House Renovations?

Question

My fiance and I are thinking about buying a 1800 town house. It is in alright order, but needs a new kitchen and bathroom, along with the floors of these rooms replaced. The rest of the rooms seem okay.

What is the likelihood problems could arise in a house of this age? What is the cheapest we could put in a kitchen and bathroom for? And what are the little things that we could do ourselves to save money and repair the house?

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

a standard kitchen will run u about $ 250.00 per running ft.....u can do all the demo work and save on that labor..u do all the clean up and handle the dumpster...u buy all the cabinets and tops......remember, planning,  planning, planning......

lic. gen. contractor

Answer 2

Sadly your are picking the most expensive rooms to start with but heres' a few tips

When renewing the floors BE SURE to allow enough ventilation for the the sub floor areas otherwise u may encounter termite problems

Is the current electrical wiring up to date and will it carry the load of a modern household

is the plumbing OK including the hot water system and will u have to run new services  (try to match whats existing ie tap and drain locations) otherwise the cost will really go up

What u can do yourself is plenty     flat pack kitchens are OK and u can make them better by getting bench tops of a better grade they are not difficult to assemble and have some flexibility but u are stuck with there basic size

Re-tiling is not for the faint hearted but u can do it

if i can help drop me a line I'm a retired builder u can reach me  [e-mail]

Good Luck

Answer 3

You are unlikely to suffer any subsidence/cracking if it has been there for 200 years, but damp will be an issue.

When you take up the downstairs floor, lay a pvc dampcourse membrane (big roll of blue pastic sheet) and if you can, also lay some "Kingspan" thermal insulation (big slabs of honeycomb with silver foil on each side). Then reconcrete the floor and lay your chosen floor-covering. This will keep the temperature constant in the room and prevent damp coming up through the floors and getting into the walls.