I need floors, fresh paint walls, new bathroom, new kitchen. What are some do's and donts? Share some insights.
Are you planning on staying for a while or perhaps moving in the next few years? is your house in the upper tier for other things such as size, condition, outside improvements etc?
Make sure your foundation is level first. Then answer @Mango’s question because that will determine your budget.
These contractors are all big talkers. They contradict themselves. Had like 5 foundation fixers and they all said different ****.
Hire good people, especially for things like tile. Places like Angie's List (Angi now, I guess) can be helpful for finding contractors. Always get three estimates, minimum. And be upfront about it. Everything is negotiable. If permits are required make sure they pull them and that any inspections are done before paying them. If someone doesn't want to get permits don't hire them. Permits protect you, help insure the work is done properly and to code, and your insurance might not cover you if you file a claim. If they don't show up on time to give you an estimate, or call you to tell you they're running late, they're likely going to be a PITA down the road.
I don't know anyone in Houston anymore, I'd talk at @Xerobull (@The Captain or whoverthehell he is now) for starters Never trust anyone you haven't had recommended by someone you do trust.
i just had my entire 55 year old house renovated. everything you are doing and then some. i had asbestos under the old floor, asbestos popcorn ceilings. got that removed. new bathrooms, kitchen, flooring, ceiling, fixtures, doors, painted every square inch of the house. the garage had been converted to another room when i bought the house, but it was done very jankily so i had him do it proper. i fortunately have a friend who is a house flipper and so he recommended a guy he uses. my friend said "youre lucky armando is available...hes the best". he wasnt cheap, but my dude did a 100% quality job from start to finish. its pretty unheard of to get a full house remodel and not have a single complaint, but he and his brother did it. took them 2 months working 6 days a week. they did everything. flooring, painting, plumbing, electrical, carpentry, ect. hard to find someone good who can do it all, but if you can i think thats better than trying to juggle multiple different contractors. getting a good contractor is key. as mentioned, get a first-hand recommendation. dont trust someone you dont know. dont cheap out. its your house and its an investment. you will get your money back when you sell. you will get a good idea of how good a job they will do when they come out to give an estimate. dont hire the guy who comes in your house for 10 minutes and looks around, doesnt take notes then leaves. my contractor was in my house for two hours with a notepad and camera, going over all the details. i could tell he was going to do a good job and was going to take it seriously...and that he was very detail oriented. are you planning to live in your house while all this is going on? youre going to have to move all your stuff into a room or even a storage space while theyre working. i actually moved out of my house and got a storage unit for the $10k or so worth of music equipment i have. everything else got packed into a bedroom or my shed. the rest of the house was totally cleared out. i had to have asbestos remediation then a full remodel. i couldnt be there. youre going to basically have a part-time job while you go around buying materials and working with your contractor. its more work than i realized. get your house professionally painted. not cheap, but its worth it. i did it myself once and it was obvious. my contractors brother is a professional painter and he did it this time and it looks great. sherwin williams paint. i got all my kitchen cabinets for $2k from home depot. those ready-to-assemble shaker cabinets. they were shipped to my house and it took me about 5 hours to put 10 of them together. theyre not custom by any means, but they look great and cost significantly less than custom cabinets would have. i did LVP flooring throughout my house. was sick of carpet. thought about tile or hardwood, but weighed all the plusses and minuses and went with what i did. some people hate it, but im happy with it so far. your floor definitely needs to be level though so theres some prep work involved. dont cheap out...spend the money to get what you want and get it done right. fix any issues you have or anything you were wanting to do. go all in and get it all done! if youre in austin i can give you my dudes contact info. id absolutely recommend him. if you have any questions feel free to message. i learned alot during the whole process.
Another thing I'd throw around: don't get a "general" contractor unless you really, really know them. Want a painter? Hire a pro painter. Floor guy? Same. etc.... Do it in parts. Start from the floor up.
You should probably be going to structural engineers/3rd party engineers to see what any problems with the foundation may be, and not just rely on the foundation repair companies. Have them use something like a zip level to see if the slab is wonky by getting elevation readings. Some can do thermal imaging to check for leaks in the slab, as well. If you can afford a couple of structural engineers, then do that (though it may be overkill), but I would never go directly to the foundation repair companies first if that's what you're doing. Some are trustworthy, but ...
3 quotes minimum is good advice. If they don't listen or say something won't work, it could just be them being lazy. You will probably have to push them and know a little bit about what you're looking at (example, if they don't sand and do prep work before painting, it's going to end up failing you sooner rather than later). Know what good brands are and ask them to use them. Ask if they mark up the materials or charge a "trip fee" for going to pick up. Sometimes you can save money doing that part. Ask if they have designers as well. We always had a hard time imagining what looked good, but a designer or someone who can draw it out can help.
just a suggestion knwoing every situation is different, Since 2019 I had done extensive dyi renovation on 3 houses, it was rewarding bc the market helped , felt like picasso, no matter how crappy the job, it paid off nicely since I knew where to start and where to stop (scope/budget/ROI) but the market has changed, worth preserving the money to buy your next (better) disclosure property down-payment.,if you anticipate a correction ( unless it's a must reno). Big boxstore membership, youtube ,free time on weekends, common sense and elbow greese will safe you more than 90% of reno cost at a comparable quality Max budget :Bathroom each 2k Foundation: pallet of Lime compacted/tilted around your clay soil. Flooring 1.5$ per sq ft Paint : contractor grade from Sherwin williams
I use Rudy`s for any and all painting duties, he isn't the cheapest but there the best IMO. One thing I do is listen and call into Tom Tynenes DIY shows on 610 every Sat and Sun am https://homeshowradio.com/
Can you give examples of how much he charges? I know everything is different because of size, type of paint, how much you have in the form of trim, etc., but just trying to get an idea if I should farm out some painting to make it easy or DIY it.
Mic drop. We just had our interior repainted, pool resurfaced and a new roof put on. Very happy with all companies. Roofer was recommended by my father in law, pool guy by my next door neighbor and painter by my wife's friend at school. I would never use anyone for anything who wasn't recommended by someone I trust.
