What "upgrades" did you make after buying a house?

[patfla06]

I was just wondering what "upgrades" did you make after
buying a house?
What were some of the items you did to make your new
home your own?

[Ohiogirl]

but I will try to prioritize what I think should have been the order, at least for us:

- customize closets (amazing difference)

- add attic storage and stairs (in garage)

- add cabinets and shelving (if extra room) in laundry room or over washer/dryer in garage

- figure out what works for you for garage storage system (we used Rubbermaid hanging system, a 6 ft storage locker, a narrow workbench in back of garage (where we keep one of our golf cart chargers), a 3 foot tool storage piece with perfect space on top for one of our golf cart chargers. Everyone has different stuff important to them - we needed to figure out how to hang a bike for retrieval without moving golf carts and the car - we have a 1-1/2 car garage, but it's quite deep and we have a small car and 2 golf carts we keep inside.

- outdoor rug on our lanai makes it feel like a room - we love it and have no plans to enclose the lanai as it's just too nice in spring and fall and much of the winter. We're not there in summer, might make a difference if we were.

- we added gutters right away, keeps rain from pouring down our lanai screens and pooling, and also enables us to hook up a rain barrel (I'm a gardener) for extra irrigation now and then.

- added landscaping, removed front yard grass (we have a CYV). Allows much lower maintenance costs when we're away. Have backyard mowed about monthly in summer (ask a co. that already does your neighbor's regularly to do it less often for you while they're in the neighborhood).

- tinted windows. We really noticed a difference on our south, east and west exposures. Think it has helped the a/c bills.

- painted interior. I like to paint, did this myself, but I think painting costs are reasonable in TV

- we added a 2nd fridge (some people barely use their only fridge, but we had a small, freezer on the top model that we disliked - moved it to the laundry room for beverage storage, and freezer usage, mostly.

- brought down a toaster/convection oven which we use all the time. Our oven (we have gas) has a blower that heats up the villa big-time so I avoid using the regular oven except in cooler weather.

Ours came with vertical blinds and aluminum mini-blinds, which we still have. Have added curtains, valances, etc. Haven't felt need to replace yet, might do so in future.

- added tile backsplash in kitchen and replaced original faucet with nicer one. Added some undercounter lighting, but not happy with our choice, could be better.

Eventually will replace some flooring, but our Armstrong vinyl is still in very good condition and the upgraded carpet still cleans nicely. Be sure you know what you want as people's choices vary widely. A tile person will tell you nothing better, same with wood and laminate people. I still like the feel of walking in my bare feet on carpet.

You will notice that storage is primary - I think almost everyone would agree.

Thought I would really want to replace our laminate counter tops with granite, but ours are still in very good condition and a nice color, so haven't yet and have no immediate plans to do so. The tile backsplash, which I did myself, made an immediate impact.

[patfla06]

Wow! Thanks for the insightful post.
The things we've done so far is the attic stairs
and getting the MBR closet done (this Monday).

We're looking at lanai coverings this week.

Everything else will have to wait until we're there fulltime.

Thanks for the info!

[MikeV]

The best ones we did was to stretch the front bedroom, master bedroom and garage 2 feet and the lanai 8 feet. Others were hard wood floors and granite but the stretches were the best decision.

[Polar Bear]

The best ones we did was to stretch the front bedroom, master bedroom and garage 2 feet and the lanai 8 feet. Others were hard wood floors and granite but the stretches were the best decision.

Silly question alert!! Can you have an existing garage 'stretched'? :^)

[asianthree]

riverrock on the lanai...feels so good on bare feet and people love the look

[jimbo2012]

Silly question alert!! Can you have an existing garage 'stretched'? :^)

Depends on your lot or plot plan, look at the build-able lot lines, you can tell in one minute if you can

[MikeV]

Silly question alert!! Can you have an existing garage 'stretched'? :^)

Oops, I should have read the question better. It asked for information about after you already bought the house. My bad.

So we added gutters, landscaping, window treatments, closet organizer and attic stairs.

[coconutmama]

I was just wondering what "upgrades" did you make after
buying a house?
What were some of the items you did to make your new
home your own?

Has anyone added a garage door screen? We can't decide on flip up or roll up.

[bigallis1]

You can if your lot size allows for it.
Remember, you have to be 5' from your property line on either side of the home. It is 10' at the rear of the home.

Silly question alert!! Can you have an existing garage 'stretched'? :^)

[gregntam]

Has anyone added a garage door screen? We can't decide on flip up or roll up.

Check with Ro-Mac, the door opener company to make sure which screen additions won't void the warranty on your garage door opener! Their serviceman Informed me of this yesterday.

[Skybo]

Has anyone added a garage door screen? We can't decide on flip up or roll up.

Check with Ro-Mac, the door opener company to make sure which screen additions won't void the warranty on your garage door opener! Their serviceman Informed me of this yesterday.

I added a roll up garage door. I think it's probably my favorite and most useful upgrade. A roll up door does void the regular garage door warranty, however we used Thumper's for the install and they pick up the warranty for the regular garage door.

[buzzy]

Roll up garage screen from RK Products. Within the garage door opening, but just outside the door itself. Does not affect the garage door installation, like Thumper design. I have a hobby workshop in the garage.

[Tracy1581]

probably the Best decision we made was to Stretch all the rooms !! stretched front bedrooms and master bedroom. Upgraded garbage disposal and dishwasher. upgraded with recess lighting , even on lanai so at night you can sit outside and read!! The rest all could be done after moving in. We also added the radio/cd player and put speakers throughout the home. most important and best investment we bought a larger lot to put a pool in. Not one day goes by we regret that decision. Good luck and enjoy

[ijusluvit]

Here's some things not yet mentioned. I did some of them myself so we could afford these super upgrades:

Pool with spa and birdcage; solar pool heat; hardwood floors; solar tubes; glass inserts in front door and sidelights; pergola; lightning rods and circuit protector system; tile on garage floor, lanai and front entrance; floor and wall tile and raised height commodes in baths; landscape curbing; lanai sliding glass windows; osmosis water purifier.

[jdsl1998]

riverrock on the lanai...feels so good on bare feet and people love the look

What is river rock? Do you have a photo?

[patfla06]

Here's some things not yet mentioned. I did some of them myself so we could afford these super upgrades:

Pool with spa and birdcage; solar pool heat; hardwood floors; solar tubes; glass inserts in front door and sidelights; pergola; lightning rods and circuit protector system; tile on garage floor, lanai and front entrance; floor and wall tile and raised height commodes in baths; landscape curbing; lanai sliding glass windows; osmosis water purifier.

What kind of tile did you put on your lanai and how do you like it?

[patfla06]

Thanks for the great replies.

We just had Busby do our master closet and it's wonderful!

[CFrance]

What is river rock? Do you have a photo?

Check with uptowngirl. She has it on the side of her cyv and in the lanai. It is a small-pebble rock, and looks beautiful. She may have a picture.

Our upgrades (after market, because I believe that's what OP was asking about) include ripping up the carpet in living/dining area and installing tile to match entry/kitchen/laundry. $2500 (not bragging; people ask.) We have a large dog and have had experience with large dogs and hardwood and large dogs and tile, and much prefer the tile due to the large dog.

We tiled the lanai ($1100) with dark red Spanish tile (8x8) with black grouting, which we reallllllllly like. Bricked the front walkway. $400. We are currently doing granite countertops 5K, and having a pantry/cabinet/drawer unit built for the dinette wall of our Begonia, $2800. It will provide much more storage.

Gutters. $200 for front and back, I believe, from Bill. Changed the furnace filter out for a big fat one supposed to suck up the dust. Not impressed so far with that. I can't remember the price, but it was not much.

And landscaping, front and back, $5200. We back up to a wall and had three trees and multiple bushes added the length of that wall for something interesting to look at. Couple of standing birds $100 and a planter in there, don't tell. Front landscaping as well, included in the total landscaping price, which also includes taking out the pine mulch and installing rock, because it was blowing onto the walk and we and the dog were tracking it inside.
We added coolaroos to the lanai ($1400) to keep the sun out in the morning.

We will be replacing the light on our little front porch with a fan/light combo, $2-something, as we sit out there a lot and would like more air flow. We are considering putting a window in the back wall of the dining room area (don't know the price yet), and one in the front bedroom side wall. We just have to get over the $$$ shock from all the upgrades.

We didn't bother with the attic stairs in the garage because we will go up there once or twice a year at most and have a good ladder for access. And we are now broke.

We will either add a screen door in the front or a screen door for the golf cart garage (roll, not slide) for better air flow in the off season.

Phew. Hubby says we have to expire here 'cause we're a bit under water. But it's all great. Yay TV. :coolsmiley:

[e-flyer]

Here's some things not yet mentioned. I did some of them myself so we could afford these super upgrades:

Pool with spa and birdcage; solar pool heat; hardwood floors; solar tubes; glass inserts in front door and sidelights; pergola; lightning rods and circuit protector system; tile on garage floor, lanai and front entrance; floor and wall tile and raised height commodes in baths; landscape curbing; lanai sliding glass windows; osmosis water purifier.

When you say "tile on the garage floor" do you really mean tile, or are you talking pavers? If tile, what type did you use to stand up to your cars? Thanks for the info., it's very interesting to see what folks have done to make it there own. :coolsmiley:

[JP]

New Attitude

[Snookie]

We had our lanai done and several other jobs, laminate floors, back splash etc. We use D &J construction and have recommended them and all those that we recommended them to have recommended them to their friends. So far they have gotten about 10 or 11 jobs just from our word of mouth. Their number is 352-267-5684...Tell them that Snookie and Pinkie sent you....No I do not get any kick backs it's just that they are that good.

[coconutmama]

I added a roll up garage door. I think it's probably my favorite and most useful upgrade. A roll up door does void the regular garage door warranty, however we used Thumper's for the install and they pick up the warranty for the regular garage door.

Thanks very much for your replies. Most helpful.

[coconutmama]

Roll up garage screen from RK Products. Within the garage door opening, but just outside the door itself. Does not affect the garage door installation, like Thumper design. I have a hobby workshop in the garage.

My hubby plans to add a small workshop in the garage, so your input was very helpful. Thank you.

Other upgrades in the works are solar tube in kitchen, add attic stairs, front door screen, river rock lanai after we add a birdcage & before the spa. Also will add to gutters when birdcage is installed & lastly upgrade landscaping. Whew. Going to be busy. May change to granite counters at some point, but laminate looks great for now.

[jimbo2012]

Since Jan as a DIY'r I installed

Nova whole house water filter,
installed 3/4" hardwood floor in LR,
pool, spa & pond,
expanded lanai 510 sq ft with screened cypress pergola (rather than typical birdcage),
pavers thru lanai & around pool,
Solar spa panels
solar pool panels (need to put them up when it starts to cool off a bit that roof is hot to work on,
landscaping with a lot of palms,
Customized & re-piped most of the irrigation system including a drip all around the house for palms
installed front patio.
glass inserts in front door & sidelit
Home theatre with a 12 foot screen.

I hired Stipes to do the gutters, he was almost the cost of doing it myself (the only upgrade I hired out)

Still want to install pavers on the driveway in few months & tile or paint the garage floor

[bandsdavis]

I was just wondering what "upgrades" did you make after
buying a house?
What were some of the items you did to make your new
home your own?

We have done a lot. The house, an At Ease cottage, is great space for us, as the previous owners had done a very nice job turning the lanai into a 15 x 15 Florida room, but everything else was pretty much all "builder grade". So we have taken out all the carpeting and vinyl and installed laminate and tile throughout. Took out the laminate countertops and put in granite in the kitchen and Corian in the 2 baths. Upgraded the shower enclosure in the Master bath. Added some ceiling fans and upgraded kitchen and master bath lighting and fixtures. Added trim to the kitchen cabinets to give them a more "finished" look and installed a back splash. And of course painted every room for "our" colors. We are now considering dropping a propane tank to get gas cooking, and if we do that we'll upgrade the kitchen appliances probably to stainless at the same time. And we are adding a window to the Florida Room to give us additional light and air flow during the times of year when we love to have the windows open. So when all that is completed, we will probably have spent about $17500 or so. The house recently appraised for $23,000 more than we paid a year ago, even before some of the upgrades have been completed, and we don't plan to go anywhere for a long time, so we are very happy with the decisions we made and the place we are in.

[katerogers]

Here's some things not yet mentioned. I did some of them myself so we could afford these super upgrades:

Pool with spa and birdcage; solar pool heat; hardwood floors; solar tubes; glass inserts in front door and sidelights; pergola; lightning rods and circuit protector system; tile on garage floor, lanai and front entrance; floor and wall tile and raised height commodes in baths; landscape curbing; lanai sliding glass windows; osmosis water purifier.

If you don't mind my asking, what does an upgrade like this cost?

Katie

[ijusluvit]

What kind of tile did you put on your lanai and how do you like it?

I put a matte finish, non-skid, clay colored ceramic in the lanai. as the area between the pool deck and the interior it can get wet. But by putting slider glass in the lanai walls we keep out the rain. It's really like an extension of our living room and we love it.

[ijusluvit]

When you say "tile on the garage floor" do you really mean tile, or are you talking pavers? If tile, what type did you use to stand up to your cars? Thanks for the info., it's very interesting to see what folks have done to make it there own. :coolsmiley:

I put in 13x13 standard porcelain tile, then coated it with a non-skid sealer like that used on shiny marble floors in shopping malls. It works beautifully. The tile is so hard it is impervious to damage and stains. A darker grout hides any staining in the seams. Because our laundry is in the garage, the tile surface makes the whole area like an extension of the house. Very easy to keep clean as well. I don't know anyone else who has tiled their garage, but I get lots of compliments from neighbors.

[ijusluvit]

If you don't mind my asking, what does an upgrade like this cost?

Katie

There are fifteen upgrades listed. Send me a PM about which ones you are interested.