Renovate your bathroom with glass sinks
An old run-down Colonial stood at 92 Alden Street in Fairfield last April when investors Mark Carroll of Darien and R.J. Kelly of Wilton bought the property. The house, which was built in 1931, had three types of siding in three different textures and shades of yellow. Windows were broken, the foundation was cracked, and the driveway consisted of crumbled pavement, according to Carroll.
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Since then, the house has undergone a total transformation. It has new gray vinyl siding with white trim and black shutters. The foundation was repaired, the driveway repaved, and new windows were installed throughout the structure - including an octagon-shaped window looking out from the master bedroom.
Carroll said virtually everything is new, from heating, central air and plumbing to the electrical work. "We went right down to the studs," he said, adding that the house is basically new.
Rather than knocking the old house down and building a new one in its place, Carroll and Kelly invested thousands of dollars into the old Colonial, adding hundreds of thousands of dollars to its market value, according to Carroll. The Colonial, which is located in the Fairfield beach area, is currently on the market with an asking price of $775,000.
With the red hot real estate market raising prices of homes, many homeowners are opting to invest money into their own homes rather than borrowing money for a new house. And for those who do buy new homes, the market for renovations and additions is also healthy for home buyers wishing to put their stamp on their new digs, and for investors like Carroll and Kelly who renovate older homes for resale. Area contractors are gutting bathrooms, remodeling kitchens, ripping up old carpets, and knocking down walls to make way for new additions.
"What's happening is, years ago people used to get the jitters over putting money into their homes and wondered if it was justified," said Thomas Wrabel, owner of Pine Creek Associates construction firm in Fairfield.
Wrabel said he has had clients who considered moving, but loved their neighborhood and the school system in their hometown. After factoring in the costs associated with buying and moving, Wrabel said a number of families came to the conclusion that the same money could be spent on upgrading their existing home.
"They are not only going to be putting added value into their home that they can live in and enjoy," Wrabel said, "but they're raising the resale value."
Davar Parvin, owns Parvin Group LLC, a Westport-based firm that performs renovations, additions, and remodeling. He agreed that people often see upgrading their home as a more affordable alternative to moving. But Parvin does not believe there has been a dramatic increase in people opting to renovate or build an addition instead of buying new houses.
Wrabel has a different opinion. "I think it's gone up tremendously," he said of the market for additions. "A lot of people are adding family rooms, kitchens, and a great room."
SUBHEAD Let there be light
"People like to let a lot of light in the room," Wrabel said of renovation projects. "They're doing more with glass."
The Alden Street house is no exception. In addition to installing all new windows, Carroll said he and his business partner increased the number of windows by about 20 percent. Included in the upgrade was the replacement of a flat picture window in the front with a bay window.
Parvin said most of his clients add bedrooms or bathrooms to their homes, adding he also builds high-end decks. Many of Parvin's jobs include modernizing existing kitchens by installing built-in cabinets and remodeling bathrooms.
Ditto for Carroll. A new deck and a complete gutting of the kitchen and bathrooms were on his renovation menu.
Outside the Alden Street house, doors were replaced on the detached two-car garage, and a sliding glass door leads to a brand-new deck on one side of the house where a windowless wall used to be. Potted plants and bushes line the house in the front yard, which Carroll said had consisted of overgrown vegetation.
Many people are remodeling entire bathrooms, a complete gutting right down to the tile and dry wall to electrical work, with new floors, fixtures, tubs and sinks, and a separate shower, according to Wrabel. He said hot tubs are popular, but "the biggest thing people want is very large showers." Wrabel said more people are willing to forgo the standard tub in favor of large showers with multiple-jets, and steam showers.
When it comes to kitchens, Wrabel said the favored countertop material has evolved from Formica to Corian to granite. Carroll and Kelly chose granite for the kitchen of their investment home.
SUBHEAD Hardwood floors popular
Hardwood floors run throughout every first floor room of the Alden Street house, including the kitchen and bathroom. This is becoming more and more common, according to Charles Pierpaoli, the owner of Oak and Company flooring firm in Redding. He said hardwood floors have spilled out of family rooms, bedrooms and hallways and into kitchens and bathrooms - which was once never done.
"Most people think it will get wet and buckle," Pierpaoli said. "When there is a spill, you wipe it up. The water does not penetrate the finish and it's a matter of maintenance of the wood floor."
Pierpaoli recommends homeowners sweep their wood floors regularly, and clean them with a damp mop with one part white vinegar and nine parts water. Every three years, Pierpaoli said to buff the floor and put on another coat of polyurethane. If it's a high traffic area like the kitchen, he said to recoat it more often such as every two years.
Pierpaoli said many new home buyers rip up old carpet in favor of hardwood floors for health reasons, especially if their children have asthma, which is a growing ailment nationwide.
When he extended the hardwood flooring on the first floor, Carroll said he had to match the new floor to the older wood. Such jobs are a common practice, according to Pierpaoli.
Pierpaoli, who has been in the flooring business for 30 years, said one of Oak and Company's specialties includes matching new wood to antique floors, with everything from chestnut to pine.
"I can match it and make it look like it's 250 years old," Pierpaoli said of expanding existing antique flooring into other rooms.
SUBHEAD Making it happen
Wrabel and Pierpaoli said making improvements to one's home is not just for the wealthy, though Pierpaoli's client list has included celebrities like Diana Ross, Richard Gere and the late Christopher Reeve.
"I have a good cross section," Wrabel said. "I have clients who say their budget limits them to remodeling a bathroom, even though they want to do other things. Then on the other side of the spectrum, people want to do a major revamp with new roofing, siding, windows, a kitchen and a bathroom - and they want you to do it at the same time."
"For me, it has always been a steady business," Parvin said. "I have no shortage of customers."
glass sinks
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Since then, the house has undergone a total transformation. It has new gray vinyl siding with white trim and black shutters. The foundation was repaired, the driveway repaved, and new windows were installed throughout the structure - including an octagon-shaped window looking out from the master bedroom.
Carroll said virtually everything is new, from heating, central air and plumbing to the electrical work. "We went right down to the studs," he said, adding that the house is basically new.
Rather than knocking the old house down and building a new one in its place, Carroll and Kelly invested thousands of dollars into the old Colonial, adding hundreds of thousands of dollars to its market value, according to Carroll. The Colonial, which is located in the Fairfield beach area, is currently on the market with an asking price of $775,000.
With the red hot real estate market raising prices of homes, many homeowners are opting to invest money into their own homes rather than borrowing money for a new house. And for those who do buy new homes, the market for renovations and additions is also healthy for home buyers wishing to put their stamp on their new digs, and for investors like Carroll and Kelly who renovate older homes for resale. Area contractors are gutting bathrooms, remodeling kitchens, ripping up old carpets, and knocking down walls to make way for new additions.
"What's happening is, years ago people used to get the jitters over putting money into their homes and wondered if it was justified," said Thomas Wrabel, owner of Pine Creek Associates construction firm in Fairfield.
Wrabel said he has had clients who considered moving, but loved their neighborhood and the school system in their hometown. After factoring in the costs associated with buying and moving, Wrabel said a number of families came to the conclusion that the same money could be spent on upgrading their existing home.
"They are not only going to be putting added value into their home that they can live in and enjoy," Wrabel said, "but they're raising the resale value."
Davar Parvin, owns Parvin Group LLC, a Westport-based firm that performs renovations, additions, and remodeling. He agreed that people often see upgrading their home as a more affordable alternative to moving. But Parvin does not believe there has been a dramatic increase in people opting to renovate or build an addition instead of buying new houses.
Wrabel has a different opinion. "I think it's gone up tremendously," he said of the market for additions. "A lot of people are adding family rooms, kitchens, and a great room."
SUBHEAD Let there be light
"People like to let a lot of light in the room," Wrabel said of renovation projects. "They're doing more with glass."
The Alden Street house is no exception. In addition to installing all new windows, Carroll said he and his business partner increased the number of windows by about 20 percent. Included in the upgrade was the replacement of a flat picture window in the front with a bay window.
Parvin said most of his clients add bedrooms or bathrooms to their homes, adding he also builds high-end decks. Many of Parvin's jobs include modernizing existing kitchens by installing built-in cabinets and remodeling bathrooms.
Ditto for Carroll. A new deck and a complete gutting of the kitchen and bathrooms were on his renovation menu.
Outside the Alden Street house, doors were replaced on the detached two-car garage, and a sliding glass door leads to a brand-new deck on one side of the house where a windowless wall used to be. Potted plants and bushes line the house in the front yard, which Carroll said had consisted of overgrown vegetation.
Many people are remodeling entire bathrooms, a complete gutting right down to the tile and dry wall to electrical work, with new floors, fixtures, tubs and sinks, and a separate shower, according to Wrabel. He said hot tubs are popular, but "the biggest thing people want is very large showers." Wrabel said more people are willing to forgo the standard tub in favor of large showers with multiple-jets, and steam showers.
When it comes to kitchens, Wrabel said the favored countertop material has evolved from Formica to Corian to granite. Carroll and Kelly chose granite for the kitchen of their investment home.
SUBHEAD Hardwood floors popular
Hardwood floors run throughout every first floor room of the Alden Street house, including the kitchen and bathroom. This is becoming more and more common, according to Charles Pierpaoli, the owner of Oak and Company flooring firm in Redding. He said hardwood floors have spilled out of family rooms, bedrooms and hallways and into kitchens and bathrooms - which was once never done.
"Most people think it will get wet and buckle," Pierpaoli said. "When there is a spill, you wipe it up. The water does not penetrate the finish and it's a matter of maintenance of the wood floor."
Pierpaoli recommends homeowners sweep their wood floors regularly, and clean them with a damp mop with one part white vinegar and nine parts water. Every three years, Pierpaoli said to buff the floor and put on another coat of polyurethane. If it's a high traffic area like the kitchen, he said to recoat it more often such as every two years.
Pierpaoli said many new home buyers rip up old carpet in favor of hardwood floors for health reasons, especially if their children have asthma, which is a growing ailment nationwide.
When he extended the hardwood flooring on the first floor, Carroll said he had to match the new floor to the older wood. Such jobs are a common practice, according to Pierpaoli.
Pierpaoli, who has been in the flooring business for 30 years, said one of Oak and Company's specialties includes matching new wood to antique floors, with everything from chestnut to pine.
"I can match it and make it look like it's 250 years old," Pierpaoli said of expanding existing antique flooring into other rooms.
SUBHEAD Making it happen
Wrabel and Pierpaoli said making improvements to one's home is not just for the wealthy, though Pierpaoli's client list has included celebrities like Diana Ross, Richard Gere and the late Christopher Reeve.
"I have a good cross section," Wrabel said. "I have clients who say their budget limits them to remodeling a bathroom, even though they want to do other things. Then on the other side of the spectrum, people want to do a major revamp with new roofing, siding, windows, a kitchen and a bathroom - and they want you to do it at the same time."
"For me, it has always been a steady business," Parvin said. "I have no shortage of customers."
glass sinks
posted by miyako_kevin at 10:20 AM
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ps I'm having a little trouble sending comments so if I do it twice please excuse me and I apologize.
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