IMO you need a interior designer and maybe even an architect if the walls are coming down . Take some pics and IMO the whole area including the other bedrooms would be good . How easy will it be to move the plumbing which can be a real issue in many cases you will for sure need to enlarge the bathroom and I would suggest yo do that then make the space left over at the top of the drawing for a nice closet space so you will then of course not have the closets which will make the master bigger

Do you have overnight guests, and will your children be likely to visit for extended periods with grandkids? If so, you might want to keep the small full bath.
Are the closet walls load bearing?
A layout of the whole house would be helpful.

Yes, we do plan for overnight guests and I don't believe the closet walls are load bearing. I will look for a whole house sketch. My preference was to keep the main bathroom footprint (with tub) and create a master with accessible bathroom (shower) by combining the 2 bedrooms. My husband thinks that may be more than we need. If this is a better use of the space and the difference in cost isn't outrageous I think it is a simpler plan. I do want to work with an architect but my husband wants our idea planned out more first. I 'm hoping gaining knowledge from others will help us create the first plan. Thank you so much for responding.

I should have mentioned all exterior issues were resolved but the ceramic tile tub surround must all be replaced. Unfortunately ranch homes are very limited in our area but I have been looking :)

Hi Lisa Mac-

How much money do you have to put into this re-model?

How old are you and your husband?

If your health declines, would you stay in the house, or would you move into an apartment or a senior citizen community or an assisted living facility?

I ask these questions to determine if it is worth it to you to invest beaucoup bucks in this home.

@loobab, we are 55 & 62 and have no plans to leave our home. That is why we would like to enlarge the bathroom so it is more accessible. Our home is almost paid off and our budget is flexible but right now we are thinking 40k.

Lisa Mac, you are young!

I doubt you will be able to achieve your wishes for that budget, but now that you have stated what your budget is, maybe some of the pros can chime in on what they think this might cost.

@loobab, I hope they do as we are really uneducated on the remodeling costs. We can do part of the work but will need to hire out many aspects. If we can come up with the design that makes the best financial and lifestyle sense I think the rest will fall into place. Thank you for taking the time to respond.

Lisa Mac, what is on the “south” wall if the bedroom? Is it an exterior wall? Any windows?

@emilyam819 The kitchen is on the other side of the bedroom. It looks like the bathtub dimensions are off as the tub goes along the full back wall. The load bearing wall runs down the hallway along the 2 bedrooms we want to combine so it does impact the bathroom and potential design ideas. We know we need to contact a professional to confirm this for us. And yes, the garage is as big as the house with 2 1/2 car dimension in front and a larger workshop/mancave in back. This was a add on 14 years ago and is one reason we prefer to stay in our home. We do have a dry unfinished basement that we will remodel a bit but I don't think a bathroom in the basement would get used besides at family gatherings so not worth the investment. Thank you.

Your budget is far too low for what you want to do. In my area, this remodel would definitely be six figures.

Yikes! I’d hope one bathroom and removing one wall (if not bearing) could be done for 40K.
Lisa Mac, I agree with your husband that 2.5 baths is overkill for the house, after seeing the floor plan.

@Kristin Petro Interiors, Inc., Thank you for your input Kristin. If the removing the wall between the bedrooms and enlarging the bathroom does indeed costs 100k we will probably just renovate the existing bathroom. I don't believe our market bears those costs but we will soon find out. Again, thank you.

Using good quality products, licensed contractors and permits, in my market the average hall bath remodel is $15k-$20k and the average master bathroom remodel is $40k-70k. Add to this that taking down walls will require patching and refinishing of all floors and that mechanicals in those walls might need to be relocated. Also consider that, depending on the new layout, windows may need to be relocated which would require exterior work. And finally, there is the "May As Well Syndrome" that happens in many larger remodels where people decide to upgrade or add items to the scope since they have the contractors working in their home already. May as well add new can lights. May as well run low-voltage for speakers. May as well have heated floors in the bathroom. Etc.

Design is problem solving. What is your main problem with your current layout and how can you solve this problem within your budget. If you can't, then you either have to up your budget or find a new home where the problem does not exist.

@Kristin Petro Interiors, Inc. Great, extra insight! The design issue is that we have to remodel our bathroom as the tile is 30 years old and falling apart. I really want an age in place design but I don't want to give up the tub. So the 'may as well syndrome' has already started :)

If you are only going to remodel your existing bath, consider installing backing in areas of the tub wall for future grab bar placement and installing a handheld shower on a slide bar instead of a fixed shower head. These small changes can help to extend the accessibility of the bath as you age.

Where is your laundry? If you add a second bathroom, the powder room in the kitchen becomes superfluous, and could become extra dining space or a laundry closet.

@latifolia, Our laundry is in the basement along the exterior wall of the kitchen/small bathroom. Thank you for your input.

And here is a shared bathroom plan:

I actually prefer the two full bath plan, despite my earlier comment, because there’s room for a towel bar. With either one, but especially the two full bath plan, I’d love to see you eliminate the half bath. It looks like your dining area could use more space.

@emilyam819, thank you for the layouts as they are really helpful. We did determine that the toilet can't go where your combined layout shows as this would take the plumbing past the load bearing beam in the basement. My husband had a similar idea and figured this out. He is more open to the idea of an additional bathroom now. :)

Interesting. For some reason I was thinking the 2 bedrooms that you wanted to reno were on the other side of the hall. Is there a compelling reason as to which 2 you pick?

By the way, since you’re thinking of aging in place this would be a great time to move the washer dryer upstairs to that half bath. (When we moved to a house with the washer and dryer in the basement, and I was 57, I immediately had them moved to the main floor.) May As Well, you know. Lol.

Edited to add one more thing: I would absolutely add a new full bath and NOT share a bath with guests. Sharing is too awkward for me.

@littlebug zone 5 Missouri, hi, thanks for replying to the post. We are unable to move our plumbing any further to that side of the house (west on the drawing) so our only option was to use the rooms on the right side of the hallway. I'm with you on sharing a bathroom. We have 5 children and 5 grandchildren (so far) so when life gets back to normal our house will be full of family gatherings again. I currently use the 2nd bedroom as a dressing room so I think the master bath/closet will be a good use of the space. I realize the space is small but I'm not looking for a spa environment. I really just need a place to shower/change while my retired husband sleeps. :)

LisaMac-

JuneKnow knows.

What is that saying about throwing good money after bad?

Not that your house is bad of course, it is perfectly fine as is, but just not for your current needs. It would be great for another family at a different stage of life.

Do you think you can just hold on and do a serious search for a one-story home?

Would you be willing to look outside your immediate neighborhood to find it?

How aggressive would you be to look?

If I were in your shoes now, I would drive around every single weekend and if you see a ranch house that looks to be the size you want, slip under the door and in the mail box index cards you had printed that says something like, "My husband and I really like your house! If you are thinking of selling your home, please contact us, we are interested in purchasing it to live in, please contact us. Sally and Joe Blow, Phone, email."

Then you may get contacted by the owner or the real estate agent as these people decide to sell, or if they pass away.

You can also contact a real estate agent that specializes in the geographic area you want and tell him/her that you need a one story home and specify the other things you need, e.g another full bathroom and bedroom not right next to the master but not at the other end of the house that will allow you to dress without awakening your husband. Or whatever it is that you want.

For sure, you are not the only couple with different schedules, you may find what you are looking for.

The other thing is, assuming you are willing to sell your house and buy another house that is all on one floor.

Are you willing to compromise to get that one-floor house, such as less bedrooms?

Even if grandchildren sleep over, you can use bunk beds, kids love those. Even bunk beds with trundle beds. If your husband needs a workshop you can have one added to the back yard with a big shed with electricity added to it unless you find that miracle of a three car garage. So you can do a three bedroom house instead of a 4.

it is something to think about, because it seems the pros here have told you that you can't achieve the re-model you want with the money you have to spend on it.

(One thing you should know, just because someone doesn't have PRO next to their name doesn't mean they aren't a professional. Some people prefer to be anonymous.)

I don’t understand the comments about selling and moving. Selling and moving is expensive! And the house is a small ranch. What could they find that’s better?

emilyam-

1. The OP has $40K for re-modeling

2. Pros have said that what the OP wants cannot be achieved for $40K

3. What is better is an extant house that suits their needs without extensive, expensive remodeling

4. Selling and moving doesn't cost the $100,00-150,00 remodeling this house would need to achieve the OP's goals

4. A 4 bedroom house is small?

Oh, “Qu'ils mangent de la brioche!”

Nobody here knows that it would cost $100-140K. Nobody here knows that there is a better alternative on the market. We don’t even know where this house is. And it’s 1100 square feet. Can’t get too much smaller for a single family house (around where I live, anyway).

Just a thought.

What walls are weight bearing walls that cannot be moved? Where is your furnace/duct -- what walls could not be moved?

Before tearing anything out, consider relocating your master suite to be located on the (top of pic) end of the house and have your two children's rooms room closest to the living area.

If you begin by building one full (shared -- accessible from hallway) bath against the kitchen wall, you could take advantage of having the kitchen sink supplies and drain in the same wall. You could create a long narrow room with all three fixtures -- toilet and sink and tub/shower -- against one wall with the toilet against the back exterior wall and a window above it.

Then you could move the door of the bedroom that will be closest to that shared bath so it is immediately beside the shared bath. You could even have a door from that (first right) bedroom located behind the bedroom access door so its occupants can enter directly into the bath -- especially since you have to keep that space at the bedroom door clear for the bedroom door to swing open anyway.

If you move the second full bath to the top left corner of your plan, then you could, IF you choose, do something similar with both of the other two bedrooms so each would have direct access to that corner bath but no direct access from the hallway. That corner could be a good place for a bath and a half -- private powder room for each bedroom with a shared tub/shower in the corner space if you want to repurpose the space now being used as a powder room off the kitchen.

If you change the door on that first bedroom to the left to a French Door and furnish it with a Murphy bed, you could use that as your dining room -- but still a third bedroom for resale purposes.

You could increase the size of the top right corner bedroom -- the new master bedroom -- by incorporating both the space in which the full bath is now located and part of the hallway into it -- removing the wall between that bedroom and hall and putting the bedroom door IN what is now the hallway just after the bedroom door to the bedroom nearest the kitchen and facing the living room.

With the master suite on the end, lot size permitting, you might even be able to create a private patio at that end of the house

emilyam819-

Professionals have stated their opinions about the cost of remodeling to the OP's preferences.

It has been suggested that the thorough search be undertaken to see what is available.

Please feel free to enlighten us as to your professional expertise/experience.

I really appreciate everyone's insight and that is why I posted. Our home is in a location that we really enjoy. We raised 3 of our children in this small 4 bedroom house so we are really comfortable with the size and don't want to increase the square footage. The layout ideas you have provided have been very helpful but as a few posters pointed out the cost to renovate vs just remodel must be considered. I think now we can take some design ideas to our local professionals to see our options. Again thanks and I hope to learn more from this forum.

The pros on this site don't take into account the persons location. 40k is plenty to do that job in parts of this country. I had a friend do a similar project for $25k. And yes it was permitted and done by a reputable company. People should just stick to the questions asked and stop worrying about peoples budget. They will find out when they are ready to get bids if it's feasible or not.

Another thought:

Grandkids sleeping over likely will enjoy (or at least not mind) the adventure of using sleeping bags on the floor -- including in a basement "roughing it" -- as long as there is heat in cold weather and a powder room ... and, perhaps, a tv on a portable stand. Let them make interesting memories of their time visiting your home -- let them vote on the color to paint the concrete block walls from several colors you'd find acceptable and let let them help paint the part of the walls they can reach.

You could keep a supply of sleeping bags and/or gel mats and/or inflatable mattresses and/or hammocks and/or folding beds for their visits and/or they could bring their own. Limit the furnishings in the basement room to easily cleaned comfortable indoor/outdoor chairs or bean bag chairs that could be set outside in summer -- totally child friendly and casual.

If you do plan to have that one usable basement room -- and, of course, if you can lock children out of any unsafe places -- then it could be practical to rethink the main floor layout and plumbing.

In lieu of two full baths, you might consider a three room bath -- two distinctly separate powder rooms with each having access to a third room with a tub/shower combination and not need the existing powder room.

If you moved out the current bedroom furnishings, you could build your new three room bath+ and have it complete before you rip out the other full bath.

The existing wall between the front bedroom on the end and the existing bath could be utilized as the back wall of a new closet. By moving the existing bath wall between the bath and that back (end) bedroom, your master bedroom would then keep its width between exterior wall and hall ... and you could have windows on two exterior walls for a cross breeze in your master bedroom. More closet space could be added against the wall of the new three room bath.