Pro renovation priorities
A renovation pro’s social thread advised prioritizing hardwood floors, solid interior doors, plentiful electrical outlets, and grab-bar blocking during remodels. (x.com) The thread is practical rather than flashy and is circulating as a compact checklist for people planning cost-focused updates. (x.com)
A contractor’s renovation checklist gaining traction online skips marble and smart fridges and focuses on four basics: wood floors, solid doors, more outlets, and wall blocking for grab bars. (x.com) The advice lines up with what remodelers and builders already track. The National Association of Home Builders said 87% of remodelers doing aging-in-place work reported grab-bar jobs in the last year, and 73% said requests for those features have increased over the past five years. (nahb.org) The same trade group’s remodeling checklist tells homeowners to plan for wider interior doors, flush thresholds, better lighting, and at least one no-step entry. It lists interior doors with 32 inches of clear width, which usually means a 36-inch door, as a target for accessibility. (nahb.org) Blocking is the hidden framing behind drywall that gives future hardware something solid to screw into. Fine Homebuilding said builders use it for grab bars, cabinets, microwaves, and trim because it makes later installations stronger and easier. (finehomebuilding.com) That practical bent also fits the resale math for 2024. Zonda’s Cost vs. Value report, published by Journal of Light Construction, found exterior replacements and modest upgrades beat big luxury remodels, with a midrange bath remodel recouping 74% of cost versus 45% for an upscale bath remodel. (jlconline.com) The same report put a midrange kitchen remodel at 96% of cost recouped, while a major upscale kitchen remodel returned 38%. Zonda said the strongest returns came from simpler replacement projects rather than discretionary high-end finishes. (jlconline.com; windowanddoor.com) The social post’s call for more outlets reflects a common remodel complaint that older houses were wired for fewer devices. The National Association of Home Builders said aging-in-place renovations now span all age groups because homeowners are planning ahead for future limits, not only reacting after an injury. (nahb.org; nahb.org) That is why the checklist is circulating as a budgeting guide instead of a design manifesto. It points homeowners toward parts of a remodel that get used every day, stay hidden until needed, and are much harder to add after the walls are closed. (x.com; finehomebuilding.com)
