Operation Homeless Bastard nearing completion

[BigMESA]

8 months ago me and my wife packed up some clothes, a laptop, my gear (which has been 90% sold), and my PS3 and moved to my hometown. We bought my uncle's estate which to say politely was a complete shit hole. Extensive termite damage, water damage, wood rot and mold not to mention he smoked for 40 years in the house :x.

The plan: Hole up with my parents for approximately 3 months while I make necessary repairs to the home to make it liveable again. The ultimate goal is to live in this home for 5-7 years while saving up enough money to build on the land (3.5 acres) our dream home. The extent of the damages and repairs needed were not evident at the time of purchase of the estate.

The reality: I've been stuck in a 10x12 room for the past 8 months with my wife in a small ass bed with very few of my comforts or freedoms. I go to work at 7:30am and usually get home around 7pm (sometimes earlier, a lot of times later) and then I work on the house until about 9-10pm every night and all day every weekend. I had to gut the entire flooring system including all the joists, replace sills, scab beams, knockdown and rebuild walls, knockout and replace windows and doors, redo duct work, run all new electrical, rip down nicotine stained paneling and put up new sheetrock. Basically rebuild the house internally from the ground to the ceiling, at least the roof is in good condition. After 8 months of doing this day in and day out I am finally returning to my other home in two weeks to get all my furniture and prepare for my official "Freedom Day" and move in to this house. I still have a lot of minor things to do like trim and the like but the major overhaul is done. It will be nice to be able to sit on my couch and play guitar again, or sit at my computer desk and harrass you all while surfing for pr0n :rollin

Last night I was running the electrical for the stove and I decided to take a picture for you all to show the progress.....

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p130/BigMesa/19d995f3.jpg


This is a sample of what I was dealing with....
http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p130/BigMesa/Nightmare/102_2256.jpg
http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p130/BigMesa/Nightmare/102_2261.jpg

And here is some progress pics...
http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p130/BigMesa/Nightmare/ce8e1227.jpg
http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p130/BigMesa/Nightmare/1eb19645.jpg
http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p130/BigMesa/Nightmare/05d3e954.jpg
http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p130/BigMesa/Nightmare/479142ef.jpg
http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p130/BigMesa/Nightmare/9e007820.jpg
http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p130/BigMesa/1bf0276b.jpg
http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p130/BigMesa/7e140f38.jpg


I'm still knocking this bitch down in 5-7 years :rollin

[jet66]

Shit, it almost sounds like you should just make that your 'dream house,' that's a lot of work for 'temporary lodging.' :lol

It looks good, though. When we did our siding, I was so afraid I was going to find termite damage. Fortunately, it was all good and solid.

Did you install your own cabinets, and where did you get them, what was the approximate cost, etc? What is the counter top? That is going to be my next big project, starting somewhere around the beginning of 2012.

[Spoonylove]

Looks like solid work, dude! I'm repairing a house in similar condition for side work right now, and it's a pain in the cock.

[slovakzombiehero]

Looks like you did some seriously good work, dude! It all looks really nice.

[BigMESA]

Did you install your own cabinets, and where did you get them, what was the approximate cost, etc? What is the counter top? That is going to be my next big project, starting somewhere around the beginning of 2012.

I installed them and got them off of Craigslist. The countertop is laminate stock from lowes. Cabinets are easy if you have the right tools, a helping hand, and a little know how.

Looks like solid work, dude! I'm repairing a house in similar condition for side work right now, and it's a pain in the cock.

Good luck, this is the end of my remodeling days. I'm burnt the fuck out lol

[singlecoilpickup]

Looks like you did some nice work, dude. I'm impressed. I suck so hard at home maintenance tasks, haha.

[jet66]

I installed them and got them off of Craigslist. The countertop is laminate stock from lowes. Cabinets are easy if you have the right tools, a helping hand, and a little know how.

I'm going with the laminate tops, they look pretty good now. (My wife thinks of the crap we have now when I say 'laminate,' so it's taking some convincing.) My kitchen is pretty small, and for one length of granite or Corian, it was going to be over $1200. We are talking a straight piece, about 14' long, with one sink cut-out. I can do the laminate for about $120. I'm pretty handy, and I've got a friend who has done this kind of work before, so it won't be a problem doing the install. It's definitely going to be the price of the cabinets. I can do the unfinished Home Depot cabs for pretty reasonable, but then I have to finish them, as well. I can at least go for the exact color I want that way.

[nwright]

Shit, it almost sounds like you should just make that your 'dream house,' that's a lot of work for 'temporary lodging.' :lol



+1

Seems like an act of futility unless you paid practically nothing for the house, and/or the materials to fix it up.

[singlecoilpickup]

Yeah, I think I'd just build additions onto the existing house at this point. You could probably then take out some walls, make rooms bigger, etc. I don't think I'd knock the whole thing down and start over.

[BigMESA]

We paid a little over $60k for the house and the land. The house was so bad that the land was the only thing keeping the value so essentially it's as if we bought the land at fair market value while being able to stay on it with a modest invest to fix the house up. I did 95% of the work myself, my wife was my helper, and my brother helped me out for one weekend. A lot of stuff came from Craigslist, clearances and sales at Lowes and Home Depot. By the time it's all said and done with I will have around $8k invested in rebuilding the home and a lot of that can be torn out and resold when we get ready to demolish the house. So I think I will loose around $4,000 in the end which is not bad.

This house is 2 bedrooms (was 3) and one bath, 1200 sf. We plan on building a 4 BR, 2.5 bath, 2500sqft home when the time comes. We will pay off this loan first then save up approximately $100k then build and finance the rest which should be less than $150k since the land will be clear and paid for. Not bad.

[jet66]

About $8k for the whole remodel? :eek: That's pretty good.

[BigMESA]

That doesn't include appliances. But yea I get 10% off at Lowes and Home Depot which comes in handy. I bought my windows and the next week they were marked half off on clearance so I got over $500 back on the windows lol. I got the cabinets + white appliances and Corian countertops for $1400 as a package deal off Craigslist. I sold the countertops for $300 and sold all the appliances for $350 so I only paid $750 for the cabinets :)

If you're willing to be flexable, shop around, wait for sales and clearances then you can save a lot of money. The only labor I did not do myself was installing a Diaphram tank on my well, that cost me $80 from a plumber who is a friend of the family. If I were to have paid a contractor this would have easily cost me $30k+

[Ignoramus]

Most impressed, am I. I simply don't have the skills or tools to do what you're doing.


But your penis is quite strangely shaped, and why you make me look crotch?


Last night I was running the electrical for the stove and I decided to take a picture for you all to show the progress.....

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p130/BigMesa/19d995f3.jpg

[brandono61cr]

About $8k for the whole remodel? :eek: That's pretty good.
this

nice work :eek:

[jet66]

If you're willing to be flexable, shop around, wait for sales and clearances then you can save a lot of money. The only labor I did not do myself was installing a Diaphram tank on my well, that cost me $80 from a plumber who is a friend of the family. If I were to have paid a contractor this would have easily cost me $30k+
Oh yeah, we shop around. The wife (and me too, I assume, as a dependent) can get military discounts at a lot of places. I haven't tried it at Home Depot yet, I need to. When we bought our windows, they were on sale for Veteran's day. Plus the fact that my wife is a veteran (it was before she got backin as a reservist,) she got another 10% off, and then when we mentioned maybe shopping around to other stores before committing, and they gave us ANOTHER discount. It was still 'not cheap,' being Low-E and double-hung.

She had to have double-hung, I would have rather spent even less. I do have to admit that they are great for being able to open from the top and not have a) rain splash in from the ground, nor b) the dogs jumping through the screen when an armadillo cuts through the yard.

[deftoneskidd]

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p130/BigMesa/Nightmare/ce8e1227.jpg

that's my fridge!

looking good, but yeah, too much work for a house you plan on demo'ing. i barely have enough energy to paint a few rooms and re-stain my cabinets.

F all that!

[Bloodfist]

That one weekend sucked balls

[exhibit-sbt]

Damn dude, theres fix-er-upers and then theres that. Looks like a shit ton of hard work thats paid off, good work!

[jet66]

A question about one of the pics: When they say 'he's a wiry fella!' is this what it means?



































http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p130/BigMesa/19d995f3.jpg

[deftoneskidd]

for $8000 plus appliances and all the labor, you could've bought a used mobile home i think. i woulda trailer trashed it for a few years until i could build my house.

[mbesp]

Looks pretty nice now though. How do you even go about replacing those pices that are under everything?

[BigMESA]

I'm assuming you are talking about the sill piece that is under the outside walls that the joists connect to. You can't remove it all at once, you have to cut out sections at a time. I would remove about a 10' section so that the wall would still be supported and then replace that section. You have to beat the new piece in with a seldge and then once you replace a wall's length you go back and put another board on top of it and nail them together making sure you stagger the edges. This gives it more strength and support than the original way it was built.

Oh yea you have to make sure the ends of the boards rest on the brick pillars holding up the framing. You can't have an edge unsupported or it's going to sag with time and cause more problems.

[Dr. West]

Nice work dude. I wouldn't know where to start. :lol

[Moxley]

Small renovated house > trailer.

Good work, man.

[101]

Wow dude, I didn't know you were going through such hell. Shit looks great tho man, you've been busting your ass.

Glad I could take the decimator off your hands, did the 4 resistor mod and it works kick ass now.

[ham sandwich]

Nice work dude. I wouldn't know where to start. :lol

http://www.definitivejux.net/files/u3/fire2.jpg
:p :p

looking good mesa!

[BigMESA]

Wow dude, I didn't know you were going through such hell. Shit looks great tho man, you've been busting your ass.

Glad I could take the decimator off your hands, did the 4 resistor mod and it works kick ass now.

Worked kick ass for me before the mod :rollin

Glad you like it.

[Roidster]

dry rot,comes from poor circulation air flow under the house,after years of being wet
make sure you have sufficient air flow under the house

[Favole]

Nice job
Envoys the next years before starting again^^ (in bigger)

[BigMESA]

dry rot,comes from poor circulation air flow under the house,after years of being wet
make sure you have sufficient air flow under the house

Yep, got that covered. Re-did the vent system for the crawl with automatic open/close dampers according to the heat and humidity. Also put down a nice moisture barrier. It'll stay nice and dry long enough to become firewood :)

[BigMESA]

Nice job
Envoys the next years before starting again^^ (in bigger)

Im hiring a builder on the next house. :p

[mbesp]

I'm assuming you are talking about the sill piece that is under the outside walls that the joists connect to. You can't remove it all at once, you have to cut out sections at a time. I would remove about a 10' section so that the wall would still be supported and then replace that section. You have to beat the new piece in with a seldge and then once you replace a wall's length you go back and put another board on top of it and nail them together making sure you stagger the edges. This gives it more strength and support than the original way it was built.

Oh yea you have to make sure the ends of the boards rest on the brick pillars holding up the framing. You can't have an edge unsupported or it's going to sag with time and cause more problems.

Wow, haha that sounds like a crap load of work. I'm pretty sure i would not do very well trying that on my own.

[Roidster]

you say the roof is good

how about the attic,are the trusses and soffits in good condition

[BigMESA]

you say the roof is good

how about the attic,are the trusses and soffits in good condition
Yep amazingly enough the trusses and sofits are just fine. The roof was replaced 10 years ago so it's good as well. The only thing I need to do is blow insulation in the attic

[Roidster]

thats good
after seeing the crawl space, i could just imagine what the attic looked like

where im from here,there is a big problem with people growing pot in houses,and venting it right into the attics,and it just destroys the attics,when buying a house in BC,the first thing you want to do ,is inspect the attics,you see green on the wood,you just walk away,and look for another house

[fumanchu]

One weekend? Your brother is a peice of shit.

[Sutekh]

http://www.definitivejux.net/files/u3/fire2.jpg


It's a young Varg Vikernes!!!!

[BigMESA]

One weekend? Your brother is a peice of shit.

:rollin

He lives 3 hours away and his income is playing gigs on the weekends. Context nigga, context.

[KFW]

Congrats BigMesa, you are a fuckin MAN.

If I had to repair a house to that degree I wouldn't know wtf to do.

[Sjuge]

That must be a load off. I know it sucks balls working on a house while you live in it.


I'm going with the laminate tops, they look pretty good now. (My wife thinks of the crap we have now when I say 'laminate,' so it's taking some convincing.) My kitchen is pretty small, and for one length of granite or Corian, it was going to be over $1200. We are talking a straight piece, about 14' long, with one sink cut-out. I can do the laminate for about $120. I'm pretty handy, and I've got a friend who has done this kind of work before, so it won't be a problem doing the install. It's definitely going to be the price of the cabinets. I can do the unfinished Home Depot cabs for pretty reasonable, but then I have to finish them, as well. I can at least go for the exact color I want that way.
There's definitely good looking laminates out there. The install should be really simple if you're only doing a straight piece. The only part that needs care there is when you drop in the sink.

I've seen some wood and laminate countertops glued onto the cabinets, but that never made much sense to me. Screws will hold it just fine and make it a lot easier to replace. 0]

[fumanchu]

:rollin

He lives 3 hours away and his income is playing gigs on the weekends. Context nigga, context.

You have to put anything I say into FuManchu context.

[esp_gaijin]

http://www.definitivejux.net/files/u3/fire2.jpg
:lol:lol:lol woulda got my voat!!



*i leave my coffee pot on every night when i go to work, hoping... just hoping...* 8o

[esp_gaijin]

also this, distbeer says i keep poasting pics of peeple who look liek me, i don't know where he gets that idea.
http://air-duct.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/supply-air-duct.jpg

[Butch]

Looks great so far dude. Congrats

[Dist_Redbeer]

:rollin at this entire page

[tungusgrump]

looks real good.... would you consider leaving the "old" house standing and turning it into the ultimate man cave/guitar room/game room type of place and build the "new" house elsewhere on the property ?

just a thought