remodeling old house

[Anonymous]

I just bought an older house in DC and am thinking of remodeling the attic. Has anyone here done it before and has ideas of cost etc... ? Is it cheaper than an outright extension?
Would also welcome recs for hardwood floors refinishers.

[Anonymous]

I don't know what it would cost. However, the fact that you are not pouring a foundation and not doing any plumbing (i'm guessing) will significantly reduce your costs. We just did an addition in Arl and the biggest costs were the foundation and the kitchen/bath we did.

[Anonymous]

PP, for a brand new bathroom, how much did you pay ?

[Anonymous]

I'm not the pp, but I did three brand new baths between the two houses I've lived in. The prices ranged from $15k to $55k. The difference is due to size, amount of tile, type of tile, whether you buy things like a tub or shower or have one built, choices in lighting and fixtures etc. etc. You can buy a sink at Home Depot for $100 or you can special order one at Expo for $2500 or more. Your tile can cost $1 per square foot or $20 per square foot. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's hard to figure out costs until you figure out your tastes. Oh, and each time I've done a home improvement project, my costs were always 1 1/3 of what I projected them to be. It's hard to say no to little upgrades but all of those little upgrades can add up if you aren't careful.

Have fun!

[Anonymous]

For your hardwood floors: We just had Melvin Dail ([phone]) sand and refinish some awful floors. He did an incredible job, and he did it fast.
Friends have commented, "We didn't know you were putting in new floors!"

Melvin is a little hard to understand on the phone (all those years of inhaling polyurethane, maybe), but trust me, he knows what he is doing.

Happy remodeling,
G. Baer

[Anonymous]

Universal Floors just refinished the floors throughout our house - they did a great job and were very professional.