There's no way to tell you what it will cost.

You have three projects, one @ $7k, one @ $45k - six times as much, and one @$70k - ten times as much.

I think you need to decide how much money you want to invest in a 115 year old home - and if it's worth it - will you ever get your money back?

I'm laughing at myself as I reread my post, because it's basically the epitome of renovation creep!!! geoffrey_b, you are spot on the money. We need to make that decision. We've been avoiding it for too long and it's now getting to the point where we can't avoid it.

Our home is in a very desirable neighborhood in our town and generally in good condition for the age and style. It has a beautifully remodeled master suite and 5 total bedrooms with 3 baths, so it's generally what I'd call a good house for being a 115 victorian/edwardian. The main issue has and will always be the small kitchen and bad porch/bath issue. And that's true of basically all of the similar homes on our block that haven't had a remodel/addition (and most of them have...it's a college town and faculty tend to pour money into these kinds of things since they live here a long time. Our home received the master before the kitchen though...) We bought it for a good price 6 years ago, and with my husband recently getting tenure as a professor, we plan on staying here for quite awhile (likely the next 20 years at least). As it is, our current kitchen will not last that long, nor will the bathroom. We'd be lucky if it made it 5-6 more years in the current shape it's in. The cabinets are wearing out, the floor is pealing up, the sink fixtures in the kitchen are corroding. We can do piece-by-piece minor updates as needed, but I think in the end, we will be much happier investing in a full reno that we can also enjoy.

Will we ever get our money back? Isn't the answer always no? On the basic update of the bathroom, maybe, but otherwise I don't really expect to. But that's not something we're overly concerned about. I think it's the current sticker shock that is freaking my husband out :)

As it is, our current kitchen will not last that long, nor will the bathroom. We'd be lucky if it made it 5-6 more years in the current shape it's in. The cabinets are wearing out, the floor is pealing up, the sink fixtures in the kitchen are corroding.

It seems you are answering your own question. The kitchen needs to be replaced (since you're going to live there more than 20 years) and whatever else that entails. Should be no problem since you will live there 'forever.'

My comment is that I'm a Ph.D in Comp Sci ( 1974) - I don't teach, I had my own software company, and now at 65 I do consulting. Without being critical, you seem very self assured that this is a 'job for life'. Maybe it is. Maybe you husband will love being a cog in the wheel. Maybe the management will change, maybe it will be a rut, a grave. I say this cause in this day and age - nothing is assured - including tenure and pensions. IMO, your (not saying so) self assuredness seems a bit niave.

Geoffrey_b - Well, I guess perhaps I do sound naive. But I also was merely trying to explain that our intent is to stay a while if life keeps running it's course, and that we're not planning to move anytime soon, with the added explanation of the kind of area we are in. Of course things happen that we can't predict, I'm not completely with my head in the clouds that life can "interfere" with the best laid plans. And funny enough, my husband is a computer scientist as well :)

Weedyacres - I'll try to get some reasonable pics. I posted some a long time ago elsewhere on Houzz, but they weren't very useful.

Back in 2007, I gutted our 20 x 12 kitchen. Seven new Marvin windows, real maple floor, four six panel maple doors. Omega red birch cabinets, maple trim, granite counter tops, electrical circuits for all appliances, new lighting, and $20k of applicances - Viking range / hood / refrig / Miele DW, Smeg wall oven. Total cost was about $80k - and I did all the labor.

Thanks for that summary - that's really helpful. And that's a lot of windows! That' more than we have on our first floor of our whole house! Our current kitchen is about 12.5x10.5, the total space we would be working with if we annexed the porch would be 13.5 x 16ish depending on what we do with the bump out situation.

Back in 2007 we gutted our 20x13 kitchen. New heated tile floors, Kraftmaid cabinets, granite counters, moved electrical and plumbing, new lighting, maybe $5K worth of appliances. Total cost was about $34K, and we did all the labor except the granite.

I'd like to think we can do some labor, but we definitely can't do all. My husband is a bit leery of tackling all of it, particularly because we have an older home. We could likely do some of the demo (we're a bit concerned about lead paint), general installation, some finishing work, etc. But I know we'd likely hire out the bigger stuff (the actual addition/bump out, complicated plumbing & electrical).

Is choice #1 in the right, desired final direction? Choice #2 sounds like you would be spending $50K and 'settling'... :( ??? Choice #3 seems to be giving you what you want??? Costs more but maybe could be done in increments if needs be.

I would say you need to talk to a builder or architect to find out about the bump out/roof situation... that would be a helpful start.

Ahhh, to figure out what you really want :) and the best way for you to get there is 1,2,3 etc. One being builder advice of the possibilities... what shape/size your rooms can, within reason, be changed to (walls moved?) and then how to arrange what you want in them... with some tweaks along the way... as we all do.

Pop over to the kitchen forum for help with your kitchen plan... there are some amazing people over there... good luck and hope to see what you are doing...

It doesn't look like bumping out that porch is going to give you much more room for what the expense might be, can't quite tell? Also you are saying you have a 3/4 bath to the right of that back door... could you get by w/half bath or do you need the 3 component? So is your kitchen the next room past those?

To 'square up' the back - you will have to replace the porch roof, and of course you will have to dig new footings. Probably you'll wind up ripping off the porch and building all new. This will mess up the patio, etc.

Squaring things up is nice but not necessary. Maybe I can find your link on the kitchen forum, will look. About the small bath, that's what I was wondering... you may be able to use that space for efficiently, even giving it to an adjoining room like the mud room. Perhaps you are planning on giving up the mud room for a bigger kitchen...???

To dig new footings you'll need a back hoe, bobcat, remove the excavated soil, and cement for the footings. You could pick-up the pavers, and re-lay them when the project is completed.

A floorplan would be useful.

On removing/rebuilding the porch, we are actually about to embark on a project to remove this porch-cum-laundry room appendage with a larger, properly foundation-ed room.

It's not exactly what you're contemplating, but in the same realm. We are paying about $12K for a 12x16 shell, including siding and roof. It will have a cross-gable roof, and will be brought out even with the side of the house on the left and the bay window on the right.

We are doing the demo and all the inside finishing work, plus supplying the windows (another $900). And we're in a small midwest town with reasonable labor costs. I think you said you're in Iowa? So you could probably get your bump-out built for something in that same range. Probably less since it's smaller and your roof is simpler.

Of course you still have your electrical, plumbing and kitchen costs to consider. But thought I'd throw that out to say it's not a zillion dollars to give your porch a proper foundation and make it a bit bigger.

Here's a simple empty floorplan that I did a while ago (I should double some of these measurements). A few notes about it -- porch is on the far left (east) side of the house. The top half (north) is the uninsulated portion that we'd try to "square up" that we currently have some storage shelves in and a bunch of shoes :) The bottom half of the porch (south) with the window is where the current 3/4 bath is. When the previous owners "finished" the bathroom, they put all the plumbing on the exterior east wall, with the shower, sink, and toilet all in a row on the east wall, top to bottom so to speak. The kitchen is the large room right off the porch. There are stairs directly to the west of the kitchen that can't be moved. So basically, we are constrained to the west of the kitchen by the stairs, and to the north is our driveway which we also can't move. We can tear out some of the south wall of the kitchen to open to the dining room, but we would not be willing to steal space for any kitchen components, just open up. We need at least a 1/2 bath somewhere in there, and no, we're not willing to put it in the foyer (it's been asked many times already). So realistically, the only option for improving the layout and growing the kitchen a bit is annexing some of the porch and slightly expanding the porch.

Below, I'm going to post a draft of a layout inspired by a fellow Houzz user that made these suggestions. A few things aren't precise, but it's an idea (there's a bit of extra space added on to the east that could be skipped if we want). I'd definitely be interested in other ideas though, and may post again on the kitchen boards.

I like the new layout plan a lot, though I'm not sure about that little foyer entry thing. That might add more cost than it's worth. I don't think the tearout/redo porch piece will add anywhere near $20K to the cost.