Need lots of work done on older home on limited budget-where to start?

8 years ago

We own an older home that has a long history of "deferred maintenance" and is also sorely outdated. The work we need to have done is at a minimum kitchen and bath renovation and exterior walkway and steps. The windows and doors are also in sad shape, as are the deck and yard. Lighting and plumbing need attention too. Bottom line, the roof and HVAC are about the only things that are solid. We are planning to live here until the kids finish school, about 15 years, and probably not much longer. We live in a high cost of living area and home improvements can be especially pricey.

We are not handy and do not have an eye for interior design or decorating. We also have limited free time outside of work and kid activities. In a perfect world, we would just hire someone to figure all of this out for us. But our financial situation took an unexpected downturn and we are now on a limited budget. And the more we spend on design and decor help, the less there will be left to actually do the work, as well as for the college fund.

So what we are looking for is a cost-effective way to find some design and decor help. We don't have the budget for perfection and that's fine. But how do we find enough guidance that we don't totally screw it up? What is the best way to figure out how much all of this - the design work and then the home improvements - is going to cost and how to spend our money wisely? I am lost here and don't know where to start.

Featured Answer

PRO

ProSource Memphis

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

Start with the deferred maintenance. Clean and structurally sound, but not in a current style, beats grey painted walls that have new water stains on them from improperly flashed windows. No one's budget covers all of the projects that they want to do. But the best way to stretch any budget is to learn how to DIY as many projects as possible. The lions share of any project is the expert help that must be hired, not the materials.

What IS your budget and general location?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (10)

Fori
8 years ago
A kitchen and bathroom never need to be renovated. Sometimes they need to be repaired, but updating is usually optional and can be postponed. Embrace "retro". For decorating help, take some photos and visit the home decorating forum--they can be budget friendly! :)

Of things you mentioned, I'd start with plumbing and anything dangerous. Is the deck dangerous or just ugly? Live with ugly, fix dangerous (only because of the kids).
Related Discussions
Where do you start-physical limitations
Q
Comments (30)
Pesky, I have been reading along and thinking about you and am truly sorry you have come to this place in your life. I have been blessed with good health for most of my life, with a few surgeries and recoveries that set me back but no long-term pain like you have had to endure. I'm so sorry you have had to deal with this. I know from just getting older I have to take better care of me and do more stretches. Some of them I can actually do at my desk. When I injured an ankle once, a doctor told me to try to trace the alphabet with my foot in mid-air several times a day if possible. It really helped because the muscles and ligaments were stretched in almost every possible direction. Maybe you can try this in small stages at your desk. If you can't get on the floor, there are some things you can do from a chair, just lifting your legs. The yoga in a chair someone suggested is a great idea, as was the elastic bands, and if you can do some things standing, even lifting some 1-lb weights, and bending and stretching at the waist would be good for circulation. My DH was also having some joint problems, and he cut out all artificial sweeteners and cured/processed meats. He now uses Stevia or agave to sweeten his coffee and most of his joint pain disappeared. I'd suggest your food plan change first of all, and that would include any diet sodas and other products containing aspartame. Any other further reduction in sugar, as many have suggested, would help. I know you already know this, but you need lean protein for energy, especially if your job is often physically demanding. So just a vegan diet may not be what you need right now. Salads are great, but you can add a little chicken, beef or fish to it for variety. I even buy a whole roasted chicken and freeze some of it for later. Easy leftover meals with a little rice or salad. Keep your favorite fruits close. Anything filling is best for a snack or to keep you from grabbing something you know you shouldn't eat. Even a spoon of peanut butter on a piece of apple is better than a handful of chips. There are even frozen fruit popsicles that are pretty good desserts. Portion control and healthy eating for energy are what you need to get control of your weight. Sneak in a small square of dark chocolate or whatever gives you a smile once a week! It will make you feel better. And yes, try to find that place for aquatic workouts that can help you work around your schedule. Maybe you can work something out with your employer to come in later a couple of times a week so you could do it early in the mornings? I do hope you can get the help you need in this regard. I think any exercise is a 'mental break' any of us need from the daily stress of life away from home or office. Let us hear from you again. This is such a supportive group.
...See More
Very small house...Need help deciding where to put the remodel budget.
Q
Comments (32)
ok exact measurements. the house is not exactly a 20x30 square but its close enoguh. a few of the inner walls are thicker as they used to be exterior walls. the kitchen is 113inches by 141. It does fit a corner banquette with a round table and 3 chairs, and you can seat up to 2 on each leg of the banquette. Most comfortable with fewer than 6 people but up to 7 is possible. 8 if someone sits in the corner . Master is 130x116 (inches). Bedrooms are 80 inches wide and 136 and 116 inches long. Bathroom i was wrong on the measurements. It is 98x 57 (there is a cut out here so its not a perfect rectangle). The hall is 36 inches wide. The biggest benefit of using up that space to me is that people won't be as confined to a tiny hallway where it is awkward to pass anyone else. So I like the idea of taking part of the bathroom and part of the hallway to make another bathroom, and also to take down the walls int eh kitchen. So we would need to get some quotes for this but it seems relatively doable. We could wait on the closets for a while and it doesnt require moving any walls that we didnt already plan to move. Reality is it doesnt improve rental price THAT much to add a bathroom as far as I can tell, but there are only a few other rentals in the area to compare to. So addding the bath is partially for resale partially just because it irks me to have such a wasteful layout. Either way we do make back the cost of the bathroom quickly.
...See More
Starting a new build. Need a lot of help.
Q
Comments (20)
This is the Home Decorating forum, so probably not the best place for your questions just yet. You should consider splitting up your original post, and post the house building questions to the Building A Home forum, which has architects, builders, and extremely talented and experienced amateurs weighing in; and post the kitchen questions to the Kitchen forum, where again there are some extremely talented and experienced members who can help you. In the Kitchen forum, search out the various Ikea posts to see what can be done with Ikea and for reviews. You should also read the following Kitchen forum post all the way through, New to Kitchens? Read Me First! Also, it would be helpful in each post if you mention the general region where you live, what sort of light you'll have in the house, your budget, and also post any drawings you have. The more information forum members have about your situation, the more they can help you. If you're willing to work on your new house project and willing to accept critiques, you'll find you can do a great deal of the work yourself with help from the forums here, without the extra expense of hiring a designer / decorator / stylist; a lot of them tend to come attached to a business and have a vested interest in selling you stuff. I saw you mentioned Rona, pk, and then looked at your other posts so I know you're in Ft McMurray, Alberta. I'd be very careful with skylights in our climate, unless you have great faith and great recommendations regarding the installer. I would also, given the lack of light during our long winters, think long and hard about having everything black and grey. Regarding infloor heating, you'll come out ahead if you go for extra basement floor insulation instead. About the cleaner, check your contract. What does it specify? My husband is a builder and always cleans as he goes, outside and inside. It depends on your builder and what you agreed to in the contract. We're just finishing up a new build, and I've found some attractive lights I like at Rona, also at Lowes, and especially at Wayfair.ca. Ugly lights are ugly lights, and you can pay a lot for them or a little. We're building our own house a few hours south of you, in a rural community where options are limited, and have used Ikea cabinetry for the kitchen, pantry, laundry room, and bathrooms, and my builder husband and I are more than satisfied. Even semi-custom (vs custom) would have been considerably more, and the storage, hardware, and options are great. And we get to use the money we saved on other things. Good luck : ) .
...See More
Sloped lot, View In Back-need advice for overall house design
Q
Comments (22)
Many of these questions are best answered by analyzing your life style and activities. I am a sleep in my bedroom, live in my house person so master bedroom getting a prime view woud be a waste for me. I would prefer my sewing room to have the lovely view. I don't care to have double sinks in a master bath but many people see that as an absolute necessity. Those are questions only you can answer. When you say office, would that be shared space with your spouse? If so, I wouldn't be wanting my sewing space there. I laid out my basement with a larger area for my sewing space and a smaller area for office and computer space but when we moved in, he has the larger space and my machines are in the computer nook. Other than the laundry and workshop rooms, the basement is open areas, not rooms, as we knew needs and priorities would change over time. I certainly didn't expect to share my project and storage space with the pandemic boomerang daughter and her work from our home job. Having flexible spaces allowed us to adapt to include project space for an additional person. My advice is to make idea books for different aspects of home design and spend time analyzing your choices. Many pictures have multiple ideas shown so state exactly what you see that catches your eye. Also, if you see a common feature that you dislike, that is important information too.
...See More
bry911
8 years ago
There is really not enough information to help.

In my house I had plumbing problems (really I just had waste and supply pipes I didn't like). It was much easier to just completely remodel the bath and do the plumbing at the same time. To offer some advice we need a bit more specifics. So if you have time to answer these questions it would be great.
1. What is wrong with the exterior walkway and steps (chipped concrete, uneven, pulling away from the house)?
2. What is wrong with the windows? And are they drafty enough to make parts of your house uncomfortable?
3. As Fori asked what is wrong with the deck?
4. Is the plumbing draining slow? And do you have decent access to it?
5. Are the lights just ugly or are the switches not working?
6. Is the kitchen ugly or not suited to the way you use it?
7. As Pro asked what is your general area and do you have a budget?
weedyacres
8 years ago
You can get free guidance here. Post some photos, tell us what your budget is, tell us what the problems are, and we can chip in with suggestions for making the house more livable. You'll find kitchen designers in the Kitchens forum, bath experts in the Baths forum, and so on with plumbing, electrical etc.
Suzi AKA DesertDance So CA Zone 9b
8 years ago
We spoke with a stager on the sale of my late MIL's home. Her advice was to paint all the woodwork white and all the walls a soft linen color. Just those two steps made the home look cleaner, bigger and fresh. Replace knobs and pulls with new. Overstock.com has some good ones at very reasonable prices.
Most stores have sales on Holidays. Take advantage of carpet and flooring sales.
You can find sales on appliances and can buy them with a ding nobody will ever see at a ding and dent sale.
For safety issues, hire a pro. We bought a similarly neglected house and remodeled it, but the decks were very unsafe! They had to be completely redone due to rotten wood here and there. I wasn't completely thrilled, but my DH and the contractor went with pressure treated wood. It's pretty ugly but very strong and not expensive.
If you want a color palette, simply find some fabric you love and match the colors in it. Don't stray from your palette! Keep it simple. Less is more.
cooooofffffeeeee
8 years ago
Thanks for the suggestions. You have me feeling better about this house because most of the issues are not safety related but ugliness and poor function.

Area is DC suburbs. Budget is approximately $60k, which may sound like a decent budget but lots of people spend that or more on just a kitchen here, and contractors are busy, which means the prices keep going up.

The exterior walk and stairs are the biggest safety concern; they are crumbling.

The plumbing issues are fixtures that are breaking and slow drains that sometimes just stop draining altogether. The pipes with decent access have been replaced, but there are still issues, and those can only be dealt with by breaking into walls. The lighting fixtures are just ugly, I would also like to put in ceiling fans so that we won't have to use air conditioning as much.

The kitchen is UGLY but also severely limited in counter space and storage. It's usable but difficult and I constantly have to move pans around when cooking.

The bathrooms have cracked tiles and peeling paint, and fixtures that are loose and breaking. The drywall appears to have old water damage.

The windows are not all that drafty, but I can see rotting wood on some of them.

The deck needs minor repair (loose boards) and there is green stuff growing on it. Probably a power washing and sealer would help, but someone told us you should never use a power washer on a deck because it damages the wood. I'm not sure if that is correct but it's stopped us from doing anything.

We are open to suggestions. Thanks again!
weedyacres
8 years ago
Are you on the Virginia side? If so, I might be able to help with referrals to reasonably price contractors and handypeople. PM me if you don't want to publicly post info about the specific town you live in.

Also, you might consider a tact my NoVA-dwelling sister recently took to fix up a lot of stuff in her house for sale prep. She posted specific projects on CL, from replacing grout around a tub to removing a tree to a bunch of drywall repair to painting her entire house. She also had a slew of handyman jobs. She posted a photo of what needed to be done, specifics on timing (needed to be done in the evenings when she was home), and asked for bids. She got lots of emails, ranging from hacks saying "I can fix this for you, text me" (which she ignored) to bona fide contractors looking for fill-in work. She picked a couple with the best responses, talked to them further on the phone, and then hired one. All did excellent work.

I'd consider starting with your plumbing stuff, and let them cut holes in the walls to access the pipes. Once you're done, get a drywaller to come in and patch everything. Paint it yourselves.

Find a concrete person to redo your walk and stairs.

Get a handyman to replace your light fixtures, doors and repair your deck.

Find a window company to replace your windows (if that's what needed).

Piecing out this stuff will be less costly (and faster) than finding a GC to organize it all. You may not be handy enough to save on labor by DIY-ing the work, but you can DIY the hiring of specialists and save on the middleman.

In the meantime, work on your plans for kitchen and bath remodels by using the respective forums here. We can help you design spaces that are functional, beautiful, and budget-friendly. Nice kitchens can be had for way less than $60K.

Start watching CL in the "materials" section and snag stuff that you can use in your work. People sometimes post entire kitchens, you can find brand new vanities or tops, and you might luck into some ceiling fans. Ebay often has good deals on faucets and other bathroom fixtures, so troll the listings there.
rmtdoug
8 years ago
Where to start? Make a specific list of what you want done and show it to every person you interview to work on your house. They usually know when the best time would be to do their part of the job.

Work from top down (i.e, roof to foundation) and inside to outside (i.e, plumbing, HVAC, and wiring to replacing fixtures). This way, you minimize going over work you have already done. For instance, suppose you fix your walls and floors and fixtures only to find out a wall has to be torn apart to get at plumbing or wiring. That's money down the drain, literally.

Expect this to take a long time.
bry911
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
The list in the order I see it.

1. Windows - rotting windows are both a sign and precursor of more serious problems. Start with a wood window restoration company. Many times wood windows can be salvaged much less expensively than replaced. If replacement is necessary, get lots of quotes, and check them on the window forums.

2. Walks and porches - Find a mason and have him look at it, many times they are extremely affordable for small jobs that they can do at their convenience. So be flexible on finish date.

3. Baths and plumbing - Your bathroom seems like the thing that needs the highest priority of the cosmetics. Loose fixtures can become more serious problems over time, and old water damage could mean old rot or mold damage in walls.

4. Deck - Deck brush and elbow grease. Then get some deck screws and get it all locked down tite then reseal it or put one of the synthetic painted cover coatings on it.

5 Lights - Youtube + patience + safety = DIY your lights. Ceiling fans need more support but you can still DIY this one.

6 Kitchen - lurking on the kitchen forums = learning to love IKEA. IKEA + patience = IKEA 20% off sale. IKEA 20% off sale = an affordable kitchen that you can do yourself. Bang for your buck, they really are amazing. Even if you decide to go with a different brand, pricing out an IKEA kitchen can help you with your priorities.
PRO
Charles Ross Homes
8 years ago
I think you will be well served by selecting a local design/build contractor to help you identify what needs to be done and in what priority order given your lifestyle needs and budget constraints. In order to advise you, folks would need access to your home to access existing conditions and they'd need to have a knowledge of construction costs in your area.

Need lots of work done on older home on limited budget-where to start?

ProSource Memphis

Comments (10)

Fori

Related Discussions

bry911

weedyacres

Suzi AKA DesertDance So CA Zone 9b

cooooofffffeeeee

weedyacres

rmtdoug

bry911

Charles Ross Homes

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US