Things around your house you've recently fixed/improved? (hardwood floors, shingles, vinyl)

[onceahogalwaysahog]

sorry if this has already been asked but I thought it'd be interesting and helpful to see what people have done to their place

post what all you did and any costs involved (time and money)


1. I recently fixed a light switch that had a bad connection on one of the hot wire screws that was preventing the 2-way switch from turning the lights off/on correctly, no cost but time (about 15 minutes)

2. fixed the light on my garage door opener, the metal contacts needed bent slightly to touch the bottom of the bulb, no cost but time (10 minutes)



next up
hoping to fix my a/c, 2 bad outlets and a leaky ice maker

PS by recent I mean within the last 2 weeks

[boner]

After having my roof replaced i had to paint the 1x6 trim all the way around. It had 1/4 round on the bottom so I had to replace or re nail all the 1/4 round scrape and remove old caulk and peeling paint, sand, 2 coats of primer two coats of paint. Turned out sweet and looks perfect with the new roof

I have a tri level so theres quite a bit of this trim it took all total about one week of full time work maybe a little more. I had the all the materials so it was just alot of work

[Pitt Chick]

We had a lot of improvements!

New roof: shingles, ridge vents, eave extensions, etc., etc., etc.
New gutters and downspouts
New soffit and fascia
New window trim
New insulation and siding
New porch ceilings and columns
New back deck: siding, decking, railing, columns

New doors ordered and due in soon....

[accufitgolf]

Brand new home. Replaced both toilets within the first two years. One was leaking at the wax seal and that started it. I wanted comfort height and better flushing so I decided let us replace both.

[HWTechGuy]

In the past 6 months, I had all new windows installed, resurfaced/retiled the swimming pool, and had the river-rock removed from the pool deck then replaced with decorative acrylic cement coating...

That covers outside... In the house, I put down new flooring in two rooms and had all interior walls retextured/repainted after removing horrendous wallpaper from practically every room.


I could have bought a brand-new Mustang for what it all cost.

[clutchrider]

1) Recently put stone and wall block around my pool to finish the look and get rid of the mud and dirt along the side.
2) Replaced front sensor flood with a nice LED version
3) Replaced old broken floods out back with nice 500W floods
4) Cleaned and re-organized garage
5) Replaced ALL left CFL style bulbs/pots with nice 60W soft whites
6) Re-caulked kitchen sink
7) Replaced kitchen sink faucet
8) De-rusted and repainted outside A/C unit fan grate and side grate
9) Bug bombed shed and organized with hangers and such
10) Power washed whole exterior (2 weeks in the disgusting humid heat of June/July)
11) Washed all windows with vinegar/water

The list goes on. But we did just move in two months ago so we have been busy

[Scott2187]

In the last 2 weeks:

-Bought wood, planed it down, cut it to width, routed a nice edge on it, stained and polyurethaned it, then removed my old base moulding and used the new wood as a replacement.

In 2013:

-Gutted and rebuilt bathroom
-Rebuilt 2 stone retaining walls by hand
-Landscaped my back yard
-Rebuilt my kitchen bulkhead
-Insulated my attic with blown in
-Painted a wood paneled room
-Other minor tedious tasks around the house.

[mmyk72]

Should this be limited to things we (homeowners) did ourselves, as opposed to hiring some contractor and simply writing a check.

Recently:
- Replaced the flappers in all 3 toilets and adjusted the water level down in the tank. $10 home depot purchase. Wish I did it earlier.
- Put silicone caulk around shower stall and toilet base
- Trimmed bushes and shrubs

When I moved in last yr:
- Added weatherseal to exterior door to stop air leak. About $3 for rubber gasket type material
- Fixed leak inside air handler (just a bit of observation to figure out what is leaking and then tighten a screw)
- Lubed garage door hinges (need to do again with Lithium Grease)
- Replaced 12+ lightbulbs with CFL

I've been pretty lucky so far with this house I bought. Built 2005 / 1 previous owner. No too many problems with it.

[scuba steve]

In 2013...
- Replaced every joist in the formal living room, entry hall and kitchen (basically, a 30' x 25' area). Singles went out, doubles went in.
- Salvaged and reinstalled the original hardwood flooring in the formal living room (removed / reinstalled all pieces in the same orientation without harming any).
- Designed and installed 4 new beams to run through the center of the kitchen, entry hall, formal living room and master bedroom. Also dug and made all footers (2'x2'x'2' / reinforced concrete) and built the piers.
- Currently rewiring the kitchen and formal living room areas... halfway done now.
- Designed an all new layout for the kitchen... had help with an interior designer and houzz.com with that one.
- Stripped a few layers of paint from the 3 oak and cedar garage doors, and refinished with marine spar varnish.
- Repainted the exterior
- Cleaned debris, encapsulatd the crawlspace and put in a dehumidifier
- Cool new outside lights by the garage

Need to do this year...
- Finish building the kitchen and pantry - I'm only halfway through
- Move three doorways
- Get a new front door and side light
- Sister or remove/replace joists in the family room
- New wood flooring in the kitchen, family room, and master bedroom
- Stone in the entry hall

Other years would be a much longer list

[southbel]

Ah - a thread perfect for my money pit, er, I mean my house.

Let's see -
1. Replaced all siding and trim with Hardiplank
2. Painted house - twice
3. Replaced 2 A/C compressors
4. Replaced water heater
5. Replaced 2 Air handlers
6. Converted from carpeted to hardwood stairs, sanded and restained railings
7. Stripped wallpaper in master bath. New skim coat. Paint, replaced carpeting (seriously - when was that EVER a good idea - ugh) with tile, replaced toilet, vanity, granite countertop, faucets, hardware, lighting, regrouted tub and shower tile. Oh and our bathroom had no door - who ever thought that was a good idea?? Yeah, so we added one of those.
8. Total gut job in powder room. New travertine tile, grasscloth wallpaper, new toilet, new vanity with granite, new faucets, hardware, etc.
9. Upstairs Hall bath - replaced vinyl flooring with tile, new vanity, new toilet, new lighting, stripped wallpaper, painted
10. Fixed grade in back of house, installed french drain and drain tile
11. New appliances in kitchen
12. Irrigation system with drip irrigation for planting beds

In process -
1. Correcting insulation in room over garage
2. Kitchen - countertops, cabinets, floors (yeah so basically everything - except appliances as those we've already bought)
3. New hardwood floors throughout house
4. There are FIVE doorways into my very small living room. Closing up some and doing some reconfiguring in there. Going to plank the walls with shiplap siding
5. New roof soon
6. Rescreen screened porch

I am sure there's more but I can't think of it right now. Yeah, I'm tired and I hate, hate, hate, hate this house now. I will be selling it but need to correct so much before doing so as our market demands certain things now (e.g. hardwoods, granite, etc). We keep hoping for a really strong hurricane but I doubt we would be that lucky. Amount for all of this?? I can ballpark around $80K. Some of it is hard to say since we did quite a bit of work ourselves and/or was able to get friends in the trades to help us for a great meal and a lot of beer.

I can't regret buying the house completely. We bought here because the schools are absolutely top drawer. When we purchased the market was extremely tight and the limited inventory meant a ton of compromise (and that was before the bubble). I've purchased fixer uppers before but this was the first one I had to live in while fixing. UGH - never again! I'll still come out way ahead on equity even with the additional work. I am just so ready for it all to be done and get the heck out of here now.