Renovations Before Moving

[ImJustKCClone]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with products made of those materials. Because I work with both a lot IMO...and it's only MO.....you cannot beat the look of stone or tile. They are two different animals. As for the grout....if the installer seals the grout before first use....and the user seals it every 2-3 years or whenever necessary(takes 30 minutes) cleaning is no more a job than a plastic surround and it will last forever.

I may be misreading this, but Onyx is not plastic.

Edit: Upon further investigation, Onyx is a combination of acrylics, polyester fibers, and resin, and is considered a type of plastic. I was envisioning those cheap-ass tub surrounds that are all white & flexible. Onyx is really solid.

Edit: Now I'm finding info that says it's something else. Oh, what the hell do I know?

 

[CYdTracked]

If you want to sell the house, start with the outside. If people don't like the look of the outside, they won't like the looks in the inside much. Roof, siding, landscaping will get people to go into the house. How many people will do a drive by and go, that is not what we thought when the outside is not kept up. Minimum a second garage (attatched), most prefer a third now so lawnmowers, snowblowers, bikes and other stuff can be inside. Have the garage finished and a basic heater at least. Now its the kitchen and baths that are paid attention to. White walls kill a house, people think they are blah when they go in. Upstairs flooring so people can entertain their guests. Next step is the basement, A bath and a bedroom if the upstairs is light on them. Put egresses in, they will recoup 2x their price, people are scared to think about having one put in for some reason. That should cover what people always talk about in their houses, and and what pulls value.

Curb appeal definitely helps, a little landscaping and upkeep goes a long ways as well as a healthy lawn. I agree to an extent about white walls but also dark or too bright of colors is also a turn off to some. When you stage a house want to de-clutter and simplify things as much as you can because you want the buyer to be able to view themselves living in the house not you. There was 1 house we looked at about 3 houses down from where we wound up buying that we left with one of those WTF memories. The master bathroom looked like someone just took red paint on a brush and splattered it all over the walls so it almost looked like someone was murdered in it. Don't know what they were thinking when they painted it but it looked terrible. Same house the basement was finished kind of odd, they had some cap sticking up on the floor of the living area that looked like it was covering up a drain or something then the downstairs bathroom looked like maybe the shower was built for an orgy or something as they had shower heads installed on 3 of the tiled walls with a walk in glass door on the 4th. Looked like nothing I have ever seen in a normal bathroom that was for sure.

I mentioned in the other thread now that I have a 3 car garage I don't know how I could ever live without one. Really lucked into that someone also built a really nice work bench and sturdy shelving in the garage too that comes in handy storing tools and supplies. Also have a pull down ladder to an attic above the garage for additional storage which I use mostly for my outdoor Christmas decoration and stuff I don't need access to often. Basement also has a big storage closet with sturdy shelving. We were driving around town this weekend looking at light displays and drove by a house my wife really liked when we were looking to buy and commented about how things worked out well that that house sold before we got a chance to offer as our current home has a much bigger lot and despite lacking the 4th bedroom that house did the 3 car garage and all the other stuff ours has that one did not has turned out to be much more practical than we had thought.

 

[BCClone]

I may be misreading this, but Onyx is not plastic.

Edit: Upon further investigation, Onyx is a combination of acrylics, polyester fibers, and resin, and is considered a type of plastic. I was envisioning those cheap-ass tub surrounds that are all white & flexible. Onyx is really solid.

Edit: Now I'm finding info that says it's something else. Oh, what the hell do I know?

I was doing a walk through and had owners tell me that they were doing an onyx shower, they described it as basically stone. I had no idea. It honestly didn't matter a whole lot because if you put 1-2 high end things in a house, it doesn't help valuation. It needs to be most of the house so it gives off the higher end quality situation. Don't put corian counters on top of old average level cabinets if you are wanting to increase value.

 

[ImJustKCClone]

I was doing a walk through and had owners tell me that they were doing an onyx shower, they described it as basically stone. I had no idea. It honestly didn't matter a whole lot because if you put 1-2 high end things in a house, it doesn't help valuation. It needs to be most of the house so it gives off the higher end quality situation. Don't put corian counters on top of old average level cabinets if you are wanting to increase value.

It's a smooth but hard surface composite,. We did our countertop (with a preformed sink basin) and our 3/4 tub surround (4th "wall" is a sliding glass door with soft close on both ends). It's not the top-flight surface, but it has a stone "look" to it, depending on the color & pattern you choose. We set it on top of the existing vanity as we liked the style of it and the wood grain (that matches the wall cupboard you can see). This was when we were almost done with the remodel...hadn't put the baseboard back on yet after painting & laying the floor. We also changed out the hardware on the cabinet & vanity to a brushed nickel.

 

[BCClone]

It's a smooth but hard surface composite,. We did our countertop (with a preformed sink basin) and our 3/4 tub surround (4th "wall" is a sliding glass door with soft close on both ends). It's not the top-flight surface, but it has a stone "look" to it, depending on the color & pattern you choose. We set it on top of the existing vanity as we liked the style of it and the wood grain (that matches the wall cupboard you can see). This was when we were almost done with the remodel...hadn't put the baseboard back on yet after painting & laying the floor. We also changed out the hardware on the cabinet & vanity to a brushed nickel.
View attachment 79814

Looks nice.

 

[DeereClone]

I’d add the bathroom with mid-level finishes. 2 bedrooms will add value, but too high of finish and you won’t get your money back. (Assuming you are talking a pretty modest home given your other details.)

 

[NickTheGreat]

I'd do it. Don't go "as cheap as possible," but maybe 1 or 2 notches above that.

 

[Dandy]

I'd do it, but I feel like $10K is a lot for just a bathroom you likely won't use much.

 

[nfrine]

OP, just have someone from the home fix-up shows on TV do the work. It always gets done in a half hour or so.

 

[CYEATHAWK]

I may be misreading this, but Onyx is not plastic.

Edit: Upon further investigation, Onyx is a combination of acrylics, polyester fibers, and resin, and is considered a type of plastic. I was envisioning those cheap-ass tub surrounds that are all white & flexible. Onyx is really solid.

Edit: Now I'm finding info that says it's something else. Oh, what the hell do I know?

I call anything that has a resin or polyester in the ingredients plastic. Doesn't make them bad. Many if not all of the "cultured marbled" vanity tops are a mixture of resins and marble dust. As long as they have the required amount of dust in them, they are allowed to be labeled as marble. Maybe that is what Onyx is. It has some sort of resin in it because real stone that thin would shatter like peanut brittle. And real stone doesn't have a scent when cut or drilled.

Funny fact.......I did a large job consisting of real slate, and by the time I was finished there was so much oil from the stone floating on top of the cutting water it actually lit on fire for a couple of seconds.

 

[CYEATHAWK]

Marble from India.

 

[CYEATHAWK]

This is a brown polished travertine with a unpolished travertine inset.

 

[AdRock4Cy]

The move vs. renovate thread from yesterday got me thinking a bit...

We're pretty set on moving in probably 1.5 years (summer of 2022) from our first home. Our house is a 3 bedroom, 1 bath with an additional bedroom in the basement that is conforming w/ egress. I've considered adding a 2nd bathroom in the basement - nothing fancy, just a fairly simple bathroom with full size shower.

I'd love to hear people's thoughts on if a project like this is worth it. Obviously it would help sell our house a bit easier once that time comes as I'm sure many people will just not even look at a 1 bedroom house, and we'd get the benefit of using the 2nd bathroom for a year or so. I just don't want to spend $10k on a bathroom if it's only going to add $5,000 to the sales price.

Thoughts? Would also appreciate hearing stories of renovations you all have done (not necessarily just bathrooms) before selling.

Did you ever go through with adding the second bathroom in the basement? I am in the same situation and would like to add at least a toilet downstairs. Any approx cost you were quoted? Thanks,

 

[ianoconnor]

Did you ever go through with adding the second bathroom in the basement? I am in the same situation and would like to add at least a toilet downstairs. Any approx cost you were quoted? Thanks,

Plumber was supposed to come out this week but it got put on hold due to a COVID exposure. I'll shoot you a PM when I have something.

 

[AdRock4Cy]

I got a quote from Thrasher for a basement bathroom install - plumbing, drywall, fixtures, everything - $18k. Easy pass.

 

[ImJustKCClone]

I got a quote from Thrasher for a basement bathroom install - plumbing, drywall, fixtures, everything - $18k. Easy pass.

Have them do just the plumbing. The rest is a piece of cake. Putting in cabinets/vanity/drywall...it may sound daunting, but it really isn't THAT hard.

 

[CYEATHAWK]

I got a quote from Thrasher for a basement bathroom install - plumbing, drywall, fixtures, everything - $18k. Easy pass.

Shoot.......I've done them with stone for half that. The most difficult thing for plumbers is to stub into the main line sewer line, and then vent properly. And even then it's not that difficult. If your home is newer some already have a toilet line roughed in for future install if wanted. Even if it doesn't I don't understand that cost at all. I know people have to eat but so do you.

 

[CYEATHAWK]

Have them do just the plumbing. The rest is a piece of cake. Putting in cabinets/vanity/drywall...it may sound daunting, but it really isn't THAT hard.

Yeah, that could still be an option. Some companies after giving that kind of bid for everything however don't take too kindly when the customer comes back and says..."I only want you to do this". There is a decent chance they back away from the entire job...or mark up what you want them to do substantially from what it would be normally. If I was adRock4cy I would call a completely different plumbing company for your suggestion. Just tell them you are putting the toilet here, the tub there and the vanity over here and see what they say.

 

[ImJustKCClone]

Yeah, that could still be an option. Some companies after giving that kind of bid for everything however don't take too kindly when the customer comes back and says..."I only want you to do this". There is a decent chance they back away from the entire job...or mark up what you want them to do substantially from what it would be normally. If I was adRock4cy I would call a completely different plumbing company for your suggestion. Just tell them you are putting the toilet here, the tub there and the vanity over here and see what they say.

Oh yeah, probably a good idea to get bids elsewhere!

 

[ianoconnor]

We finished our basement about 3 years ago, added a bathroom with sink, toilet and walk in shower. I think I paid $3,600 for the rough-in and shower install, also had him run water to a kitchenette space/sink on the opposite side of the bathroom wall.

Are you in the metro? If so would you mind PM'ing me who did the work (assuming you had a good experience)? I've been waiting almost 2 months for my normal plumber to even get me a quote.