Home Upgrade Nightmares

Many home upgrades are nice to have and can add value to homes. After purchasing our fourth home, I learned which upgrades make for a nightmare. I will reveal which upgrades have proven to be a nightmare for me as well as which upgrades I would have chosen instead.

Home Upgrade Nightmare No. 1

My first home upgrade nightmare is my jetted tub. You heard me right, my jetted tub. If you enjoy cleaning, then a jetted tub is the upgrade for you. Buildup forms inside the jets even when the jets are not being used. I find myself having to use Q-tips to clean inside each and every of six jets. The jets are also a magnet for pink mold.

Home Upgrade Nightmare No. 2

Number two on my home upgrade nightmare list is the hardwood flooring in my kitchen. First of all I have to be careful not to allow water to stay on the hardwood floor as it can damage the hardwood. I have to avoid certain cleaning agents to avoid damaging the hardwood floor. Worst of all is the fact that hardwood has proven to be the most difficult floor I have attempted to clean in my life.

Home Upgrade Nightmare No. 3

My third home upgrade nightmare is the gas fireplace. Don't get me wrong, gas fireplaces are beautiful to look at. Why is a gas fireplace a nightmare? Natural gas can leak, and within one week of having our gas fire place, it started to leak. I had to leave the house with three kids in hand to call the gas company. Then I had to wait for them to arrive and fix the leak. Running a natural gas fireplace is so expensive our family rarely uses it. Who can afford to use a gas fireplace? Not me!

Now that I have shared my home upgrade nightmares, I will share the upgrades I am happy with and the upgrades I wish I had gotten instead of the three nightmares.

Home Upgrades I am happy I Purchased

Ceramic Tile

The ceramic tile in my bathroom is a home upgrade I love. Ceramic tile is beautiful and easy to clean unlike the hardwood floor I mentioned earlier. Ceramic tile is an upgrade from linoleum.

Stainless Steel Appliances

Stainless steel just looks silvery, shiny and pretty. What more can I say? It may even eventually help the resale value of the house too. Stainless steel is a home upgrade I can live with.

Glass Stove top

Glass stove tops look nice and are easier to clean than traditional stoves. I love cooking on my glass stove top and it is another home upgrade I am glad to have.

Home Upgrades I wish I Would Have Purchased

Carpet Padding

The seller tried to get us to upgrade with carpet padding. Carpet padding isn't shiny, pretty, or fun so we declined. Carpet padding would have been a wise home upgrade. Carpet padding improves comfort while helping carpet to last longer.

Carpet

When purchasing a new home the builder usually offers a low quality nylon or polyester carpet. Carpet upgrades may cost more initially yet can save money in the long run. High quality carpet will look better and last loger.

If I could go back in time I would have chose a dark brown carpet as opposed to the light tan carpeting I have. My husband talked me out of a beautiful chocolaty brown carpet thinking it would decrease the resale value of the home. With three kids this light colored carpet is definitely not going to help sell the house.

Happy shopping and good luck when looking to add home upgrades!