DH & I had a serious talk about the condition of our home and the need to spruce up certain rooms, areas. We really need a second and complete bathroom, but that will remain a dream as we can't afford it, nor do we want the mess at this age. Downstairs in our small back hall there is a closet like space that has a toilet, door is louvered and space above door is open, no window, light or fan in this toilet space. We are thinking of making this a more proper enclosure with those elements added. there is a sink in the hall itself (no room to add to toilet area) In our upstairs bath we have a separate shower stall but this is extremely cheap and we are thinking of having a custom made stall of either tile or glass. In other words poshing up these two areas. As a general rule how to others view doing projects like this? In other words having very nice bits in otherwise ordinary surroundings.

It is said that whether your home is new or old, that money be spent primarily in bathrooms and kitchens. This is where resale comes into play. Form and function are concerns as well as budget. Maximizing your space in a useable yet affordable way is the best form of action even if you may have to wait to redo both spaces. Acquiring estimates from multiple highly recommended contractors and checking out their references (as well as the BBB) first hand is also wise. Before doing that, doing your homework re. materials, fixtures, knowing building codes and obtaining permits is also vital. You need to be an informed consumer.

It is always a plus to have a bath or half bath on the first floor. It's just practical. Since you already have plumbing in place, that's half the battle. You may have to reconfigure your layout, but don't scrimp on functioning design. If a window is lacking, install a vent fan or add a window even if it's a transom type. Ventilation is a good thing in bathrooms.

Personally speaking, when it comes to showers, I tend to nix any glass since it's hard to keep spotless (unless you're able to afford housecleaning services). I especially detest shower doors w/ tracks. There are newer types that avoid the gunk collecting tracks however.

If you have a trusted plumber, do avail yourself of his (or her) knowledge in seeking recommendations re. product preferences and instillation proceedures.

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Originally posted by lady of shallot: As a general rule how to others view doing projects like this? In other words having very nice bits in otherwise ordinary surroundings.

I much prefer to see appropriateness of elements to the structure. Your home is an old gem and I would not expect to see glass in a shower.

Is there someone you could ask who is familiar with homes the age of yours (perhaps the forum which specializes in old homes) as to the type of improvements you could easily make which would be more true to the vintage of your home.

I think one runs the risk of paying too much for inappropriate improvements otherwise.

Since bathrooms are very important for resale as well as day-to-day living, I think I would rather give up another room and reconfigure the plan to make a proper vintage bathroom on the main floor as well as upstairs. I don't think it would have to be extremely expensive nor inconvenient if done properly. Are you able to DIY at all?

Help me! I went to hit invite Joy Luck to private topic & hit Ignore Joy Luck instead. Help help. How do I rectify this? So here goes my message publicly. Yes, JL we are both DIY's But at mid 70's are not up for reconfiguring the house, nor would we really have the expertise for that, but putting a window in an outside wall, closing a wall completely, installing a shower, yes we can do those things. Even if we could have the expertise to do those reconstruction big scale things we could not afford even the materials. Sadly we are very constrained budget wise and our situation will not change. DH has built dories, taught himself sculpture, built tool sheds, arbors, builds model airplanes as a hobby (from scratch not kits) turns balusters for our porches, he's all in all a very handy guy and I can sew, paint, rough carpentry and fun hobby projects

Lady,

I love to read your posts and am so envious that you and hubby and so creative and can do so much yourselves. We are 56 and 61 and are so unskilled (but we are learning). If you can upgrade your bathrooms without spending a lot of money, I say GO FOR IT. And I am sure you will create something very attractive and useful. And don't question this because of your age - just do it and enjoy it. Plus, you DD and gradchildren will enjoy when visiting.

Tuesday

We're like Tuesday & hubby...unskilled in construction (54 & 66 years young), but once we're really retired I intend to teach myself some basic carpentry.

lady of shallot...why not improve to the best of your budget and skills. If it's what you desire go for it! Somehow I don't think your improving for re-sale, but if you do sell, let me know. I want that backyard

That's a nice thing to say Cottage F. but are you sure you mean my backyard, which usually looks like a work yard in some I don't know what. We do a lot of projects out there (are you thinking of BDM's yard?) No, no re-sale in our future (immediate) probably our town & proximity to ocean will carry the day for us anyway & if not there are more grievous than the showers or toilets. Like no garage! I bet a community college near you would have some carpentry courses for women. My DD's MIL makes furniture, nice furniture too, but she snipped the end off some fingers so I'm staying away from power tools myself.

Having the toilet and sink seperate in your downstairs bath may not be the norm today - but it does happen in plenty of old houses - part of the charm! I'd say to spruce that up as well as you can - and call it good. If it is servicable to you and sanitary - then that's just fine.

As far as the shower upstairs. There's several options to consider. Swanstone and other mfgrs make the shower sets that are much nicer than the old aluminum ones that used to be around. They're not totally inexpensive - but take a look and see if your purse can bear it. If not, then often at HD or like, there's tile that goes on sale. You'd need to pull the shower unit out and put in green board (there may be another name - but it is used for bathroom/damp locations); then a drain, mud in the floor for the tile,and lay that - usually built within a frame of 2x4s for forms, then tile your walls, push the plumbing thru and you're done. Most if not all of this you can do yourself. There's how-to's available in books at the HD or library. If you wanted to you could use a fiberglass shower pan rather than tile the floor - tile is nicer, but a bigger job. I always recommend tiling the ceiling too as it gets a ton of humidity in a shower enclosure.

I too would shy away from the glass doors - too modern for your little old house and hanging a shower curtain is nice and less costly!

As a last resort, for birthday, christmas and other holidays ask for HD gift cards to help pay for the project!

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lady of shallot

Oops, I did mean BDM's yard...sorry

Bumping this for you, hoping to get some help. Have you tried looking at all the options on your personal profile page?


[QUOTE]Originally posted by lady of shallot:
Help me! I went to hit invite Joy Luck to private topic & hit Ignore Joy Luck instead. Help help. How do I rectify this?