Buying a house

[Puget]

Congrats Puget!
Now THE LIST begins.

The first thing I did when I bought my first house was refinish the wood floors. They'll look great! I've been in this house now for 25 years, they're starting to wear a little in the high traffic areas.
What finish is the refinisher using? There is a difference in how long they'll last in traffic areas.  Our guy uses a Bona product called Traffic. We didn't use him 25 years ago. And Bona Traffic is also a new product...

I don't have experience with reglazing.  I just googled and found this advice
If you are planning to remodel soon anyway, I might price out what kind of things you may want in the end. It'll be expensive to do it twice.

What kind of inserts were you pricing?
You can get replacement surrounds at Home Depot for not that much. ($200-ish)  They're pretty easy to DIY install if you're up for that. Taking out the old one will be the worst part.

Thanks Monarda!

It's a Bona water-based finish, something called Mega, with a satin sheen level. I wanted water-based low VOC but otherwise trusted the recommendation of the floor guy on what would look good and wear well.

The problem with the tub is the tub itself needs refinishing, not just the surround, and tub liners have to be custom fit, which is much more expensive, around $3000 or so installed, and apparently there can still be problems like water getting between the tub and liner. Refinishing on average is apparently about a quarter of that. I don't know what the refinishing product/process will be since I haven't had anyone out to look at it yet, so will find out more. A full bathroom remodel is a ways off, as it is $$$.

[Puget]

What does a new one cost? 

there is a 'shower scene' in the movie Dave.  (he plays a look alike for the president and while doing his work as  a double the prez has a stroke so Dave has to continue on.  There is a scene where Dave is in the presidential shower when the president's wife walks in to discuss a veto that the chief of staff did).... Long set up for something as simple as that was a really nice looking shower, and IF I were to need another shower, that would be something to consider! 

Also, a jet tub (great for a bad back) is not really all that more expensive than a regular tub.  IF you need a new tub anyway, consider upgrading to a jet tub.

Just some thoughts!

My dad is a retired contractor so I have good info on how much things typically cost--

Replacing a tub is MUCH more expensive-- it's not the cost of the tub itself, it's the cost of the construction (demolition, installation, re-plumbing and often re-flooring is also needed then). If you're going to replace a tub/shower you should do a full bathroom remodel at the same time, as there are some economies of scale involved.

[monarda]

Congrats Puget!
Now THE LIST begins.

The first thing I did when I bought my first house was refinish the wood floors. They'll look great! I've been in this house now for 25 years, they're starting to wear a little in the high traffic areas.
What finish is the refinisher using? There is a difference in how long they'll last in traffic areas.  Our guy uses a Bona product called Traffic. We didn't use him 25 years ago. And Bona Traffic is also a new product...

I don't have experience with reglazing.  I just googled and found this advice
If you are planning to remodel soon anyway, I might price out what kind of things you may want in the end. It'll be expensive to do it twice.

What kind of inserts were you pricing?
You can get replacement surrounds at Home Depot for not that much. ($200-ish)  They're pretty easy to DIY install if you're up for that. Taking out the old one will be the worst part.

Thanks Monarda!

It's a Bona water-based finish, something called Mega, with a satin sheen level. I wanted water-based low VOC but otherwise trusted the recommendation of the floor guy on what would look good and wear well.

The problem with the tub is the tub itself needs refinishing, not just the surround, and tub liners have to be custom fit, which is much more expensive, around $3000 or so installed, and apparently there can still be problems like water getting between the tub and liner. Refinishing on average is apparently about a quarter of that. I don't know what the refinishing product/process will be since I haven't had anyone out to look at it yet, so will find out more. A full bathroom remodel is a ways off, as it is $$$.

Yes, Mega is a good product. We have a jug of it in our basement.  It's much easier to apply than Traffic.  But Traffic does last longer.

One compromise to consider is refinishing the tub, but tiling the surround with a simple tile from a big box store. Some of those tiles are only $1-2 per sq ft.

[Juvenal]

Ah, well.  In the oh-so-distant days (of the Nixon [who?] Administration) when I bought this cracker box for what now would be less (in dollars of the same amount) than the cost of a Honda (Accord), I did not realize that years of staying in place fills, fills living space with "stuff."  Be very focussed that you should begin to deal with this before The Reaper is seen at the end of the street, checking his clip-board.

As Ben Cheever said, "If you die and wake up and still have all your stuff, you're in Hell."

[Puget]

Final update of the house buying journey for the curious (though just the start of the house owning journey)-- moved in yesterday! Still lots of unpacking to do, but I'm fairly minimalist in my possessions so I should be able to more or less finish today.

The floors turned out beautifully, despite some interesting things being hidden under the carpets. I'm so glad I went ahead and did them-- it is really transformational.

I also went with refinishing (aka reglazing) for the tub and surround as the more economical choice for now, which ended up costing $600. We'll see how it lasts (3 year warrantee) but at least for now it looks brand new, so I'm very pleased with that.

A dear and generous friend who's really into organizing and decorating is coming to visit in a week and we're going to we're going to try some DIY interventions on the very 70s kitchen with cabinet and countertop paint kits and peel-and-stick backsplash, and replacing the cabinet hardware.

There's a long list of other projects to tackle, but I have to get back to actual work so those will mostly have to wait. I'm afraid to start on things like touching up trim because knowing myself its going to turn into "If you Give a Mouse a Cookie" home improvement edition. . .

[pgher]

Congratulations! Glad everything is working out so far.

A couple houses ago, when our kids were very little, we got into a mode where we had about a dozen half-finished projects. I finally told my wife that we had to just focus on one at a time and get them done. And that was in a new house with no remodeling needs! But lots of landscaping etc. Anyway, sounds like you have a grip on that.

An update on our house: The framing is nearly complete! I can hardly wait. The goal is to improve accessibility for my wife (in a wheelchair). We went in it the other day, and the wide hallways, wide doorways, and generally smooth flow are just so wonderful.

[monarda]

Congrats again! There's nothing like freshly finished floors.
Our floor guy is coming tomorrow to sand and finish our floors in our addition.  About an hour before he shows up we are closing on a HELOC so we can pay for it.

Congrats, Puget!  When's the closing? <need to start shopping for the virtual housewarming party>

We have three different rental property investments, so don't hesitate to ask any house questions!  (Though your dad can probably provide most of the help you need)

and... we are currently under contract to sell one of them. We've never sold a house before, only bought them. The one we're selling is the house I bought while I was a VAP over a dozen years ago, in a city several hours drive away from here where we live.

And, this Friday we are closing on selling the VAP house.  Goodbye, VAPville.

[backatit]

Congratulations, and it sounds like the floors are lovely! I have a couple of friends who did the counter finish and peel and stick backsplash at least two years ago so I'm happy to report that it's held up very well.

[Puget]

Thanks everyone! Still a few boxes to go but I got the kitchen unpacked enough to cook a proper meal, which made me feel much more settled in the house.

An update on our house: The framing is nearly complete! I can hardly wait. The goal is to improve accessibility for my wife (in a wheelchair). We went in it the other day, and the wide hallways, wide doorways, and generally smooth flow are just so wonderful.

Congrats pgher! My dad was a contractor for 40 years, so I grew up visiting job sites, and there truly is something magical about the moment the framing is done and what was abstract plans is suddenly a real space you can walk through and envision life in. Sounds like it will be a great move for you two!