Pittsburgh too affordable for HGTV's McGillivray (Lawrenceville: low income, loans, how much)

[fleetiebelle]

Originally Posted by robrobrob

Sure you can do things for a lot less. But how many people put vinyl floors in? I put them in a powder room as a temp fix but I wouldn't call that room restored?

I was talking a master bath. Soaking tub, separate shower, tile, double vanity. Lot of plumbing costs. I don't do plumbing. If you move the location of he sink, etc. it really ads up. Lot of tile in a "master bath". I have two friends that just did theirs. One spend 18000 and the other around 25000. The one that spend 18000 is nice but not real nice. The one that spend 25000 is real nice. Both moved plumbing and gutted the room and installed new floors.

Kitchens really add up if you get new appliances and redo the flooring with something other than laminate that you diy and if you are adding lighting well that is just more money. Trust me I just went through this. Then again I didn't diy anything but my contractor got it done it 2 weeks. Amazing.

I wouldn't say a kitchen is "restored' if you have appliances that are 15 years old. Functional but not restored.

This is pretty elitist-sounding, though. I know plenty of people who live in modest homes who do modest remodels that cost much, much less than a new car.

[Sealtite]

Originally Posted by MeinGlanzendMotorrad

It's Detroit. It's all ****hole.

Dude Detroit freakin' rocks, and if you can't see the gravy train of opportunity that's just sitting there right now, you've got blinders on your eyes. Have you ever actually been to the Motor City? The place has it's own vibe and feel that's every bit as genuine and one-off as Pittsburgh's. The blight is atrocious in parts of the metro, but the people who live there are really making some tremendous strides, and the place is poised to come back in a big way. I was there for the first time in my adult life last spring, and I was actually really impressed with what I saw. I saw some blight, sure. But I also saw a lot of revitalization going on. As for the real estate, I've seriously given a lot of thought into investing there.

Don't believe everything you read online or hear in the news about Detroit. Also, don't you think it's a little hypocritical of you to write off a blue-collar American city that's in the process of pulling itself up by the bootstraps as a "****hole" considering where you live? The Motor city is trying to reinvent itself right now, just like your city did after the demise of the steel industry!

It's only 6 hours away from you. Take a weekend trip there. Do some sight seeing, check out some of the cool houses and revitalized sections, eat a Bates burger (I'm getting hungry now just thinking of it), and I guarantee you you'll change your outlook.

[MeinGlanzendMotorrad]

Yeah no thanks.

[PreservationPioneer]

Originally Posted by robrobrob

Sure you can do things for a lot less. But how many people put vinyl floors in? I put them in a powder room as a temp fix but I wouldn't call that room restored?

I was talking a master bath. Soaking tub, separate shower, tile, double vanity. Lot of plumbing costs. I don't do plumbing. If you move the location of he sink, etc. it really ads up. Lot of tile in a "master bath". I have two friends that just did theirs. One spend 18000 and the other around 25000. The one that spend 18000 is nice but not real nice. The one that spend 25000 is real nice. Both moved plumbing and gutted the room and installed new floors.

Kitchens really add up if you get new appliances and redo the flooring with something other than laminate that you diy and if you are adding lighting well that is just more money. Trust me I just went through this. Then again I didn't diy anything but my contractor got it done it 2 weeks. Amazing.

I wouldn't say a kitchen is "restored' if you have appliances that are 15 years old. Functional but not restored.

For most people living in older Pittsburgh homes, I think spending $25,000 for a "real nice" bathroom remodel is probably out of the question, because their homes may only be worth twice that amount. You don't do that kind of restoration on a mill house, either. There's nowhere to put a master bath in a Baltimore-style row house unless you're using one of the two bedrooms, which would just be ridiculous. Maybe if you have one of those big colonials in Squirrel Hill, or a Victorian in Shadyside or Highland Park. Otherwise, it's just not practical. Most Pittsburgh homes were modest, built with modest materials, and modest restorations without high-end materials are appropriate. Also, I believe "if it's not broke, don't fix it." I grew up hearing that and I think it's true. Why replace the appliances if they still work and look fine? I realize that they are supposedly not as efficient as new appliances, but it's less wasteful overall to keep using things that still work, rather than throwing perfectly good things away because they aren't shiny and new (although mine polished up to be quite shiny!).

[Sealtite]

Originally Posted by MeinGlanzendMotorrad

Yeah no thanks.

Why? Because of what you see on TV?

[SammyKhalifa]

I honestly think that the Home and Garden channel and its bathroom remodels for "only" $25,000 is one of the reasons people hate America.

[Sealtite]

I hope McGillvray says something bad about Pittsburgh or the Steelers to the wrong person while he's in town. Then he'd go the way of Sienna Miller, and a housing bubble would be effectively avoided in Pittsburgh. HGTV wouldn't dare send their lowliest cameraman anywhere near the PA line after that.

[greg42]

You can't generalize what can/should be spent on remodeling projects over the whole wide area. It comes down to house value and even personal circumstances whether it's reasonable or not to spend a lot. Some folks who are really set on staying put might take a chance on spending more on remodeling. With my house I have some things in mind and am trying to keep the cost down because I don't have that much room to work with. Certainly some changes will increase the value, but I can't go crazy in that area with that house. I do have a mindset of wanting to enjoy the changes myself first, so I'm trying not to think in terms of remodeling just to sell.

[Aqua Teen Carl]

Originally Posted by SammyKhalifa

I honestly think that the Home and Garden channel and its bathroom remodels for "only" $25,000 is one of the reasons people hate America.

I know someone who remodeled their kitchen in Manchester for 80k.

It needed a lot of work (house was from the 1800's) and they put top of the line appliances in but I still can't wrap my mind how one room of a house is Manchester is 80k.

[jay5835]

A friend of mine (not in Pgh) spent $50,000 -- at least -- renovating a kitchen. It looked nice but was not laid out well for cooking. I never said anything. Everything was new, but not really fancy. It adds up quickly is my point.

I remember reading a crime novel ten years ago that took place here, in which the solution hinged on the fact that someone spent $80,000 on a kitchen renovation in Morningside, and "no one would spend $80,000 on a kitchen renovation in Morningside."