All the signs were there, the drooping ceiling in the hall bathroom, the slightly musty smell in the master bedroom, some rust spots around the windows in the master bathroom, etc. And so I went into buying this house thinking that there may be a problem with the roof from the get-go. But since I purchased the house completely covered in snow, I didn’t know for sure. Once I took down the sofits in the kitchen and tore out the master bathroom ceiling tile, it was clear that there was a problem and I’d need to replace the roof. The snow finally melted as well, and I got a good look at the roof in the back.
It’s one of those hazards of buying a house in the winter, and <uh-hum> buying it without getting an inspector to crawl into the attic and check the roof. It’s interesting that the condition of the roof is so bad in the rear of the house, as it looks perfectly good in the front. I think it has primarily to do with the swamp cooler shown in the picture.
With a little rain and snow that came through the past couple days, I noticed that the problem became a little more apparent. (Below shows the roof where it’s wet and dripping, and the spot on the floor where it dripped to.)
While I wouldn’t consider this a suprise, it wasn’t something I had planned on rushing to get done. We hope to patch the problem temporarily and get the roof fixed within the next month. (I’m getting some roofing bids next week.)
I went down to Standard Plumbing on my lunch hour and picked out my plumbing fixtures for the upstairs bathrooms. I decided to go with a more modern looking set for the master bathroom (called “Icon”), and a more traditional set for the hall bathroom (called “Eva). When I finish the basement, I’ll match either one or the other depending on the one I prefer. I stayed with brushed nickel finish on both of them, since I think it will stand the test of time better than the chrome or polished brass that is so popular. Plus I think they’ll stay looking better after use (the chrome fixtures I have in my house always show water spots).
Master Bath:
Hall Bath:
I also ordered all of the bathroom hardware to go with the collection so everything matched. I was surprised to find out that they had replacement handles for standard toilets to match as well.
The plumber is on target to start in the next couple days, and be finished in a couple evenings. The drywall follows next week, and then the following week the travertine goes down in the bathrooms.
So there wasn’t a lot of framing to be done upstairs, but the contractor I hired (Chris) is doing an excellent job. He mentioned that the house was “built well” because most of the existing walls were plumb and level. That’s always good news.
There were 3 areas of construction upstairs:
1. Header & Bar Wall: The new open header between the kitchen/dining and living areas, and the small bar-wall that will be connected to the island.
2. The Bathroom Closet: this small closet is being closed off in the hall, and moved into the hall bathroom for towels, etc. (It will be a built-in cabinet behind the hallway bath door)
3. The Small Utility Closet: The closet at the end of the hall is being converted to a utility closet with a stackable washer and dryer. This is part of making the house a one-level living house (and attractive to older home buyers). We stole 15 inches from the corner bedroom closet to create it, but it makes this closet still larger than the one in the 3rd bedroom.
I also went through the house this week and marked all the electrical on the wall. Chris has also been very good at getting things ready for the electrician to start on Thursday.
For me it’s always interesting to hire a contractor, since I’ve done contract work myself as a graphic designer. It’s interesting to hear how they like to price their service, as well as how they plan to get paid.
The original contractor I had hoped to use (Gene), had his project extended for a couple more weeks, and so he recommended someone else (Chris). I met with Chris on Friday and was impressed with him. As we walked the upper floor and discussed what I wanted to do, he made some excellent suggestions on changes.
Today I met with the tile guy. I was very impressed with his skills and knowledge. I selected 2 travertine tiles from the selection he brought with him, and he’s going to do some pricing, as well as put together a bid on tiling both bathrooms upstairs. He also had some great ideas for making the spaces look very high end, since his experience has him working on mostly higher-end homes.
Chris starts framing on Monday, hopefully we can get the plumber in quickly and then the tile guy started next week. I also heard from the guy who did the texture on my first house (it was a “fixer”) and I’ll need to get him a slot in the schedule to come over and texture the house. I spend most of today with my friends Abraham and Jon over at the house. I patched some more of the holes in the drywall, sanded, and primed in preparation for the texture. I read online that the texture will adhere much better to a prime wall, especially when it’s been painted with a semi-gloss.
Hopefully I’ll get up a few pictures tomorrow so you can see the progress. It’s not as dramatic, but keeps you up with what’s going on.
I was sick today, so I was glad my friends Chris and Abraham coordinated the effort to get the new livingroom fireplace in. It turned out awesome! The boys from Courtyard Fence and Stone came and put the fireplace back together in a one-day effort. I wasn’t able to repurpose the hearth like I would have liked but the results of the new fireplace are amazing. Here’s a photo just after they were done (the wood mantle will come later).
It’s nice to finally see something that isn’t being torn down!
And just in case you don’t remember the old one…
The new fireplace surround fills the space much nicer, adds symmetry, and has a more contemporary appeal. Now if we could only get the new wall color on and the wood floor down, it would really complete the look.
Major work continues in the demolition of the upstairs. I’ve been so busy lately I haven’t been able to post the progress. (To see any picture larger, click on it and view it in Flickr)
Living Room wall (before and now)
This wall is going to be removed completely, and replaced with a small wall (corresponding with an island). I’m also going to leave a header to keep a visual separation between the spaces. (I’ve had it confirmed from several people that this wasn’t necessary because of the trusses used in the attic, but I’m keeping it for visual appeal)
Here’s a picture from another view, so you can see how it opens up an otherwise small dining and kitchen area.
Kitchen (before and now)
Hall Bathroom (before and now)
Master Bathroom (before and now)
This shower was a monster getting out. Some of the walls were 3 inches thick with tile, mortar and drywall. With the help of my friend Chris and Abraham, we were able to muscle it out of there. I missed an awesome opportunity on the back wall to get a video clip of it coming down in a huge pile. (Dang, should have thought of it earlier) At least Chris was good enough to call us all into the room to witness the event.
And what about the 70’s room? It’s coming down too.
Family Room (before and now)
And where is all this junk going? Right now, in the garage.
Once most of it gets out of the house, I’ll get a big bin to haul it off. I just didn’t want to alert everyone that the house was empty by keeping the bin in front of the house.
Want to see more? Check out the Demolition Slide Show
I’ve gone back and forth on what to do with the kitchen, but have finally nailed down a plan I like. I mocked this up in Illustrator and sent it to the cabinet guy for a bid. (The blue lines are upper cabinets, the red are base cabinets)
I’ve considered several options for getting kitchen cabinets, and then ran across Get The Best on KSL.com classifieds. After getting back his bid, I’m going to go and visit his shop and check out the cabinets. He’s limited on wood and door styles, but the prices are extremely reasonable.
By converting the tradition bar into a island, and the removal of the wall, I hope to get more cabinet space, improve flow through the space as well as give it a modern look-n-feel.
I took some “before” pictures today and uploaded them my flickr account. You can view a slideshow of them by clicking the link below. When I get some more time, I’ll copy a few of them in here with my famous - and somewhat wordy - commentary explaining my plans. (I’m hoping this link works for everyone)
The “Before” Pictures Slideshow
From the very first time I walked through this house it had a nice feeling to it. The south light poured in the front, and the roomy lot and brick exterior gave it a sense of security. I looked around at the carpet, the cabinets, the walls and bathrooms and found myself imagining myself on Flip That House. I would stand, face the camera and say, “I’m Brad McCall, and this is my flip.” Then the narrator would rattle out all the details of how much I bought it for and so forth.
The house, which was built in 1972, was still owned by the same family that built it. I dealt mostly with the Son-in-law (his wife grew up in the house), though ownership had been passed on to his daughter. It was a for-sale-by-owner, which made me nervous at first, but I did some homework with a couple real estate agents before I made an offer.
One of the perks of buying it from the original owners, is getting my hands on the original house plans:
I don’t plan on going into a lot of details about pricing and financials in this blog, but focus more on the experience of the renovation. I’m not doing a typical “flip” where it’s a quick short-term profit, I plan to rent it post-renovation for a few years before I sell it. Perhaps it will buy me time to see some market recovery.
After going through the experience of self-contracting a major landscape redesign at my current home, I feel I’ve set my expectations straight on what’s going to happen. It’s a BIG project. I know it won’t be easy and I’m anticipating having many unexpected hiccups and frustrations in the process. This is my teacher. I’m hoping to learn these things as I go, making it both an enjoyable learning experience and end up with a good long-term investment. (I tend to agree with Superman’s nemesis Lex Luther that land is a good investment. “They’re not making any more if it” he always says.)
House Description:
Location - Located on the edge of a very nice neighborhood with a lot of new expensive homes within a 1-mile radius. The downfall is it’s vicinity to a major road.
Lot Size - .27 Acre. A very large lot size for the community it’s located in. Because of the lot size it sets the home back from the busy road.
Design Style - Rambler (It seems to have a Prairie School style influence)
Square Footage - 2,430 total. Upstairs is finished completely (1,215) and downstairs has one room finished (the really funky one at 450)
Bedrooms/Baths - 3 Bedrooms upstairs, with room for 2-3 more downstairs. 1 full and one 3/4 bath upstairs. The 3/4 bath in connected to the Master Suite. Downstairs seems to have been plumbed for one full bath
Garage - A very large 2 car garage is attached with sturdy built-in shelves.
Fireplace - There are 2 - one up and one down.
The house had fell in disrepair over the past few years just due to its age of 36 years, but some updates had begun like crown molding in the living and hallway as well as new lighting in the kitchen. The bones are very good.
