Advice on improvements to add value to home?

stevie_wonder

Okay okay - I said laminate flooring but probably didnt actually mean the tacky stuff. More likely to lift the carpets and then use the floorboards (get them sanded polished etc).

Thanks for all the advice -think I'll go for
-kerb appeal (improving front of house to viewers)
-garden improvements (cheap and I can enjoy it too)
-new bathroom
-possible kithcen improvements but not a whole restart

and hopefully keep a fair bit of the £30k to use for next house.

CHeers

PoorDave

I have never understood why people think sanded floorboards look good.

OK, maybe if you lay new ones really nicely so there are no gaps, letting them get used to the heat humidity of the room before you do it, and sort out any lighting below and sockets in the room etc (if upstairs) before you lay them (so no hacking into them needed in the future)...but other than that i don't see the appeal.

I certainly don't see why i would want pay more for the finished product, just because the owner had spent money doing it. A new carpet looks like what it is - a new even floor surface. Same for sanded boards - they look like what they are - a mess unless done really well.

Also, don't confuse "improving saleability" (SP?) with "adding value". Just because you spend money on something doesn't mean the house is worth more.

olly300

Laminate - NO!! NO!! It's horrible. Everyone I know whose brought a place with laminate rips it out. Plus wood flooring is hated by many especially upstairs, in bedrooms and on stairs.

steve700

Okay, the plumber came round last night and is calling with a quote to carry out the refit of the bathroom (like for like except in white rather than Peach...).

I also asked the question about the Power Shower and it would be about £400to supply and fit so all appropriate pipework/etc must be straightforward.

The house is on metered water.

The question is:

Would a power shower put prospective buyers off or encourage them?

What do you think?

Steve

Doozergirl

steve700 wrote:

Okay, the plumber came round last night and is calling with a quote to carry out the refit of the bathroom (like for like except in white rather than Peach...).

NOT MoneySaving! Ask the plumber to quote to fit only. You can buy the suite etc. yourself at a fraction of the cost if you shop around. I bet he comes back with a quote of about £5000 and doesn't even give you a choice. I bet you could do it for less than £2000 including tiles.

steve700 wrote:

Would a power shower put prospective buyers off or encourage them?

What PoorDave said about "improving saleabilty". The shower is unlikely to make any difference to the price at all but people do like it. Of course people would prefer a decent water pressure to the electric equivalent of standing outside in the rain. That's a no-brainer.

steve700

NOT MoneySaving! Ask the plumber to quote to fit only. You can buy the suite etc. yourself at a fraction of the cost if you shop around. I bet he comes back with a quote of about £5000 and doesn't even give you a choice. I bet you could do it for less than £2000 including tiles.

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I'm going for a basic suite - The plumber, recommended to me, reckons he can get the suite for less than £300. I don't have a vehicle to move a suite either. I'm also going to supply the tiles, adhesive and grouting. The quote will be for the suite and labour (plus £400 for supply and fit of power shower if I so decide......)




What PoorDave said about "improving saleabilty". The shower is unlikely to make any difference to the price at all but people do like it. Of course people would prefer a decent water pressure to the electric equivalent of standing outside in the rain. That's a no-brainer.

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The fact that I'm on metered water, I thought, may have put people off due to the added cost compared to a general electric shower........

roxy7699

for those refitting suites, consider reenamaling. I had a terrible pink bath and had it re enamaled for silly money compared to a new bath, it can be done and ready to use in 24 hours and is smashing.

steve700

Doozergirl wrote:

NOT MoneySaving! Ask the plumber to quote to fit only. You can buy the suite etc. yourself at a fraction of the cost if you shop around. I bet he comes back with a quote of about £5000 and doesn't even give you a choice. I bet you could do it for less than £2000 including tiles.
QUOTE]

£1,089 to supply and fit the bathroom suite and tile (although I supply thetiles, adhesive and grout).

Pretty Good, I reckon.....

Doozergirl

You sure like quoting me!

My understanding of 'supply and fit' is exactly that. He supplies and fits the lot which is where many people fall over and get ripped off. My comment wasn't a personal slight on your ability to get things done cheaper.

Surely there's no difference in the amount of water runing out of a shower. In order to have pressure, you need a certain amount of water running out per second? The toss up is between the extra energy a combi boiler uses to heat the exact amount of water you need versus the energy wasted each time the heated tanks for the power shower and the rest of the hot water sytem isn't used in it's entirity. You can't measure it!

Tassotti

Carter wrote:

Is that his best quality? I dont go for big wallets....

The long face isn't my only horse-like quality