Lots of remodeling - in what order do we proceed?

16 years ago

Huh.

DH and I are closing on a new house in a few weeks and we have a laundry list of improvements we'd like to make over the next few years: new kitchen, remodel two baths and add a third, add central air, (*dream of*) adding a 1/2 floor onto the top of the house, plus strip wallpaper and paint throughout. We were planning to cherry-pick our projects as finances and perceived convenience/desirability allow: A/C first, then baths, kitchen, cosmetics and the 1/2 floor last.

I mentioned our plans to a friend and he strongly recommended starting from the top floor and working down. He thought we should tackle anything structural first (the 1/2 floor and central a/c) and allow any fallout from that to settle itself before we undertook other projects.

Is this the sensible way to approach the project? We had thought we'd do the 1/2 floor after a few years of living in the place, but if it makes sense to do it first, we will. We will be getting architectural and engineering plans for the whole shebang.

I'd never thought of a particular order beyond what we want to be able to use first.

Thanks in advance for any feedback!

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Comments (7)

sierraeast
16 years ago
One peice of advise: You can wash dishes in the bath tub, but you cant take a bath in the kitchen sink!

Strucural first, cosmetics last.
zeebee
Original Author
16 years ago
(*snort*) Too true, Sierraeast! We plan to stagger the bathroom and kitchen work. One existing bath and the planned-for new bath are on the bedroom floor, but there's also a full bath downstairs off the kitchen. We'll shower in the downstairs bath while the bedroom floor is being worked on, then tackle the kitchen and its bath together.
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sierraeast
16 years ago
Zeebee, those (so called),words of wisdom would probably only apply to the days of the past when most houses had only one bathroom, unlike today where most have at least two.

Remodeling and approaching the order of the build is tough, especially while you are living there.Structural then cosmetic doesn't always apply.The biggest complication usually comes from the tie in of the plumbing and electrical in a way that doesn't inconvienence you while there.In plumbing, when possible, it helps if you can seperate the old vs the new by tying in the new with seperate cutoffs so that you will not have to shut the water down for any great length of time. Drain,waste, and venting tie ins depend on the current layout of the house and possibly could be run as a seperate as well, tying into the main after all the rough out is done,limiting the time that the existing would be down.The electrical tie in is pretty straight forward if you have an existing panel that will handle the extra circuits you have planned for each area.If you are diy'ing these, try to plan that out accordingly, if you are subbing these out, maybe come up with a game plan with the plumber and electrician for the least inconvieneced solution for tying in.Same would pertain to any mechanicals/hvac.

Structural speaks for itself and some aspects may have to be in in order to move ahead with the above.Its a tough call. but with careful planning you can make it less of an inconvienece.Even simple things such as taking the time to hang plastic sheeting and barricade areas from where you are living vs the work areas can save clean up time in the long run.Best of luck with your project.
zeebee
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you! - this is the kind of thing I need to know, having never handled a reno project.
bus_driver
16 years ago
When we married, my wife's family did not have any plumbing. And the first flush toilet I used was when I started in school. Heck, when folks in out community got a commode, they were so proud of it that they might have placed it on the front porch except for the modesty issue and Winter weather.
sierraeast
16 years ago
It was a challenge to sit down on that seat in the old out house on a cold winter or a hot summer , but we got through it.

Now they have heated seats. Whats next?
donnar57
16 years ago
This is from the layman's point of view here...

What's the most important to you? Is there something that is absolutely glaring at you, saying FIX ME FIX ME FIX ME?

That's what my husband and I did when we decided to take out a little home equity loan to improve the house we currently live in. There were 3 glaring things....it was too hot (i.e. add an A/C), the patio roof was going to fall down, and the kitchen was 28 years old and needed lots of repairs.

We did the A/C first, only because it was February and a cheaper time of the year. Also, we already knew our furnace was "piggyback-able" so adding central air would be fairly inexpensive. This summer, we have REALLY appreciated it (but not the bills that go with it, sigh).

Then the patio...which became a family room. (Photos linked below.) Then the kitchen. If you go to the index that I've linked, you can get to either the family room or the kitchen photos.

DonnaR/CA

Here is a link that might be useful: Donna's Remodeling Projects

Lots of remodeling - in what order do we proceed?

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Lots of remodeling - in what order do we proceed?

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