Lauren Salles Gumpert
This project wasn’t done once our vinyl-plank flooring was put down.
Because the vinyl was thinner and lower than our old floors, our toilet and drop-through outlet didn’t sit flush to the ground anymore.
We had to pay a plumber to install a new flange — a crucial piece that fits over the drainage pipe, prevents leaks, and anchors the toilet to the floor. We’re still living with an elevated outlet in the middle of the floor, which creates a tripping hazard for our kids.
Also, the vinyl flooring keeps our downstairs much cooler than our carpeted upstairs, where our bedrooms are.
This is fine in the summer, but it contributes to a big temperature discrepancy in the winter. I have to leave our house’s thermostat on the lower side so that the heat doesn’t overwhelm us upstairs, but this means our downstairs gets really cold.
Since then, we’ve been hesitant to do more home-improvement projects
This “cosmetic” update that’s now cost us well over $12,000 has scared us away from wanting to do other home renovations, like updating our bathrooms and landscaping our yard.
In fact, I don’t think most home-renovation projects are worth the hassle unless they’re functionally necessary. They’re rarely as easy as promised, and it’s always possible you’ll uncover costly issues or cause more problems in the process.
A lot of the time, I wish we’d left our floors alone. And if I’m being honest, my young kids would’ve preferred the soft carpet to the harder vinyl floors, which I now cover with rugs, anyway.