Home Improvement

[brett]

Our home improvement strategy was to move and downsize. We practiced expense avoidance. It worked in spades for us.

$75K for windows/skylights/sliders, $45K for a cedar roof, $80-$100K for a complete kitchen remodel including moving walls, $20K for each three bathrooms, and $40K for the master bedroom and walk in closets. Plus another $20K for flooring. And an additional 10 percent for cost over runs and change orders. Convinced us to flog the mausoleum and walk with the cash. We made the determination that we could not go halfway. It was all or nothing. We had completely renovated a previous so we were well aware of the effort and the costs if we decided to do some of it ourselves, or subK parts or all of it out. Plus the challenge of finding reliable, skilled trades. Istead, we cleaned it out, cut the grass, did the garden, and threw on 22 gallons of interior paint in a color with a view to selling as speced out by a decorator. That was enough of a home improvement for us.

Not to mention greatly reduced home insurance, mtce costs, and utility bills. Or trying to find reputable people to keep the driveway and sidewalks cleared of snow while we are away in the winter.

 

[RobbieB]

So far we have;

Kitchen - 11K, flooring - 7K, paint - 2K, landscaping - 12K, ceiling (popcorn removal & paint) 4K. More coming but me thinks less than what we've already paid. Should be under 80K total which is 20% of home value, so not bad. And I went for premium materials everywhere.

My house is only 1400 sq-ft, so already "rightsized" -

 

[brett]

I am a firm believer in top quality materials. Never could understand why anyone would buy cheap paint unless it was for a rental or prior to a move. Same in spades for flooring. We have done lots of renos. If we were putting our sweat and capital into the project the last thing we wanted was materials that looked cheap or did not stand the test of time.

The challenge that we often had was finding good wood. Most of the prime product produced in our area goes to export. Many of the home improvement type stores here end up with grade 3 product. Lots of knots, scores, and not even properly kiln dried.

During my working career I dealt extensively with the forest industry. I toured many lumber operations and got to see what went for export, what went direct to some wholesalers, and then the grade 3 product that was snapped up by some of the home improvement stores. Huge differences, in quality as well as price. The product that went to Japan was primo product-all of from dimensional to sheet products.

 

[HI Bill]

I am a firm believer in top quality materials. Never could understand why anyone would buy cheap paint unless it was for a rental or prior to a move. Same in spades for flooring....we wanted the last thing we wanted was materials that looked cheap or did not stand the test of time.

Exactly! I moved into a condo with beautiful new tiles in the kitchen and entryway. After 5 years, the pattern on the tiles started to wear off....waste of time and money! I also ripped out the cheapest carpet available (brand new) and installed solid bamboo flooring instead.

Of course, the seller saved a few $ before he sold to me!

 

[pb4uski]

+1 the incremental cost of better materials is usually insignificant in relation to the value that they add... and the installation cost is typically the same.

 

[RobbieB]

Ah, forgot about the 4K sliding Milgard double pane with the built in dog door. That was one of the first upgrades.

 

[RobbieB]

Flooring going in, looks good!

 

[Ronstar]

Nice floor Robbie! Very similar to ours. Just starting to move furniture back in. I still have several rooms of baseboard to paint, some plumbing, paint stairway and install a stainless steel railing. It never ends.

 

[RobbieB]

Nice room!

 

[ncbill]

So, anyone got tips on prepping a smoker's home for sale?

Online it's recommended to wash down every hard surface with a TSP solution, then paint with oil primer (maybe two coats) before top coat.

Don't have much money to spend, so right now I'm thinking rip out everything fabric (e.g. drapes/carpet) & rent an ozone generator for a few weeks. Maybe duct cleaning as well?

 

[samclem]

So, anyone got tips on prepping a smoker's home for sale?

Online it's recommended to wash down every hard surface with a TSP solution, then paint with oil primer (maybe two coats) before top coat.

Don't have much money to spend, so right now I'm thinking rip out everything fabric (e.g. drapes/carpet) & rent an ozone generator for a few weeks. Maybe duct cleaning as well?

If the carpet and drapes are otherwise in good shape, I'd steam clean the carpet (probably needs it anyway) and see if the ozone generator does the trick. They really do well on smoke stench, and usually a lot faster than a week (depends on the concentration of ozone though). Try it in one room for a few days before ripping out good carpet and padding. Don't be tempted to be/work on that house when it is running.
Zinnser BIN primer does a very good job of sealing vapors (out or in), it also resists oily seep-through and it sticks tenatiously. It might be a good choice on ceilings and walls before paint. Good luck!
P.S. Ozone does damage many types of fabric and rubber. Use what you need, but don't go crazy with it.

 

[NgineER]

^^
Good oil primer like zinnser will hide smoke stains, water based does not. Had a handyman break down and cry after he chose to go water borne primer on a rental renovation and the next day the smoke stains showed up. He did not want to clean sprayer with solvents after oil paint. He had to repaint the whole interior with oil based primer in order to seal the stains in.

 

[Philliefan33]

^^
Good oil primer like zinnser will hide smoke stains, water based does not. Had a handyman break down and cry after he chose to go water borne primer on a rental renovation and the next day the smoke stains showed up. He did not want to clean sprayer with solvents after oil paint. He had to repaint the whole interior with oil based primer in order to seal the stains in.

He will cry even more once I tell him how the high-quality water-based primers work.

The stains (water, smoke, tannin) will show through the primer coat, but they are locked into the primer coat and don’t migrate into/through the topcoat.

Assuming your handyman used a high-quality water-based primer, he could have put the topcoat over the prepped surface and the stains would’ve been hidden.

(I spent 25 years in the coatings industry. Making demos that proved this effect was part of my job for a time.)

 

[brett]

We had a water leak that damaged and discolored a small area in the ceiling.

You are right. We primed with water base. Then we painted. Six months later the water stains were showing through again. Went out and got the Zinser (sp) product. Applied it, then repainted. It did the trick, the water stains did not bleed through.

 

[samclem]

Just to clarify:. There are several Zinnser primers. Zinnser BIN is a shellac-type primer (alcohol cleanup, powerful smell, dries quickly) and is the one that is largely vapor proof and prevents leak-through of oily liquids, pitch, etc. Some other primers leave a thicker, more opaque film and are best if you just want to cover a bright or dark latex paint, etc

 

[Ronstar]

Just to clarify:. There are several Zinnser primers. Zinnser BIN is a shellac-type primer (alcohol cleanup, powerful smell, dries quickly) and is the one that is largely vapor proof and prevents leak-through of oily liquids, pitch, etc. Some other primers leave a thicker, more opaque film and are best if you just want to cover a bright or dark latex paint, etc

I use Zinsser BIN quite a bit. I haven’t had a need to cover a lot of stains, but it covers knots, etc in my woodworking quite well. Also use it as a primer for covering existing oil base paint with latex paint. Thin and dries very fast. Sands to a very smooth surface on wood. It is amazing. But use in a ventilated area.

 

[brett]

I use BIN.

I do not bother with cleanup. The brush or the roller gets discarded ( I only use inexpensive, displosable for this product). It is as thin as water but goes on well. More importantly...it works!

 

[RobbieB]

Ok, nine grand worth of concrete!

Patio;

Step stones;

Pad for storage shed;

Driveway addition and repair;

About 10 cubic yards of concrete

 

[W2R]

Beautiful, Robbie!! Looks like they did a really good job of it, too. I especially like the last photo with concrete that looks like it has a non-skid surface on the driveway addition where you would be walking.

I had new sidewalks and new concrete in the backyard done, along with landscaping and new grading of my lot after I bought this house. The backyard concrete goes between the concrete patio and the detached garage, all very smoothly with nothing to trip on. They did a wonderful job of it and I still love it as much as I did when it was new.

I think that until having concrete work done, it's hard to realize how much it can improve one's home and daily life.

If I was a musician, perhaps I'd write a song entitled "Ode to Concrete".

 

[RobbieB]

Got some plants in the back;

Got the veggie garden tanks installed;

The elevated planters are ready for redwood sides;

Everything on automatic irrigation -

 

[mountainsoft]

How big are each of these concrete pads? What are you planning to do with the joints in between them? Were they poured in place, or hauled in as finished pads?

 

[RobbieB]

Poured into forms, about 10 yards total. Most are 4.5' x 4.5'. Gaps will be filled with pebbles.

 

[splitwdw]

Robbie, Looks great.

 

[RobbieB]

Thanks!

Pebbles in;

 

[Ronstar]

^Nice!