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Oh my god is owning a new home a ****** ton of work

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We have lived in our house 2.5 years, and we continue to fix it up. There are just so many projects that we want to do to it.
It is 30 years old, and we just finished remodeling the only bathroom that hasn't been touched in 30 years. The plumbing needed to be replaced, so we just went crazy and did the entire thing.
 
Congratulations!

Owning a home is a lot like a relationship. And it's not just your home, it's your neighborhood you are getting 'married' to!

I hope that despite all of the hard work and maitenence that must be done, you have many wonderful years in your new abode.

Oh, and pace yourself. Enjoy each moment and don't worry about things being 'perfect'.
 
We've been in this house for about 3.5 years and always have a project going. When we first moved in, on the fifth day we tore down an old house and some outbuildings. In the first month or so, we painted the outside of the house and replaced all the windows. We've replaced flooring, painted, tiled, built decks, fixed the foundation, fixed the well, and most recently, we had the water heater rust through and leak all over the place (laundryroom), naturally on a saturday night. These things always happen in the middle of the night.

Just wait, your roof'll leak at midnight someday, during a downpour. Or your toilet will leak all over the place at 2am. Or your water heater will quit working and you will have to go to work without a shower because you don't have time to fix it right away. :evil:
 
Originally posted by: Ornery
Better to just pick a good location from the start, and stick with it. At least all the improvements will be enjoyed by you, and not some future buyer. I always love when people decide to sell, put all kinds of effort into fixing up the house, making it better than it ever was while they owned it, and then pass it all on to some strangers to enjoy!
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Yes but in the spirit of the thread, all that fixing up work takes a lot of quick time and $$, but then the UPKEEP of the fixing up still kills you in the end.

I've been 50/50 with the "all at once" and "over time" projects - but there are some things (notably landscaping) that I wish I had just spent the money on all at once. I should have blown $4000-5000 and redone the whole front and back yards as soon as I moved in. Instead I've spent $4000 over 2 years, and just now is it getting the way I want it.

Edit: Oh yes: Landscaping and Paint. Both should be done all at once. Half my interior is painted, and although I swore it would be the first thing I redid, I still live in a pink house. LOL.
 
Originally posted by: Isla
Congratulations!

Owning a home is a lot like a relationship. And it's not just your home, it's your neighborhood you are getting 'married' to!

I hope that despite all of the hard work and maitenence that must be done, you have many wonderful years in your new abode.

Oh, and pace yourself. Enjoy each moment and don't worry about things being 'perfect'.
Click to expand...

That's the stuff I am scared of - I actually hate neighbours but I would hate living in the country side even more.
 
I've been 50/50 with the "all at once" and "over time" projects...

Bottom line is, if you stay in the house for a long period of time, you're the one who gets to enjoy the fruit of your effort, not some strangers. Not to mention, almost no remodeling job returns 100% of its investment. You might as well be the one to enjoy that new bathroom or kitchen for many years.

I don't consider 7 years to be "many", either. I believe that's about the average, right? Fvck that! Buy a house, fix it up (or maintain) and sell it every 7 years? I don't think so!
 
Originally posted by: Gobadgrs
Any other new homeowners with some good advice at how not to go crazy by trying to do everything at once?
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ATOT. Oh wait, you're already a lifer.

If it's a new house, why are you painting?
 
IMO, this thread needs a title change...thought the OP was moving into a brand new house...(although moving into a newly contructed house may have a different set of issues, it is definitely different than moving into a pre-owned home)...
 
Hah! Even if he moved into a "brand new house", which is not necessarily what he meant , he'd still have to paint, paper and hang drapery hardware all over the place. It wouldn't be long before the ultra cheap bath & kitchen fixtures needed replacement, as well as the cheap lighting fixtures and low grade carpeting. Sidewalks will settle and crappy windows will jamb. Once all that's put right, the water tank leaks, furnace pukes, and toilet starts to clog... lather, rinse, repeat...
 
Originally posted by: Ornery
Hah! Even if he moved into a "brand new house", which is not necessarily what he meant, he'd still have to paint, paper and hang drapery hardware all over the place. It wouldn't be long before the ultra cheap bath & kitchen fixtures needed replacement, as well as the cheap lighting fixtures and low grade carpeting. Sidewalks will settle and crappy windows will jamb. Once all that's put right, the water tank leaks, furnace pukes, and toilet starts to clog... lather, rinse, repeat...
Click to expand...

That's why we live in a WHITE house 😀 No wallpaper, no new paint--just blindingly white walls. Luckily, my wife is an interior decorating genius. I'll concede that putting up blinds and drapery was curiously aggravating.

 
Originally posted by: spacejamz
IMO, this thread needs a title change...thought the OP was moving into a brand new house...(although moving into a newly contructed house may have a different set of issues, it is definitely different than moving into a pre-owned home)...
Click to expand...

It is brand new. Just got done getting built in November.
 
I'm doing my kitchen now... starting the cabinets... frick I hate doing kitchens.. bathrooms suck too, everything else is CAKE compared to this $h!t!
 
Join the Club. I feel your pain.

I moved into a relatively new house (2002) in July after living in my old house for twenty years.

I haven't stopped yet, painting, window treatments, etc. and I still need to build a bathroom down the basement.

The wife decided after we moved in that all the stuff we owned was sh!t, so I think she spent $15K in the first month buying new stuff (living room furniture, bedroom furniture, kitchen appliances, stuff to hang on the walls).

Buddy, can you spare a dime?

pic of house
 
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