Rightsizing home improvement plans

As readers of this blog know, we only plan to stay in this house until Hubby retires in 4 1/2 years. However both of our bathrooms need total remodels and at least some improvement to make the house readily marketable. Several years ago we paid to have plans and estimates for redoing each of them and then were unwilling to pay the amount required. Part of the reason was that each realtor we have talked to has said our house will probably be bought by someone who will gut it and add on to it given the way the neighborhood is going.

So, I have resurrected the what to do about the bathrooms question this week. I started out wanting to replace everything in the downstairs bathroom, but do it on a budget. That doesn't look doable based on my research. We had a discussion tonight and came up with a plan that does seem doable in stages.

We are going to do the downstairs bathroom first.
1. Get the window replaced, the second door closed off and a new door for the linen closet with the work done by someone who has done similar projects for us before. I'm calling him today.
2. Get a company that refinishes tubs and counter tops out to see if they can successfully do that with the 1970's acrylic ones we have and what it would cost. If it is feasible then pick out the color and plan to do it after step 3. If it is not feasible then we will have to buy and have installed a new counter top, tub and surround. Cross your fingers for us!
3. Get a grout repair company to work on the tile floors in both bathrooms.
4. Paint a lovely new color, buy a window blind that can be installed to open at the top, and perhaps get new towels.

The master bath needs, in addition to the floor refreshing, the following.
1. A new sink and medicine cabinet. This will take some research as it is an awkward spot to find the right products for, but the man we are having do the window, etc. downstairs would be good for installing these.
2. The shower tile replaced and a bent pipe fixed. Not sure who we would hire to do the tile work, but we will start asking around for recommendations. And we will hope the shower has not leaked at all requiring repair under the shower pan.

So what are we not doing? We are not replacing either floor nor the upstairs bath windows. We are not changing out any light fixtures, getting new fans or moving electrical. We are using the existing relatively new toilets and the storage units already in the upstairs bath. We are not removing the whole house fan from the upstairs bathroom and raising the ceiling. We are not painting the upstairs bath. We are not widening the door of the downstairs bath and rearranging the floor plan which would require moving the window too. We are not rearranging the floor plan of the upstairs bath to put in double sinks. And hopefully we are not replacing the counter top, tub or surround in the downstairs bath.

So there you have it. Better "curb appeal" for much less than if we did the versions we really want. Still a major investment, but at least we can enjoy the results for the next 4 years and hopefully sell at a higher price when the time comes.