Approximately how much would it cost and how long would it take to renovate this Chevy Chase home?
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Anonymous
We are redoing our kitchen on Chevy CHase and the builder's estimates are spot on. Our applicants, refrigerator, range, second oven and dishwasher will cost just under $20k (without delivery). We did buy higher quality appliances (SubZero, Miele, Kitchen Aid) so you could do it closer to $10k. Custom made cabinets for kitchen have a budget allowance of 35k. Could we have done the kitchen for less? Of course. But a cheap kitchen in an expensive home reduces the value of the home. I think it would take upto 6 months to get that house up to snuff from the time they begin repairs. Add in time to get permits approved, interview contractors and get bids, possibly work with an architect, and you are talking on year. |
Anonymous
My parents' SubZero was purchase in the late 1980's. Had the first problem with the fridge last year; replaced the motor (I think) and it is good to go. Part of the desire for the SubZero is that the freezer and refrigerator are cooled separately. This is important to people who really enjoy cooking and want things to be kept at optimal temps. Another is aesthetics. If you want a builtin fridge, it is the best looking. It also does not cost much more than the few other built-in fridges on the market. If you just want something to keep food cold, I agree, a SubZero is not worth the money. |
Anonymous
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I'm with the builder -- $200-300k.
My in-laws just had a condo renovated. Spent $117k with a small, hands on group (not a big name place). Nothing fancy or over the top (not commercial grade appliances for instance). Floors, 2.5 small-ish condo bathrooms, eat-in kitchen with white-painted custom cabinets, but again, not high end, paint, light fixtures, moulding work, etc. Good systems were already behind the walls so not much in terms of hvac, plumbing, etc. And, no deck to take off and replace ($30k I'd guess on that). It took just under 3 months. |
Anonymous
| OP here. Thank you for the input - I am not handy at all and from what is described I think I will pass! I am curious - how can you tell by looking that it needs new wiring????? |
Anonymous
Yes...my father is a local contractor who renovates in upper NW and my gut was 200-300K without blinking an eye. |
Anonymous
Original Builder here: There are Hondas, Lexus, and Maseratis. I like to build the equivalent of Lexus'. For a 1M house in that shape, if its fairly priced, tells me its in a decent neighborhood. So, if you want a nice Lexus ES330 type job - yes nice custom cabinets start at 30k. Custom - made in a shop for your kitchen. Then installed and ideally finished in place. Four coats of lacquer. 3/4 cabinet grade birch - respectfully can you look at a piece of birch plywood and tell the difference between the 45.00 sheet from China and the 85.00 cabinet grade from Canada...well there is a real difference. Hard maple 5/4 drawer fronts - 5/8 dovetail drawer boxes - self closing slides...trust me you can feel the difference...sure you can just as easily buy 1/2 birch ply or particle board...you can buy anything you want - but it you want to do it right - then do it right the first time. Nothing says you cannot go to the Big Box stores and buy one of their kitchens. But that buyer is probably not the buyer for an older home that is going to be remodeled into something elegant. 750 each for a window replacement is low - sounds like you did well. Did you replace the sashs or the frames ? Clad with a nailing flange or wood with casing ? If I replace your windows I either do wood or custom order from a company like LePage a wood frame with a clad sash. Why ? So I save on painting the sash (the real time killer) and get the look of a wood window with the depth/shadow line of the casing. Solid wood frames - no finger joint. Can't do pine anymore for exterior trim so either use mahogany or PVC. Even if I an clean in cutting the siding I still have siding work to accomodate flashing. I wrap the opening with grace ice and weather, you can use some bevel siding on the bottom to get some pitch. Then put in a nice copper cap. Need to patch the siding and paint. Inside I wind up recasing the inside windows. I prefer poplar to finger jointed pine - and in truth I can custom mill it for what you buy finger jointed pine at the lumberyard. For the foursquare it would be flat stock but you could do a window head and then paint...do I do that for 750 a window...no. And I nice Anderson 400, Marvin, Pella, Koble, or LePage window is going to cost you 750.00 all day long....someone who is doing the install properly is going to want at least 400.00 a window for install...puts your cost at 1150.00 plus demo and demo fees, casings, etc.. And respectfully, buying a cabinet and screwing it to the wall is not the same as doing a custom kitchen...it reminds I use to go the local yard and they would try and sell me finger jointed pine for exteriot trim - it was marketed as Windsor One. I'd tell them that I am not putting that crap on my houses. Well, they said I was nuts. Well, Windsor One is bankrupt, caused by class action lawsuit because of premature failure due to rot (from the finger joint)...and I have nice little business replacing exterior trim..and I get alot of it because folks know I never used the fj crap...like any other business a smart consumer always gets value when they get what they pay for... |
Anonymous
Excellent explanation. I believe you said earlier you are not a builder in the area. That's too bad. It's hard to find someone who truly knows their craft. |
Anonymous
Any chance you are located in Massachusetts? I need to do some reno work there and you would be perfect. |
Anonymous
I'm ther person dong the renovations in Chevy Chase and you sound a lot like my builder. I agree with all of your points. |
Anonymous
| Maybe. I'd strip and refinish the original sash, myself, and build storm windows. There's almost certainly good clapboard under most of that aluminum, and I have no desire to waste 30k on cabinets. Besides, I don't need $400 per window for a job that takes an hour each, tops. You are a good salesman, but that's highway robbery. |
Anonymous
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"I have no desire to waste 30k on cabinets"
And what is your home worth? Just wondering. |
Anonymous
NP here. I agree that there is a high variety of estimates you can get when you call people to do some work in CC, and that sometime you can do something yourself and save a bunch. but I think your idea that what the builder says is crap and highwway robbery is not right and unrealistic. my DH did our master closet this winter, changing the AC pipe that was going down into the kitchen from the attic, remade the wall around it, sanded, painted and installed the closet. but he is very handy, likes this stuff and it still took him 6 weekends of work, while I took care of the kids on my own. and that was a very minor job. the reality is that most people are like us, parents with kids and working full time. and a lot of people (like me) have no clue about how to fix a house that needs substantial work, like the one for sale here (yes, I can paint a room, but I don't go much further than that). if you buy a house that cost almost 1M, unless you are a lucky trust fund baby you most likely have a full time job that requires a lot of work, time and attention, and certainly do not have the time, and probably the skills, to remodel a run down house. in some cases spending the time is also stupid. A friend worked over time last year and got a $20K bonus. do you think that it would have been more convenient for her to spend that over time trying to fix her house doing something she does not know how to do it or spend her time doing well the job she knows how to do and use her bonus to hire a contractor who knows what he is doing? this house cost almost 1M and clearly needs a lot of work. it is old so there will be surprises. whoever buys it, should have very clear that the house will need a lot of money to fix it,. you do not need a Subzero refrigerator (I laughed at the people who need it because they entertain - my mom has been cooking meals from scratch for 50 years, entertains friends and family every other week - she has a good range and oven, but the refrigerator is a normal one and even very small - she buys fresh food daily - she does not need to stuck it into a refrigerator for days), but you do need to spend to fix this house. even an Ikea kitchen cost $15,000-$20,000 and this does not include installation and unless you want a cabinet to fall on your child, most people will have to hire a professional to instal it. if you wwant to spend 1M on a house and then spend every single week end in the next two years fixing it, be my guest. I also think this house is overpriced based on the amount of work it needs |
Anonymous
Actually, I can see doing bargain cabinets in a house if I liked something trendy and didn't care how it held up because i was planning to redo the kitchen every 10-15 years. The cabinets in our house were about 40 years old and still quite sturdy when they came out as part of our remodel. And yes, we put in custom cabinetry and yes, whoever buys our house will probably hate them. ("Gak, beaded inset! SO DATED!") |
Anonymous
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You know what's funny to me, as someone who lives two blocks from this address but who as has lived here for 15 years and thus didn't need to spend $1.3m just for the entry ticket? It's funny that absolutely NO ONE posting has said "hey. You can buy it and live in it like it is."
Do you guys imagine that the existing windows are going to slash your throat? That the working appliances are going to attack your dog in his sleep? No? Did aluminum siding kill your mother? |
Anonymous
nobody said it because spending 1M and live in that house would be stupid IMO |