Do I really want to remodel my house?

[tuftears]

All right, I've mentioned this from time to time in my comments, but basically when I let my parents stay at my house, ostensibly to keep an eye on me, they wound up cluttering the place. There are a bunch of repairs that need to be done on it, and the wiring is just old and not intended for modern standards - the kitchen breaker goes out if someone runs a TV in the dining room at the same time as the dishwasher, for instance.

So my initial plan was to refurbish the place. Repaint the walls, rebuild the kitchen, it should be like a couple months, right?

Well, had a contractor in today to talk about it... After I explained what I was thinking of doing - stuff like this SketchUp model - he said that it would be feasible to, as I wanted, remove the fireplaces and the kitchen side wall, but with all the demolishing needed and rebuilding - basic things like the wiring and plumbing - it would probably take some six months or so.

He recommended that I think about demolishing the entire house and rebuilding from the start, and having struggled with the floor plan as I try to figure out where I can put everything, I can see his point. The current floor plan is just tight and cramped. But that gets pricey!

Then we went down to look at the house that he was building for a client - not mock-Tuscan as I was trying, and failing, to emulate, but the real thing. It was gorgeous.

It was also intimidating as heck. This wasn't an ordinary house, this was a mansion. $2 million for the house alone on a property worth $5 mil. Dang!

But it was gorgeous, I'll give it that! Here are a few pictures.

The office:


The kitchen:


The kitchen sink:


One of the bathrooms, a small one:


The other bathroom, unfortunately blurry:


So what I'm currently faced with is a choice between these alternatives:

1. Scale back my plans drastically but go ahead with the remodeling. Stuff like faux marble walls or Venetian plaster go out the window. Fresh coat of paint, do what's needed but no more. I'll still be dealing with a wretched floor plan. Probably take 4-6 months to finish.

2. Demolish the house, build a new one with a more awesome floor plan. It will probably look a lot nicer. We could be looking at a year to be done.

3. Buy a new house, sell this one. Property taxes go up about 25% plus I go through the hassle of refinancing, but I don't have to do any remodeling, just furnish the new house, and I can move in nearly immediately.

I'm going to evaluate my options over the coming weeks. As some of you know, I am a misercat so I hate spending money... But my current house is falling apart visibly. And if I'm going to get significant repairs, why not go a little farther and make it look nice?

Oy! Decisions, decisions.

Comments

[equusmaximus.livejournal.com]

Trixstir and I have been having similar thoughts with the house out on the farm. It's a huge house, but the floorplan has a few quirks, and there were so many corners cut during the building that it needs a lot of upgrades and other work. We've been doing some of the work ourselves, like fixing some of the plumbing issues, and laying down engineered-hardwood floors. (NEVER AGAIN!!! In the future I will either hire a pro, or just have carpeting put in! I love the floors, but Lordy what a process!)

If we had the $$$, I'd have the whole thing demolished and rebuilt properly - Use a slightly more sane floor-plan, no cutting corners, and while we're at it, let's make the whole thing as energy-efficient as possible. Ideally, I'd like it to be capable of being off-grid if we so chose. Ah, the things of day-dreams! :)

Whatever option you go with, please keep us updated as to what's happening. :)

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

You might find Earthships (http://www.earthship.org/) interesting!

[amarafox.livejournal.com]

I totally want to build an earthship sometime.

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it would make a great place to retire, IMO! ^_^ Get out of the rat race, reduce your living expenses to just food and water, instead of having to pay a bundle for electricity. And of course, you could design the house to be exactly the way you want it, fitting like a glove.