Home Remodel: Do, Don'ts, Advice

[nickwm21]

I’ll add - I’ve heard that ADUs don’t pencil out from a pure added-value perspective. If you’re going to rent it, sure, but they only pay back like 50-75% COW to property value… If any RE/Dev mags know from experience, that’d be interesting to hear....


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[Foggy_Goggles]

Yeah, it sounds like you are talking $3-400k for an 800sq. ft pop top in Coronado if I remember correctly. I'd say that seems low. Those are expensive sq. ft. to build and you have to go backwards before you go forwards. And you are talking about taking the roof of a perfectly good house.

No idea what the rules and regs are for ADUs where you live. But I bet those square feet are less expensive then what property sells for. So its a value proposition. Where is the utility to you? What is your best guess about the increase in property value from the ADU?

[liv2ski]

At $500 a square foot that is much cheaper than the home would sell for but I don't care about that. This would be for my daughter to live in. To buy a little 800 square foot condo in town would cost her a million, so if I can let her add on to our house for 400,000, sounds like a great deal for her if she can deal with living that close to us as we get old. I told her to think about it carefully, as I sure as hell would not have wanted to do that with my parents house, but we have a different relationship, so maybe it's not so bad in her mind and she'll eventually inherit the house anyways. Then she'll have a second unit she can rent out to help cover the cost of her retirement or sell it and buy something way cheaper elsewhere and put a few million in the bank.

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[::: :::]

Thinking about adding an adu over the house. Approximately 800 square feet, one bedroom, one bath, kitchen etc. Reached out to a couple of contractors and they thought they could do it for about $400/$500 a square foot. I think they're smoking crack. What do you guys think?

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imho, that would be cheap in SD


We did a 4k sf new house back in 2021 in Point Loma that had an attached 2nd flr adu. Owner said it rented immediately after final permit and he got $3k/mo for it w/ no parking spot. He was pretty pleased with that at the time.

[Name Redacted]

Exterior Water and Electrical Line coverage by "Homeserve". Is this shit legit or what? Being sent out by our provider Xcel, Homeserve is their "Selected provider". Seems like something homeowners insurance might cover? Anyway, it is only like $129 a year... Needed or scam?Not exactly Home remodel advice related but since when has that stopped me or many others?

[::: :::]

In the jurisdictions where I work, you own all the supply pipe and wiring up to the meter. The utilities then own the meter and out to whatever ROW pathways they have.
I’d think that your homeowner’s insurance would cover what you own, but maybe they have tiny print disclaiming subgrade pathways? I suspect any homeowner might expect that to be “part of the house.” I would: it’s attached, right?

But probably the answer is: check thine own policy for the exclusions.

[dan_pdx]

Hell yeah, I won the Mount Hood Meadows lottery to buy a chair from the Blue lift that's getting taken down this summer. I'll be back here to discuss the best way to hang it as a porch swing once I pick it up in a few weeks.

[::: :::]

Hell yeah, I won the Mount Hood Meadows lottery to buy a chair from the Blue lift that's getting taken down this summer. I'll be back here to discuss the best way to hang it as a porch swing once I pick it up in a few weeks.

nice!
how tall is the mast? that's probably the biggest thing for getting it into a residential porch

i removed the mast on my pucci 3 & put T-shaped skids on it so it's a fixed bench with the safety bar & structural frame still attached out in the yard

[El Chupacabra]

The remodeling contractor came over yesterday, looked around a lot, ended up cutting access through drywall to get to the back side of the tub/shower valve and plumbing (adjacent room, wall behind the tub/shower).

While the tub stopper /overflow plate does leak if you pour a lot of water on it, that didn't explain the leak, since that tub rarely gets used. So he kept looking. And with an inspection camera, found a leak in the hot side line in the remodel work - - so then cut access to the plumbing. (Cutting drywall easier to repair than ripping out the tiled wall in the bathroom).

The leak is at a pex fitting installed by the contractor, where it attaches to existing brass plumbing. Weirdly, our house has brass in a lot of the plumbing. The pex isn't leaking at the clamp (the clamp you use when installing), but in the fitting itself - - looks like a defective fitting.

He's coming back today to repair the plumbing, and we're letting everything dry out in wall. Then next week he'll come back and repair the drywall. I'm in northern Nevada, it's very dry here, and 80* temps every day now. Stuff will dry fast.

Pics are of the cut in the wall behind the tub/shower, and a close up of the fitting that leaked.

Update: remodeling contractor fixed everything, no charge. There's some caulk drying (paint edge) now, and then I'll do the painting over the repaired drywall sections. He offered to paint, but I told him not to worry about it, it's not a big deal for me to just do it.

I suggested he contact the manufacturer of the pex part that failed and try to get them to pay him for his time involved in the repair work, and I'd do anything needed to back him up.

[dan_pdx]

nice!
how tall is the mast? that's probably the biggest thing for getting it into a residential porch

i removed the mast on my pucci 3 & put T-shaped skids on it so it's a fixed bench with the safety bar & structural frame still attached out in the yard

Ooh, good point. They don't give the specs, but eyeballing suggests it might be about 8 ft from the seat to the top of the mast. The porch ceiling is about 9 ft, so that wouldn't work. How was the mast attached to your Pucci chair? Bolted or welded?

[::: :::]

Bolted

[singlesline]

Thinking about adding an adu over the house. Approximately 800 square feet, one bedroom, one bath, kitchen etc. Reached out to a couple of contractors and they thought they could do it for about $400/$500 a square foot. I think they're smoking crack. What do you guys think?

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I was just looking at some reconstruction cost estimates and 500sqft guest houses (so not full ADUs with full kitchens) in a HCOL area and they were looking like 365-400 a square foot. Add on the cost of a kitchen and a hefty premium for having to build onto an existing house and 4-500 seems reasonable.

And no, adding an ADU at that price definitely won't add anywhere near that much value. In the same area, a full ADU is worth ~150k and a guesthouse under 120k on a $1m+ home.

But if you have a use case for it, then it may still be worth it beyond just the sale price. No different from a lot of home renovations--you do it because you want it, not because it will return >100% of the cost. If it won't sit empty and will be occupied by your daughter, or will actually be rented out for money, it can be a reasonable thing.

[neufox47]

I keep finding wasps, one or two a day in our same big picture windows. I have a hard time believing they are flying in an open door. Are they coming through my house somehow? Near Sacramento in the foothills.


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[::: :::]

Eave? Attic? Pipe chase gap?

[liv2ski]

And no, adding an ADU at that price definitely won't add anywhere near that much value. In the same area, a full ADU is worth ~150k and a guesthouse under 120k on a $1m+ home.

That really doesn't matter, as I will not live to see the property sold. Cost per square foot in my hood is approaching $1,500, so if you can do the add-on for $500, I am really sure it's going to pencil out well down the road for a variety of reasons.
As I previously said condos that are 600 square feet are selling for a million dollars a few blocks away from me.
I do continue to offer my daughter reasons not to do this, as I want her to be really sure that this is how she wants to spend her money.

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[californiagrown]

I do continue to offer my daughter reasons not to do this, as I want her to be really sure that this is how she wants to spend her money. Sent from my moto g stylus 5G (2022) using Tapatalk

Does she expect to be able to pull money out in a refi when she moves out on her own? Or does she expect to be able to rent out that space that she paid for at some point? This seems like a bad idea, and a waste of money on her part unless she plans to live there for the next few decades... which would be weird.

You should be EXTREMELY clear that none of that is happening, and she can always live there, but that space is not hers until the whole house is hers.

[nickwm21]

This would be for my daughter to live in.

Words can’t describe how much I love my daughter. I understand what you’re doing.

But… living below your adult daughter… hope you are spec-ing some high STC construction. It’d be less than ideal to hear your daughter shit and fuck.


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[Thaleia]

I have a considerable amount of grout to clean.Last I did it it seemed making a paste with baking soda and H2O2 and scrubbing away with a brush was a standard method.Anything new since then that might make this easier? I've got nearly 700 sq ft to do.

[liv2ski]

Words can’t describe how much I love my daughter. I understand what you’re doing.

But… living below your adult daughter… hope you are spec-ing some high STC construction. It’d be less than ideal to hear your daughter shit and fuck.


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That's pretty funny nick, but yeah the addition will be at the opposite end of the property over the garage, the kitchen and secondary bath and the foyer and dining room. So no where close to our bedrooms.
And yes I have made it very clear that she can rent the property out but she cannot access the equity until I'm dead and gone.
The builder said the existing ducting for our HVac system must be older as it is really big and he recommended redoing it with 6-in ducting. What do you guys think about that for our heat and AC?

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[old goat]

I’ll add - I’ve heard that ADUs don’t pencil out from a pure added-value perspective. If you’re going to rent it, sure, but they only pay back like 50-75% COW to property value… If any RE/Dev mags know from experience, that’d be interesting to hear.... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I guess this doesn't apply to live2ski unless he spends a lot of time in the garage, but when we added a second story the first floor ceiling joists were 2x4s, with some kind of funky 1930's insulation (not asbestos, although there was plenty of that elsewhere). We set beams on the bearing walls and hung the new floor joists from the beams. Our bedroom was downstairs, the kids were upstairs, we never heard them.

[liv2ski]

Well the plot thickens as I have received tentative approval from the city on how I want to build the adu, but the builder I'm talking to wants 20K upfront as a deposit and 6K to pay the architect to do the plans up front. I've been told in California that is non-compliant as the builder can only charge $1,000 for a deposit and most architects don't charge anything up front for their work. So red flags all over the place. Do I run away screaming from this guy or do I tell him exactly how I'll do the deal with a fund control.

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[Vt-Freeheel]

Just ask him why he isn't playing by the rules set forth by California.


Ski house across the road from me is in its 14th month of rebuild. They added an adu over the garage, after tearing down the original one. I've seen the plans and it's about 840sqft. After chatting with a current and a former employee along with a few other contractors I figure they are at $2200sqft for the whole project, so $1,848,000 for friends and family to hang slopeside. Even though some people have a lot of money, they sometimes can be convinced to throw it away, lol.

[californiagrown]

Well the plot thickens as I have received tentative approval from the city on how I want to build the adu, but the builder I'm talking to wants 20K upfront as a deposit and 6K to pay the architect to do the plans up front. I've been told in California that is non-compliant as the builder can only charge $1,000 for a deposit and most architects don't charge anything up front for their work. So red flags all over the place. Do I run away screaming from this guy or do I tell him exactly how I'll do the deal with a fund control.

GC doesnt want you to stiff him on the Arch design fees, and then have the Arch come after him for the $$. No design pro requires upfront payment... not a single one (i sub design pros as part of my day job). Seems like a shitty, sketchy GC and id look for a new one even if this guy agrees to a different deal you now know he will try and screw you whenever/wherever possible. Not the kinda guy id want to go down the remodel road with.

Youve got some real balls on ya letting your daughter rent out a whole section of your house to a series of strangers in perpetuity, with no idea how rental laws will change. Have you really thought that part through? She WILL need to rent it out, and it will result in you having conflict with at least a few of those tennants over a few decades... and you will want her to handle it, but she (and you) will be handcuffed by landlord laws, not to mention the liability that comes with being a landlord, and when it all becomes too much of a PITA you will not be able to just sell the property off. Personally, id be OK with the kid living there, but not so much with them having control over renting out a part of my house to strangers (and it will become an issue if you veto tenants and she loses weeks/months of rent because of it, and when/if she gets married, her partner will now also be weighing in on this). Godspeed my friend. Personally, i think it would make a lot more sense to buy her a shitty $500k 1 or 2 bdrm condo somewhere in the vicinity instead. Way easier to handle that rental situation long term, than a rental situation in your own home... even if it doesnt pencil quite as well you run waaaaaay less risk of conflict with your daughter, and that is priceless.

[skaredshtles]

GC doesnt want you to stiff him on the Arch design fees, and then have the Arch come after him for the $$. No design pro requires upfront payment... not a single one (i sub design pros as part of my day job). Seems like a shitty, sketchy GC and id look for a new one even if this guy agrees to a different deal you now know he will try and screw you whenever/wherever possible. Not the kinda guy id want to go down the remodel road with.

Youve got some real balls on ya letting your daughter rent out a whole section of your house to a series of strangers in perpetuity, with no idea how rental laws will change. Have you really thought that part through? She WILL need to rent it out, and it will result in you having conflict with at least a few of those tennants over a few decades... and you will want her to handle it, but she (and you) will be handcuffed by landlord laws, not to mention the liability that comes with being a landlord, and when it all becomes too much of a PITA you will not be able to just sell the property off. Personally, id be OK with the kid living there, but not so much with them having control over renting out a part of my house to strangers (and it will become an issue if you veto tenants and she loses weeks/months of rent because of it, and when/if she gets married, her partner will now also be weighing in on this). Godspeed my friend. Personally, i think it would make a lot more sense to buy her a shitty $500k 1 or 2 bdrm condo somewhere in the vicinity instead. Way easier to handle that rental situation long term, than a rental situation in your own home... even if it doesnt pencil quite as well you run waaaaaay less risk of conflict with your daughter, and that is priceless.

Yeah? Well what about the entertainment factor for *US*??

STFU and go get a tub of goddam popcorn.

[californiagrown]

Yeah? Well what about the entertainment factor for *US*?? STFU and go get a tub of goddam popcorn.

Youre right. We need more posts in the Stuff That Annoys You, and the Bad Neighbors threads.