[jdsl1998]

Originally Posted by asianthree

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by jdsl1998

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.

[e-flyer]

Originally Posted by 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.

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.

[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]

Originally Posted by Skybo

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by 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?

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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

Katie

[ijusluvit]

Originally Posted by patfla06

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]

Originally Posted by e-flyer

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.

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]

Originally Posted by katerogers

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.