The Money Pit

[TW]

This is not anything earth shaking or terribly important. But I thought that I would share it with you, my Jude 2 family. As you may remember I have just bought a house, an old house. With that old house comes "old house problems." I have now dubbed my house with the not so original name "The Money Pit."



Prior to purchasing the house we did several walk through inspection, called for all the normal inspections; lead based paint, termites, etc. No problems that were not easily visible were found. I knew that the house would need a new roof, but that is to be expected with a 40 year old house. The sheet vinyl flooring in the kitchen was starting to curl so I knew that it would have to be replaced as well. I hired a handy man to help me with some of the work that I can't do. I had him pull the carpets up, it was my hope that the rest of the house would have the same hardwood floors as the living room. Which for the most part it did. Outside of the fact that the previous owners did not know what drop cloths were for,







three problem areas came to light.

The master bed room, probably the biggest problem. In addition to the huge, poorly done repair the rest of the flooring in the room is like walking on a trampoline. We will have to take out the whole floor and sub floor, then build it back up.



The bathroom was next,



again a bad repair job that was covered over with carpet.

Then on to the kitchen/dining room, an area that I already knew was going to need some work. Yet another example of some DYI repairs by an unskilled person. First they glued linoleum to the hardwood floors. At some point they did another "repair." Then they put down a layer of sheet vinyl, then a second and different sheet vinyl, then a layer of 1/4 inch plywood and a final layer of sheet vinyl.





The solution?



I'm installing ceramic tile, and doing it the proper way.

First the backer board.



Then the tiles.






I have often heard that if you buy a boat, "you are buying a hole in the water to pour your money down." Well I have found that buying an old house is much the same. That's the report from week #1 down at the Money Pit.


TW

[Susie Hamilton]

But once you get it taken care of it will be nice, hopefully.

[Martha]

The tile looks great! Just a word of advice. Expect that any thing you plan to do will take about three times longer than you think it will. When you think you're going to lose your mind, go for a walk. One thing done will lead to two more that need to be done. Oh, and just for the record, you don't own the house, it owns you.

I know all this because my house is 47 years old and I started remodeling in 2008. My brother-in-law, with help from my nephew, did my kitchen which had not had anything done to it in about 30 years. My former pastor and my nephew did the living room and den. My next project will be the bathroom and then my bedroom. I may get it finished before I die but if not, my kids can have the "pleasure" of finishing it.

With your ability to create so many beautiful things I'm sure that when you finish you will have an awesome home.

[Brandon Bowers]

The house I grew up in, my parents bought in the mid-80's. It was built in 1940. They have done so many renovations that I can't keep up with it. On top of that, they've done 2 additions to the home. Before and after pics make it look like 2 different homes. I grew up getting to know our family's favorite contractors, because they were at my house every other summer for something..

I don't envy you on this.

[Billy n NC]

TW, Just work on it one room at a time.

And try to get Tom Hanks movie "The Money Pit"

The laugh scene is the best.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5v3ZwPrnaM

[MacUser]

rethinking retirement so early?

Seriously.. I can even smell it. I flipped a house a few years back in another town. Take your time, pace yourself, document it, and enjoy yourself.

It will be some great photos to share in the future.

[dolfan]

It is expensive and aggravating when you look at the past mess someone made of a perfectly good house. But admit it --- it IS a little fun recreating that home. Just knowing what I know of you from here, I can't help but think you're getting some satisfaction from the process.

[Jennifer Smith]

Thanks for sharing that..!

[Susie Hamilton]

Waiting for an update.

[TW]

I'll update tomorrow evening when I get back from GA.


TW


__________

[TW]

The week started out badly, very badly! You will remember that the floor in the master bedroom had problems. Well, David, my handyman, crawled under the house with a light and checked under the master bedroom. Not good! Four or five of the floor joist are broken. The entire floor in the bedroom will have to be replaced, floor joist, sub floor and flooring.
But things have brightened up since then as more of the work gets done. Remember the bathroom floor?



Check it out now. . . .



And the kitchen floor looks just as good, although I can't show you that right now because it's covered with drop cloths. That brings us to the painting. Here's what the walls looked like before.



I've started painting the interior, this will give you an idea of what it will be like when it's finished.



I still need to do a second coat of the darker shade. There will be a chair rail where the blue painters tape is now, and I'm adding crown molding. All the trim, doors, door casements, window casements, chair rail, crown molding, and baseboard will be painted gloss white.

That's this weeks update, more to come.


TW