picture update, problem review

This is the view of the great room from the centered double windows (behind the camera). What you mainly see is the dining area, but the camera can't capture the real size of this room. Beyond the studded wall, you can see my demo contractor and his helper working in the kitchen.

I have two of these fireplace mantels, from the defunct fireplaces I had to tear down. I want to do something with at least one of them, but I'm not sure yet what to do. I'm not thinking faux fireplace, here. I'm thinking some kind of shelf, or mirror... or... I don't know yet.

This is the original floor in the small bedroom off the great room. It is the only floor so far that has been even remotely salvageable. I'll have to replace two boards, hopefully from another part of the house. I'd like to refinish this floor.

We're in the great room looking into the bathroom. The demo is complete here, almost. All the plaster and little walls and closets, etc are gone. The back wall between the bathroom and the hallway is still present, but that wall will be taken down and used in the bathroom.

This is the view from the hallway of the bathroom floor. Here you can see where the floor joists failed and where the sill is damaged. This will have to replaced, pretty much the whole floor structure, too.

This is the rest of the floor. I think it speaks for itself. (fun game: look for the stump!)

This is the master bedroom, looking into the closet. The doorway off the closet will be closed; it currently leads out into, what was, the craptastic bathroom for apartment 1. The sills in the closet area are in questionable condition. More exploration is needed determine if they need replacing.

Here we're in the kitchen, finally able to look out into the back porch, half of which is where the hot water heaters lived and half of which was turned into the previously mentioned bathroom. The immediate wall will have to be rebuilt, everything beyond it demoed. The screened-in porch will most likely not be immediately rebuilt.

I just though this was a fun picture. You can see the exterior siding that ran along the side of the small closet/pantry in the kitchen for apartment 2. This was closed in (poorly) for the bath.

We're looking through what was the pantry area in the kitchen, beyond it onto the back-porch. The porch was a later addition in the house's life. I really like this picture, because if you remember, the porch has been inaccessible from the house for at least 20 years, I'm guessing.

At some point, they needed to fix the floor of the pantry. So they tacked up a strip of wood along the base moulding and laid a piece of plywood down. And covered it with linoleum. Of course.

This is the other wall in the kitchen, the one under the window. This wall is separating from the house, to put it mildly. But along with the patch job in the pantry, the P.O. "patched" this wall, too, by replacing the sill and building a new pier up under the part of the detached wall that bows out.

...

So those are the latest pictures and latest problems. I'm still waiting to hear back from the licensed contractor that I showed the house to last week. I know that these images are a lot to take in, but they also represent a lot of progress. I see see the potential, I am still optimistic about the outcome.

march madness

I'm a bit behind...

Two weeks ago, my contractor began demo work at my house, with a helper. In about 5 days, they completely filled up a construction dumpster and uncovered many problems, but most of which were suspected and expected.

The sill under the bathroom needs to be replaced. It has disintegrated over the years due to water issues and old termite damage. The same is to be said of the sill under the back kitchen wall, which needs to be rebuilt. Also confirmed by the demo is that the back porch needs to be completely removed, nothing is salvageable. The sill adjacent to the rotten porch (under what will be the master bedroom closet room) is probably too far gone, too. The sub floors in the kitchen, bathroom, and master closet will most likely have to be ripped up.

A surprise found was that the side kitchen wall, the wall with the window in it, has separated from the floor joists. As in- you can see about 3 inches of daylight in between the exterior wall and where the floor joists at one point met. The previous owner knew this, blocked up the floor joists on 4x4s resting on 2x4s, and added a new (now leaning) pier underneath the 'floating' wall. At least they replaced the sill here. Too bad they didn't bother to attach it to the house.

I have pictures, but it's been a busy two weeks with work and everything, and I just haven't had time to add them to the blog. But soon...
...

Today I met with a licensed contractor at the house and spoke with him about replacing the bathroom sill, reattaching the side wall in the kitchen to the house, rebuilding the back wall in the kitchen, and checking out the rest of the sills at the back of the house. I also asked him to price moving a load-bearing wall in the house, the one in between the kitchen and the master bedroom. I wanted to move the wall to make the bedroom bigger, but it may not be in the budget at this point.

I really liked him. We talked a lot about my plans for the house, what I could do myself, and what my demo contractor can do for me sans-permit. He gave me a lot of advice and pointed out some things that would need attention in the future, but not necessarily now.

I'm expecting his bid to come in high. I'm also expecting to have to scrap moving the wall in between the kitchen and bedroom and not being able to rebuild the back porch any time soon. We'll just have to tear it off and have a back door with steps down into the yard. The back porch wasn't original to the house anyway, but I was really looking forward to having a nice, private screened-in porch.

It's all about shifting priorities and keeping a realistic budget. I don't mind moving in the house with projects left to do, in fact, that's kind of exciting to me. I never expected to have a turn-key entry when I moved in, but now I think I'm sensing the reality of which projects will have to stay imagined, and which new developments will have to be addressed, pronto.

the state of things...

Two weeks had passed since my last post before my contractor showed up at my house for work again, even though every week I talked to him and he'd say that he'd be there bright and early Friday morning...

Then he finally did show up. I met him over there before work. He and a helper had gotten to the house an hour earlier and had begun reinforcing the house's foundation with the addition of more support piers, and jacking up the house where it needed attention. We did a walk through and talked about the sequence of how the next few projects should go, and I went on to work.

About 6 hours later he shows up and hands me a business card and said that we'd been shut down. By the city building inspector. Due to expired permits and the inability of my contractor to produce his contractor's license.

...

So I made the first of many calls to City Hall that day. And went the next day, on my lunch break, to visit the Building Inspector who shut us down. We talked for a good hour. And he agreed to meet with me the following Monday to discuss the permit side of things, or rather, how much it was going to cost me to get the project going again.

Long story short, the state of Georgia passed a new law last year in June or July and any structural changes made to a house had to be done by a contractor with certain stated credentials. Which I understand and wholeheartedly agree with, but this law made it harder for the 'little man' contractor to be licensed with the state of Georgia to do such work. My contractor is one such 'little man'. So no, in the terms issued forth by the state, my contractor isn't licensed. Or not the way they want him to be. I'm not sure if that makes sense, but follow me...

He can continue to do any and all demo work and any finishing work in my house, which obviously doesn't include the wiring, plumbing, or air conditioning, because those will be done by other sub contractors who will obtain separate permits for each of those functions.

The wall I need moved, which may or may not be a load-bearing wall (this was part of the hour-long discussion in the inspector's office... my house is considered a shotgun house, which means the exterior walls were built first, so they hold the weight of the house, and in the interior walls were added later...) will have to be done by a licensed contractor, as well as the back wall in the kitchen which pretty much needs to be rebuilt. And my foundation issues will have to be checked out by a licensed contractor, too.

These laws are all in place to protect me, I know. But it's just another stop in the process of my renovation.

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My contractor was supposed to start back with the demo work today, but I don't think he showed up. In order to get to the back wall of the kitchen that needs to be rebuilt (by an as yet to be found licensed contractor), the crumbling back porch and pit-of-doom bathroom have to be removed first. And he's supposed to be working on that.

I also found out this week that my contractor was laid off from his 9-5 job. Which makes me concerned for him, but eager to help him (hey! I have a house that needs work!), and makes me wonder where in the heck he was today.

Did I mention the neighbors, and apparently anyone within a 5 block radius, are throwing trash in my rented construction dumpster, that sits idle and neglected?

...

Sure, it's no biggie, and I want the structural changes that have to be made to the house to be done by a legit licensed contractor, and yes, I'll have to pay this person a LOT more to do the same things my current on again, off again contractor...

But all this waiting and false starts and abrupt stops, and out of pocket COSTS! are really getting to me.

Down at City Hall, they have spared me the cost of another demolition permit ($15), but it is yet to be determined if I'll have to get another construction permit, which cost around $300 last time. Oh, and just so you know, those expire in six months, as I learned.

...

In a few months, I'll have owned the house for two years.

Those scraps of paper come in handy...

Things are starting back up again at my house!

My contractor, who had a shoulder injury last year in August, has had the required surgery and physical therapy and is waiting for me to get another dumpster delivered to the work site, which I shall order (and will hopefully be delivered) tomorrow. He went back to his regular job in December and has been doing a few handyman type jobs for other people while waiting to get started back on my house.

Last week my Dad helped me pick up some lumber and materials for the site and I plan to pick up at least another truckload of stuff this week.

To Do:

-finish the demo (very, very little left at this point)
-level the house in a few areas (and build new piers)
-move one wall (and spot replace a few studs)
-replace/add sub-floors

and then we're ready for:
-the electrician
-the plumber
-the a/c man

and inspection (!)

which leads to:
-insulation
-drywall

I know there are a few steps in between, and I posses an active, vivid imagination, but I can see the house finished. And it's closer now than it has been before. And my contractor has an extra day or two during the week now to work on my house.

I took random, dorky pictures of the lumber I bought last week, just to prove that work was starting back, but I had to send my laptop away to be repaired, and the pictures went with it. Try not to let the disappointment overwhelm you.

On a happier note, I have several running lists of prices and items on random scraps of paper and napkins of things like light fixtures, toilets, storm doors, paint colors, and doorknobs. It's almost a kind of sickness. I fight the urge to walk to aisles of Lowe's after work. My pockets and my planner overflow with these lists. I don't feel as silly about any more though now that work is starting back.

I've learned this: if you happen to see a guy at work compulsively sketching out something on a sad little piece of paper, it's probably a new kitchen layout idea. Or perhaps what the bathroom would look like with pedestal sinks. Maybe even ideas for a built-in bookcase. At least that's what it is in my case.

Hopefully next time I'll have some pictures of a new wall or foundation piers or the bathroom completely gutted, and will be again posting from my laptop. Anyone up for a trip to Lowe's?

and now, my house, she waits. again.

The last time I posted in this blog much progress was being made, excitement was building, and I could really see myself living in the completed house. Here are the latest pictures:

This is the view of the main room, the 'Great Room', if you will, taken from the front double windows. I took down two small coal closets and a double sided fireplace in the middle of these two rooms. I'd planned on putting a wall back up, but once all that was down, I just couldn't. The visual impact of the openness was too great, the light coming in from the five windows too wonderful. So it became the living room and dining room.

This is the opposite view, standing in what will be the kitchen doorway (the wall of studs seen in the previous picture). I'm undecided as of yet if this kitchen wall will be a half wall or a full wall or an open, framed doorway. I'll have to wait until the bedroom wall is moved as planned to actually see what the feel of the kitchen will be. But back to the Great Room, a side note: This room is almost half the square footage of the whole house. This picture came out dark because the room was so bright in real life.

This shot is the progress made in demoing out the old bathroom and two closets, where the new bathroom will go. This view is from the master bedroom, but the wall you see will be a solid wall once my renovations are complete. I took this picture to show you, now that the closets are out, a better view of how big the bathroom will be and that it will also take in the awkward hall seen on the left of this picture.

This is the same bathroom space, but seen from a head on shot of where the dining area will be in the Great Room. Old closets on the left and on the right where the shower and toilet where. The stud wall you see directly in front of the camera is the other side of the awkward hallway--- that's the back of exterior siding. The hallway actually used to be a side porch that was closed in at some point.

Here's another (angled) view. I'm very pleased with the progress being made, but I must point out that its been two weeks since I posted. These pictures were taken two weeks ago, as well.

My contractor tore his rotator cuff in his shoulder at his 9-5 job two weeks ago. Which in turn means that he hasn't been able to work on my house due to his injury. He's hurt himself pretty badly and the verdict's still out on whether or not he needs surgery. It's pretty clear to me, though, that he won't be working on my house any time soon.

I feel nothing but compassion for him and I'm terribly sorry that he hurt himself. But I've also been feeling sorry for myself lately, too, and a bit down in the dumps because, here again, my project is on hold. It's no one's fault, but I guess it's just that we had such a momentum going and everything was gearing up to be turned around quickly and on schedule...

And now, my house, she waits. again.

I guess I should start calling contractors.

Catch-Up Pictures...

Here are the pictures from the last two weeks. I took the liberty of just posting the highlights. That, and I had a heck of a time uploading these tonight for some reason.

View from the main entrance, which will be the view from the foyer when entering the house. With the floors mostly clear and the walls down, you can see straight to the back wall. So open and light...

Looking up in the kitchen to see the underside of the roof. I like all the angles. I wish there was an economical way to open this up, but it's more practical to leave it like it is.

Kitchen: wall with the window. The window will pretty much stay in the same place, but will be taller than this window. You can see there used to be double windows in this room, too. My sink will go under the window.

A semi wrap-around view. Still playing with kitchen layouts. I'll tell you why in a bit.

The little closet juts out on the back porch. I'm entertaining the idea of having a similar closet in its place, a shallow pantry. Notice the 'new' wood and plumbing to the right of it? This is one of the original doorways to the back porch. At some point it was closed in and a craptastic bathroom was built there. There will be a door here going out to the back porch from the kitchen.

This is the top part of the back wall of the kitchen, right above the closet/pantry area. It all pretty much needs to be replaced, along with the back porch on the other side of it.

View looking from the kitchen back to the front of the house. See all the light? and the openness? This is what keeps making me think twice about my kitchen layout. Should this wall become a half wall? It will give me a technically smaller kitchen and less upper cabinets, but it sure would be a nice feature to the house...

My contractor pulled the carpet in what will be the master bedroom. This is the floor. It's pieced with plywood on the left hand side. I didn't have high hopes for it anyway. Moving on...

In the master bedroom, looking towards the back of the house... what will be the master closet and storage for the whole house.

Close up of the back wall in the closet room. A lot of the studs here will have to be replaced, same story as the kitchen. This part of the house has the sill that sits on dirt, and the leaky craptastic bathroom is immediately to the left of this picture, on the other side of the wall.

This is where you learn what I mean by craptastic. I'll give you one guess as to where the toilet was. Hint: look for the moldy, toilet tank-shaped spot on the wall. You really can't miss it. Make sure you note the daylight in the upper right hand corner--- that's the back porch. This will all eventually live in the dumpster, never to haunt my house again.

A close up of the same bathroom, note the baseboards, people! How great does that floor look? Do you think its sagging at all? completely. disgusting. filth.

Since we're on this bathroom kick, let's look at the other bathroom, and where the new one will go back:
From left to right, (before) closet space, doorway/hall/sink, then small room with shower unit and toilet. Lovely.

Two shallow closets were here, side by side, opening into opposite rooms.

This used to be a short hall, closet on the left. Then they closed the doorway and plopped a sink down with a mirror above it.

Turn to your right while standing in front of the sink and you see this, where the shower was. It had to be cut out in sections. Look, ma! No floor below it! Nice plumbing job. Love the wallpaper.

And right next to the shower, in the same little small room, was the toilet.


This whole area will become the house's only bath. I plan on having a bath tub unit with a shower, a long vanity, big mirror, single sink, toilet alcove, and a washer, dryer, utility area behind doors. The whole area is about 10'x 11'.



Head on view of all three bathroom areas, and don't forget this bathroom will also include the hallway that runs behind it:

It may not seem like much, but a lot has been going on since my contractor started. I'm very pleased with the results so far and can't wait to get more accomplished.

Exciting!

Progress has actually been happening at my house! Interior work progress!

I hired a contractor about three or four weeks ago but he had to wait until the Yard Men were done with everything... Then I had to wait almost two weeks to get a dumpster (mainly due to the fourth of July holiday and a mix-up with my order). But finally a dumpster was delivered and my contractor began work.

In the four days he's worked so far he's completely cleaned out all the trash (and I do mean TRASH) that was under the house. A neighbor came over and told him that one of the previous occupants of the house literally threw his trash up under the house, which was completely believable, seeing all the junk that had accumulated in the back yard...

Contractor also has taken the fireplace down to the floor, stacked the rest of the bricks outside in the brick pile and cleaned five rooms of demolition debris, which is incredibly tedious work. He's torn out all the sheet rock, paneling, and carpets out of the three back rooms, begun tearing out one of the bathrooms, and has taken down two dropped ceilings and ripped out two other ceilings. He began taking down the two plaster ceilings, as well, but they're a bit harder and messier to demo out.

He's working on a plan to jack the house up and figuring out where the foundation needs to be replaced. He's been making the existing electrical system safer for all the demo work going on (apparently I had live wires that I didn't know about), and he's been inspecting the wood structure of the house and finding out what studs and such need to be replaced.

Side note here--- the back bathroom that was built on the screen porch was, of course, not added correctly and has led to pretty bad leaking and wood rot. And this is the part of the house with the sills that sit on the dirt, too, which complicates things. Although it is bad, it's not as bad as it could be. And I think it will allow me to add on to the size of the porch, which I wanted to do, since I'll have to replace the area anyway.

Also where a kitchen was, and where the kitchen will be, has some problems, too. But we knew about that. Most of this was expected, we just don't know how extensive the repair work will be until we demo some more.

I have pictures but my laptop is... having some issues. I have to send it off and get it repaired (for free), and also my car died a while back and I had to buy a new one (not for free), which kind of put a small kink in things, too. BUT, work is going on at the house, and will be going on at the house.

It's very exciting. Hopefully soon I can get some pictures up using time on a borrowed computer.

My mother and I solved the how-many-bathrooms-should-I-have and where-is-the-laundry-room-going problems, in addition to the I-really-need-a-closet-in-the-second-bedroom problem. I've said it before, but I think my floor plan is in its last stages of tinkering.

Oh, and contractor estimates the rest of the demo should be completed this weekend. I think it will take a few more days than that, but we'll see how hard he works. Then begins the fixing of the foundation and jacking up the house. And from there on comes the fun part of making it into a house again.

Exciting!