Remodeler’s remorse, or if I could redo that redo

Homeowners who have remodeled fairly glow with pride at their creations. New tile counters glisten, cabinets shine, appliances hum.

But after months and years of use, remodels reveal their weaknesses. White tiles and white grout are hard to keep clean. Money saved buying particleboard kitchen cabinets is a short-term investment. Soft pine cabinets aren’t sturdy enough to withstand the antics of a tot whose hero is Michael Jordan.

In retrospect, some homeowners learn, it might have been smart to follow, or at least consider, the advice of experienced contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, installers and even spouses.

With the goal of helping future remodelers benefit from others’ 20-20 hindsight, we asked homeowners whose remodels have been featured in Pardon Our Dust if they had any regrets. They had a lot to share.

Butcher-block blunder

Ian Denchasy’s $45,000 kitchen remodel started out two years ago with a simple desire for a bigger refrigerator to hold milk for a toddler. But a narrow cabinet opening wouldn’t allow a bigger appliance, so Denchasy set out to replace his kitchen cabinets.

Within a few days, his dreams expanded so much that he’d torn out the entire kitchen, including the ceiling. In his rush to design a dream kitchen in his Culver City home, some elements were not well thought out.

Most of all, Denchasy regrets installing butcher-block counters near the sink and the large hose sprayer. “It gets water everywhere,” he said. “What were we thinking?”

While Denchasy and his wife, Alicia, had originally chosen a granite counter for the island, he was so enamored of the look of the butcher block that he disregarded warnings of water damage by the butcher-block supplier. Even his wife tried to talk him into polished concrete or another hard surface.

“Did I listen?” Denchasy recalled. “No. What we should have done was go with granite all around.”

The soft pine cabinets were another questionable choice considering the energetic nature of young son Keleii. “He’s been bashing into the lower cabinets and scratching them,” Denchasy said. “Maybe maple or cherry would have been better.”

Almost perfect

Even though Bernie and Val Van De Yacht meticulously planned the 2002 kitchen remodel in their 1927 North Hollywood cottage, they still ended up with a few regrets. To save money, they retained two old louvered windows, but they later realized those should have been replaced with new windows to match the charm of the new kitchen.

Another money-saving strategy -- having Bernie do all the painting -- turned out to be too much work for him. Next time they’ll hire a painter.

The decision to install floor planks with grooves in between to create a rustic look has created a maintenance problem as dirt builds up in the cracks.

“If we were to do it again,” Bernie said, “we would have the planks butt up flush with each other or put sealer on the floor.”

Molding means cleaning

When Geraldine Knatz and John Mulvey contemplated a new kitchen for their vintage Long Beach home, they wanted Old World country charm.

And while thick moldings on every drawer and cabinet helped create that charm, those moldings also created ledges on which dust and grime settles.

“I’m one of those people who can’t stand dirt,” Knatz said. “In hindsight, I wouldn’t have done that.”

Knatz said she could have avoided some dust-catching ledges by opting for European-style cabinetry with doors that fit flush into the frames. This style costs more because of the extra workmanship required, but it would have relieved Knatz of the compulsion to pick up a toothbrush and clean dust from the kitchen’s myriad nooks and crannies.

Cutting corners

Charles Chang’s whole-house remodel, which he pulled off in 2001 for $45,000, drew response from several readers who insisted it was impossible for that much work to be done for so little money. It was cheap materials, such as particleboard cabinets, that kept prices down, but those materials have given Chang a few regrets.

“As I look back, I would have used higher-quality products,” Chang said, such as maple cabinets, granite counters, slate floors in the bathroom and a Jacuzzi-type tub. He also would have added recessed lighting.

Later, to give his plain house more character, Chang installed crown molding throughout and put Mexican pavers on the back patio and slate on the front and back porches.

Let there be more light

Lily and Arnie Richards still refer to their 2002 creation as the “finest kitchen on the face of the Earth.” But even the finest can be improved upon.

Lily wishes they had put in more recessed lights, and she could have used some vertical pull-out cabinets for spices, pantry items and baking pans.

Arnie regrets that he didn’t strip the roofing material completely off when he melded the roof of the dining room addition to that of the existing house. Now the seam between old and new leaks, and he’ll have to pull up the roofing to solve the problem. He also should have given more care to leveling the subfloor before putting down the laminate flooring, as there is now a slight hollow spot that squeaks.

Moving the kitchen

As a self-described picky person, Craig Opsahl has a few small regrets, and one big one, with the kitchen remodel of his Joseph Eichler-designed home in Orange.

The big regret? “I would have put the kitchen in the living room,” Opsahl said, rather than rebuilding it in the same place. This move would have required extra plumbing work, but it would have provided more space for a large kitchen and also a large adjacent family room that could fit a couch and a television set. As is the case in many homes, the living room and dining room are wasted space: “We’re just never in there.”

Opsahl also regrets that he insisted on having a strip of granite divide the two halves of his undermount sink. He wanted the strip for aesthetics, but keeping it wiped and free of water spots is a lot of trouble. He’s also tired of the maintenance required for the commercial-grade linoleum on the floor.

Just five years after it was installed, he’s considering pulling it all up, along with the stain-prone carpeting in the family room, in favor of slate, ceramic tile or wood.

He wishes he had paid $100 extra for a motorized skylight rather than have to haul out a long pole every time he wants to crank open the skylight. He now realizes he could use a double oven rather than a single, and he wishes he had gotten a Regal cooktop with an extra-hot burner with grooves to hold a wok.

Too much charm

Charles Banfield was so determined to create an inviting home for himself and his adopted child that he might have gone overboard. The white tile and grout on the kitchen counters and bathrooms floors were sparkling in the beginning but have proved to be nearly impossible to keep clean-looking.

The rolled roof eaves looked storybook-charming but were a cause for worry during heavy rains, when Banfield feared water was draining into his walls.

The koi pond overflowed in wet weather, and the topiary garden and extensive flower beds demanded more upkeep than a single dad could sustain.

“The maintenance of the house was a monster I created,” he said. “It gets to you after a while.”

After the house appeared in Pardon Our Dust, it was featured on an HGTV show, and Banfield grew tired of looky-loos coming up to the house and peering in the windows. He sold the house, and the new owners have surrounded it with a tall hedge and gate.

“The best day was after I had sold and I was in my 2,000-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bath great old Hollywood apartment and it poured outside,” Banfield recalled. “I was able to enjoy the rain for the first time in a long time.”

Kathy Price-Robinson can be reached at www.kathyprice.com.