House Remodeling Thread (long)

[tulip]

What is the floor material now? Any chance you could salvage it, or is there an original wood floor underneath?

Glass tile backsplash will reflect light. I still have not done my backsplash!

I have concrete counters, but I think they would be a pain to install in a small space, particularly if you are not on the ground level (stairs). Paperstone is made from recycled paper. It's very nice, rather pricey. What's your countertop budget?

Under counter lights are really nice to have. Don't forget those--they really make a huge difference.

You can really change the look of your cabinets by painting them and changing the hardware. That's relatively inexpensive and something that most semi-handy and patient people can do themselves. I got new cabinets because there were none to begin with, but I would go with new paint and hardware if I had a house that already had cabinets.

You can also make a difference by replacing the faucet and sink. Since you are going to replace the counters anyways, might as well do that, too. An undermount sink looks uncluttered.

Have fun!

[Trek420]

If you're thinking of granite, marble etc (which can be recycled if going green) and using the orriginal cabinets you'll need to consider if your cabinets can be reinforced. You may need to have the top of the cabinet strengthened to hold it. Often doable but then could impact distances and space below the window.

[tulip]

I am the proud owner of a New Roof! Ridge vents, edge vents, 50-year dimensional shingles...bring on those rains!

The old roof was in such bad shape that when they took the old shingles off, there were big gaping holes in some of the boards. Like really big, cat-sized gaping holes. Some of the boards had to be replaced.

But. It. Is. Done.

It looks very nice, and as in all things house-repair, it begs for something else now. Like a new paint job. Will it ever end?

[Blueberry]

Congratulations, Tulip!!! And no, it doesn't end But that's the fun of home ownership, right

[ny biker]

I am the proud owner of a New Roof! Ridge vents, edge vents, 50-year dimensional shingles...bring on those rains!

The old roof was in such bad shape that when they took the old shingles off, there were big gaping holes in some of the boards. Like really big, cat-sized gaping holes. Some of the boards had to be replaced.

But. It. Is. Done.

It looks very nice, and as in all things house-repair, it begs for something else now. Like a new paint job. Will it ever end?

Good for you!

I'm still finishing up the last items related to the new heat pump. I finally had a handyman repair the hole they cut in the ceiling and put mortar around the hole they drilled in the exterior brick. (The same guy also fixed a broken kitchen drawer and installed a new light fixture while he was here.) But I still need to address the humidifier leak, which we think is due to the drain pipe freezing when it gets really cold outside.

And then I get to move into the kitchen...

But you're right, it is great to get these things done. Even if they don't add to the look of the house, you can enjoy living there more.

[MommyBird]

ny biker-
Have you thought about distressing your cabinets?
I have done this finish many times. The existing blemishes in old pieces just enhance the effect. It also takes a beating better than plain paint.
The photo is from our pool house. The cabinets were salvaged from a real estate office and the island from a hospital.
The island in my regular kitchen is done in black. It is more formal.
The pool house is designed to be fun for our teen sons and their friends. Here they are playing Apples to Apples in the second photo.
You mentioned that you have Fiesta Ware so I assume you like a relaxed somewhat vintage look. Distressing fits the bill. It is easy and can be addicting.

[tulip]

I think it's getting close to ending. At least the big stuff. Gotta be. There's no big stuff left to do! And I'm broke!

Painting is done, to complement the new roof, new water heater, new HVAC, new electricity, new plumbing, window repair...

some before and after shots.

[tulip]

And the interior...whew!

[indysteel]

I am the proud owner of a New Roof! Ridge vents, edge vents, 50-year dimensional shingles...bring on those rains!

The old roof was in such bad shape that when they took the old shingles off, there were big gaping holes in some of the boards. Like really big, cat-sized gaping holes. Some of the boards had to be replaced.

But. It. Is. Done.

They found the same thing when they replaced my roof at my former house. It's a wonder my roof hadn't cave in. The decking, which was rotted in spots, dated back to the late 1800s. My home inspector absolutely should have caught it, but didn't. A week after I had the roof replaced, we had a horrible hail storm with softball-sized hail. It ruined many a roof, and I'm sure it would have ruined mine and a good portion of my house had I not replaced it when I did. So, it was money was spent. I felt SO much better despite the cost.

We're now dealing with equally frustrating problems at the new house, which will likely cost us some $. When the house was first built, the garage was in what is now the basement. In the 1950, the garage was converted to a basement and the area was presumably filled in with dirt such that the driveway and detached garage are essentially level with our first floor. Well, we noticed last summer that some small holes were starting to develop along the edge of the driveway as it abuts a flower bed that, in turn, abuts our house. The holes have since gotten bigger, so we're fearful that we have a sink hole of sorts developing under the drivway. So, we're trying to get a handle on who to call and what to do. My guess is that we're going to have to tear up at least part of the driveway. I have no idea what will happen from there. What a mess.

[withm]

They found the same thing when they replaced my roof at my former house. It's a wonder my roof hadn't cave in. The decking, which was rotted in spots, dated back to the late 1800s. My home inspector absolutely should have caught it, but didn't. .

In fairness to the inspector, he can only inspect what he can see. If there was no access to the attic, or if the attic was finished, there is no way he could see the holes in the sheathing underneath the shingles. He MIGHT have been able to tell if there was one or two layers of shingles on the roof, but frankly the only way to find these holes is to remove the shingles, or to see them from below. If you couldn't see them, neither could he.

If he had walked the roof and noted spongy spots, that's a clue, as is any evidence of leaks - water spots in your ceilings. Any of those conditions would be a red flag.

[tulip]

The inspector on my house walked all over the roof, in the attic, etc. He missed a bunch of stuff--roof, furnace, basement, plumbing, electric...I didn't know what to look for, that's why I was paying HIM.

A year later, the real estate agent called and asked if I had any problems stemming from the inspection. I listed off the whole ream. She said he had made many mistakes on other houses, too, and that she was sorry. Sorry big whoop, I'm 5-figures in the hole because of him. I would not have bought the house if I had known that the roof was bad, the furnace was improperly installed and unsafe and unusable, the hot water heater was corroded nearly through, there was no washing machine hookup (I should have caught that one on my own), the electric and the plumbing were not up to code.

Lesson learned. The house before this one had an excellent inspector who caught every little thing, including how many years left on certain appliances and features and estimated repair and replacement costs. I thought they were all like that one! Doh!

[Desert Tortoise]

Tulip, love the backsplash! Is that glass tile?

Just saw the pictures of your house exterior before and after. What a great touch of the red color just inside the window frames. Very stylish

dt

[indysteel]

In fairness to the inspector, he can only inspect what he can see. If there was no access to the attic, or if the attic was finished, there is no way he could see the holes in the sheathing underneath the shingles. He MIGHT have been able to tell if there was one or two layers of shingles on the roof, but frankly the only way to find these holes is to remove the shingles, or to see them from below. If you couldn't see them, neither could he.

If he had walked the roof and noted spongy spots, that's a clue, as is any evidence of leaks - water spots in your ceilings. Any of those conditions would be a red flag.

He had attic access and could have, and should have, seen that the decking was rotted in parts. This was just one of two VERY obvious issues that he should have caught that ultimately cost be a total of $12k, but thanks for suggesting that I was unfairly blaming him.

[withm]

No need to get like that. I have no idea what your inspector had access to or what he might have seen and your first note did not elaborate. Not all houses have attic access unless you start cutting holes in the ceiling. An inspector won't do that. Sounds like you got ripped off and that's a shame.

There can be many hidden conditions in older houses that would/could never be observed in a 2-3 hour home inspection. If you like the house enough to buy it, then you have to deal with the eventuality of making major repairs - that just goes with home ownership - and new homes and older homes alike are just as prone to have major problems.

His liability is probably limited to the amount charged for the inspection so he has little to lose if he misses anything.