House Remodeling Idea

Instead of Demolishing Just Re-Surface

I'll share a great house remodeling idea ... keep reading!

Sometimes when you see an unattractive feature you instinctively feel that you should tear it out.

Now sometimes this is necessary - but here's a house remodeling idea, consider re-surfacing it.

Two things happen here.

It will probably cost you less. Yes! That's the best part.

And you'll save in the land-fill site. A GREEN idea. Everyone benefits.

Re-Surfacing Ideas

a) Old linoleum, just cover it with floating laminate flooring.

Of course, if the floors are extremely uneven, which is common in old houses, you may need to tear out the old floor and lay some new sub-flooring.

b) If the kitchen layout is good and the cabinets are good, could these cabinets be re-worked? You even be able to  re-configure the pieces differently.

c) Add some new handles.

d) If they are plastic laminate cabinets - how about having a company that specializes in custom painting and spraying hired.

Take those older doors and spray a new coat on all the doors and the cabinetry.

There are some great lacquer paints on the market today.

If the cabinets are not too old, consider going back to the original cabinetmakers and have new doors put on leaving the original shelving intact.

MDF Board - Your Secret Remodeling Material

MDF board is a remodeler's secret weapon. You can do more covering with this material than you can imagine.

MDF board is a compressed (medium density fiber) board that is strong, durable and great for creative remodeling projects.

(P.S. Cutting this board should be done outside - really messy!)

An out-of-date fireplace ...

Have you considered covering it?

Cover the fireplace with MDF, drywall, stone, ceramics, marble or paint. You might not need to remove the old brick but simply cover over it.

Or use these materials and add a old wood beam as a mantel.

Today there is beautiful imitation stones (look real) - cost comparable but certainly worth the expense.

Crooked Walls to Deal With?

Install built-in cabinetry over a crooked wall.

In my house, there is a very crooked wall (the original part of the old house meeting the new). It was very visible after the completion of our renovation.

So we decided instead of putting a piece of furniture against a crooked wall and emphasizing how really crooked the wall was, we installed built-in cabinets to camouflage the wall.

The cabinetry needed to be scribed to the wall which was extra effort.

But still, this was a lot easier than taking out the drywall and re-aligning all the walls not to mention the difficulty and expense.

The built-in's were much easier and cheaper.

Build a thin wall over a damaged wall.

Yeah, if you've got a wall that is so difficult to patch, repair or replace why not strap a thin wall against it.

Use strap lumber and attach the drywall.

It will save a lot of work and money too.

But remember, never cover something that is wet!