Warning

 

Close

Confirm Action

Are you sure you wish to do this?

Confirm Cancel
BCM
User Panel

Posted: 12/21/2016 12:35:06 PM EDT
Well, I bought my first house.  It's a 1400 sq. ft. 3BR/1bath end-unit row home in an old part of town (house was built in 1900) and is a 100% brick construction.  Generally, its in great shape for being almost 120 y/o.  No major expenses are looming just yet (furnace/roof/windows all relatively new) so I'm thinking of my options about what jobs to tackle first.

Option 1)  Half bath downstairs.  Downstairs is plumbed and capped for a powder room but is currently sitting as a sort-of catch all closet thing.  This would require ripping out the floor, tiling, installing new pedestal sink, toilet, exhaust.

Option 2) Rip out the plaster/lathe on the internal wall of the living room to expose (potentially shitty) brick.  If shitty, repoint said brick.  I like this because the plaster is pretty cracked as is and instead of repairing the cracks, I can just rip.  The other option is to rip out the plaster/lathe and replace with insulation and drywall but this makes less sense on an internal wall.

Option 3)  MORE plaster repair/rip in the Master BR.  Pretty significant cracks that'd have to be cut, patched/filled/ sanded/ repainted.  This might be a good starter so we can get our bedroom in shape first.

Option 4) Pocket doors galore: the entire upstairs has pocket doors.  Trouble is, they're in pretty bad functional shape.  Rip these out and do it right with some nice solid wood doors I'd make in the basement shop.

Option 5) I'm thinking of knocking out the middle bedroom and creating a walk-in closet for the Master and expanding the one full bath.  Currently, the full bath is tight.  I mean, city tight.  Master has a closet that was clearly an addition (or rather subtraction) by framing out a space out of the original floor space.  This would be by far the most expensive option as it would require an entire full bath remodel.

Good news is that the kitchen is relatively new with 1'x2' tile and granite counters.

So ARFCOM DIY'ers, how would you prioritize the above tasks?

I'll also start posting pictures/how I did its as the reno gets under way.

Link Posted: 12/21/2016 9:04:15 PM EDT
[#1]
3, 4, 1, 2 (except just put up drywall on furring strips anchored to the brick), 5
Close Join Our Mail List to Stay Up To Date! Win a FREE Membership!

Sign up for the ARFCOM weekly newsletter and be entered to win a free ARFCOM membership. One new winner* is announced every week!

You will receive an email every Friday morning featuring the latest chatter from the hottest topics, breaking news surrounding legislation, as well as exclusive deals only available to ARFCOM email subscribers.


By signing up you agree to our User Agreement. *Must have a registered ARFCOM account to win.
Top Top