Comments on: Renovating: if, when, and how DIY you keep it

By: Tommy M.

Tommy M. — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 01:12:48 +0000

Advice to anyone: Don’t remodel while you live there. It’s unhealthy and incredibly stressful. It will also put a strain on your marriage!

By: Dave

Dave — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 03:54:07 +0000

We did a kitchen renovation last year, while still living in the house. I did most of the work, with hired guns doing most of the finish work (what can be seen). Most people thought we were nuts, but it worked ok; we just set up a temporary kitchen in the living room (known as the LRK), making use of a hot plate and a microwave. We did the same thing in our last house, so we had learned some lessons there.

Our first house was worse; we gutted & remodeled the one bathroom it had while living there. No shower for weeks; just a bathtub with bare stud walls around it. It was an adventure.

By: Johnny Cat

Johnny Cat — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 05:12:07 +0000

Well I must tell the story of the ex-Sheriff of my city and how I sold him a home in pasture country where he could house his kids + grandkids, and we found this great 3 bedroom traditional that had a giant shop a mere 10 yards from the house.

He had the home’s garage converted to a 2nd master bedroom for him and wifey, and plans are in place for the house to have a connecting walkway to the shop, which could be a luxury garage. He had professionals come out and plan the job, and in the end, his cost was indeed about 12K. But the value added…probably around 300% of cost.