What is an updated master bath? (Austin: countertops, condo, how much)

[teasipmom]

I can tell when light fixtures are out of date, but what about other items? Also, I know you can spend a lot of money updating a master bath. What would be an average cost and what updates would it involve to get it up to date?

[Komeht]

Depends on how out of date it is. If you have harvest good tile and wallpaper walls plan on a complete gut job. If on the other hand you have decent tub and shower and maybe a bad Formica counter you might get away with a new casarstone countertop and some fresh paint...radically different costs

[centralaustinite]

Depends so much what price range and what kind of updating comparable houses have under gone.
(example: about 10 years ago separate showers and garden tubs were pretty much the standard in master baths in new homes in the $300K and up range. Now garden tubs are out of fashion and even larger showers with dual showers/multiple shower heads are more common. Double sinks and mosaic tile are common as are cabinets that look like stand-alone furniture.) But it really depends on what is common in your area and in similar houses

Do you have a friend who is a realtor who could give you some advice? Or hit some open houses in your area.

[teasipmom]

Sorry, we're moving to Austin and I'm trying to get an idea of what would need to be done to upgrade an older house. One house I looked at had a separate shower and "garden" tub, I guess. I like the idea of replacing with a newer combination.

[centralaustinite]

What price range of homes are you looking at? Also homes definitely need upgrades at the 15-20 year mark, make sure you check the basics too like roof, foundation, HVAC.

Pulling out a garden tub and expanding a shower -- new shower pan -- is expensive, no way around it. My guessetimate would be around 10K.

Resale homes are generally better than new, because they are in better locations and more likely to appreciate now that the subdivision is fully built out. But only you can know what will work for you. Also, will you have the time to make the changes prior to move in? Will you be in town to supervise the work?

You can also look just for homes that have already been updated with granite counters and improved master baths, if the homes are from 1997, some must be updated.

good luck

[teasipmom]

Contractors will do the job prior to us moving in. I won't be able to supervise the work, but my realtor should be able to. The home was built around 1997. We don't want to spend any more than 20-30K for total updates. We won't know anything about the roof, etc. until it gets inspected. Of course, we can always reject the house if we want while it's in escrow. I'm just trying to get an idea so I can decide to start with it or skip it and look for a newer home.

[mesmer]

Updating a vanity is going to cost at least $1500-3000 if you want new cabinets. Swapping out the shower/tub for a shower is also going to be expensive - $5000 at least, $10000 is probably realistic. Paint is cheap. Flooring depends on how much square footage and what else you have to work around.

[sezzam]

My wife just reminded me of CostHelper.com. It is a great place to get ball park estimates.

Having just got good carpets to about a half of a condo and a good bath+shower combo, I can pretty much guarantee you that updating a separate shower and tub, plus the real hardwood flooring and granite kitchen counter tops (you mention in another thread) can cost well over 20K.

Then, don't forget centralaustinite's points in #5 above.

[riaelise]

Just my opinion here, but if you are trying to keep up with every trend and HGTV, you'll be switching things out every five years and spending lots of money for no reason at all. I never knew a deep, garden tub was "out"...many new and newer homes still have them. For me, there is nothing more soothing and comfortable than a bath in a deep, wide and accomodating tub. I'm never going to pull that out.

Other points:

1997 isn't really old. Probably just needs some cosmetic touches.

If you are upgrading the entire house for only 20k, then it is really (again in my opinion) a big waste of money to splurge on a bathroom. You aren't going to spend any significant amount of time in it other than to wash, potty, and maybe dress. Unless baths are not your thing, pulling out a garden tub is a real waste of money. Just maybe upgrade the countertops, frest paint, fixtures...maybe flooring max.

[Austin97]

master bath is going to be about 20K alone to upgrade to really nice spa status. Otherwise I would just leave it the same. Each additional bathroom will probably be about 10K. Gold fixtures were in 10-15 years ago, then it was brushed nickel, now ??

Roof will probably be about 5-8K