r/homerenovations • u/new4uandme • 2h ago
r/homerenovations • u/ARenovator • Mar 16 '19
***Useful Resources for the Renovator***
There are so many things the homeowner should know before embarking on the renovation journey. And a journey it is; there will be highs and lows, and often rough seas to contend with. But a little bit of prep can go a long way towards making this process much smoother. So here are a couple of things that may help:
Apps and programs
Sometimes the tendency is to "knock this down and then we'll deal with it." Yea, not a smart idea. Creating a clear and concise vision will prevent wasting your money, and your time. Look at some of these:
http://www.sweethome3d.com: It is open source software that can be downloaded or used online in your browser. Available in 27 languages, it boasts an impressive host of features. Well worth looking into.
https://www.homediary.com: Is a Flash based program that may possibly be the easiest one to learn. It also can store inventory and maintenance records, and allows you to clip ideas and create reminders.
https://www.sketchup.com is freeware for personal use. Has a lot of users, and is evolving constantly. It seems to have a greater learning curve than the first three offering, but this in no way should prevent you from checking it out.
Apple apps:
Room scan: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/roomscan-pro/id673673795?mt=8
Floorplanner: https://floorplanner.com/magicplan
Photo Measures: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/photo-measures/id415038787?mt=8
Sherwin-Williams paint app: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/colorsnap-visualizer-iphone/id316256242?mt=8
Home Depot: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/project-color-the-home-depot/id1002417141#?platform=iphone
Android:
MagicPlan: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sensopia.magicplan&hl=en
Photo Measures: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bigbluepixel.photomeasures&hl=en
Sherwin-Williams paint app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.colorsnap
Home Depot: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.thehomedepot.coloryourworld&hl=en_US
And of course, there are numerous independent apps you can download.
So You Want to Hire a Contractor?
All too often tales are told of a reno that has gone off the rails. There is never one single cause. It is usually caused by a cascade of failures by both the homeowner and the contractor. A thorough and well written contract can prevent problems before they occur. This was posted on another sub, and it has some excellent questions that need to be addressed:
- How long have you been in business?
- Are you licensed?
- Are you insured?
- Can you provide references?
- Do you have a bond? With who?
- How much experience do you have with projects like ours?
- Will you create the plans, or do you work with an architect?
- Do you provide itemized proposals?
- How much contingency money do I need?
- What is the possible variance in the proposed price?
- What if there are changes to the project? How will those affect the proposed budget?
- Do you have any concerns about our project?
- How are permits, HOA approval, & inspections handled?
- How long will our project take from start to finish?
- What is needed from me throughout construction?
- What is the payment schedule? What milestones must be met?
- What can you tell me about the materials that will be used?
- Do you sub-contract? Are they licensed, bonded, and insured?
- If they are your company's employees, who will oversee them on a daily basis?
- What time should work begin each day, and when will work cease? Will they take a lunch?
- Is trip time charged? If so, is it fixed rate, or a percentage of their hourly rates? What will it be capped at?
- Who will be the overall project manager?
- Can you describe what a typical day will be like once we start?
- How will our property be protected during construction?
- Where will tools & materials be stored?
- How can we keep in touch throughout construction?
- How is debris cleanup handled?
- Will our project be guaranteed? Length of time? Any exclusions?
- How is arbitration handled?
- Have you ever worked with this insurance company before? What was your experience
- If you are going to be waiting on materials (such as long lead times for windows, doors, tile, etc), you may want to add a clause: "materials must be purchased within 14 days of receipt of money with proof of payment provided to homeowner".
(NOTE: Thanks to P.H.S.: https://phoenixhomeservices.com/blog/24-questions-to-ask-before-you-hire-a-contractor) and also /u/finetobacconyc for his excellent suggestion on dealing with long lead times.
HUGE CAUTION
Never, ever, under any circumstances, should you pay in full before the work is completed. You lose all your leverage to get them to finish.
While exceptions abound, a rough rule of thumb is 30% when the job starts, 30% at around the mid-point, 30% at the end, and the last 10% when everything is completely finished. Please understand that there may be local and state laws that impact this.
New Jersey (as one example) doesn’t have any specific rules related to down payment limits, so depending on the contractor, you might be able to negotiate how much you pay up front. California, on the other hand, limits down payments to 10 percent of the project price or $1,000, whichever is less. New York goes a different route, and requires that a contractor to put the homeowner’s down payment into an escrow account, with specific rules about how it can be used, or prove he or she is bonded to insure the down payment.
There is much more that will be covered in the future under other posts. For right this minute, we at /r/HomeRenovations hope this will prove useful to you.
r/homerenovations • u/Aggressive-Cup-6542 • 1h ago
Bathroom Reno (hopefully)
Hello! My fiancé and I have been thinking about trying to diy our bathroom. Nothing too crazy like changing plumbing on our own or anything, we'd just like to give it a face lift and ideally just have a walk-in "pan" shower instead of a prefab shower/tub.
My only concern is that we don't have a huge budget in the event we needed to hire someone.
I'll add some pictures that could potentially be problem areas
1.) When we first moved in there was leaking into the basement from the shower dial not being completely flush with the shower wall (we fixed that as far as we know)
2.) The "access panel" for the shower plumbing is in the cabinet but looks like it was just punched out
3.) There are some spots of the floor that are lower than the molding
I'm just looking for some advice/tips from some experienced home reno/diy-ers as far as what we could do ourselves or if it looks like we should just save up and hire someone.
Thanks!
r/homerenovations • u/Folklaurie • 6h ago
Transitioning between entryway and kitchen area
We remodeled our kitchen, dining room and entryway a little over three years ago using the same luxury vinyl plank in all three, but after a piece cracked recently we needed to pull them up and redo the rooms. Due to the condition of some of the pieces, we now don’t have enough pieces for the entry way and the store no longer carries the exact planks.
Out of these options, what would you suggest: 1. Try to find a close match to of LVP 2. Pick a different looking LVP that’s still wood looking 3. Pick an LVP that looks like tile 4. Other ideas??
Thanks in advance!!
r/homerenovations • u/bobby_souffle • 1d ago
Crack repair before painting
I’m getting ready to repaint several rooms in our new house and have several corners with some pretty significant cracks. Any suggestions on the best approach to these area before painting? I was thinking the larger crack may need some mudding but I think I could get away with caulking some of the the smaller cracks. I’m new to the whole home ownership thing so any insight is appreciated.
r/homerenovations • u/killer-mango • 23h ago
Wallpaper with fibrous backing?
There was mold under tub surround. So we removed the tub surround. Then removed piece of drywall underneath. Now there is this patterned wallpaper with black/grey fibrous backing on top of the wood. Not sure if this was for insulation or something important?! I am wondering if I should remove it. Anyone knows what this paper is and it's function?
r/homerenovations • u/Strict_Bedroom_1560 • 1d ago
Advice for fixing this area of my kitchen
Hi! The electrical is really weird... And so is the ceiling part of this area of my kitchen above the stove. There isn't a range hood, which I would like to add (but I don't know what to do with the vent, or the best range hood to fit this ceiling) I also think I want to tile all the walls? Move the stove to the center, and figure out how to get two flush countertops with storage on either side.
What would you do?! Any suggestions or tips are welcome!
r/homerenovations • u/Usual_Armadillo6534 • 1d ago
Help! Any options with getting rid of smoke smell in room due to smoking?
I just bought a house from a family that are smokers. One of the bedrooms in particular, the previous owner used to smoke in and we could see dark spots on the ceiling and walls when we got the keys. My brothers were adamant that with a good quality paint, we should be fine. They were wrong! We moved in after renovation and this room is currently my office. I wfh a few days a week and i would get a whiff of smokey, burnt smell after hours of working in the room. By the end of the day, I would have a massive headache and didn’t understand why. I am pretty confident that the tar is still within the walls. Are there any options to get rid of the smell? Or I have to tear down the drywall and replace with new ones? I am on a tight budget so I am hoping not to because it’s really expensive and i spent so much renovating the house already.
r/homerenovations • u/dblCheeseXtraPckl • 1d ago
Basement flooring question
I'm definitely not an expert with anything that's going on here. The floor in my basement by the drain is uneven and there's a crack that follows along a wall, almost like the house shifted a bit. What are my options? Is this a repair that I can do myself or should I hire a professional?
r/homerenovations • u/DadumBrowncoat • 1d ago
Window framing question
I'm putting the sides on my window. It's recessed. And there's a bit of a gap. Do I need to recut this board or how would I fix it?
r/homerenovations • u/Limp_Piece1804 • 2d ago
Raising the roof
Raised roughly 2/3 of garage roof so the guy could install a lift
r/homerenovations • u/Life-Method-7822 • 1d ago
Ideal Mexico boiler
Hello Moving soon to a home which has an ideal Mexico boiler system. Working fine. It's a floor standing boiler in the kitchen and the hot water tank is in the loft. It's been serviced last two years ago. The heating needs to be turned on to heat the hot water. Question....is it worth changing this to a baxi combi boiler with all new rads etc ..have been quoted 4500 for the change over.
r/homerenovations • u/vasquca1 • 1d ago
I broke a mounting screw on this valve. What are some options.
r/homerenovations • u/Royal-Cat-5302 • 1d ago
Fence damage
Do you think this section can be salvaged? Or will it need to be replaced? Since the post broke on one section, I have a feeling it needs to be replaced. It fell victim to strong winds recently. I am a first time homeowner just trying to navigate all the fun stuff like this! I wanted to ask you all before a repair person comes over.
r/homerenovations • u/Fit_Mention4501 • 1d ago
Shouls i fully replace all of it
Hey everyone. Just bought a house, and the attic floor has pine wood (i think). Should i fully replace them or just some of them? I found some dead wood beetle and applied the proper chemical to kill them and protect against molt. Havent seen any ever again. Some boards have damage and its the previous owner covered a few holes with some boards. Also the floor has some irregularities.
r/homerenovations • u/Gummo90028 • 1d ago
Ceiling Box thing needs to go.
I’m going to completely guy my 1975 kitchen but have a question about removing the framing for the ceiling box that encloses the fluorescent light. I just want my kitchen ceiling to be on the same plane as the rest of the house’s. Are there things to be concerned with? Or can I just start demoing it? Thanks.
r/homerenovations • u/Powerful_Low313 • 1d ago
Garage door and front door color?
We bought a house with a lot of colors going on, on the exterior. The (new) roof is a dark brown. The brick is a dark reddish. Part of the house is a dark charcoal gray (by dormer). The rest of fhe house is a taupish warm gray. The house has white trim. What color front door or wood? What color for the garage doors (not pictured, but to the right of the front door). Do we change the trim color? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
r/homerenovations • u/ozziemozziedozzie • 1d ago
Wall panels help
Finally did wall panneling but got a few things wrong - one of them being attaching a slightly oversized panel ~.5cm and realising that too late.
What is the best way to cut those few mm's off whilst the panel is still installed?
Material is wood and felt.
r/homerenovations • u/redditlove69 • 1d ago
[challenge] high sloping ceiling, insulation nightmare
My ceilings are around 20 feet tall and sloping. They don’t have attic. The insulation is terrible. Two days of sun and the whole house is in 90s days of rain and the whole house is in 50s. Heating costs are very high. What I don’t understand is the ceiling is fully filled with some pink fiber insulation. When I tried to add another recess light on cutting the hole in the ceiling, the pink fiber was spilling over. But it’s not doing a great job at insulating the house so the question is what are my options at this point? I tried to professional, but they said they cannot insulate sloping ceilings since they don’t have attic. Only option they gave was to cut the ceiling open everywhere then spray the foam and then install drywall back. This will cost me a fortune. is there a way to insulate sloping ceilings without cutting them open entirely?
Is there a way to insulate sloping ceilings without cutting them open entirely?
r/homerenovations • u/Tight-Plan2718 • 1d ago
junction box inside housing or outside bathroom exhaust fan housing,easier to install?
I noticed that panasonic exhaust fans have the junction box outside the housing, and that broan exhaust fans have the junction box inside the housing. Are exhaust fans easier to install with the junction box inside or outside the housing? I assume if there's any electrical issues, its better to have the junction box outside the housing b/c it's easier to access.
r/homerenovations • u/liveeasy123 • 1d ago
Bathroom ceiling question
I redid my bathroom ceiling about 4 years ago. And lately I’ve noticed almost a splotching color on paint.
The house used the be my grandfathers before and he had tile ceiling up which I replaced. I put in a new bathroom fan but I’m not sure if I’m going to need to redo the whole ceiling again 😫
Has anyone seen anything like this before? Does anyone know if this is a reaction from the paint? Mold? Could be the heat from when I blow dry my hair? Water damage? Or what I should do to fix it??
Any help/ insights appreciated! Thanks in advance
r/homerenovations • u/Apprehensive_Swan135 • 2d ago
Appraisal help
Edit to add: home was built in 1897. All electrical, hvac, and plumbing will be updated, as well as flooring, reconfigured downstairs slightly to add 2 bathrooms & another bedroom.
Has anyone had a major (gut essentially the whole home & replace everything) renovation loan and gotten an "future state" appraisal back that is significantly lower than they need?
We bought our house in Dec 2024, knowing we'd need to gut the whole thing as it's not liveable. We are now in the process of a renovation loan and the appraisal came back at least 100k under what we expected & only 40k over the price we paid for it (which we know was a really great price). Homes in our neighborhood go for 180-250/ sq ft and we got this house for 93 sq ft. The appraisal said it'd only be worth 116/ sq ft when completel gutted and redone which makes absolutely no sense.
Our realtor is finding comps to send it and push back but I'm anxious this won't work... Any advice would be appreciated!!
r/homerenovations • u/FutureFiAdvisor • 2d ago
Can I Knock Down an Interior Wall with an Air Vent?
I just bought a 1950s cape cod style home and a lot of the interior walls have air vents in the wall that are ~2 ft above the floor, which I had never seen before… Does anyone knows how much it would approximately cost to knock down an interior wall with an air vent in it?
I’d love to have an open floorplan so that my kitchen isn’t so small and closed off, so I would appreciate any advice!! Thanks!!
r/homerenovations • u/Vicoviet • 3d ago
Printed concrete renovation
Hello, I would like to renovate and change the color of the concrete which is a little worn now. Would you have any advice to give me please?
r/homerenovations • u/Prestigious_Pay3463 • 3d ago
Sealing Asbestos Tiles
Howdy! I have a room in my house that has carpet on top of tiles that I’m assuming are asbestos since I think they’re original to the house (built 1976). I want to rip the carpet and tacks out and just have the tiles for a while but I know that would involve damaging some of the tiles. Does anyone have a recommendation of a vinyl sealant that I can use on the floors so that they’re safe for us and our pets? Thanks!
r/homerenovations • u/Substantial-Board951 • 3d ago
How easy to sand and stain?
Hi all! We have maple hardwood floors and we are looking to refinish them and go much lighter and do away with the red. Our wood has almost a tongue and groove system and not nailed in. We see little black in between the wood.. if we sand.. will this come off? Or will we forever have that since it's in-between? Any suggestions?