Not Liz-caliber, but reno just the same...

[Spiky Bugger]

We bought this place in September. We are in So. Cal, where a kajillion dollars can buy you a garage...in an area with lousy schools and drive-by shootings. We got the house for 96% of the then-appraised value, in the condition it it was in at the time.

We re-roofed. Because we were already at three layers of shingles with no plywood underneath...it ALL had to be removed. That was three thousand dollars just for the dumpsters!! Then there was attic cleaning and insulation. And electrical panel upgrade. And removing the up-to-the-minute 1960-something fuck-ugly paneling in almost every room...on top of actual PLASTER walls, so once the paneling was removed the walls here looked like downtown Beiruit. Oh...and the "enclosed" patio was actually red brick mortared into place on top of a 1.5 inch thick concrete "foundation," and then topped with a roof...so it was all sinking. We removed the walls and repoured the patio concrete, and installed a glulam to hold up the roof. [ETA...the paneling, on everything including doors, was done AFTER the sinking, so everything is crooked, no doors actually closed, nothing is straight.]

Speaking of sinking, our house is "on a rake" a low-rider a '56 Chevy would envy. There is a noticeable slant in one area of the house. BUT, there is no foundation damage...the excavation dude says it LOOKS LIKE the ground was not properly compacted when the room addition was done (over 50 years ago) and the house connected to the sewer line...but that is the lawn area, not the actual structure. The structural engineer said that what we have is normal settling, which would have stopped AT LEAST twenty years ago, plus earthquake settling, perhaps more recent. The house itself is on a good foundation....the planet earth may be what has sunken a bit. The "cure" for that is mud jacking, which is what they used to do to my mom's spine. That will be a "temporary" repair, but will surely outlive me.

And we repaired the holes in the hardwood floors where the floor heater was installed in 1946 and removed around 1976 and covered with slabs of plywood for 40 years because, why hurry, right?

Anyway, mortgages. We decided we hated the mortgage lender we were dealing with when buying this place. So, we went in with over 20% down, but no other cash. We got a higher interest rate in exchange for the lender covering all the costs. They get repaid through the higher rate, over time. So the best way to screw them is to shorten that time factor.

And, since Mr. Sue and I are both disabled veterans, we can now (with the repairs now done) get into a VA loan, at a lower rate and with no loan origination fees. So, there we are.

After farting around with repairs for six months with rates going up, I found a loan. We will refi into a 30-year, fixed rate, 3.25% loan. We will save well over $400/month.

So yesterday...we had a handyman here. Our daughter, my sister and I were slamming a quick-fix press-and-stick flooring into a bathroom and laundry room. Mr. Sue was getting all the paperwork ready to send to the lender and moving shit around. Painter will be here Monday to finish up.

Up. To. Our. Asses. because the appraiser will be here soon.

 

[Clematis]

Geesh. Some people have all the fun.

 

[DSRIGGS]

Just call over that Tarick and skinny blond wife who do the reno and house flipping show on hgtv. They buy disasters and get stuff fixed for like $12 so I am sure they can fix you guys up!

Lol I love how they rip out cabinets, little in all new top of the line cabinets, fixtures, fancy back splash tiles, granite and wood floors for like $8k....in freaking socal? I am sure the contractor does all that labor as charity and the clip of Tarick actually screwing in a cabinet is really not just one made for TV scene to make it appear pretty boy and barbie wife actually do a lot of work on these flips.

The costs have to be much higher than what they try to show for each house. It is much deeper than new paint and as a homeowner you know how not cheap these projects are.... As you said the freaking dumpster was $3k.

 

[bearmom]

Aren't old houses fun? I'm exhausted just reading about all that work. Still, most old houses I run across were still more sturdily built with fewer short cuts than any new ones I see.

I hope your plaster is repairable, and you don't just put drywall over it. I'm not sure why, but I have a thing for plaster, and dislike gypsum drywall. Plaster is just so smooth and cool, and I can see a sheen to it the moment I see it. I know it's plaster before I molest the wall, but I will still molest the wall just because it feels so smooth and cool, lol. There is NOTHING up here that actually has plaster, unless it is a very custom build.

 

[DSRIGGS]

Aren't old houses fun? I'm exhausted just reading about all that work. Still, most old houses I run across were still more sturdily built with fewer short cuts than any new ones I see.

I hope your plaster is repairable, and you don't just put drywall over it. I'm not sure why, but I have a thing for plaster, and dislike gypsum drywall. Plaster is just so smooth and cool, and I can see a sheen to it the moment I see it. I know it's plaster before I molest the wall, but I will still molest the wall just because it feels so smooth and cool, lol. There is NOTHING up here that actually has plaster, unless it is a very custom build.

As a guy whose first house was an old one, I have to say that my history has been the exact opposite. That house was such a pain in the ass to do anything with. Old lath, no insulation in walls unless you count some wadded up newspapers at the bottom of the stud cavity, settling, etc. It took forever to get shit torn apart to the point you could rebuild and then you had to compensate for all the issues I mentioned. I have had several newer houses since then and built by quality builders and they were so much nicer to deal with. Have a house with rooms the are square and plumb was such a luxury when trying to do a project.

 

[bearmom]

As a guy whose first house was an old one, I have to say that my history has been the exact opposite. That house was such a pain in the ass to do anything with. Old lath, no insulation in walls unless you count some wadded up newspapers at the bottom of the stud cavity, settling, etc. It took forever to get shit torn apart to the point you could rebuild and then you had to compensate for all the issues I mentioned. I have had several newer houses since then and built by quality builders and they were so much nicer to deal with. Have a house with rooms the are square and plumb was such a luxury when trying to do a project.

I'll agree that the upgrading of old stuff is beyond a PITA, but the stuff I really like I don't see in builder grade, ever (keep in mind, the houses we buy are for rentals, so durable enough to save me doing much maintenance, but not as nice as you'd build for yourself). Once I see the foundation is solid (if house is old) and water has been kept out, I'm usually on board. I like having old growth beams and timbers, with actual boards under the flooring. The really old ones here have a weirdly tight grained old pine, which I can't buy. One of my favorite wood floors. I have actually laid in a shallow crawl space in the dirt admiring the huge old growth support beams and wood slats of the floor, lol.
Even in decent houses here, when they can use wafer board (which is ALWAYS, with subfloor and roofing), particle, and glue lams, they do. I'm peeved that houses we had built between 07-09, already have squeaks in their bouncy floors.

 

[DSRIGGS]

Yeah that I do agree with.

 

[southernlady]

I hope your plaster is repairable, and you don't just put drywall over it. I'm not sure why, but I have a thing for plaster, and dislike gypsum drywall. Plaster is just so smooth and cool, and I can see a sheen to it the moment I see it. I know it's plaster before I molest the wall, but I will still molest the wall just because it feels so smooth and cool, lol. There is NOTHING up here that actually has plaster, unless it is a very custom build.

Where we are, you can''t even get custom plaster work...the ONE guy that did it died a few years back. I've heard mention of how to fix the cracks in plaster when you are painting and we will do that when we repaint the rest of the house over time.

I agree about old houses...they have features and quirks that new ones (and I mean any built since about 1970) just do not have. But square and plumb is not usually in their vocabulary, LOL. Another feature that is cool AND frustrating at the same time...old houses use TRUE 2x4 or 2x6 or whatever. Not the common 2x4 which is actually 1.5 x 3.5. Which is why for the opening of the door we need to enclose, with plaster added on the bedroom side of it, a 2 x 6 is actually gonna work instead of a 2 x 4.

Sue, I am sorry your plaster walls look like downtown Beirut...we have one section like that in the bath we are still working on...but since it will be inside a closet, we are just covering it.

 

[kirmy]

So you're ok lady? Sounds stressful and stressful with more stress. You're good at the house doing up thing.

Send my love to the fam. X

We bought this place in September. We are in So. Cal, where a kajillion dollars can buy you a garage...in an area with lousy schools and drive-by shootings. We got the house for 96% of the then-appraised value, in the condition it it was in at the time.

We re-roofed. Because we were already at three layers of shingles with no plywood underneath...it ALL had to be removed. That was three thousand dollars just for the dumpsters!! Then there was attic cleaning and insulation. And electrical panel upgrade. And removing the up-to-the-minute 1960-something fuck-ugly paneling in almost every room...on top of actual PLASTER walls, so once the paneling was removed the walls here looked like downtown Beiruit. Oh...and the "enclosed" patio was actually red brick mortared into place on top of a 1.5 inch thick concrete "foundation," and then topped with a roof...so it was all sinking. We removed the walls and repoured the patio concrete, and installed a glulam to hold up the roof. [ETA...the paneling, on everything including doors, was done AFTER the sinking, so everything is crooked, no doors actually closed, nothing is straight.]

Speaking of sinking, our house is "on a rake" a low-rider a '56 Chevy would envy. There is a noticeable slant in one area of the house. BUT, there is no foundation damage...the excavation dude says it LOOKS LIKE the ground was not properly compacted when the room addition was done (over 50 years ago) and the house connected to the sewer line...but that is the lawn area, not the actual structure. The structural engineer said that what we have is normal settling, which would have stopped AT LEAST twenty years ago, plus earthquake settling, perhaps more recent. The house itself is on a good foundation....the planet earth may be what has sunken a bit. The "cure" for that is mud jacking, which is what they used to do to my mom's spine. That will be a "temporary" repair, but will surely outlive me.

And we repaired the holes in the hardwood floors where the floor heater was installed in 1946 and removed around 1976 and covered with slabs of plywood for 40 years because, why hurry, right?

Anyway, mortgages. We decided we hated the mortgage lender we were dealing with when buying this place. So, we went in with over 20% down, but no other cash. We got a higher interest rate in exchange for the lender covering all the costs. They get repaid through the higher rate, over time. So the best way to screw them is to shorten that time factor.

And, since Mr. Sue and I are both disabled veterans, we can now (with the repairs now done) get into a VA loan, at a lower rate and with no loan origination fees. So, there we are.

After farting around with repairs for six months with rates going up, I found a loan. We will refi into a 30-year, fixed rate, 3.25% loan. We will save well over $400/month.

So yesterday...we had a handyman here. Our daughter, my sister and I were slamming a quick-fix press-and-stick flooring into a bathroom and laundry room. Mr. Sue was getting all the paperwork ready to send to the lender and moving shit around. Painter will be here Monday to finish up.

Up. To. Our. Asses. because the appraiser will be here soon.