The true cost of home renovations

so we are looking for a home and are debating between an older house that may need some work and a newer house that may not.

I want to get a general idea of what people have REALLY paid for certain renovations/upgrads (b/c my dh doesn't believe Barry's estimates from Hidden Potential )

so, if you would not mind sharing, could you list the renovations you made and what it cost you (if you could include specifics...like, knocked down wall, replaced cabinetry instead of remolded kitchen...opened up family room, that would be most helpful)

If anyone has remolded a bathroom to have a separate shower stall with full (jetted ) tub, that would be totally tubular!

TIA.

and may the housing market be with you!

Re: The true cost of home renovations

There is going to be a very big difference in price depending on whether you have a contractor do the job or if you and your DH intend on doing it yourselves, with assistance from a carpenter or handyman of some sort.

Re: The true cost of home renovations

Are you talking about the entire house like in/out or just particular rooms like the kitchen/bathroom?

Re: The true cost of home renovations

Re: The true cost of home renovations

Posted by Ophelia

Posted by mia818

Are you talking about the entire house like in/out or just particular rooms like the kitchen/bathroom?

either/or. we don't know what we will end up needing to do yet, so ALL types of remodels are welcomed.

Posted by bicosi

There is going to be a very big difference in price depending on whether you have a contractor do the job or if you and your DH intend on doing it yourselves, with assistance from a carpenter or handyman of some sort.

oh I know...but I figure people on here have gone both ways, and both types will be helpful to us, since we have handy people in our lives...and not so handy people in our lives

Re: The true cost of home renovations

Well I did a major renovation in 2006, raised ceiling, new roof, raised ceilings, walls on top floor, new kitchen, new bathroom, all new appliances, pavers from driveway to yard and brick and stucco work. All that was almost 300. If you are looking for individual rooms it depends on what you are looking for.

Re: The true cost of home renovations

This is such a general question, you really can't put a number on something.

I have learned being a homeowner that no matter what project you want to do, you will ALWAYS get a wide range of quotes to do a certain project.

The amount you will pay will depend on the type of job it is, the complexity of the job, the season, how busy or desperate the contractor is looking for work, the current market price of supplies, etc.

There are just too many variables to put a number on something.

The best thing you can do is if you are serious about making a big on a house, bring a contractor with you to quote you out a few projects. That's the best way to get an idea as to what it would cost to do this work.

Re: The true cost of home renovations

Lots of things unexpected and renovations we had actually planned

Planned:
- Painting the whole downstairs ($5K)
- New fence for entire backyard ($8K - very big project)
- Removed trees in the yard ($1800)
- Creating closet under that stairs (a few hundreds $)
- New carpet downstairs in bedrooms (a few hundred $)

Unexpected:
- reconstructing the chimney on the roof ($600)
- Moving the laundry room from the garage to the inside of the house (about $1000 - move water line, electrician ran electrical, etc..). We were"forced" into it after the pipe froze in the garage and water spray out of the walls in the middle of winter!!!)

Other planned expenses:
Roof
siding
windows
both bathrooms


ETA to add prices.

Message edited 3/20/2008 12:07:53 PM.

Re: The true cost of home renovations

we did an uplift on our kitchen a few years ago.

we changed the applainces, floor, range hood, countertop and knobs on cabinets

We painted the cabinets, ceiling and walls. Did all of the work ourselves excpet the floor. Cost around $10k

Re: The true cost of home renovations

May I phrased my question wrong.

I am not asking for people to tell me what they think I will pay.

I am simply askng, hey, you, over there

I heard you remodeled your kitchen...do you mind sharing what you did and what you paid?

that is all. It is general for a reason. if you don't want to share that's fine. if you don't think it's relevant...okey dokey.

I was just curious. can someone PLEASE humor me. THANKS

Re: The true cost of home renovations

Re: The true cost of home renovations

we did alot of stuff DIY (DH is handy)

approx 500 sq. ft. of new hardwood floors cost about $1300 (Bruce Hardwood from Home Depot). DH installed himself (he had to rent the proper nailgun).

New Windows - 9 windows with labor was $6k. We got Andersen 400 series windows.

New Roof (complete rip off of existing roof, replaced some plywood) - $5500

New Siding - getting quotes now anywhere from $10K to $14K

Kitchen- granite was $65 PSF installed (blue pearl)
Tiles - those were expensive, maybe $1500 (we have a large kitchen), DH installed himself.

Re: The true cost of home renovations

We gutted our kitchen - put in new floors, cabinets, appliances, rock. We refinished all the hardwood floors, gutted the den - put in new floors and sheetrock, replaced one window, got a new washer/dryer, a new chimney cap... was all about $13,000. We did all the work ourselves.

Re: The true cost of home renovations

Posted by Ophelia

I understand ALL of this...but still...if it wouldn't kill you...could you share what YOUR situation was.

if not, that is totally cool too.

Re: The true cost of home renovations

All I can say is my DH is in construction and did all the work himself here and no matter what when DIY you spend way more than you would think.

I never understood on those "home buying" shows why people cared if they liked the color paint or carpet etc. I was always like "Who cares! I would change it all anyway....yuck!" As I sit here in my LR that hasn't been painted yet and I have been here almost 2 years

We redid our MBR. Moved walls, new carpet, new baseboard, paint, crown/base/door trim, a few new doors, recessed lighting, new fan. Total cost- about $4K

Re: The true cost of home renovations

to build a shower (especially if it is custom size and not a pre made unit) is expensive. It will most likely require new plumbing which is expensive too. The frameless glass door on ours (which is maybe about 3 feet wide) was $1200. Add a jetted tub and new tiles and I would guess (at the low end) 15 - 20k with labor.

Re: The true cost of home renovations

We have a co-op - but it needed alot of work. We did all the work.

Gutted the entire kitchen - this included knocking down two walls as well as the ceiling. Put brand new walls & raisethe ceiling back to 10 ft (prv owners dropped the ceiling to 8ft).

Installed brand new kitchen cabinets. tiled the floor, tiled back- splash, brand new appliances (fridge, stove, microwave) installed granite counter tops.

We also had the hardwood floors restained.

Installed crown moldings throughout the apartment.

Knocked out an external closet in the bedroom.

Changed the hall closet in the entryway into a walkin closet for extra storage.

We rebuilt the Murphy's bed in the living room into an entertainment nook (we live in a pre-historic war building - which was a hotel at the time - hence the murphy's bed in the living room... )

Painted the entire apartment.

Furnished the living room & bedroom.

Total cost $17,000.00

We are doing the bathroom this summer...estimating to be around $3500.00 - 5000.00...

Re: The true cost of home renovations

Posted by Ophelia


If anyone has remolded a bathroom to have a separate shower stall with full (jetted ) tub, that would be totally tubular!

TIA.

and may the housing market be with you!

Re: The true cost of home renovations

Re: The true cost of home renovations

Here is my home makeover thread from 2006.

www.lifamilies.com/chat/topic-50708-1.html

We pretty much gutted a house.

There are before and after pics in my album as well.

Because of the condition of the house and the fact it was on the market for months compared to similar style houses selling in one day in my area back in 2005, we got it for 200K less than the appraisal.

I have family in the kitchen design business so I did get a discount on materials and some labor (we hired professionals to do everything except paint). I don't have an itemized breakdown but it was about 110K for everything.

I just cut and pasted the complete list of renovations we did at the time. While I was pg with DC's we did the basement.

All new electrical including rewiring entire house
new oil tank
new boiler
new separate hot water heater
all new interior doors and mouldings
CAC
refinished hardwood floors throughout
added pull down stairs for attic access

Kitchen
Gutted- resheetrocked and spackled
Vaulted kitchen ceiling
added sliding doors
moved heat
took down a wall btwn kitchen and laundry area
repositioned old broom closets to fit custom pantry
tile
all new cherry cabinets
all new appliances including washer and dryer
tile-floor and backsplash
granite counters
paint

Diningroom
Tore down water damaged ceiling and replaced
repaired termite damage in floor in corner
replaced header and took out arches between living room and dining room
added chairrail
paint

Livingroom
chiseled 3-D grout from stone fireplace wall
cleaned stone wall
restored stone wall
painted
ripped out old carpet
install real oak flooring
installed 4 high hats

Entry
new closet doors
new lighting fixture
added a second light
all new paint
cleaned and restored blue stone entry
new oak stair rail leading upstairs

Half bath
gutted
resheetrocked
new light
new fan
tile
sink
vanity mirror

Den
redone right before house was on market
just cleaned 2nd fireplace

Upstairs Hall bath
gutted
all new fixtures- tub, vanity, toilet
installed linen tower and vanity
recessed lighting
new baseboard heat

Master bath
Expanded old 3/4 bath by losing two small walk in closets and dressing area off bedroom to create a 13 X 13 foot area
expanded waste pipe to move toilet
new larger window
jacuzzi tub
separate shower with custom glass enclosure
linen tower and cherry 6' vanity with marble top
created 1/2 privacy wall for toilet
new baseboard heat
tile
paint

Master bedroom
built his/her closets
installed crown moulding and chair rail
added access panel for jacuzzi tub
added cable/electrical outlets
new baseboard heat

3 other bedrooms
added closet doors
added mouldings
repaired walls
painted

Done in 4 months!!

Message edited 3/20/2008 2:07:11 PM.

Re: The true cost of home renovations

Girl, some people will Lie to you about what they paid to have something redone... People just lie in general...
Also others will have things done incorrectly and forget to mention that also..

You can get cabinets for a full kitchen for as low as 5k and as high as 150k

Once you set a budget for each room I would go from there .....

Good luck !!

Re: The true cost of home renovations

Also try to get as many ideas as possible and not have people come in to give you free ideas and then not hire them to do work..

This is why so many people these days are not doing free estimates!

Re: The true cost of home renovations

Like Theresa said, most of it is settting a budget for each room and taking it from there.

I redid my whole entire home and because my DH did all the work it took care of ANY/ALL labor costs that would of been additional....another factor into costs/prices.

SO between, two bathrooms, painting bedrooms, a new kitchen, carpet, refinishing hardwood floors, appliances, and the little misc things, $50k.

Re: The true cost of home renovations

We redid our master bedroom- new carpeting, new crown mouldings- top and bottom and around bathroom and closet door- new mouldings and window sill and painting and we spent about $2500.

We also replaced 9 doors, had them installed painted and that was about 3,000 with materials.

Finally, we had some paneling and decorative beams, and wallpaper removed from our living room and hallway and then had a new ceiling put in and had the room painted and that was another few thousand.

And when I bought my house in December we said that it was in move in condition and we weren't going to do anything right away!

Re: The true cost of home renovations

floors sanded: 2500
new solid oak railing: 1700
stair runner: 800
skim coat 10*10 room- 700
replace door with new fancy moulding and painted: 150