LOOONG message. Sorry.

Following along some of the conversations in Jamaraz's thread about overimprovement.

I'm wrestling with some of those issues myself, but I plan to stay in this house, so I'm going to make the changes that I enjoy.

However, some of those changes have also been necessary. My house was built in 1983, and I purchased it in 2000. I seem to have purchased the house just in time for all of the major areas to need replacement. Here are some of the more expensive examples:

1. Shingles needed to be replaced to avoid any water damage.

2. Refrigerator quit working and could not be "fixed," so it was replaced. I stayed "cheap" on this item.

3. Oven quit working and could not be fixed simply, so it was replaced. I decided to go with stainless steel for a couple hundred dollars more than a basic white stove.

4. Furnace quit working and was beyond being safely repaired. Purchased new furnace.

5. Original wood garage door finally broke the coils on the door. I could replace the coils for $500 - and plan to have them break again due to a water-logged, rotting wood garage door, or I could purchase/install new insulated steel garage door for $1000.00.

5. Just replaced the driveway & walkway, which buckled and heaved with 4-inch differences in height. Also, the public sidewalk dipped where it joined my driveway, and a puddle formed and iced over each winter - lawsuit waiting to happen.

6. Planning to replace the siding in the next year or two - as the wood siding begins to give away. Also need to replace the deck since the support beams are rotting. Had a carpenter "shore up" those beams with extra support beams until I can afford to replace deck.

7. Replaced original tiled shower with updated tile shower because the old shower had leaked and destroyed the walls behind the showers. Thankfully, the floors were fine.

8. STILL living with my 1983 carpeting, and know that I can't afford to change this until I address more important structural/maintenance issues such as the siding and deck.

The basic bones and layout of the house as well as the location are all very good. I really DIDN'T land in a place that is as much of a money pit as it sounds, but let's do the math.

Currently - in this economy, I think the county tax assessment of my house's worth is correct. If I add the purchase price of my house from 11 years ago to the amount of money spent on repair/replacement - things that did need to be done - the sum now equals the county tax-assessed value of my house. I still have quite a few things to do: replace the egress windows in the basement, replace deck, replace fence, replace carpeting OR put in hardwood floors, reface kitchen cabinets or just the doors and fronts, etc.

I'm hoping to balance my selections against the time that I plan to live here - another 20 years?

But, how can you NOT make the repairs that are necessary?

Sometimes, there is a fine line between necessary repairs and what might be seen as an over-improvement.

When I do my siding, I'm going for steel siding - so that I don't have to deal with it again. Others might disagree and tell me to do vinyl so that I can save money. But, if the vinyl fades or looks "patchy" in a few years, will it have been worth it?

Sorry, kinda off the decorating topic...:-) But, structural needs, repairs, and decorating are all vying for the same money.

House in about 2003:

House last week (still a work in progress; will be better in a week or two):