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Thanks guys, we want to go 42 inch cabinets and think we will tear that whole wall out. My wife was worried she wanted a bit more of a separation to the entry/formal area but I think she's wrong (but I will not admit that).
Looks like the extension of the main load bearing wall would hide the kitchen enough form the entrance are, but it's tough to tell in pictures.
My thoughts exactly, now for colors and such. I wanted to go with some dark SS but wife wanted smudge proof traditional SS so that's our starting point.
Stove is on that angled wall we want to tear down so I'm wondering what we can do about that. I would love to vent to the ceiling but I don't want to deal with venting to the outside and I'm thinking a hood that goes up that far would look funny.
Originally Posted by stogie1020
Looks like the extension of the main load bearing wall would hide the kitchen enough form the entrance are, but it's tough to tell in pictures.
I see why you're overwhelmed but it'll all work out...
look at it this way...it's money, you'll make it, you'll make more...you'll spend more, you'll make more.
In the end, if the house had been more finished to your taste you couldn't justify the upgrades but since it's
builder grade (speaking mainly kitchen) you have the excuse to make it to your taste while keeping in mind resale.
This ain't your first rodeo so you already know you pay but you get the money back when it sells.
Location is pimp, house is solid and pimp with a few things that need to be addressed. Don't get overwhelmed!
My thoughts exactly, now for colors and such. I wanted to go with some dark SS but wife wanted smudge proof traditional SS so that's our starting point.
Stove is on that angled wall we want to tear down so I'm wondering what we can do about that. I would love to vent to the ceiling but I don't want to deal with venting to the outside and I'm thinking a hood that goes up that far would look funny.
My thoughts exactly, now for colors and such. I wanted to go with some dark SS but wife wanted smudge proof traditional SS so that's our starting point.
Stove is on that angled wall we want to tear down so I'm wondering what we can do about that. I would love to vent to the ceiling but I don't want to deal with venting to the outside and I'm thinking a hood that goes up that far would look funny.
I'd do the above model except move fridge to wall on far left and stove to where fridge is now. Take out the angled location for the sink and turn it into a straight 90deg and put sink on far right cabinet section. Then you can vent straight up without much concern.
You geniuses, all of you! I had no idea the pop ups existed and was just going to do the old school microwave vent mount, which is already sitting in the garage.
how do you know there are updates @Marcelechka
maybe his wife left him and the house is in foreclosure now
and he's squatting there with a revolving door of hep c backpages
hos.
how do you know there are updates @Marcelechka
maybe his wife left him and the house is in foreclosure now
and he's squatting there with a revolving door of hep c backpages
hos.
So I barely know where to start here, this house has been a crazy ride. As I've mentioned, after hiring contractors at our last place and having terrible experiences, I've decided to do this work myself. I got promoted this year and we've had a lot of personal stuff going on so progress is slow but getting there. This house had zero maintenance done so all projects seem to take a lot longer than expected. I have a bunch more pictures I'll upload after this post.
Outside - needs paint badly and I'm going to try and do it before year end. Grass also needs help but that is a Spring project but so far:
- New 5 ton AC
- 4 IP Cameras added, room for 4 more and I'll probably add another 2
- Resealed all windows because a few were leaking badly
- Fixed the sprinklers - few broken heads and replaced the indexer valve (who the hell uses these)
- Filled holes; there must have been 50 random drill holes in the house, no idea what they were hanging
- Fixed the landscape lights - boxes were broken and they cut the power to run a gigantic extension cord around the house, guessing for Christmas lights and it explains the 100 plus hooks I removed from the house
- Cleaned up and planted some topiaries (need some clean up) along with redid the edging and mulched. It stops on the right because I'm going to pull those ficus plants out and paint, plant some clusia and run the wall to the fence.
- Removed the back hedge and fenced. Chain link is our only option here but what can you do and that hedge was a pain to remove
- Added podocarpus, some clusia and a small bed along the side
- Added Alexandra palms inside and Areca Palms along the back for quick privacy
- Replaced all exterior light fixtures
- Added some exterior curtains on the master porch
- Added low voltage lighting along the back edge, just ordered some in ground for the hedge side. I'm going to pull the power from the landscape lights so all exterior is on their own breaker
- Knocked down the majority of the rotting outdoor kitchen
- Replaced the front door and handle, along with added an overlay on the sidelights until we get impact double doors
Before Front:
After Front
Before Back, hedge is super cut back in these photos, it was a beast
Our back porch has a weird overhang that appears to float with no real place for a downspout so I added a chain and here you can see the hedge in all its glory. It looks good here but the back line was spotty and due to the lack of maintenance over the years, it was too woody. We really wanted the privacy but ending up having to start over. We kept the side because I don't want to see the road but we shall see how the podocarpus does.
Back yard had a bunch of trash and beer bottles hidden in the hedge, even found what appeared to be a crack/meth pipe. Here's a ton of tiles that were thrown in a pile and that were sinking into the earth, stored some good ones and gave some away
During the breakdown of the outdoor kitchen area
Built in grill I picked up for nothing, going to try and fix it best I can to see if I can make it work or resell. Originally it was $2k and there are a ton of parts available so I'm hoping to make it look good and work well for maybe $150.
After Back
Jeep winch pulled the majority of the hedge, thanks goodness because I’ve been told it was here for 20 years.
During Fence install (I thought the city would be more concerned with our footers and such but they just wanted to see we restored the ground under it, which I thought was odd; only did a final inspection)
Nursery ran out of big Arecas so there's a hole in this picture but it's already starting to fill
Outdoor couch and new fire table before I added all the glass. This area will be screened in and I plan to add teak colored wooden slats on the side to shield the neighbors view of the hot tub. Also will be tiling this floor.
Gate entrance with the extra counter I hope to use on the outdoor kitchen.
Garage - Roof had a leak, which rotted a truss so I demo'ed the ceiling and upstairs bath (had to go through the bath to secure the truss), had 2 structural engineers get plans, had a truss made, and had a crew install. Roof is still leaking there so the roof is still open
- Truss repair
- New Electrical panel - need to fix the drywall that was left open for inspection
- New "Smart" garage door opener
- New exterior access door and handle
- New door into house with "Smart" lock and non gold handle (they used an interior, hollow door here instead of a fire door….)
Upstairs bath has since been fully demoed, new tub is in but I'm waiting to redo until we decide if we are going to replace that window with impact
Interior
- all switches and outlets were replaced with the 'Decora' style
- all gold handles and painted over hinges were replaced with brushed
- All doors and windows sensored, a ton of smart dimmers installed, motion detectors installed
- Slowly replacing all interior doors to a nicer non flat door
Kitchen - what a mess but we got lucky here. There was a guy a few minutes away from us that built a million dollar home but his wife didn't like the kitchen and instead of paying the builder for the upgrade, he had it put in but asked the tile guys to not really put the tile in so he could pull it. He had Kitchen Aide professional appliances but his wife wanted something nicer so they didn't even unpack them and he put it all up for sale. I was listing light fixtures and appliances we pulled from our house online and came across his post. Checked it out, hired a granite guy, got a Uhaul and pulled the kitchen from his house and brought it to ours. Guy had never moved into the house so it had never been used but the setup was too big for our house so we had the granite cut down and we are still short a cabinet but I just need to order it. Total for 42" cabinets, granite, and undercount sink $2,100 plus $1,000 to move it. Not exactly what we were planning for a kitchen and was a ton of work but the price…I wish I could have bought his appliances too but I'm too cheap.
Old pictures are in previous posts but here's a reminder
Our new kitchen in his house
Moving the massive island (full slab)
In ours
Island is actually a dark blue now but didn't have an updated pic. Here you can see the RGBW smart lighting under the inland and cabinets and a disastrous mess.
Still need to pull the fan down, put some cans up in the ceiling to better light the new area, do a backsplash, finish the missing cabinet, paint, and tile.
Master - ugly ass room and bath
- Tiled the floor with new baseboards
- Removed the popcorn ceiling and replaced two previously water damaged areas
- Painted the ceiling and walls
- New recessed lights and fan
- Mounted the old 60” TV
- New curtains but still looking for new blinds behind
- New tub, new vanities, new lights, new fixtures. Plumbing was a mess, two copper connections behind the vanities were leaking causing a moldy wall and rusted stud.
- Toilet room got a new toilet, new light, cabinet, new exhaust fan, and new ceiling above, due to an old leak, which I learned is still fucking leaking, causing my new ceiling to look like shit. To really make it bad, it the process of doing this PITA ceiling, I slide the razor blade across a metal square and half way up my finger nail
One leak I discovered after popcorn removal and had to cut out
Prefloors
During Floors (used a leveling kit to keep from getting lippage). I do have one board with a small lip, due to starting and stopping but not bad for my first large format tile install that everyone said was "Impossible" to DIY.
Final - a bit dirty, due to finishing the bath (We live in filth lately). I wanted black grout, wife wanted mocha so we got mocha but the common issue is it flashes white. Due to to the beveled tile edge, grouting sucked and there was way too much water used but I didn't see a choice.
Old bath
During
Progress so far, still need a blind and windowsill; should have covered the floor...
Wife is excited about this deep Kohler tub (this was before I finished caulking)
One wall of the shower is tiled, floor is tiled but hoping to knock out the rest before the holidays and then on to glass (this was before the final cleaning of grout so it looks a bit cloudy).
Master Closets
- Scraped popcorn and removed wire shelving
- Painted doors (want to replace but not sure with what)
- Smoothed walls (really beat up)
- Removed the old school alarm box, only to reveal a giant hole behind it I had to fix
- Painted
- Cleaned, sanded, repainted air vent, need to replace light still
- Installed closet organizers but due to the weird size, the closet is weirdly put together
Popcorn and remains of wiring shelving
This is almost done, I'll have updated pics soon.
Living Area
- Hung a 60", looked small so I got a 75"
- Ran camera feeds to the TV
- Curtains
- New entry light - Ceiling plate was covering a big hole, which I filled but the box is hung as the ceiling is flat not angled, causing the plate not to sit right
- Removed a hanging light but need to remove the other and center the new fixture over the table
- Need to paint and remove the popcorn ceiling but the ceiling is so tall, my ladders don't reach
Old entry
New light
Hall and Laundry
- Old upstairs AC was leaking so a piece of the ceiling had to be removed
- Removed popcorn
- New can lights
- Smoothed the textured walls (don't recommend, not fun) but still need a final coat of paint
- New washer and dryer
- New ceiling light and vent
- Recessed the dryer vent into the wall so it didn't stick out so far, dryer is huge
- Removed the second door into the area because it was so tight with two doors opening into it, looking for a barn door
- Added a Nest Thermostat and Smoke Detector
Don’t think I have a before of the hall but it was a mess, popcorn, textured walls and a big hole from a leak
Old Laundry, yes that is a hallow door with a deadbolt to the garage…
New Laundry - The door needs to be painted and while I replaced the gross wire shelf with a new one, I’ll end up tiling the back wall and putting cabinets in
Downstairs bath
Before :vomit:
Replaced the toilet, vanity, and light. Need to replace all the drywall including ceiling, remove tile, and figure out what kind of permit will be needed for the tub to become a shower and if I want to deal with the hassle.
What's left:
- Figure out what to do about the roof, just got an estimate for almost $6k, it's 3 years old and they've already fixed it but leaks still.
- Exterior and interior Paint
- Gutters
- Tile main floor
- Tile backspash
- Figure out the kitchen overhead lights and drop lights over the island
- Grass
- Rebuild outdoor kitchen
- Mount TV outside
- Screen in large porch
- Tear up and retile porches and walk way
- Scrape popcorn upstairs
- Finish upstairs bath, tub is in but that's about it
- Redo stairs and railing
- Redo upstairs floors (some ugly laminate now)
- Tear out downstairs bath and put shower in or just replace tub
- Run power to back for landscape lights and outdoor kitchen
- Perhaps impact windows/doors and maybe a pool
I wanted black but wife wanted mocha so we got mocha.
my favorite part of that post.
You are an animal, bud...and you say I make good use of my time. GTFO!
Thanks guys, it's crazy to live in a construction zone and while my wife does get the final say, she has been great. The first couple months of demo were tough because we are clean freaks and nothing is clean, especially when you use a jack hammer inside. The major tear downs and rebuilds are done and we almost have a completely finished master so I'm feeling much better. My wife is annoyed I have 3 projects going on at any given time but I get bored of tiling or at night, I just have an hour or two which makes it hard to pull out the tile saw, mix thinset, and such plus I don't run the saw at night due to the noise.
We're getting there though and I should have some bath updates early next week, it needs to be done.
01-24-2019, 12:16 PM
Thanks guys, it's crazy to live in a construction zone and while my wife does get the final say, she has been great. The first couple months of demo were tough because we are clean freaks and nothing is clean, especially when you use a jack hammer inside. The major tear downs and rebuilds are done and we almost have a completely finished master so I'm feeling much better. My wife is annoyed I have 3 projects going on at any given time but I get bored of tiling or at night, I just have an hour or two which makes it hard to pull out the tile saw, mix thinset, and such plus I don't run the saw at night due to the noise.
