/diy/ - Do It Yourself

[Anonymous No.521377]

Hi Diy, first time posting here.

So I just inherited my grandmothers old house and moved in. This is my first house and I want to upgrade it as much as possible over the next few years while I live in it. I just recently graduated college and have a full time job, but college loans are eating me alive right now so I don't have a lot of money.

Anyways, my first project is going to probably be my bathroom, the problem as you can see in the pic is that it's pink. It's got pink tiles and pink flowery wallpaper and I hate it, what can I do?

I'm pretty sure I can remove that godawful wallpaper, but what about the tiles? Can I paint them another color? I've seen kits for painting tiles but I've heard bad things about them.

Also, something I'll probably work on later: I checked under the living room carpet and apparently there's a wooden floor underneath it, I heard wooden floors are worth a lot more so should I tear up the carpet and refinish the old wooden flooring?

[Anonymous No.521388]

>>521377
Leave the carpet on. It'll protect the wood a little bit more. Iff you're planning on selling the house then maybe remove the carpet.

[Anonymous No.521403]

how old is the home? are you wanting to upgrade it as an investment? Are you going to have to keep it?

[Anonymous No.521418]

>>521403
It was built in the 60's, I'm living in it now because it happens to be near my current job, but I plan on getting a new better paying job in a few years and I will probably want to sell it then.

Also, has anyone tried using wireless light switches? I want to rewire some of the light switches in my house and it sure would be easier if I didn't actually have to lay down any actual wire. Something like this might work?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA05W0196475&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleMKP&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleMKP-_-pla-_-Home+Automation-_-9SIA05W0196475

[Anonymous No.521422]

check and see if you have aluminum wiring first and then second dont spend any money! the two largest investments that will double are your kitchen and bathrooms.

[Anonymous No.521429]

in the region I am in the homes from the 60's and 70's were wired with aluminum. not really an issue just buy the right marrettes. if it were me I would paint and fix any moldings, trim, window sash or returns. once you have got a real close look at everything you can decide which area you want to start in. If the flooring is wood and in decent shape I would use it and ditch the carpet if it needed to go. tons of things you can do really. have fun!

[Anonymous No.521458]

The easier upgrades for that bathroom, base on what little I can see in that pic, is the toilet and the vanity. Get a newer, high quality low flow toilet. You will need a new wax seal for the base and maybe a new water supply hose and/or valve. Its super easy. Pop out the old one, drop in the new one. The vanity might just need a new top but a fancy sink and faucet probably wouldn't hurt. Don't bother with cheap replacements just to "update" it. I see that a lot and it doesn't really give you much mileage, especially if you plan to live in the place for awhile before selling.

[Anonymous No.521516]

>> I don't have a lot of money.
Then don't do it right now stupid.
Home repair/renovation projects are really difficult to estimate the complete cost of a a project. You also need to have emergency funds for when you find unexpected problems that you can't safely or effectively fix yourself.

Spend you free time while you're still broke researching home improvement. Save your money until you have much more than you intend to commit to renovation.

[Anonymous No.521535]

All of the suggestions ITT are really great OP, but keep in mind several things.
1 - You're currently broke
2 - You'll have more to put into it later
3 - You don't know what may come up in the meantime
4 - You don't know if what comes up may interfere with your upgrades. For example it would be a real bummer to have to tear out a newly wallpapered/tiled wall if electrical/plumbing problems arose, or what if (god forbid) harsh weather destroyed the house and all of your hard work with it.
5 - In the long run, you don't know what you'll be able to afford or stand doing in the place. It's entirely possible that the time comes that you'd like to move out and even if you can afford the upgrades, you simply don't want to be bothered with it and want to sell it off as-is. I'm not sure how far nit-pick upgrading would go to selling the place as a whole, but from my experience people cannot look past the work a property will require to see the work that's already been put into it.

Personally, I'd suggest (>>521429) as starters (just the moldings and such, I'd wait to tear out the carpet until you move), so you can be more comfortable while living there, and so your upgrades will have a very low chance of being fuddled with by unexpected damages. If you start to feel froggy, then I'd go with (>>521422) because they have a point about the kitchen and bathroom being the selling points of the place - this would also go a long way to help you be more comfortable while living there. If you do decide to get more done, I'd highly suggest getting the plumbing and electrical checked and verified before doing so. Good luck OP! Sorry to hear about your grandmother, but it looks to me like she left her place in good hands.

[Zombi No.521542]

I can't tell for sure in the photo, but it looks like the tub is a separate piece. I'm assuming it is not tiled like the rest of the room. If so you can tear out the pink tile and the wallboard under it and replace it with drywall. You'll have more time and labor in that than you will money if you can do the work yourself. Drywall is not that hard with a little research and practice. The existing tile floor can be tiled over with something else. That too should be relatively inexpensive for no larger an area than you have, especially if you can pull off the labor yourself as well. Most of the expense of ceramic is in the labor, not materials. You will need a new toilet, countertop, sink and faucet to complete a basic renovation. They don't have to be expensive but they should look good an be decent quality. I can't tell much about the shower without seeing it.

Leave the carpet until you are sure you can afford to refinish the hardwood. You may get lucky and not have to refinish, depending on what condition it was in when the carpet was put down, but you don't know until you pull it all up.

[Anonymous No.521547]

dude, don't paint tiles

[Anonymous No.521905]

>>521377
I'm just finishing a reno on a bathroom like yours. I've done all the work myself and It's cost me about $4k. A lot of the money was on tools though.

I've painted over tiles before too and the paint lasts OK. But it only look alright if the tiles are a decent size and don't have any texture on them.

[Anonymous No.521931]

>>521905
Painting tiles is never OK. It's always white trash redneck duct and bailing wire level quality. Always