivy that had made itself at home during the long vacancy. The previous owner had not lived in the house for a while.

Anyhoo, yea!! Now I have to go on a business trip for a couple of weeks, so I won't be moving in until later in the month. Then the renovations start.

Everything went smoothly, I'm so glad to soon not have to pay rent anymore! And I'm super psyched to make it my own place.

Awesome!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!

[Aggie_Ama]

I thought about the storage issue and thought maybe a small cabinet above the toilet but that just defeats the open bathroom idea. We aren't planning on selling for probably 7-10 years, so much will need to be replaced in that time. Definitely not selling in the next few years since our property value tanked lately and the market it slow slow slow here. Both my grandmas are selling their houses and I am getting a first hand look at the market.

We might still do it, just have to see how much the flooring would set us back. The sink itself isn't too pricey, especially if my uncle who work in wholesale plumbing supply can get one.

[Blueberry]

We bought a house with 1 bathroom and a pedestal sink. I thought about not buying it because there wasn't any storage. We had the kitchen re-done, and had a custom cabinet made for the wall above the toilet - shelves on one side, and a door on the other (hiding shelves). It's worked well so far (and it's no where as obtrusive as a cabinet would have been).

CA