Peter Bales

The kitchen at my Inglewood Cottage project needed some creativity to get to the shape it's in today- fabulous!!
(Professional photos by Zach Goodyear.)

Here are some of the challenges that were overcome:
1. Open the wall up between the kitchen and dining area and make it an arch to make the other doorways in the home (this post).
2. Make a spot to install a dishwasher next to the sink (this post).
3. Add counterspace on the wall next to the range where there previously was none.
4. Build a cabinet next to the dishwasher and over the range to hold the new hood (this post).
5. Level the floor around the back door (this post). 6. Make it all look like it fits with the character of the house.

I'd say we accomplished our goals.

The old kitchen had some good parts, namely, the cabinets. They were build to last and there was no reason to replace them. Instead, everything else is new- floors, counters, backsplash- but the cabinets just got some fresh paint and new hardware. Actually the cabinets are probably better built than many of the budget cabinets available today.

The subway tile backsplash is one of my favorite parts of the renovation, as well as the cabinets I got to build for above the range and next to the dishwasher. Nothing fancy, but it was fun to build a new cabinet, but try to make it match the old so well that you wouldn't think it was new.

In addition to the cosmetic changes, the kitchen also got all new wiring and plumbing. It's ready for business!

By the way, when we got finished the homeowners listed the home for sale on a Friday and had it under contract before the open house on Sunday! Wow! I new it would get some attention, but that's an amazing story, especially in our current real estate market.

Check out all the articles related to this project at this link.

-Peter
www.CarpentryGuy.com

It's been a while since I wrote about the Inglewood Cottage project. I finished my part to let the homeowners get everything painted before they put it on the market. I wanted to wait until after they were finished to get some final pictures.

Somehow, this home from the 1940's has retained much of it's character by still having the original hardwood floors and even the unpainted trim and doors. (A rare thing in this part of Inglewood). To continue the character into the remodeled kitchen, the homeowners wanted me to install a white subway tile backsplash and a ceramic tile floor.

When I got to it, there was an old backsplash made up of 4" off-white tile with a laminate counter that had actually been installed right over the top of the original countertop! I took it all apart and installed the new high-grade laminate counter (see this post) over the new dishwasher and custom cabinet that I built to fill it out. (see this post)
The new flooring tiles are 12" glazed porcelain, but they have the look of marble. I think it's a nice look for this older home. Part of the floor had to be leveled before tiling (see this post) and that turned out great.

-Peter
www.CarpentryGuy.com

After installing the patio door (see this post) I got to add a couple porch lights to this East Nashville home. Adding wiring in an older home like this has a tendency to be a nightmare at times, because the wires are inaccessible and the walls are plaster. I didn't run into these problems on this project, but I did have a mystery to unravel at the end.

THE SETTING

The homeowner wanted me to add a couple wall mounted porch lights to add more light to his porch. He had showed me a light switch at the front door that he wanted me to use because it didn't seem to do anything.

After a little research I figured that there must have been a ceiling fan in the front room at one time, and the switch controlled the fan. This was a great find, because I could use the switch and junction the wires in the attic without running any new wires to the switch.

I ran new wires from the attic down to the location of the new wall-mounted porch lights. Thankfully, there weren't any studs in my way and this process went smoothly. Whenever mounting exterior lights on clapboard siding I like to first cut out a place to add some kind of mounting board, usually some sort of 1x8. Otherwise, the fixture won't sit flat against the wall and instead lean in or out at an angle.

THE MYSTERY

After running the wires and installing the fixtures it was time to turn on the breaker and give it a try.

Yea! The lights came on and the switch worked.

Wait... the lights went off... one came back on... now they're both on...

What!???

This continued for several minutes. The lights were coming on and off independently of the switch. Sometimes together, sometimes not. Usually, there's a logical explanation for these types of things. In this case, I retraced my steps in my mind. My first thought was to check the switch. It was the same old switch that had previously not been used. Perhaps it was faulty. I replaced it with a new one.

Same problems.

Hmmm... all the wires from the switch and the attic come together in a junction box in the attic. Perhaps one of the wires is not making a good connection. So, off to the attic I went to check the junction box. I took it apart and put it back together. Let's check it again.

Lights still flickering! Oh my!

At this point, I was starting to feel quite befuddled. I checked the connections at the fixtures. Thinking that a wire might be broken or had a nail in it, I went into the attic and wiggled wires while the homeowner watched below to see if that changed anything. No luck.

At this point, it was time to pull out the box and find the instructions.

I started looking over the first page and read the words "Motion-Activated..."

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Mystery solved.

It turns out that the lights were a gift to the homeowner and he didn't realize they were motion-activated. I installed them without looking much at the box or instructions. The sensors were very small and matched the finish of the fixture and the adjustment knobs were hidden at the bottom where I didn't see them.

I was so glad to find the answer to this one. You know the old saying, "If at first you don't succeed, try reading the instructions." I'll take that to heart. I guess it at least makes for a good story...

:)

-Peter
www.CarpentryGuy.com

Yesterday, I wrote about Remodeling Magazines current Cost vs. Value report. (www.CostVsValue.com). It's the results of their research into what projects hold the most value when it comes to selling your home.

Anyway, here's my opinion on the subject... I'd say that the most profitable projects are ones where you're adding finished square footage to your home. It might be finishing a garage to become a den or converting an attic into a master suite. Even adding a sunroom on the back. These can actually make you money when it's time to sell.

Hang with me and let's look at some real numbers...

For example, I recently converted an unfinished garage to become office space in a smaller home. It added around 200 square feet to the house. The homeowner should easily get at least $100+ a square foot when they sell, which means this additional space will bring an additional $20,000! With construction costs around $10,000, this renovation just made them $10,000 or more in profit!

In addition, the homeowner gets to enjoy the space while they live there. Truly a win-win scenario.

Here are a couple other things to think about when you're remodeling:

1. Be careful not to over-build for your neighborhood. For example, if all the homes on your street are small 2 bedroom homes with around 1000 square feet, you may not want to add that 1500 square foot addition. If all the other homes are carpet and vinyl flooring, you may not see much return by replacing it all with hardwood and tile.

2. Call a Realtor. Before I was a contractor, I was a Realtor helping buyers and sellers with their home sales. I had worked with dozens of clients and developed a real feel for what buyers in my area were looking for and what they wouldn't like. Find one that you like and talk to them about any major renovations that you're considering. They are bound to have some great input and might even save you some money (and headaches).

3. When finishing an attic or basement, keep in mind that there are often rules about minimum ceiling height allowed to officially count the space as finished square feet when you sell. This makes a huge difference, especially in an attic space that feels huge, but has shorter knee-walls around the sides. This lower space normally doesn't count toward the square footage of the home. Again, you might check with your Realtor on this one.

So, if you're ready to finish off that basement, give me a call and let me make you some money, eh? :)

-Peter
www.CarpentryGuy.com

There are many motivating reasons for improving your home. Most of the time it's because you'll enjoy the results, but often it's also because you want your home to be more attractive to future homebuyers.

As you consider different projects to tackle you might want to check out Remodeling Magazine's Cost vs. Value report. (www.CostVsValue.com)

It's an amazing amount of information that you can sort through by geographical region. Unfortunately, they don't feature a section on Nashville, but you can view information on Knoxville and Memphis and get an idea of what the numbers would be here in Middle Tennessee.

For a "midrange" home, adding an attic bedroom was the top choice, preserving 90% of it's value at resale. This means if you spend $10,000 to do the project, you'd make an addition $9,000 when you sell the home.

For a "high-end" home, adding or renovating a bathroom was at the top of the list, preserving around 60% of it's value.

See the interactive report here: http://www.costvsvalue.com/.

I'll give you some of my thoughts on the subject in my next post...

-Peter
www.CarpentryGuy.com