Page 5 - Lakewood Village Real Estate Edge May 2019

this month: home improvements l

W estate, kitchens and HOW TO ADD A BATHROOM IN AN to accommodate piping may BATHROOM LIVING SPACE
hen it comes to real
jeopardize important historic
property and catch buyers’ attention. ‘IMPOSSIBLE’ flooring or plaster walls. Systems
bathrooms typically sell
elements, such as original wood
houses. While you may not have
like Saniflo’s macerating toilet and
enough money for a kitchen remodel,
plumbing technology eliminate the
adding a bathroom can be a more
need to cut through a floor to install
affordable way to enhance your
new drainage, while minimizing the
for buyers to search properties of SPACE impact on walls as well. The system
By adding another bathroom,
also fits easily into small areas like
you immediately increase your
chances of your home getting
a closet or the dead space behind
a stairway, meaning homeowners
noticed. Technology makes it simple
of their historic homes to add a
interest by their designated criteria. don’t have to compromise the flow
One of those is “minimum number bathroom.
of bathrooms.” By adding to that
amount in your listing, you’ll be RAISED HOMES
getting in front of that many more Bayou and beach towns often
potential buyers. boast charming raised homes. Adding
a bathroom to the lowest floor of a
ADDING BATHROOMS TO raised home can be problematic;
DIFFICULT SPACES conventional plumbing pipes may
Bathrooms increase a home’s detract from the aesthetic value of
value and add to its functionality— the space beneath the home, which
both elements that buyers desire. is often used for car ports, porches
Homeowners researching and decks. Above-floor plumbing
opportunities to add a bathroom eliminates the need for unsightly
to their property presale consider pipes, so you can make a great first
enhancing garage slabs and other impression to potential buyers.
spaces so contractors can add
plumbing systems with conventional WAREHOUSE REHABS
in-floor drainage. In cities across the country,
If you have a space that would warehouses have found new life as
be ideal for a bathroom but appears condos and apartments. But heavy
to be impossible due to the need to brick construction can make adding
break through concrete or other types traditional plumbing difficult.
of flooring, there’s another solution Above-floor plumbing eliminates the
to consider: above-floor, macerating need to cut into or remove bricks,
plumbing systems. Developed a and allows renovators to install
half century ago in Europe, these are discreet, quiet and open the conventional plumbing. No matter attractive, cozy bathrooms in smaller
systems are still relatively unknown possibilities of affordable additions how careful a contractor is when spaces. Imagine how upgrading a
in the U.S.; however, they offer a vast in less time. cutting into concrete, problems can one-bath condo to a property with
opportunity for homeowners. Here are four “impossible” home arise—from unexpected obstructions two bathrooms will enhance resale.
Macerating systems from makers improvement scenarios where above- to poor-fitting patches and even
like Saniflo (Saniflo.com) reduce floor plumbing may be the solution: stress cracks. Above-floor plumbing If you’re preparing your home for
waste and paper from the toilet and systems eliminate the need to cut the real estate market, you want it to
send it under high pressure through MAIN FLOOR ON-SLAB into the slab, so integrity isn’t stand out. An extra bathroom can
piping directly into the septic or CONSTRUCTION compromised. help you do that and attract high bids
sewer system. No waste is stored, and Owners of slab-built homes may from buyers. n
the systems are low-cost compared hesitate to cut into the concrete HISTORIC HOMES
to traditional plumbing. Systems foundation to accommodate Opening walls or floors ©2019 Brandpoint.
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