Home reno types - around how much would it cost to clean up a fixer?

[TravelingGal]

I know NOTHING about home renos. Let''s say it''s only cosmetic. No foundation issues, roofs, etc.

We''re talking new hardwood floors, kitchen cabinets, all appliances, possible kitchen cabinets, counters, bathroom floor and sinks, paint, crown molding and possiblly lighting.

I know that''s a lot of stuff and you can''t say for sure because there is a vast difference in quality of items, but could you fathom a guess? House is 4 bd/2bth, 1500 sq feet.

 

[lyra]

$55,000?

It''s so hard to guess really. (that is just a guess btw)

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 4/7/2009 5:14:25 PM
Author: lyra
$55,000?

It''s so hard to guess really. (that is just a guess btw)

Ha. Well, I am wondering if 30K would be enough?

 

[lliang_chi]

Are you doing it yourself or contracting it out?

 

[poshpepper]

Are you doing any of the labor yourself?

I would say using mid-grade materials and doing your own labor:
$40,000 to $50,000 assuming no plumbing or electrical needed to be touched.

If not doing the majority of the labor, using mid-grade materials and if some electrical/plumbing needed to be fixed:
$70,000 to over 100,000

As you knew the range is broad.

 

[poshpepper]

Date: 4/7/2009 5:19:00 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 4/7/2009 5:14:25 PM
Author: lyra
$55,000?

It's so hard to guess really. (that is just a guess btw)

Ha. Well, I am wondering if 30K would be enough?

Only if you do all your labor yourself and find outstanding deals on materials.

ETA -- and there are not any electrical, plumbing or other large surprises

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 4/7/2009 5:21:49 PM
Author: poshpepper

Date: 4/7/2009 5:19:00 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 4/7/2009 5:14:25 PM
Author: lyra
$55,000?

It''s so hard to guess really. (that is just a guess btw)

Ha. Well, I am wondering if 30K would be enough?

Only if you do all your labor yourself and find outstanding deals on materials.

ETA -- and there are not any electrical, plumbing or other large surprises

Yes, most of the labor would be us or helpf from friends. Not that this is a definite by the way...I''m just thinking possibilities.

Thanks for your ballpark figures!!

 

[Italiahaircolor]

When we redid out 2 bedroom 2.5 half bath condo it was about 45k...about 1500sq feet

We did:

cabinets
hardwood flooring
painting
molding
countertops
vanities in all the bathrooms
marble flooring
new lighting throughout
labor

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 4/7/2009 5:33:42 PM
Author: Italiahaircolor
When we redid out 2 bedroom 2.5 half bath condo it was about 45k...about 1500sq feet

We did:

cabinets
hardwood flooring
painting
molding
countertops
vanities in all the bathrooms
marble flooring
new lighting throughout
labor

So you outsourced it all Italia? Where in the country do you live? I wonder if things are more expensive here in Cali.

 

[lili]

Hmm...don't know if this helps..
BIL spent 14k for just the cabinets (masterials only) in his kitchen.
5k+ for granite countertop.
20k+ for hardwood floors (though his townhouse is 2200 sq ft)
forgot how much he said went into tiling for the kitchen and 2 baths.
then there's the lightings and redoing of the entire bathroom.
I think his grand total was 80k.

of course this was done when the home reno/development was at the peak.
i would think that it is cheaper now since the contractors are probably hurting for business.

 

[LAJennifer]

My friends just renovated their kitchen only - total cost $50K.

 

[TravelingGal]

Wow, I had no idea it cost so much! Thanks gals!!!

 

[packrat]

We added a bunch of cabinets and counter to our kitchen and used stock counter and the unfinished cabinets. We stained and varnished them. They look great and it cost very little. At some point the cabinets that came w/the house will be replaced w/the same stuff. A lot would depend on the type/grade of materials you''re using. I''d much prefer granite, say, but that would never be a possibility, so we did laminate. You can stretch your $30,000 and get a lot done while still having it look nice.

 

[Mara]

ikea has full kitchens and cabinets at surprisingly good prices. so does home depot. nowadays the granite slab for countertops is very affordable as well and there are other options, they come 'ready' cut. kitchens don't have to be as custom (aka as expensive) as they used to be. you can check ikea's stuff online. i looked at HD's online (and you can go into the store and they help you) but like one bottom cabinet section was something like $350. depends on how many cabinets and how big the kitchen is. the countertop does not have to be expensive and you can always replace it later with something nicer.

flooring depending on how much of it but you can also look online for costs for installed hardwood per sq ft to give yourself an idea.

appliances...we just got a stainless-look fridge and front load w/d and it was about $2500 total. microwaves are like $300...stoves are about $700 (ranges obviously).

lighting/electrical is pretty easy, aka to move a light and/or install a new one it's maybe $100 per light, with a contractor/electrician. you supply the light obviously (home depot).

to have a house painted it's about 2k for 1800 sq ft (to save on this, i would paint myself unless it was high ceilings).

bathroom sinks, they sell full cabinet sinks with granite tops at home depot for like $350. you get a mirror to put on top from there, $150. our guest bath stuff was from home depot (i have seen it there) and it's pretty nice, we love it. the floors are hardwood.

not sure about crown moulding, but it would not be much in the scheme of things and i love the look it adds, i am so happy our house has it. typically if you have a contractor who is a painter they can also install the crown moulding as well at the same time.

adding it all up i'd say $30k would def be doable as long as it's all superficial and no structural changes. the kitchen first and then the wood would prob be the most expensive pieces.

 

[steph72276]

Are you and hubby planning on doing the work yourselves or hiring someone? Are you going to refurbish cabinets or order new ones? Kitchen cabinets by themselves can run that much, so it totally just depends. Just our kitchen so far has cost approx. $8k and all we''ve done is paint the cabinets white, had granite installed and new appliances. It will probably be another $2k for the floors when we get them done.

 

[Mara]

oh random funny note but i asked our neighbors how much their addition cost... it is 900 sq ft and basically one big master bedroom, one big walk in and 1 large bathroom with soaking tub. she said $200k. i was floored. she said another contractor had come in at $280k. i asked OUR contractor, the one who just finished re-converting our garage, having a built-in wall and walk-in pantry done for us how much he would have charged and he said he had walked through it when it was almost done and he was appalled they had spent that. he said he could have done it for $100k. and we love his work. just goes to show the ranges are HUGE. $100k to $280 for 900 sq ft. wow.

 

[Mara]

i was curious about hardwood floor...hehe.
http://www.costhelper.com/cost/home-garden/hardwood-floors.html

 

[oobiecoo]

I think if you go low end like prefab cabinets from Lowes(which can be nice!) and maybe wood laminate floor instead of hardwood then you could do it for $30,000. You''ll have to be good at bargain shopping though for things like light fixtures or buying "oops" paint for small accent spaces if you want some color. I have a construction estimating book and would be happy to give you an average for specific items. There are a lot of details I''d need to know first though.

 

[soocool]

You could most likely do it for around $30,000 or less. This is what we did ourselves and our house is 3000 sq ft:

Kitchen: around $11,000 for ceramic tiles on floor and backsplash, extended granite countertops (the granite we picked was $100/sq ft), faucet, sink(Blanco undermount) drawer knobs, refrigerator, smoothtop electric stove, dishwasher (my DH gets a discount thru his company for appliances)- we kept the cabinets

Master Bath : around $6,000. for retiling floor, jacuzzi tub surround, shower, new shower door, 2 new sinks (Kohler), Moen hardware for shower, 2 sinks, jacuzzi, towel racks, towel hooks, 42" granite vanity tops with granite backsplashes, new lighting in shower, and 2 for over the sinks - we kept the vanity cabinets, toilet & jacuzzi.

Hall bath: around $900.00 2 new sinks (Kohler) new Moen hardware for shower & tub & 2 sinks,new lighting over vanity, added shelving over toilet - kept the vanity cabinet & top, toilet and bath/shower

Powder Room - around $1000.- new lighting, mirror, sink (Kohler), hardware (Moen- faucet, towel rack, tp holder), granite vanity top, glass shelves, tile - kept the toilet and vanitycabinet

4 bedrooms replaced carpet with laminate flooring for a total cost of $3000.00 which included underlayment, thresholds, flooring andother materials.

This cost us a total of $22,000. You save a lot of money doing the demolition work yourself. We decided not to rent a dumpster (very expensive) so we just put stuff out in the trash each week until we got rid of it, other stuff we got rid of through Freecycle.org.

The granite for the bathrooms- we were able to negotiate great prices by using granite remnants instead of new slabs (whatever was leftover from a big job...they are very willing to negotiate if you go to a granite store rather than a Home Depot or Lowe''s) The hardware we had to go Moen, because that is what the house was originally plumbed with so we didn''t want to change valves, etc. so went with something compatible, but high end quality- also, check prices on the internet. We saved over $750.00 by buying over the internet for bathroom hardware.

Next we are going to replace the carpets in lr &dr with hardwood and will probably buythese through Lumber Liquidators.

Our cabinets were high end to begin with so we did not have to upgrade these.

 

[ChargerGrrl]

check out this Home Remodeling Calc: http://www.costestimator.com/diy/index.jsp

it came in VERY handy when we remodeled our bathrooms.

diynet.com is my go-to website for all home related projects. it''s a great resource!

 

[ChargerGrrl]

oh yeah, check out Pacific Sales for Kitchen Appliances. They have some great deals on "packages".

However, i wouldn''t recommend them for bathroom fixtures- kinda pricey IMHO

 

[April20]

There are so many variables and so many thing that drive your costs up or down. We just recently remodeled our house (in Georgia) for $40K. This included all new HVAC (condensor and furnace), new water heater, some plumbing work, completely gutting and rebuilding one bathroom, new floor in the other bathroom, tearing out and replacing the living room ceiling, removing stipple from three others, painting the kitchen cabinets, new refrigerator, professional painting for entire house (interior and exterior), revarnishing all the hardwood floors and a new roof. Oh, and custom built bookcases for my office and countertops (laminate) and base cabinets for storage and work surface in my office. It also included recessed can lights in my living room (six total), one bathroom (3) and all new lighting three other rooms. **Edited to add: Our house is 1600 sf, 3 bed/2 bath

We GC'd the work ourselves and it helped that DH is an electrician and we know someone in every trade. All that being said though.... GC's are HUNGRY for work in almost all areas of the country. Construction is WAY down and this can be a HUGE advantage to you. I construction manage projects (owner's rep) for a living and I'm taking advantage of the downturn of the market. If you're willing to negotiate up front, you can get some great deals. Negotiate their fee up front- do not agree to more than 5% (this is basically their profit margin). Procure materials yourself. If they procure it, you pay cost plus their markup (the fee). Unless they can get you a smoking good deal that is still cheaper after they mark it up, it's not worth having them procure it.

If you hire a GC (vs hiring a sub for every trade) ask them to get three bids for every sub and share them with you- open book. This is a very "commercial" approach to a home reno, but if you run it like a business, you are more likely to get the best deal and not get taken advantage of.

 

[Mara]

I totally agree re: getting materials yourself. It's much cheaper aka if you get hardwood yourself online and then have someone install it than if you have someone source everything for you. Also our contract stipulated that the work done would be turnkey. aka we didn't have to paint or fix anything when it was done. They did EVERYTHING. So there are a lot of 'little' things that are included in there, and we had a 'flat' price too.

 

[Italiahaircolor]

I live in Chicago...so we''re pretty expensive out here, too.

My kitchen--we made higher end choice without reconfiguring the layout.
-chocolate, vintage handscraped wood from California
-solid maple cabinets with a white finish and almond glaze--whisper close drawers
-chocolate blanco undermount single bowl sink
-oil rubbed bronze finishes including faucet, pulls
-stainless steel suite of appliances
-granite slab counter tops ($80.00 sq foot installed)
-full granite blacksplash ($80.00 sq foot installed)
-custom made glass grape chandelier (we haven''t received it yet)
-new light fixture
-under-cabinet task lighting
-cordless sailcloth Roman blinds

Powder Room--we made simple choices for a clean feel
-travertine marble flooring
-new light fixture
-open concept custom vanity with white porcelain top


Family Room
-chocolate vintage handscraped wood floors
-custom banisters
-Pottery Barn open shelving

Sitting Room-
-chocolate vintage handscraped wood floors

Stairs
-carpeting with deluxe padding

Basement
-Travertine marble flooring (large tiles)

Guest Bedroom
-new carpeting deluxe padding

Guest Bath
-Travertine marble flooring
-Custom antique vantiy
-Custom antique mirror
-new toliet

Masterbath
-extra tall vanity
-marble bricklay countertop
-Travertine marble flooring
-custom shelving
-antique medicine cabinet

Master bedroom
-carpet with deluxe padding

Entryway
-cobblestone flooring

Extras
-extra thick base boards
-custom doors throughout the home
-stained glass insert above entry way
-new door knobs, hinges
-garage cabinetry
-entire house painted, every room every wall

Labor
-EVERYTHING!! Total=around 10k

So....

Like you, we didn''t touch plumbing or electrical...but we have nothing original anymore. Homes can redone on a budget easily...but you have to be willing to put in the time to find the deals, sometimes accept that not everything is going to perfect...but you can work with any amount of money creatively and make a lovely home you''ll be happy living in.

And, because I like you

I''ll be happy to share some budget-friendly secrets when I can!!

 

[TravelingGal]

Wow guys, thanks! This is really a lot of good info.

I''m going to take a look at the house this week. I walked by it today. One thing I don''t like right away that can''t be fixed is that the garage is below street level with the driveway sloping down...I wonder how much of an issue that would be during rains.

Don''t think it''s going to happen, but I want to keep in mind how much rennovations generally cost when I look at homes. Anything turnkey with great location and price will go fast (if not be in a bidding war) so a less perfect home might be the way to go for us.

I''ll look more closely at the links after dinner. I guess I always wanted solid hardwood floors, but some of the wood laminate seems OK and definitely is a savings on the price.

Good tip on sourcing the materials ourselves. We pay very little for rent, so I would be OK with taking more time to fix up a house and staying here in the meantime. Also, I have friends/family who are in the home construction business.

 

[TravelingGal]

Italia, I''d love to see pics of all that work!!

 

[luckystar112]

I''m reading these prices out loud to my husband and he thinks they are ridiculous. lol.
I have to admit, I''m a bit shocked by them as well! Those don''t sound like DIY prices. Unless maybe you''re looking at high-end, top of the line materials.
BUT we''re bargain shoppers. We looked for tile about to be discontinued, went to a general electric warehouse for our new stainless steel appliances (altogether spent about 2,200 for an oven, refrigerator, microwave, and dishwasher), etc. You really just have to look for the best deals and take your time. I know you''re good at that anyway!
Crown molding can be tricky to do yourself but it''s not THAT expensive.
I can see how the cabinets/flooring might be expensive.

Do you think you''ll be going the custom route? That will add on a lot of $$$, especially if you''re picky about wood stain/hardware/etc.
One thing that we''ve learned in all of our DIY work is that you REALLY have to be prepared to go at least 1/3 over budget, if not more. Especially with remodeling. You''d be amazed at what you find.....uneven walls, bad wiring, etc.

 

[applequeen]

Since I'm in the middle of a similar project myself I thought I'd take a stab at this on. My husband and I bought a similar sized home a year ago (1600 sq feet) and have been slowly bringing it into 2009 ever since. Our house was firmly stuck in 1976 (the year it was built).... oh the colors.... orange, red shage carpet, green, gold... it was really something.

We've done most of the work ourselves but have hired some occasional labor to help with things like drywall. My husband is an electrician so he has friends in other trades and can usually find someone wanting to do a little side work. We've spent maybe 12-15,000 to this point for hardwood floors (1000 sq ft...these are the "floating" type and we installed ourselves), master bath upgrades, paint, trim, etc etc etc... it really goes on and on.

Now we're finishing up the inside with a kitchen remodel. Our cabinets are $4500 (including installation) and our countertops are $3000 (granite...including the sink and installation). We could have gone much cheaper with the countertops but it's the one thing we've splurged on for the house. All our other projects have been pretty budget minded. We're thinking we'll spend another $1500 on tile (install ourselves), new drywall, and plumbing. We're also reusing our appliances for the time being.

My advice is to look carefully at what has to be done immediatly and what can wait for a while. By spreading out our big projects over a year it's been more affordable for us (although I've hated looking at that ugly kitchen). There are also a lot of affordable options that you might look at for "temporary fixes". For example, rather than tile you could look into the no-glue vinyl flooring that is very easy to install yourself. It runs about $1.30-$1.50 a square foot. You'd get a new floor that you wouldn't feel too bad about replacing in a few years when you're ready to do a major upgrade.

My other piece of advice is to think long and hard about if you really really want to do this. It's a major commitment... time and $ wise. It's been a tough year for us because every time I'd see the inside of a new house I'd wish we'd just waited and bought something that didn't need so much work. I will admit now that it's almost over that I'm so excited about the changes we've made... it's remarkable and we're hoping to see a great return when we sell our house. We're very very very fortunate to live in an area with a stable housing market and homes here have actually increased in value (values were never inflated to start with).

S0...Good luck! Just keep in mind what has to be done right away and what can wait for a little while. Most important is the inspection.... hopefully all the fixes will be cosmetic... and it's amazing what a coat of paint can accomplish!

ETA... one last thing... we live in a low cost of living area so I'm not sure how that will affect the cost.

 

[purrfectpear]

$10K each bathroom x 2 = $20K
$30K kitchen, midgrade
$8K floors

I''d say around $55 to $58K total unless you are doing the work yourself (and that takes months).

 

[Mara]

TG...it is tough to live in a house while it''s being reno''d too... just a thought... and it could take a wihle if you guys are doing a lot of it yourself. Anyone I have known who has done extensive reno''s typically love the place enough to know they want to be there X period of time, or some people view it as the house they will live in ''forever'' so then it becomes worth it.

Having done some reno''s in this new house when we moved in... it was minimal in the ''scheme'' of things but we LOVE the outcome. When we lived in our townhouse we loved it, but it was very cookie cutter and it''s kind of fun to have something that no one else has here in this house.
This house WAS a tract home back in 1950 so there are a few others like ours BUT there has been enough work done to this particular house that is like no other. aka the original was a 2/1 most likely, and the garage was detached (there is one a few doors down that is like our model) originally. then someone attached the garage and converted it to a family room. and they added a 3rd bedroom in the back with a ''master'' bath and then later another 1/2 bath was added in the area where the garage/fam room attached to the house. Most of this was done by the old owners, and apparently done quite shabbily. So when the house was bought and remodeled for sale (it was flipped), the contractors ripped out most of the old work and redid it. But the bones were already there for them, so much of what they did is like what you want to do, TG. They also removed a wall in the dining room (looking at the house now I am like why would there be a wall there, it would make an incredibly tiny room) to open it up into more of a great room.

Anyway, rambling but my jist was...it''s fun to see the work done and your ''idea'' completed, esp if it turns out well, but it is hard to be living there and watching things happen at what feels like a snails pace...esp if you are doing any of it yourself. My coworker and her hub are remodeling and adding onto their house near ours, it was a 2/1 and they turned it into a 3/2 with a new huge family room and it has literally taken them like 3 years. So they have never lived in this house without having it be in some constant state of disarray or construction. Not sure most people would love that. But the reward may be worth it?