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FritzIam4IU

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We bought a house last summer across from Lake Michigan that was in need of an entire overhaul. We are talking about both structural and cosmetic issues on pretty much the entire house. We have owned other homes in the past that needed some work and have done a fair amount of work ourselves, but this is an entirely different animal and we are attempting to tackle the vast majority of issues ourselves this time, at least that which we feel we can handle....with two young children, a dog, and full time jobs. I have to admit that it is wearing me down after several months of this. The good news is that we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel for the inside portion of the house (we still need to work on both front and back decks in the spring).

We have thus far had to have new structural support beams put in (professionally), tore out an entire room of old plaster walls that were beginning to crumble under the wallpaper and re insulate and drywall the entire room and ceiling, replace faulty electric work, fix a fireplace and put up new mantel/facing, two new windows and new opener in the garage, new kitchen counters/backsplash/sink and  repaint kitchen cabinets, new drywall in dining room, new lighting, new blinds, new toilets, new flooring in entire house (hardwoods and carpet), paint entire inside...and I am missing a ton I am sure.

Anyway, just wondering how many other members have done major renovations to their homes...especially if you have done large projects yourself and how it turned out.

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12 hours ago, FritzIam4IU said:

We bought a house last summer across from Lake Michigan that was in need of an entire overhaul. We are talking about both structural and cosmetic issues on pretty much the entire house. We have owned other homes in the past that needed some work and have done a fair amount of work ourselves, but this is an entirely different animal and we are attempting to tackle the vast majority of issues ourselves this time, at least that which we feel we can handle....with two young children, a dog, and full time jobs. I have to admit that it is wearing me down after several months of this. The good news is that we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel for the inside portion of the house (we still need to work on both front and back decks in the spring).

We have thus far had to have new structural support beams put in (professionally), tore out an entire room of old plaster walls that were beginning to crumble under the wallpaper and re insulate and drywall the entire room and ceiling, replace faulty electric work, fix a fireplace and put up new mantel/facing, two new windows and new opener in the garage, new kitchen counters/backsplash/sink and  repaint kitchen cabinets, new drywall in dining room, new lighting, new blinds, new toilets, new flooring in entire house (hardwoods and carpet), paint entire inside...and I am missing a ton I am sure.

Anyway, just wondering how many other members have done major renovations to their homes...especially if you have done large projects yourself and how it turned out.

I’m in awe of what you and your wife did! My husband and I have renovated our kitchen, family room and now one of our bathrooms but the extent of our labor is stripping off the wallpaper and touching up with paint and of course watching lots of HGTV and perusing the internet to get ideas, as well as countless trips to Loews and Menards. We left the rest up to hired labor as neither he or I are talented that way. This was our way of transitioning to the empty nester phase of our life!

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1 hour ago, hoosierfan615 said:

I’m in awe of what you and your wife did! My husband and I have renovated our kitchen, family room and now one of our bathrooms but the extent of our labor is stripping off the wallpaper and touching up with paint and of course watching lots of HGTV and perusing the internet to get ideas, as well as countless trips to Loews and Menards. We left the rest up to hired labor as neither he or I are talented that way. This was our way of transitioning to the empty nester phase of our life!

Nothing fun about stripping old wallpaper! That was one of the first things we ever did at our old house. That and flooring. We have had a few houses and the first house we owned all we would do is paint and landscaping. The second house is where we started tackling projects ourselves. I am still mad that I paid a contractor to put in our flooring in the basement at that first house...after he did it I thought I could have done that easy and save a ton ha. Good luck transitioning and enjoy...one of my older sisters and brother in law are about to be in that same situation.

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1 hour ago, rico said:

Been quite a few years ago, but the ex and I tackled such a project.  Took us the better part of three years to get the house up to snuff.  It turned out just fine.

Best of luck in your endeavor.

Thank you sir. We actually have found we do a better job with many of the projects than a hired contractor since we make sure to do things the right way and don't rush through a job.

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1 hour ago, FritzIam4IU said:

Thank you sir. We actually have found we do a better job with many of the projects than a hired contractor since we make sure to do things the right way and don't rush through a job.

Well, I did have an advantage.  I am a construction guy.  Jack of many trades, master of none!

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4 hours ago, Seeking6 said:

I applaud anyone who has the ability to handle these types of projects. We all have gifts/talents. If I can reboot my ATT server by unplugging from the wall for 10 seconds and it works....consider me handyman of the year in my mind! Best of luck!

Well, I wouldn't say I have a special talent with these projects ha...we basically learned as we go and talked to a lot of people and watched/read info online and figured it out. We have gotten better at it. The good news is that if we can do it, just about anyone can!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I bought a real cheap foreclosure 2 and a half years ago.  Completely gutted it.  All walls, floors, and ceiling joists taken out.  Pretty much brand new from top to bottom besides the floor joists, wall studs and sheating, and roof.  Somehow the entire roof including the trusses and sheating were replaced 20 years ago.  Rest of the house hadn't had anything done to it in decades.  Tore out the crawlspace and added a full basement with 9 foot ceilings.

Luckily my dad is a carpenter so he's been a big help, but we did all of the framing and electrical.  Hired out the basement pouring, plumbing, and drywall.  Doing the finishing touches myself.  It's been nice doing it myself since I've saved a ton on it.  I'm a 30 year old bachelor, so I'm able to go all out on the finishes.  Foam insulation throughout, shower with normal shower head (with built in wand), rain shower head, and jets on the wall, basement with a 72 inch jacuzzi tub, home theater with a 100+ inch projector and surround sound.

Renovating can be such a rewarding process.  Let's you have things how you want it, and can save a bunch of money.  I'm just on the painting stage of my house, so I can't wait to get it finished.

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13 hours ago, Leathernecks said:

I bought a real cheap foreclosure 2 and a half years ago.  Completely gutted it.  All walls, floors, and ceiling joists taken out.  Pretty much brand new from top to bottom besides the floor joists, wall studs and sheating, and roof.  Somehow the entire roof including the trusses and sheating were replaced 20 years ago.  Rest of the house hadn't had anything done to it in decades.  Tore out the crawlspace and added a full basement with 9 foot ceilings.

Luckily my dad is a carpenter so he's been a big help, but we did all of the framing and electrical.  Hired out the basement pouring, plumbing, and drywall.  Doing the finishing touches myself.  It's been nice doing it myself since I've saved a ton on it.  I'm a 30 year old bachelor, so I'm able to go all out on the finishes.  Foam insulation throughout, shower with normal shower head (with built in wand), rain shower head, and jets on the wall, basement with a 72 inch jacuzzi tub, home theater with a 100+ inch projector and surround sound.

Renovating can be such a rewarding process.  Let's you have things how you want it, and can save a bunch of money.  I'm just on the painting stage of my house, so I can't wait to get it finished.

That is really awesome. I must admit I am a little jealous of the basement setup and think that was great you were able to do that. We are saving lots doing most of the demo and finishing ourselves. We did hire electrical work as it had old knob and tube that had to be replaced and I just didn't want to mess with that. I wish we had the skills to do framing as well, as we had to hire out to have support beams replaced which was a large expense. I love that you used foam insulation instead of the cheap pink stuff. I insulated the interior room walls that were tore out as well with that dense insulation that helps with soundproofing (forget the exact name of it). Congrats on getting to the final stages...have you been living in the house during the final stages or are you waiting to be completely finished?

Full disclosure...we are probably going to sell this house when we finish because it is located on a really busy street and we have two toddlers, but we saw this as a good investment property. We sold our last house unexpectedly when a couple knocked on our door wanting to buy our house.

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Cool topic.

I and my immediate family haven't, at least yet, done a real renovation. Most I've done is replace a sink and sink piping, replace shower faucets, fix some cabinetry, and replace a toilet. 

My parents, way back when I was little, added a second story to their house in NH. That now strikes me as pretty cool. While you must be exhausted, that kind of project sounds extremely rewarding. Good job!

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20 hours ago, Hoosierhoopster said:

Cool topic.

I and my immediate family haven't, at least yet, done a real renovation. Most I've done is replace a sink and sink piping, replace shower faucets, fix some cabinetry, and replace a toilet. 

My parents, way back when I was little, added a second story to their house in NH. That now strikes me as pretty cool. While you must be exhausted, that kind of project sounds extremely rewarding. Good job!

Well, It sounds like you are better at plumbing than I am! Thanks for the kind words...we are exhausted but we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel...hopefully finishing up in the next 2 months. The disappointing thing is that we are on a really busy road and decided to just remodel this house more as an investment project than a permanent homestead. After the past year though, we are planning (hoping) that our next house will be our last move for many many years ha. As I type this we are finishing the drywall/plaster repair in last rooms upstairs before painting and beginning to repair the decks. Except for finishing touches here and there, we just have to finish the two bathrooms after that (and outside landscaping).

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2 hours ago, FritzIam4IU said:

Well, It sounds like you are better at plumbing than I am! Thanks for the kind words...we are exhausted but we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel...hopefully finishing up in the next 2 months. The disappointing thing is that we are on a really busy road and decided to just remodel this house more as an investment project than a permanent homestead. After the past year though, we are planning (hoping) that our next house will be our last move for many many years ha. As I type this we are finishing the drywall/plaster repair in last rooms upstairs before painting and beginning to repair the decks. Except for finishing touches here and there, we just have to finish the two bathrooms after that (and outside landscaping).

Any unexpected "snags" thus far?

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13 minutes ago, rico said:

Any unexpected "snags" thus far?

Ha. Unfortunately yes. The sellers told us that they did not believe there was any live knob and tube wiring...there was. In two upstairs bedrooms, the hall and master closet.

There were many plaster cracks found that were "covered up" with wallpaper.

Crazy outlets that I have never seen before.

They had stuffed up insulation and boarded up one of the fireplaces (the older, original wood burning one) that we found some not so great surprises in.

They did not insulate the water line properly to the sink in the bathroom and it was right next to exterior wall...the first cold snap the pipe froze and we had to unfreeze it, insulate wall, and wrap the pipe...luckily it didn't burst.

The most serious was probably that there were tons of gas line leaks in basement that we didn't notice. A contractor said they smelled gas and we called out the gas company to discover all the leaks at the connections. We had new furnace and AC put in so they came back out and fixed it quick for us thankfully. Lucky we are non smokers ha.

What did you "uncover" during your renovation?

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6 minutes ago, FritzIam4IU said:

Ha. Unfortunately yes. The sellers told us that they did not believe there was any live knob and tube wiring...there was. In two upstairs bedrooms, the hall and master closet.

There were many plaster cracks found that were "covered up" with wallpaper.

Crazy outlets that I have never seen before.

They had stuffed up insulation and boarded up one of the fireplaces (the older, original wood burning one) that we found some not so great surprises in.

They did not insulate the water line properly to the sink in the bathroom and it was right next to exterior wall...the first cold snap the pipe froze and we had to unfreeze it, insulate wall, and wrap the pipe...luckily it didn't burst.

The most serious was probably that there were tons of gas line leaks in basement that we didn't notice. A contractor said they smelled gas and we called out the gas company to discover all the leaks at the connections. We had new furnace and AC put in so they came back out and fixed it quick for us thankfully. Lucky we are non smokers ha.

Ouch!!!!!!!!

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3 hours ago, FritzIam4IU said:

Well, It sounds like you are better at plumbing than I am! Thanks for the kind words...we are exhausted but we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel...hopefully finishing up in the next 2 months. The disappointing thing is that we are on a really busy road and decided to just remodel this house more as an investment project than a permanent homestead. After the past year though, we are planning (hoping) that our next house will be our last move for many many years ha. As I type this we are finishing the drywall/plaster repair in last rooms upstairs before painting and beginning to repair the decks. Except for finishing touches here and there, we just have to finish the two bathrooms after that (and outside landscaping).

If you heard me swearing it up while struggling with those faucets and fittings you might just retract that thought.... I did all that on my first house, back when home ownership was new and those were piecemeal repairs when something failed. I would really struggle with it today! The remodeling work you're doing sounds cool though, exhaustion aside.

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6 minutes ago, FritzIam4IU said:

Yep. It has been an adventure. Did you have surprises when you did your renovation?

Oh yeah.....too many to list!!!!!!!  But the funniest one when we finally got the house done and still had plenty of money left over.  Me and the ex decided to put in a concrete driveway over the gravel one that existed.  Keep in mind I had a neighbor that lived pretty dang close to me.  So I formed the driveway up right over top of the gravel which came with-in 5 inches of his garage.  I poured it.  When he got home he was madder than a hornet.  He said I had encroached over onto his property and that he had just let the previous owners slide on where they had put the gravel.  He threatened to make me bust the concrete out.  I told him to calm down and that I would get a surveyor out the very next day and would rectify anything.  The surveyor comes out......and this is way to funny.......as it turns out, the neighbor's garage encroached on my property by a foot!  I asked him when he was gonna take care of that problem!  He turned white!

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3 minutes ago, rico said:

Oh yeah.....too many to list!!!!!!!  But the funniest one when we finally got the house done and still had plenty of money left over.  Me and the ex decided to put in a concrete driveway over the gravel one that existed.  Keep in mind I had a neighbor that lived pretty dang close to me.  So I formed the driveway up right over top of the gravel which came with-in 5 inches of his garage.  I poured it.  When he got home he was madder than a hornet.  He said I had encroached over onto his property and that he had just let the previous owners slide on where they had put the gravel.  He threatened to make me bust the concrete out.  I told him to calm down and that I would get a surveyor out the very next day and would rectify anything.  The surveyor comes out......and this is way to funny.......as it turns out, the neighbor's garage encroached on my property by a foot!  I asked him when he was gonna take care of that problem!  He turned white!

Ha! That is hilarious.

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8 minutes ago, Hoosierhoopster said:

If you heard me swearing it up while struggling with those faucets and fittings you might just retract that thought.... I did all that on my first house, back when home ownership was new and those were piecemeal repairs when something failed. I would really struggle with it today! The remodeling work you're doing sounds cool though, exhaustion aside.

I have sworn it up on many occasions! I am about ready to be done with the house...the wife agrees ha.

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I got a good one for you Fritz from my remodel job.  When I bought the house, it had a spiral staircase.  Only way to get upstairs.  I ripped that puppy out and put in a conventional one.  Finally got the new stairs put in.  One thing I didn't take into account was my height.....I walked up them.  Then came down, cracked my coconut on the supporting beam.  Blood everywhere.........5 stitches later I got the chainsaw out and made the opening taller.

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34 minutes ago, rico said:

I got a good one for you Fritz from my remodel job.  When I bought the house, it had a spiral staircase.  Only way to get upstairs.  I ripped that puppy out and put in a conventional one.  Finally got the new stairs put in.  One thing I didn't take into account was my height.....I walked up them.  Then came down, cracked my coconut on the supporting beam.  Blood everywhere.........5 stitches later I got the chainsaw out and made the opening taller.

You win! Luckily (and knock on wood) we have not had any major injuries during remodel (and that includes me using several different saws ha). We have stairs that are a little creaky...I tried adding more screws to make it less so before carpet went over them, but couldn't silence them. I am impressed you did the stairs yourself. I have never attempted that!

Currently, we are about to repair/redo/properly support our back deck which is huge, but was not done correctly. Problem is, the people put in a hot tub that is still there (old and probably doesn't work) that is built around  part of it. A guy (who is also a contractor) wanted it and was supposed to take it out so he could restore it (gave it to him for free to remove it) but he hasn't responded in last couple days. If he doesn't come and get it by tomorrow I think I am going to cut it down enough so we can put deck over it. Keep your fingers crossed he comes for it!!

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3 hours ago, FritzIam4IU said:

You win! Luckily (and knock on wood) we have not had any major injuries during remodel (and that includes me using several different saws ha). We have stairs that are a little creaky...I tried adding more screws to make it less so before carpet went over them, but couldn't silence them. I am impressed you did the stairs yourself. I have never attempted that!

Currently, we are about to repair/redo/properly support our back deck which is huge, but was not done correctly. Problem is, the people put in a hot tub that is still there (old and probably doesn't work) that is built around  part of it. A guy (who is also a contractor) wanted it and was supposed to take it out so he could restore it (gave it to him for free to remove it) but he hasn't responded in last couple days. If he doesn't come and get it by tomorrow I think I am going to cut it down enough so we can put deck over it. Keep your fingers crossed he comes for it!!

Can you use the tub for a planter or herb garden?

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