I am new, and wonder about remodelling

homenewbie · 01-05-2011, 06:11 PM

I am interested in the following single family home.

http://www.visualtour.com/applets/fl...=2364178&sk=16

I wanna revamp it and make it more modern.

For the exterior: I'd like to remove the sidings and replace it with real brick walls.

For the interior:

I'd like to replace the floor with new wood.

Everything in the kitchen has to be replaced with new, modern appliances.

All bathrooms have to be updated and modernized.

Now, roughly how much do you think I need to invest? Thanks.

Scuba_Dave · 01-05-2011, 06:14 PM

Where are you located ?

homenewbie · 01-05-2011, 06:23 PM

Maryland.

Scuba_Dave · 01-05-2011, 06:28 PM

Have you done brick work before ?

SDC · 01-05-2011, 06:39 PM

Real brick is very heavy. To install brick on a new house it would have a "brick shelf" built into the foundation to support it. A house can be retofitted for "real brick" but it is not a do it yourself job. You would need engineering to see if it can be supported properly.
All of your roof overhangs would also have to be redone...etc. This is just off the top of my head.....I could go on, but I think you get the idea.

Not enough info on the interior projects to guess.....I have done bathrooms from 8k to 75k
and a kitchen in a small condo for 9k and other kitchens for 90k....

homenewbie · 01-05-2011, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SDC

Real brick is very heavy. To install brick on a new house it would have a "brick shelf" built into the foundation to support it. A house can be retofitted for "real brick" but it is not a do it yourself job. You would need engineering to see if it can be supported properly.
All of your roof overhangs would also have to be redone...etc. This is just off the top of my head.....I could go on, but I think you get the idea.

Not enough info on the interior projects to guess.....I have done bathrooms from 8k to 75k
and a kitchen in a small condo for 9k and other kitchens for 90k....

Thanks, a good start of the discussion. BTW, I am aware that this forum is for home DIY'ers, but I am not really looking into doing this by myself.

I am looking to invest 50K to remodel this rambler like what I want. So, are you saying that this rambler may not be constructed to support real bricks?

homenewbie · 01-05-2011, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scuba_Dave

Have you done brick work before ?

OK, thanks. Nope, I won't be DIYing, if I decide to buy it, the remodelling project(s) have /has to be contracted out.

Scuba_Dave · 01-05-2011, 06:49 PM

My house was constructed with a support shelf for brick along the front of the house
Most are not due to the added cost

homenewbie · 01-05-2011, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scuba_Dave

My house was constructed with a support shelf for brick along the front of the house
Most are not due to the added cost

Hmm, so if this rambler doesn't have a support shelf for brick walls, is it gonna be really expensive to create one? Or is it simply impossible without tearing down the whole house?

Scuba_Dave · 01-05-2011, 07:07 PM

That depends upon your soil & how far they have to go down to pour support
And how high you are going with the brick
And if you are going all the way to the roof you then may need to extend the roof to cover the brick work
Which will probably mean a new roof
A lot of people only do 1/2 walls in the front of brick
Less support needed, less $$

organick · 01-05-2011, 07:12 PM

just my 2 cents but if you have 50k to invest why waste it on brick walls? you will never get your money back out of that on a house that size. Add sq footage. that will get you better value back.

homenewbie · 01-05-2011, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scuba_Dave

That depends upon your soil & how far they have to go down to pour support
And how high you are going with the brick
And if you are going all the way to the roof you then may need to extend the roof to cover the brick work
Which will probably mean a new roof
A lot of people only do 1/2 walls in the front of brick
Less support needed, less $$

1/2 brick wall sounds reasonable and definitely an option. I really don't like all-vinyl sided wall.

homenewbie · 01-05-2011, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by organick

just my 2 cents but if you have 50k to invest why waste it on brick walls? you will never get your money back out of that on a house that size. Add sq footage. that will get you better value back.

Hmm, where can I add more sq footage to that rambler? Not sure if the zoning code there allows any extension to the house. I am new to house-owning.

Scuba_Dave · 01-05-2011, 07:30 PM

If you are hiring out the kitchen that could cost you $20-30k
I think I'd put a deck off the back & install sliders
Keep the $$ in the bank until you have been living there a year or two
Then decide on what you want to do
Owning a house can be expensive
We had not planned on replacing all the windows/doors in the house
But that is what I ended up doing

homenewbie · 01-05-2011, 07:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scuba_Dave

If you are hiring out the kitchen that could cost you $20-30k
I think I'd put a deck off the back & install sliders
Keep the $$ in the bank until you have been living there a year or two
Then decide on what you want to do
Owning a house can be expensive
We had not planned on replacing all the windows/doors in the house
But that is what I ended up doing

OK, if that's the case, I don't think 50K is enough to get what I want.