The guys that bought this house to fix up and sell lost money because of the "Great Recession", and so they did quick cover ups to make the place look decent enough to sell before housing prices dropped even further. They had painters come in and spray paint the inside walls flat white, and they sprayed over everything, bugs, cobwebs, tape and decals on the walls and ceilings, even the original brass door knobs. In the bathrooms, kitchen and laundry room they put down a concrete textured flooring material (in the kitchen they also put it on the laminate counter top, making it uneven and unusable). The problem with the stuff they put down was that there was already three layers of vinyl flooring under it, and with the top layer of vinyl being soft, almost immediately after we moved in the concrete began cracking and breaking up. We knew it would have to go before long, and so we decided to use the last of our home improvement funds to replace the flooring. Knowing nothing about laying vinyl, we hired a contractor to do the work, but I did paint and install the new bathroom vanity, and installed the new cabinetry in the pantry. It feels good to be done with the major work on the house now, we have no plans to do any more for a couple years at least. Then once we've replenished the renovation fund, the windows and outside concrete will be replaced (with a new patio, fire ring, and hot tub added).
Through out all this one thing has proven true: It ends up costing more than you expect, you need more materials than you thought you would, and it takes longer than you wanted to. But in the end it's worth it when you see the finished product.
You can see where we tore up some of the flooring to see if there was more hardwood under the vinyl, sadly there wasn't.
The flooring material we used (called Flexitec) was recommended to us by a good friend who spent many years selling flooring materials. This flooring is imported from Belgium, and has a twenty year warranty. I was able to get it for less than the cost of the basic flooring that Lowes was selling, thanks in part to our friend.
This photo hints at one of our next projects, refurbishing the tile (and bathtub) in the bathroom. It was all painted over with a special tile paint to cover up old grout and mold that is starting to show now that the special paint is peeling...
6 have commented:
I absolutely LOVE the bathroom vanity!
And the new flooring is very nice too.
I have never seen anything quite like that concrete textured flooring before. Odd.
You should be so very proud of yourself, and all the hard work you've put into that house. Its lovely. :o)
PS- is that an air vent in the bathroom? At first, I thought it was some kind of pet door!
Thanks Ute, we really like that vanity. Terry picked the top out herself and it was just perfect.
That "vent" is actually a wall mounted electric heater. We had to replace the old one that died last year just as the weather turned cold, of course. And it was smaller than the old one, so I got to try my hand at tiling for the first time. Turned out quite well I think, except for not matching the painted tiles.
The vanity is so attractive - you've done such a great job - it must be a pleasure to come home and see your progress!
Ooooo...so lovely!
Nothing feels as wonderful as home improvements.
I really hate it when people give a lipstick job to a home instead of really doing the work. At least now you know it's done properly!
Very nice, honey!
=]
I love the flooring, its really attractive,
The floor looks beautiful.
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