we’re thinking about renovating our 3 bedroom cottage. it’s quite small, it has 1 bathroom and a kitchen attached onto a dining area and living room. it also has a large sun room. The renovations would be,
-insulating and winter-izing the cottage.
-redoing plumbing and electrical
-drywall and new floors
-redoing the entire bathroom and kitchen.
it’s obviously impossible to give an exact price, but any guesses?
would it be cheaper to do this all at once? or over time?
THANKS FOR ANY ANSWERS!
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
AJC, really, to ask for rough estimates doesn’t get you any closer to truly understanding the costs involved, but may actually cause you to abandon a perfectly feasible project due to inaccuracy. Having a local contractor would permit you to better take advantage of being able to more accurately assess the situation of your house in person. Fortunately, there are plenty of local remodeling contractors who are just eager to give free estimates with no obligation, and taking advantage of this is the consumer-smart way to go about finding an accurate answer to your question. It’s important that you get a local estimate and not rely on guesses found here on Yah, as a lot of factors really bear on the cost of such a project, including the following: The cost of material and labor greatly varies by location. Definitely get estimates to start your exploration of the cost.
A local remodeling contractor can easily assist you in this project of yours. If you negotiate well with the contractor and he buys the building materials for you, you may try to have him pass the discounted cost of the materials to you, as usually contractors get discounts (called "contractor’s discounts") when buying from suppliers because of the many purchases they make as required by their jobs.
So, yeah, free estimates from local remodeling contractors are the key to your success in this home improvement project of yours. Here’s a great link to a handyman site that offers free very resourceful information to assist you in determining the viability and cost of your project, and, ultimately, selecting a local remodeling contractor in an effort to get the best deal for you:
Info on local remodeling contractors:
http://yourhandymanzone.com/Your_Handyman_Zone_Free_Estimates_Remodeling_In_Gen.htm
I’m sure you’ll find the information you need, specifically the tips, useful as it relates to being treated fairly by contractors and exploring the consumer-wise approach of getting free written estimates to find the best contractor in your area.
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Source(s):
The Internet. Just whatever is available online and what I have on my mind, including the inclusion of relevant sites, like the one cited that came about with my efforts, which is intended to be useful. Helping people get the relevant info they want is great.
It really depends on the materials you want to use to redecorate your bathroom and kitchen. Some home decorating shows I’ve seen featured room make-overs that ran as much as $50,000 or so.
If I were you, I would try to take care of the plumbing and electrical at the same time as the insulation; That way you wouldn’t need to open the walls back up a second time. Also, just get new drywall while at it for the same reason. Unless there is a problem with the floors, that can wait until you’re ready to redo your bathroom and kitchen. You may want to talk with a professional designer about what you want to do so you can get a more accurate figure.
Good luck!
Do it yourself. Over time. Find out how to do things properly(meaning research handyman books or home repair books on every topic) and lay out a plan and do it methodically.
You make no mention of the condition of the roof. That which keeps rainwater from entering the building and destroying everything inside.
I would look there first. First cost too.
Then in order to insulate means ripping out all the outer walls from the inside and before you can insulate yourself, you need to get an electrician in there to possibly rewire. There should be no plumbing in the outer walls – not one piece of pipe. So if the wiring is done and the wood studs and walls in a "non-rotten shape" you can then insulate. And then plastic vapor barrier over the insulation and then drywall.
This is assuming that the floor is of the quality that you can walk on it(if there are gaping holes all over the place then the floor would have a layer of plywood laid down overtop the whole floor and make the floor safe for walking or putting up a step ladder.
For when doing the walls over, generally that means the ceiling as well.(which means the electrician has to be in there at the same time that he does the outer walls he does the ceiling lights.
Step by step. You will figure it out. Once you have done one room the rest is a snap.
However the electrician likes to do all the wiring in one go. And if you don’t get a licensed electrician, if it burns down, you have no insurance.