Remodeling a 1924 cottage in Eagle Rock
When it comes to do-it-yourself remodeling and redecorating, which projects are money savers and which ones become money pits (or, later, doctor’s visits)? We asked Alan Hopkins to cast his votes. For more than a year, Hopkins has been transforming his 1920s bungalow in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of L.A., working nights and weekends with the help of friend David McCoy. They replaced the exterior siding, added insulation, installed new windows, hung new kitchen cabinets and refaced a garden wall, among other projects.
Now that the house has a fresh new face, inside and out, we asked Hopkins to score each project on a 1-to-10 scale of difficulty and estimate how much money he saved by doing the work himself. In some cases, Hopkins decided he would have been better off paying a pro to complete certain tasks. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
The siding: Because the supply of quality, stain-grade redwood is increasingly limited, Hopkins said he ultimately skipped big-box home stores and developed a relationship with a local lumber supplier, where the quality of stock was better. He went to the store first thing every Saturday morning and claimed wood that had even coloration and minimal knots.
Because he had never replaced siding before, he got advice from the local store, which was able to provide more personal service and was familiar with the type of house he had. Through trial and error, he learned to use the proper kind of nail (zinc oxide, to prevent corrosion) and to drill a starter hole before tapping in each nail (to avoid splitting the wood). He started on the detached garage, where mistakes were less punishing. With a learning curve that wasn’t too steep, he then moved on to the back of the house, the side and the front.
Difficulty? About a 7 or 8, he says.
A contractor working full time would have finished the project faster, but Hopkins says he’s pleased with the results and the estimated $10,000 in labor savings. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Windows and insulation: “I had lived in the house for a few years, and it was cold in winter and hot in summer,” Hopkins says. He checked the websites of Owens Corning and the Department of Water and Power for recommendations on the type of insulation and windows he needed, and he saved his receipts for government rebates on both based on their energy efficiency.
Hopkins actually hired someone to install the first two windows, and after watching how it was done, he tackled the rest himself. “It was easier because all of the siding was already out,” he says.
Estimating the cost savings is difficult, but rating the difficulty of the project is easy: “It’s a 3,” he says. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Refacing a garden wall: With interlocking stone and a rented power saw from Home Depot, Hopkins and McCoy gave their retaining wall a fresh look over the course of four weekends. Because the existing wall was pretty flat, affixing a new façade was easy – a 1 or 2 on a 10-point scale.
“The most difficult thing was mixing the adhesive in a bucket,” Hopkins says.
Amount saved by doing the work themselves: about $3,000. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
The backyard is terraced leading down to the house, where the newly refaced retaining wall backs a seating area on the patio. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
The point of IKEA kitchens is to do most of the work yourself, right? Well, sort of. Hopkins and McCoy gutted the old kitchen themselves, taking out wood cabinetry (“disintegrating,” Hopkins says), a pebbled cement countertop (“hard to clean”) and the linoleum floor.
Using IKEA’s space-planning software, the new kitchen took shape. Hopkins paid pros to handle the electrical and plumbing, but he and McCoy assembled the IKEA cabinets themselves and — this was the mistake — hung them too. “It really requires more than a couple of people if you’ve never done it before,” Hopkins says with more than a tinge of regret.
Because pros also installed the new Corian countertop and tile backsplash — “Those are things I didn’t feel like I had the skills for,” he says — the DIY savings probably amounted to $1,000 to $1,500, perhaps not worth the exertion and anxiety. Hiring a pro, he says, “would have saved a lot of time. It was physically hard, and trying to get everything precisely right -- that was tricky.”
One positive discovery: a Sears appliance outlet in Santa Ana, where Hopkins picked up equipment that had been returned by customers. Most pieces had cosmetic dings but functioned just fine, and extended warranties were available for purchase. Estimated savings on his purchases pictured here as well as a dishwasher, a washing machine and a dryer: $4,000. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
In the bathroom, Hopkins did the shopping and space planning but left the bulk of the work, such as marble installation, to the pros. “You’re working with very expensive materials, and if you screw up …” he says, his voice trailing off. “You have to know your limits.” A corner closet came out, replaced with a shower stall (out of frame). A new vanity with drawers and medicine chest help to reduce clutter. Most everything, including a new tub, came from Bath.com. Hopkins said he shopped high-end showrooms but ultimately saved $300 on the tub alone by ordering online. “Buy enough, and shipping is free,” he says. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Hopkins, right, and McCoy kick back on the patio. Hopkins said every project came with a learning curve. His rule of thumb: If he could master the job after a few repetitions, he carried on. If he couldn’t, he called in help. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Bougainvillea wraps around a pipe outside Hopkins’ house, the redwood siding now returning the home closer to its original 1920s appearance. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)