# Homeowners, What Needs Fixing (At Your House)



## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

It's recently been brought home to me that my house is a little on the shabby side. Not terrible or anything but it definitely needs some work. So if I suddenly had an excess of time on my hands (and a small fortune to spend), my to-do list would look like this:

* Remodel kitchen
* Remodel both bathrooms
* Have all interior rooms painted (preferably by a professional, I paint like a two-year-old)
* New carpet throughout house, or at least in master bedroom and kids' room
* New light fixtures in entryway and master bathroom
* New paint on outside trim
* Several trees in the yard trimmed or removed altogether

How about everybody else? If you had an abundance of time and money, what would you change about your home?


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## Glenn Bullion (Sep 28, 2010)

Definitely need some painting done, I wonder how much that costs on a room by room basis?

Kitchen.  I've love to get the basement done, but that's hard to justify.

Just had the bathrooms redone, and we'll be paying on that for a while    So no house work for a bit.


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## mom133d (aka Liz) (Nov 25, 2008)

Everything you mentioned plus - add a deck or patio and get a landscaper to come in to help me spruce up the shurbs and that horrible undergrowth.


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## pidgeon92 (Oct 27, 2008)

The roof on my house is original, and is more than 30 years old now, so that needs to be replaced. The garage needs a new roof as well. I want to replace the furnace, and add more insulation in the attic.


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## *DrDLN* (dr.s.dhillon) (Jan 19, 2011)

My main requirement is landscaping; and install gate to the court yard.


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## Pawz4me (Feb 14, 2009)

Our house is less than five years old, so it doesn't need much yet.  The landscaping is a whole 'nother matter.  Our yard is more weeds than grass.


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## Ruby296 (Nov 1, 2008)

Did a whole house remodel 3 yrs ago. Everything but the walls and windows have been replaced, as well as the landscaping. Now it's just maintenance....


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## NapCat (retired) (Jan 17, 2011)

I love "putzing" with my place and have done lots of nice custom modifications.....just finishing up remodeling my bedroom.
I have gardened myself into a full time job ! Ha!

Need to replace the kitchen garbage disposal.


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## Guest (Mar 30, 2011)

The house here is fine... though...

I like to redo bedrooms every few years, only I can't redo our bedroom.  It is completely dominated by the bed we were given by my in-laws as part of our wedding gift.  A completely enclosed, hand-carved and oiled, rosewood bed.  I sleep inside a gorgeous box.

It just kind of dictates the design.  Every once in a while I redo the bedroom in our lakehouse because I long to redo something.  LOL


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## MrPLD (Sep 23, 2010)

-EVERYTHING-

Seriously, this place needs to be just bulldozed and built again.


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

Oh, where to start....  The only serious things are replacing (and then painting) two boards of siding on the north side of the house that are rotting because they're always damp, and replacing the broken stairs going up to my deck (there are usable stairs on the back side, but that's not very convenient).  

Then all the cosmetic stuff....  Replacing about a dozen boards on my deck that are starting to go.  Painting the entire exterior.  Painting the living room ceiling, stained from when the roof leaked a few years ago (at least the roof was replaced!), but that's a bigger job than it sounds because it's a cathedral ceiling so they need to set up scaffolding to paint it.  Painting the kitchen ceiling.  Replacing one cracked bathroom floor, preferably with tiles.  Replacing some drywall and wallpaper in my sewing room, discolored and warped from a bathtub leak above it a few years ago.  Getting the rust off the cast-iron railing next to the steps up to the front door, and repainting it.  Getting the trees pruned, and maybe all the shrubs and bushes as well.  Replacing the fireplace liner so that it's safe to use (okay, that's more than just cosmetic, but I have two fireplaces, and one is fine, so I haven't really missed the one that isn't).  And there's probably more....

Gaaah, that makes my house sound like such a wreck.  What a depressing thread.


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## spotsmom (Jan 20, 2011)

Actually, the materials for all the things I want done to my house have been sitting around for over 5 years.  Husband with procrastination problems...  I've given up.


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## Thumper (Feb 26, 2009)

Oh man...


tear down and rebuild the back patio cover
replace all the fences
tear out 90% of the landscaping and re-do it
replace kitchen floor
replace kitchen cabinets
replace bathroom floors
replace bedroom carpets
paint front room and hallway

I think we'll be doing the back patio cover soon, and the fences shortly thereafter, though if I had my way it would be the kitchen getting done.

For jollies, I kind of want to cement over most of the back yard (it's very small) to make the above-ground pool easier to deal with (so totally not level right now...)


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## Monica of NY (Jun 3, 2009)

After years of fighting with our skylight (leaks), this winter put the long put off project on the front burner.  We are finally  removing the skylight and it cannot happen soon enough!


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## Sandpiper (Oct 28, 2008)

My kitchen faucet / plumbing just fixed itself?  I'm in a condo.  For some years I hadn't had good water out of my kitchen faucet.  IIRC, I had decent pressure, but when faucet handle was turned to cold, water would have to run warm before it got sorta cold -- never very.  A nuisance.  Then recently kitchen plumbing had to be looked at by condo (at condo's expense) because of something.  Plumber did a little under there.  Then I asked about my cold water.  Plumber worked at it at my small expense.  Then had good cold water with good pressure, but only very small hot water stream.  Not much in the way of warm water.  Could cost $$-$ to fix it.  Have been living with it, but was starting to think about calling plumber.  Then about three days ago . . . it just started working.  Hot, warm, cold water -- all with good pressure.  Just out of the blue??!!  Knock on wood.


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## ZsuZsu (Dec 27, 2009)

We need to really do so much to our house and it has been overwhelming trying to prioritize- we've been trying to tackle one big project per year...  Last year we put a new roof on the house.  This year, we are redoing our kitchen- so far, we have replaced the 17 year old appliances with new shiny stainless ones, added an over the range microwave, got rid of the beige laminate counters and had granite installed... we are currently mulling over tile samples for the floor (the nasty old sheet vinyl HAS to go!), paint colors and new lighting....  We are also going to put whatever tile we choose for the kitchen in our (teeny) entry and in the downstairs powder room-

After the kitchen is finished?  The rest of the interior needs to be painted, new carpet upstairs (someday), new lighting in the entry and dining room, outside trim nees painting/replaced.... sigh... it never ends!

Forgot to add that we also replaced our old kitchen sink with a fancy double bowl undermount sink and also replaced the faucet with a much nicer one than we had before!


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## louiseb (Mar 2, 2009)

I live in a about 1800 square foot tract house built in the mid-70s. I bought it in the early 80s. If there was a shortcut to be taken when building this house, the builders used it. Anytime I have any work done I get comments about the shoddy original work.

In spite of all that, I love my home. I want to live here until I cannot take care of myself anymore. I love the location, I love the neighborhood, the neighbors. So I have put way more money into it than I would ever get back out, and I'm fine with that. I have replaced all the windows, added insulation in the attic, done major repair work to fireplace and chimney, replaced the roof, added solar attic fans, major remodel on my master bath, lots of painting, replaced all light fixtures, light switches and outlets, replaced ceiling fans in 3 bedrooms and living/den, remodeled sunroom across back of house, replaced all kitchen appliances, faucet in kitchen and guest bathroom, removed wallpaper in kitchen, had inground pool removed after about 15 years. All this on top of routine stuff you'd expect after living in one place so long.

The next thing on my priority list is to install a geothermal heating/cooling system, hopefully next year. That will be a chunk, about $30,000. I want to replace the carpet in my bedroom and the guest bedroom with hardwood. I just painted my bedroom, will paint the guest bedroom before I pull up the carpet. My kitchen is original cheap cabinets and counters, I  need to do a total kitchen remodel, and when I do that I will run the flooring (tile or stone) throughout the rest of the house except the two bedrooms and maybe the guest bathroom. (the third bedroom I use as an office, that will be tiled with the rest) The guest bathroom needs a remodel, though it's not terrible.


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## bobavey (Sep 14, 2010)

Because of a small kitchen, my wife wants to move.


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## caseyf6 (Mar 28, 2010)

Small:  carpet in all bedrooms (we have nice tile everywhere else, bedroom carpet is bad and needs to be redone).  Repaint master bath (original owners used diluted paint or only one coat). Some landscaping to go with what dh has already done.

Big:  Total redo of both bathrooms and kitchen.  Cabinets in laundry nook (I refuse to call the pass-through from garage to kitchen a "room").  Full sprinklers in yard, repaint whole house, new front and sliding doors.

Sigh.


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## Dawn McCullough White (Feb 24, 2010)

Let's see~

*Replace Sliding Glass Door
*Replace nearly all of the windows in the house
*Replace back steps
*Pave Driveway
*New carpeting in living room and dining room

Guess that's about it for now.
Dawn


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## hsuthard (Jan 6, 2010)

We need a new staircase and banister as well as a redo of the wood trim on the front doorway (it's all attached). We did a ton of work a few years back but left this one project. And it has just sat and stared us in the face every single day since. We even have one step where we removed the carpeting to see what was underneath. It's still gone.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

2 things would make me willing to live in thsi house forever. New non-berber carpet in my living room (simple & easy)
and
a whole new freakin kitchen. I LOATHE my kitchen. I used to love cooking, since moving in here 7 years ago, I can barely stand to do anything in this one.

<snipping about 3 paragraphs when I realized I started ranting..>


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## Guest (Mar 30, 2011)

Does anyone else pound the bounds?

It's a witchy thing but also a great idea!

You walk the borders of your property, notice what has taken damage over the winter, celebrate what has grown, etc.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

Here in TX that's a normal event we call "riding the fences."


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## Thumper (Feb 26, 2009)

bobavey said:


> Because of a small kitchen, my wife wants to move.


I totally get that. If there's no room to expand, a small, not-especially-functional kitchen can make you feel miserable every time you have to use it. Kind of like mine...

My solution, however, is to not move. It's just to not cook. Want a hot meal, mister? Take me out to dinner!


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## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

oliewankanobe said:


> I like to redo bedrooms every few years, only I can't redo our bedroom. It is completely dominated by the bed we were given by my in-laws as part of our wedding gift. A completely enclosed, hand-carved and oiled, rosewood bed. I sleep inside a gorgeous box.


Chrissy, I think I've seen a picture of this and it's the awesomest bed ever. I totally envy you.


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## Steve Vernon (Feb 18, 2011)

The roof - but it was fixed two weeks ago. We've still got buckets handy, just waiting to see. It's supposed to rain this weekend. That will be the test.


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## mom2karen (Aug 15, 2009)

We're at the start of lots of house work.  We've finished replacing all the windows, taken down the popcorn on the ceilings, repainted 3 bedrooms and put new flooring in one of them.  I have the tile picked out for the whole downstairs, and the laminate that will go on the stairs, hall, and one bedroom.  Still need to figure out the stair/hall banister system because that needs to be decided before flooring installation.  Next will be carpet in the rest of the rooms, and paint everywhere it hasn't been done.  We need to redo 2 bathrooms but they might need to wait because we are also doing a full yard remodel (including redoing all fences, hardscape and pool).  We have money set aside, but it's going quickly.


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## Rose Gordon (Mar 18, 2011)

If I had an abudance of money, I'd just move.


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## AnnetteL (Jul 14, 2010)

The *house* itself isn't too bad (it's only about 8 years old, so it had better still be in pretty good shape, although it needs dejunking in some areas, badly).

But the yard is a disaster. I swear, Tarzen might be living out there, and we wouldn't know it.


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## Ursula_Bauer (Dec 12, 2010)

We just finished a master bath 90% remodel (kept floor tile and soaking tub, replaced contractor grade counter, installed two sinks, tiled shower, painted). prior to that we did the bonus room above the garage. Painted bedrooms. It's a 10 yr old house, but had deferred maint issues when we bought it, and weird finishes so we've been working on that.  My next *wish* project is my second bathroom upstairs - replace counter and sink, and change tub from that insert thing to a regular tub and tile surround. Followed by crown molding in a bunch of rooms, and then paneling the lower half of the dining room. However, the *must do* of replacing deck boards, slider doors to deck, garage side door, and paint to exterior wood may take precedence over the limited budget! 
And the landscape...yikes! But at least the chain saw is gassed up and ready to go!


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

oliewankanobe said:


> Does anyone else pound the bounds?
> 
> It's a witchy thing but also a great idea!
> 
> You walk the borders of your property, notice what has taken damage over the winter, celebrate what has grown, etc.


In the smaller suburban lots here, that happens after every storm... and my mom walks around hers _every morning_ in the summer, planning out the next gardening chores and taking note of what's in bloom.


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## julieannfelicity (Jun 28, 2010)

My husband and I bought a house built in the 1870s, so you can imagine the condition. If we had an abundance of money, we'd probably do the same as Tab, but since that's not the scenario here, lol:

* New roof - shingles are falling left and right
* Insulation - we go through $600 every other week worth of oil
* New windows (there are over 50 windows)
* Remodel all 3 bathrooms (it's a 3 family) - while I love the clawfoot tubs, they just don't fit a purpose when you've got children or a tiny bathroom
* New carpeting in the bedrooms
* New kitchen cabinets (just in my apartment and the back apartment) - they're literally falling off the hinges
* New paint everywhere, remove tile from walls in kitchens and bathrooms
* Put in closets
* Finish tearing out the chimney that leads to no-where
* Remodel the basement so that it's an extension from the downstairs apartment
* New Decks - front and side
* New front doors for all apartments
* New staircase going down in the basement
* New sinks in the kitchens - no more 1800 version laundry basin sinks - while true to the era of the home, they're not really functional

There's a lot more, but that's the primary stuff, lol.


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## Guest (Apr 3, 2011)

Dara England said:


> Chrissy, I think I've seen a picture of this and it's the awesomest bed ever. I totally envy you.


Oh, thanks Dara! I think a bajillion years ago somebody asked to see it on RD an I posted a photo... not even sure I still have that photo on any current computer.

It's an Opium bed. We actually got another one for the house in Maine. Once you sleep in one it can become habit forming because it encloses you completely. The Maine one is smaller, and we use it in the downstairs as a "nap" and "read" space. Twin mattress and it's carved and has brass inlay.

It does dictate decor, though. You can't get away with much.


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