Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am in the process of completely gutting and redoing an older house down in Miami, FL.
The house is on a golf course, and I am really excited to be making some major changes.
I would be really interested to hear what kind of little bits of advice or intuition anyone can offer regarding the process- whether it be installing floors & lights in the attic, etc.
My buddy who does electrical work for a living gave me a great idea- installing a light switch in the master bedroom which when flipped, turns on every single exterior light. Useful if I am out of town and the Mrs is all alone, or there is something going on outside.
Another is my brother in law who put wood in his attic floor for use as storage, and ran electrical outlets and lights in there as well.(I do not believe he followed code)
Sounds like you've got good advice from your electrician. In previous home remodel projects, I did a really good job with planning my lighting needs. But my most recent renovation in my basement laundry room, not so much. I didn't plan for enough lighting--especially where overhead HVAC ducts obstruct the can lights. Also, good that you have an electrician to help you as pick out light fixtures. Not all bulbs, fixtures and switches "work well" together. Any buying light bulbs is overwhelmingly confusing if you don't like fluorescent lighting.
With my recent bathroom addition, I didn't realize the overall size of my vanity light fixture until it was installed and seemed too large for the small bathroom. I loved the fixture, but the scale was off in relation the rest of the bathroom.
My sister remodeled her kitchen & master bath last year. She chose a new, elongated bowl toilet for her master bathroom. Didn't factor in that larger, elongated bowl being installed in a water closet. Requires a bit of maneuvering to close door once inside.
Are you changing the layout of bathroom or kitchen? Are you changing entry into a room or increasing/decreasing closet spaces?
Does Miami location require hurricane protection prevention? (Sorry, not familiar with that).
Build the house with stuff you want because it's for you. Look I did a bunch of extra stuff at my house because I simply wanted these things. If they give value to a possible future buyer great. If they don't fine. I get to enjoy it while I live here. But every thing I did was for my and my wife's convenience and I know that's what people want. Some was visual fluff some was good solid convenience stuff ( extra outlets in kitchen, flat screen TV wired, new kitchen cabinets with pull out drawers, new solid surface countertops, undercounter lighting, fans) my only regret was travertine and a bad installation.
Use licensed contractors. CHECK and make sure they are licensed bonded workmans comp and insured. GO to one of their current and past jobs. Speak to their customers. Most customers have no problem showing the work.
If a bid seems too good to be true. IT IS. I don't care who it is you're not gonna squeeze 60-80k worth of work and materials in 20k no matter how much"I'm gonna give you a deal my friend" he says.
Don't go crazy with change orders. Do ALL your homework BEFORE. Remember change orders cost YOU a lot of MONEY
Undercounter lighting
However many outlets you think you need in the kitchen you'll need more. I usually like to do tepee circuits and alternate on the row of outlets do CKT 1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2.
Don't forget the outlets at the end of the counters
Humidistat fan switches in bathrooms. ( especially rr that has no windows)
Fans in every room
Sconce lights look great
Decora switches
Mortar bed your shower and paper lath mortar the walls
Don't do real travertine (ongoing maintenance)
Do double shower heads
Use wider base boards
Do crown molding
Scrape popcorn ceilings
And last HOWEVER much you think it's gonna cost add 10%. Then add 5 % more
My only advice is to not overlook your storage needs. Account for what you think you'll need and then a bit more. Good storage space is a really great thing to have.
our contractor is amazing, he has been on top of everything, and has exceeded my expectations.
we are now installing the tophat lighting and rewiring the house. My current dilema is the 4" vs 6" led recessed lighting...Leaning towards the 6".
we are also likely to install toekick lighting in both the bathrooms and kitchen. sounds like one of those cheap and extremely useful additions.
regarding the costs, our contractor has done some residential and commercial projects for us before- so we trust him with our pricing, along with the fact that the people whom he does business with seem to have been working with him for 15 years each.
I would not say that cost is of no importance, but we want this house to be one we are happy with for a long time...
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
)
