Home improvements?

madmax

What kind of improvements can you add to a house to make it something special. Some of the ones I can think of are:
*Towel warmers
*Hot water dispenser in the kitchen
*Creek with pond to drain into
*Concrete treatments to make the walkways and driveway something special
*Internet wiring system
*Massive fireplaces
*Automation devices for drapes and lighting
*???

McLoki

What is the point of your improvements? To make the house a little more yours, just to personalise things, etc?

Most of the improvments you mentioned, you will not get your money back out of when it comes time to sell your home. (if that is important to you)

Things I really like (that also do not really add any value compared to money spent putting them in)

• Home theater. (duh)
• Rear deck (multi-level) with built in Jacuzzi.
• outdoor accent lighting.

Michael

SKsolutions

Have you closed yet?
If you want any of those things, do them for yourself. I doubt you'd see much return on any of those, and in some cases, depending on execution, you may create negative equity with your 'improvements', by narrowing your future buyer pool. If you are looking to invest in your home, use the cost/benefit approach. I'd almost always put money into fixtures, appliances, tile, granite, feature lighting, custom windows, vaulting, hardwoods, crown, built-ins, pavers and landscaping. You can also over improve for your area if you exceed the current price threshold. Gizmos and gadgets aren't selling features, and are a distraction to most. A trapeze in the bedroom. . . . probably a push.

disneyjoe7

I need pictures to help me decide.

Face

Heater element in the driveway=No shoveling.

candyliquor35m

My brother in colorado built this creek down the hill the entire length of his house and then around halfway to the front of the house. It has 2 small fish ponds stocked with goldfish. It takes maintenance and upkeep like pulling out the algae, feeding the fish, etc.

Do whatever you're passionate about or it will fall into disrepair.

madmax

McLoki wrote: »

What is the point of your improvements? To make the house a little more yours, just to personalise things, etc?

Just to make a list of things people do, nothing more. A lot of times you see something someone else does that you never even considered. Besides, I'm getting bored with no system to listen to...

Nice stream Candy.

No, I haven't closed yet. A few more weeks until the present owner moves out. I did get to go through the house again with the owner. She gave me a good long tour of the place. BTW, thats a great thing to do if you hit it off. Lots of stuff to be learned about the neighbors, area, house etc.

madmax

polktiger

I enjoy stepping up the trim work. If you go in a lot of majestic old houses (200, 300 years old) you will notice the sheer volume of trim work in those houses. Unlike today where all the houses use stock 1 piece casings and baseboards, I enjoy adding more advanced multipiece casements, railing etc. It has to be tasteful and you should not clash your styling, but I think good trim work really finishes a house. It is not as common today becuase it takes time and attention to detail, and really it is lost on most people since they can't tell the difference between quality and crap. We have too many people that think painting a room constitues a home improvement. No, painting on the inside is called decorating, and painting on the outside is called maintenance.

m00npie

polktiger wrote: »

stepping up the trim work.

+1 for trim work. I just recently purchased a new home and the 2nd thing that was ripped out after the flooring was all trim work minus a few 6 panel doors. It's a lot of work, but in the end, it will be completely worth it.

Chair rail, crown molding and wainscoting are nice features to add.

shack

Stripper pole and a rotating mirror ball?

Then you can change your name to Pacman (since Adam is no longer going to be using it).

Jstas

Um, about the creek and pond, check the local laws. Many places have rules about them because they change the ecosystem and can introduce species that are not native and can turn into pests and destructive species. Also, if you do it without permits and inspections, the EPA will fine you and keep fining you until you take it out. So do it right if you are going to do it.

amulford

*#1 - Towel warmers
*#2 - Hot water dispenser in the kitchen
*#3 - Creek with pond to drain into
*#4 - Concrete treatments to make the walkways and driveway something special
*#5 - Internet wiring system
*#6 - Massive fireplaces
*#7 - Automation devices for drapes and lighting

#1 - Never had them and I doubt any kind of return. I have seen timed infrared heat lamps in the bath that were nice.

#2 - I had them and they are nice. Easy to install. Spend the extra and get the SS tank and larger capacity. That makes them more useful and they will last a little longer. They do go bad...

#3 - Nice idea, as long as you keep scale in mind. It will involve alot of work and ongoing maintenance, but I would stay away from the fish. Water gardens can be very appealing. Add some drops/water falls to get more sound, very relaxing. Ditto what Jstas said...

#4 - Short of tearing out existing and going stamped I don't see that going well. I've yet to see concrete staining that looked all that good to me. How about accenting with planting and low voltage accent lighting?

#5 - Wireless, wireless, wireless. The new wireless-N will be all you need to do...

#6 - Not unless you have an existing, and only to dress it up. What about an outdoor on a nice patio/outdoor kitchen? I have seen some VERY nice outdoor entertaing spaces.

#7 - Good Idea and energy efficient.

Jstas

amulford wrote: »

#5 - Wireless, wireless, wireless. The new wireless-N will be all you need to do...

Actually, wired networking always has value. 100BaseT won't get you much value anymore because of the advent of gigabit to your door with fiber optics. As that technology and service grows, it's going to leave 100BaseT networks in the dust. But if you go with an upgradeable solution for fiber optic gig networks, you will, without a doubt, add value to your home. Mainly because gigabit networking has such a large amount of bandwidth that you can disperse high speed Internet access around the home but you can also stream CD, SACD, DVD and HDTV quality media all over the home.


Wireless is still far, far behind where hard line networking is in performance. Wireless basically allows you the freedom to have a mobile computing network for laptops, cellphones and whatever else. It's good for people not looking to go whole hob and wire a house for networking but if you want to add value, wireless networking adds none. Mainly because you can take it with you. It's hard to rip cabling out of the walls.

MikeC78

Wired internet is nice, but do not plan on it adding extensive value to your house. I would believe the expenses would far out weigh the value when you sell. Expecially if it's not done before the dry-wall is laid, would be something to look into on a new build.

I use a wireless-N Linksys router and get full bars throughout the my house, I do all my downloading and whatever on the main computer, everything else is wireless.

unc2701

A key question is whether you can do it yourself and do a good job of it.

Example:
Molding/ trim work costs about $5 a LF installation, plus materials*1.15, plus some times you see a per cut charge. I've put in about $1000 of materials in molding in my house, but it would have cost $20,000 to get someone else to do it. It'll add maybe $5,000-$10,000 to the selling cost. So doing it yourself, it's profit, having someone else do it, you'll never see the money.

Same thing with my B&K distributed A/V system and networking cable. I'd guess an installer would want about $30,000 to do what I've done (six independent zones, with full 1080p bandwidth for the video, cat5e everywhere) but it's only cost me $3,000. I'll probably only break even on it.

As for the networking, I'm not sure why anyone is talking about 100baseT vs gigabit... You can run both over Cat5e and I honestly don't know the last time I saw just plain Cat 5. If you were going to put in wiring, I would say to go for Cat 6, just to cover your bases and the material cost is nothing compared to the pain in the **** of pulling it.

Wireless/wired. The fastest residential internet connections are all slower than wireless N, so don't pull Cat 6 thinking that it'll speed up your internet connection- only pull it if you plan on moving data within you house- audio, video, etc... and moving it on a network that hasn't been invented yet.

disneyjoe7

I agree some improvements are nice and worth while it's really what you like to see, and what you can do yourself. I can't see myself putting any heart into it if I couldn't see the benifit myself in the end.

Jstas

Gigabit is not limited to copper. If you are going to run cabling, get fiber optic. The materials aren't as cheap as copper and require a more delicate touch but glass has much larger levels of potential and expansion than copper.

The difference is in the type of switch you need. Most home users cannot get their hands on gig switches and routers because they cost alot and barely anyone, even professionals, have any clue what they are looking at anymore. However, those of us who do know, know which used equipment to snap up on eBay. I have a fiber optic network with a gig switch and a SCSI bridge going in to a fiber channel array at home. I did the whole thing for less than $2 grand. The walls aren't wired with glass but if I did do that, I could run the lines without breaking drywall any more than putting a wall receptacle in. If anyone thinks you can't do it without cutting trenches in drywall then you have no business running wires in a house.

Now, wireless N is nice and all but wireless N cannot perform as fast as a fiber optic connection. Wireless N gets it's performance from MIMO to provide multi-path performance. While it is nice and the 40 MHz frequency make it stable enough, it is still subject to current 802.11g and b issues concerning signal blockage and integrity. Then again, your data speeds are limited by the number of antennas your transmitter has and how they are broken up on the transmission and reception sides.

In reality, the only real benefit that you get out of the N standard is aggregation. Again, that goes back to how the Tx and Rx sides of the router are configured. But, add legacy or 802.11g devices to that network and your performance drops because not only are you now transmitting in a 40 MHz range but also a 20 MHz range and in that 20 MHz transmission is an embedded 802.11n transmission. That embedded transmission detracts from the already limited bandwidth available in the 20 MHz transmissions. But to add extra insult to injury, any a, b or g devices require the necessity of CTS protection on both 20 MHz sides of the 40 MHz signal. That also helps drag performance down.

So honestly, if you want to go wireless N, the only way to realize full benefit is to change every device you have over to wireless N, if that is entirely possible because some stuff is so old it can't be upgraded anymore. That's a big cost and you still aren't going to perform nearly as well as a wired network nor will you have the stability.

There are benefits that add value to the house from the network that are unrelated to Internet access. Security systems, surveillance systems, home automation systems, entertainment systems and even your Internet access can all benefit from a high speed home network. THAT is where you can garner added value with a home network. Adding extra drops and receptacles near things like windows and doors for possible security measures and such add value because even if you don't do it, the next owner that comes in might add, say, a security system and the added bonus of network infrastructure already put in and thoughtfully placed can reduce costs associated with an alarm system thereby making it attractive to a home buyer looking to have home security, surveillance and automation. It's also beneficial for a person looking to support telecommuting. The world has changed and home networks are not just for surfing pron and playing games. People actually do real work with them and they do bring value, even if it's old 10 or 100BaseT. The biggest problem lies in "future-proofing" and planning ahead. It pays to plan. The more stuff you plan to do with your home network, the more bandwidth you will need to maintain a certain level of performance across the board. As technology and software progresses, it requires higher levels of resources and infrastructure support. Installing a network that looks far enough ahead to support that kind of progress is not easy but in the end, even if it's a slightly losing financial venture just for your own use, the value is quite high.

Yes, this is a home but as more and more distributed technology becomes available to the consumer market, the more people need to start looking at how to run and manage a fairly small but complex network infrastructure. For the average guy looking surf the net, read email and play World of Warcraft online, a Wireless-N router will work fine. If you want to do more, it ain't gonna cut it. But bottom line, "Home network" listed in the house description will likely not detract from a home value. Might not necessarily add but it probably won't hurt it.

Jstas

disneyjoe7 wrote: »

I agree some improvements are nice and worth while it's really what you like to see, and what you can do yourself. I can't see myself putting any heart into it if I couldn't see the benifit myself in the end.

Ed Zachary.

I never saw any point in make changes and/or improvements to a house if I was going to find some benefit to it. Otherwise, why spend a ton of money and time putting is something for the next guy to use. Especially when the housing market can turn in to such a gamble that might actually lose money on the proposition. When you start talking about worth and value of a change to a property, you start losing the point of personalizing your property to begin with.

If I don't benefit from my hard work and money, I won't do it. If I want a pond, I'll put a pond in. If I want a deck, I get my hammer and nails and start building. If I want a home network, I start buying equipment and running wires. I don't care what kind of value it puts into the property, I care what value I get out of it.

disneyjoe7

Jstas wrote: »

Gigabit is not limited to copper. If you are going to run cabling, get fiber optic. The materials aren't as cheap as copper and require a more delicate touch but glass has much larger levels of potential and expansion than copper.

The difference is in the type of switch you need. Most home users cannot get their hands on gig switches and routers because they cost alot and barely anyone, even professionals, have any clue what they are looking at anymore. However, those of us who do know, know which used equipment to snap up on eBay. I have a fiber optic network with a gig switch and a SCSI bridge going in to a fiber channel array at home. I did the whole thing for less than $2 grand. The walls aren't wired with glass but if I did do that, I could run the lines without breaking drywall any more than putting a wall receptacle in. If anyone thinks you can't do it without cutting trenches in drywall then you have no business running wires in a house.

I say what you did is a bit over kill, and may never get that out of the house. For most people I feel Cat 5e cable or above is fine and well add value to a home nothing like new flooring or something. I my self added a network system with wall jacks around the house have 4 areas / ports, that all goes to a closet which I built a shelf for. This closet I call my "IP closet" I also have my DSL line go there alone with 3 phone lines so they could be converted to Voip if needed. But now find I may add 2 others ports as its alway changing. New refrigerators can use a network, I found out the an home security can use a network I'm not sure where it will end. If devices like my toaster wishes to talk to the net it better come with a wireless gizmo, thats all I'm going to say.

unc2701

Jstas wrote: »

If anyone thinks you can't do it without cutting trenches in drywall then you have no business running wires in a house.

I'm guessing you've never had to do it in a contemporary house on a slab- Total f-ing nightmare :eek:...

But we killed 2 birds w/ one stone- got around this giant LVL that kept us from dropping the lines where we wanted by putting in crown and running behind that. Had to be super careful to not hit it w/ the nails. Still, I'll agree that 99% of houses can be done w/ nothing more than a hole for a wallbox- just a matter of finding the right place to run the lines.

MikeC78

Have fun running fiber in your house, that stuff is very fragile and would be very difficult to run behind dry wall since you can not makes bends with it. Most people own a house, not an office complex. IMO, not worth the expense and hassle, and like DJ stated, overkill. 99.9% that the next homeowner isn't going to give two **** about fiber ran in the house, and you'd never get much value out of it, besides your own.

bobman1235

MikeC78 wrote: »

Have fun running fiber in your house, that stuff is very fragile and would be very difficult to run behind dry wall since you can not makes bends with it.

Sure you can. The fiber cables we use at my work is very flexible, and gets walked all over every day on the floor and has never broken. It's not the same as copper but I wouldn't go so far as to call it fragile.

MikeC78

I've guess the stuff I seen was different(older?), you could never make a 90 with it.

amulford

Whoa!!! Networking was JUST ONE of the options, folks. Now back to our regularly scheduled program....

My likes:

I like nice trim treatments, too. It gives statement.

I also like outdoor entertainment. Has the added benefit of easy cleanup after the party/dinner (hose it down...)

A mosaic entry/inlaid floor.

A turkish sauna.

A well done fence or some other outdoor structure. Something out of the ordinary, not your typical picket. I built a pergola over the entrance to the front sidewalk from the street. Looks nice.

Accent lighting.

A well done library, be it for books or music.

MikeC78

Yeah, I think a nice tidy garage is a nice touch. A nice garage work area, organization and an epoxy finish on the concrete looks very nice. Also, get rid of the brass hardware throughout the house...

amulford

^^^Definitely. I don't know 'bout neatness;), but it does help out to have a place to work out of...

Damn, I'm surprised I didn't think of a workshop:rolleyes:

Jstas

A nice tidy garage with at least 1 lift and a 50 gallon compressor with at least 2, preferably 4 240 V service outlets. A parts washer, press, tire machine and wheel balancer are all necessities too. A tubing bender and a chop saw would be cool too. Add a fridge, a stereo and a network drop, whether wireless or wired and enough room for at least 3 cars and now you're talkin' garage!

Then again, I'd use that, not many others would.


You know what? Just build me a garage and put a small apartment on the back with some living space and I'll be happy!

Jstas

disneyjoe7 wrote: »

I say what you did is a bit over kill, and may never get that out of the house. For most people I feel Cat 5e cable or above is fine and well add value to a home nothing like new flooring or something. I my self added a network system with wall jacks around the house have 4 areas / ports, that all goes to a closet which I built a shelf for. This closet I call my "IP closet" I also have my DSL line go there alone with 3 phone lines so they could be converted to Voip if needed. But now find I may add 2 others ports as its alway changing. New refrigerators can use a network, I found out the an home security can use a network I'm not sure where it will end. If devices like my toaster wishes to talk to the net it better come with a wireless gizmo, thats all I'm going to say.

Mine isn't overkill for what I'm doing with it. I'm working on a distributed media system to share media across a network to multiple computers. Added benefits include large, network attached storage space and shared resources. If I can make it easy and viable, I might be able to turn it in to something.

Jstas

MikeC78 wrote: »

Have fun running fiber in your house, that stuff is very fragile and would be very difficult to run behind dry wall since you can not makes bends with it. Most people own a house, not an office complex. IMO, not worth the expense and hassle, and like DJ stated, overkill. 99.9% that the next homeowner isn't going to give two **** about fiber ran in the house, and you'd never get much value out of it, besides your own.

I have run fiber, not in my house but in a friend's house. It was quite simple. We pulled the cable all the way up from the basement into the attic. We then ran lines to the various walls and did drops straight down the walls. Worked out peachy.

If he had a slab or a crawl space, I'd have mounted the network equipment in an upstairs area and still ran it into a closet.

Aside from the value other than my own, what other value should I be looking to recover? If I run it and use it, I got all the value I need out of it. If I sell the house and get value out of it, great. I doubt I would lose value though.

Jstas

unc2701 wrote: »

I'm guessing you've never had to do it in a contemporary house on a slab- Total f-ing nightmare :eek:...

Not every "contemporary" house is built on a slab and honestly new construction is way easier than trying to run wires in a house 150 years old with plaster walls.

mule

2 trampolines set at 22.5 degree angles 10 feet apart.


You could get one of these..



and then build one of these..



to ride it on !!

oh man I have tons of ideas!

If there is a skating rink near by you can get the scrapings from the zambone and have a year round snowboard park!