renovation Archives - Page 2 of 6

Two Steps Back. One Forward.

December 4, 2012 RH

As of last weekend, we finally hit the reset button on the renovation. The house has heat and electric. The basement is cleaned out. Now, where were we before the storm?

Oh yes, I was down in the basement painting the kitchen cabinets I intended to recycle. Ok, so those were trashed. I ended up finding 2 cabinets to recycle at a PA ReStore and then I caved and bought new unfinished ones at Lowe’s. The good news is that I don’t have to clean maple syrup and mouse shit from the insides of the cabinets. New has it’s charms. So I’m doing the cabinets again. How deja vu.

As mentioned, twas only our basement that flooded, so all of the new sheetrock was fine. I say “was” because since we had licensed competent plumbers over to install a new boiler, we had them run new gas lines throughout the house. That means cutting into some sheetrock. We hate doing sheetrock but we’re not getting the schmuck back who did it in the first place. That didn’t end well. It never does. That’s why we DIY.

So where’s this step forward? Got a clawfoot tub! Yay! It needs some work. “Some” is an understatement. Oh, and I finally bought some bathroom tiles. New slate. No overstock or discounts but like $1.48 per square foot. Not bad. Again, Lowe’s. So much better than Home Depot. The bathroom will be ready to tile once we re-frame and sheetrock that pipe area we demolished.

Funny. Don’t know if I ever mentioned that this house is my project and the hubby wanted nothing to do with it. Now here I am all “we” this and “we” that. Guess I dragged him into it, huh?

The Appliances Are Here!

October 22, 2012 RH

The Rockaway house is a two family, so one of my biggest budget concerns has been the purchase of appliances times two. AJ Madison has been my appliance source for a few years now. There are always running good deals and they will deliver and haul away the old.

I got away with one kitchen of all stainless for under $2000. That includes the fridge, stove, dishwasher and over-the-stove microwave exhaust combo. The microwave makes sense when you consider it’s not that much more than just a fan. I figured we would save ourselves some money on take out during renovations. No, we won’t be using the stove. Let’s not go nuts.

My only disappointment was with the shorty refrigerator. Purchasing online, one has to remember to look at the dimensions. I looked at the width and assumed I was buying a standard size fridge, but it’s actually shorter than me. And I’m short! At the end of the day, who the hell needs a huge refrigerator for a one bedroom apartment? Plus, the smaller, the more efficient. Right?

Well, those were the brand new Energy Star appliances for the downstairs kitchen. While at Build it Green one day last week, I did spot this second hand dishwasher which I purchased for upstairs for a mere 25 bucks. It’s returnable if it doesn’t work but I’m ready to accept the loss as it’s not worth $25 to schlep it back to Astoria. Fingers crossed!

Twice as Much

October 4, 2012 RH

Original deck was taken down.

There’s an old warning about home renovation that goes “Expect to pay twice as much and for it to take three times as long.” I’ve always found this to be true except this time I was prepared for the worst.

Case in point is the back deck. It’s not even so much a deck as steps with a landing. Whomever built this thing must have been on some hard drugs at the time. The stairs are cutting into the house and one landing leans on a roof without any other support. It’s a nightmare.

This is the final “big project” to tackle on the house. I left it for last because I knew it wouldn’t be simple. I’ll survive because my hubby is a structural engineer who has a penchant for removing rotting wood to add support. But I just want to warn others out there that this is what it’s all about. Opening up a can of worms. You remove a wall or a floor or a deck and chances are, what you see behind that won’t be pleasant.

As it’s been said on this blog a million times before, previous homeowners (in my experience anyway) tend to cover things up rather than correct them. The deck is over the basement. We are not only replacing the deck but the damage has spread to the side structures of the house and the basement.

I can’t imagine how much this would cost someone if they were paying a real contractor to do it. Then you have to consider that the contractor is doing the right thing because they sometimes like to cover things up also.

My point? I don’t know if I have one. Oh yeah, maybe it’s this: Expect to pay twice as much and for it to take three times as long.

At the end of the day, I’m gonna have me a nice new deck that will stand longer than the house itself.

Some rotted wood that was removed

Roof that supported the landing

Side of house once vinyl was taken off

Sixteen Thousand

September 26, 2012 RH

$16,000. That’s what’s left in my renovation budget. With that, I have to put in two kitchens and two baths. I’m not including the floors which will be $1900 to sand and poly and the deck that being rebuilt this week which may run about $2000. So, really, that’s $12,000 I have to work with.

Normal people spend $12k on a single bathroom. With my recycled materials and sweat equity, I’ma gonna try to make it all happen. I predict that I will go slightly over budget by about $5k.

This is where the blogging will get more fun. Blogging about plumbing, electric and new sheetrock = Boring! Now the house is going to start looking livable. I’ve even been making coffee and eating there again. There is one working sink in the basement and one working toilet on the second floor. Which reminds me, I need more wet wipes.

Today I will hopefully get some color on those walls. At least they are primed.

I’m seeing the low budget as a an opportunity to learn some new skills since I can’t afford to pay anyone. They say that this Jesus guy was a Jewish carpenter, so I figure what’s he got that I ain’t got?

I Want to Renovate Again.

September 21, 2012 RH 1 Comment

Hello. My name is Phyllis and I’m a renoholic. Yes, we’ve already established that, which is why I have this blog and why flipping…or Phlypping (™ Miss Wit) is the most fitting career move for me.

But I’m not talking about the investment property I’m currently working on. I’m knee deep in renovations with that and I’m sitting here looking around my own house thinking that I want to rip into it again.

In my defense, it’s not just that I want to re-renovate. I kind of want to use some of the materials from my Bed Stuy house and put it into the Rockaway house because I was never in love with said materials anyway.

Check it out. During the renovation of my own house, I was hemorrhaging money and had to finish as quickly as possible to get tenants in here. Items were installed that I never would have wanted if it was not so rushed. New stuff, like Home Depot doors (solid, with panels, of course), new door knobs, stainless appliances instead of beautiful antique ones, typical oak flooring….you get the picture.

Now, these things are not horrible by any stretch of the imagination but if it was up to me, I’d replace them with historic materials. I have the chance now. I can remove my HD doors and use them in the other house. The appliances, the kitchen cabinets!

But who am I kidding? That’s too much work, because then it’s like I’m doing two houses at once.

Right??

Crimes of Homeowners Past

September 14, 2012 RH 2 Comments

This is what happens when you don’t prime first.

This is my fifth major renovation and I’ve seen it EVERY. TIME. Why do people just cover up what needs to be repaired? Money issues? I don’t get that. Those band-aids aren’t cheap. Instead of fixing some holes in the plaster, is it really less expensive to drop the entire ceiling?

I found a piece of cardboard used to patch a hole in the wall the other day. Like, cut out from a box. That was nothing. I can fix that. What bothers me about this house is that there is a new roof and vinyl siding. Although that’s not bothersome in itself (well, the vinyl is), it worries me that there were no repairs made to the wood rotting beneath the new protection.

I was a bit torn. As an environmentally aware salvage freak, I wanted to keep materials out of the landfills. As someone on a tight a budget, I couldn’t afford to gut the entire house down to the studs. So, I fixed what I saw but I know that there are things I missed behind those walls I didn’t remove. And I kept and re-covered the holey ceiling plaster myself after removing the drop ceiling.

I’m not completely concerned because, as I stated in a previous post, most of the rot seemed to be under each window and I did take those areas down to the studs.

But what about crazy plumbing fixes….or just letting pipes leak? So much damage from leaky pipes! And gas leaks? And electrical issues? Is it better to save a few bucks and risk your life and the life of the house?

Here’s the deal. You don’t have enough money for repairs? Fine. Nobody can fault you for that. But how’s about you learn some DIY skills and fix this stuff yourself? Seriously, if you would cover the gaping floor hole from your leaky toilet with sheetrock rather than just fix the damn toilet, you shouldn’t own a house. Apartment buildings with supers are wonderful things. I know. That’s the way I grew up. Call this a rebellion against my parents.

It’s not going to repair itself on it’s own, whether you cover it up or not.

Just do the right thing. For you. For the house. For the next owner.

Like a College Dorm

September 10, 2012 RH

Still a ways to go with the house but at least there are new walls and….yeah, that’s about it…new walls. It’s barely liveable but probably no worse than any other renovation that I’ve occupied full time. At least there is a toilet and a sink. They are located two flights from each other but they do exist.

We’ve come a long way in a week and some.

Renovation Status

August 31, 2012 RH

Ye Olde Sheetrock

You’re probably wondering what’s going on with the house (or not).

While away for vacation, the work continued but it was tough for the boyz to get much done without the decision maker and kicker of butts. To make up for some lost time, I hired a contractor to frame, sheetrock, mud and tape.

Now he’s kicking my butt, as well as the plumber and the electrician. This guy is fast!

The house was in worse shape than I had thought. Isn’t it always? Moldy sheetrock and rotted wood under windows and near leaky pipes. That’s being replaced but I have not taken down ALL of the walls as I didn’t want to start a full gut three weeks into the project. The damage does seem to be coming only from the areas mentioned, though.

Lesson learned? Yeah, next time I’ll start with a full gut from scratch unless it’s beautiful plaster. This was some old crappy thin sheetrock. The entire house is getting laminated. Laminate means to add a thin layer of sheetrock on top of existing plaster or rock.

Plumber is going slow and dragging me down with him because he’s a scatterbrain who sends me to Home Depot every 5 minutes. The two local hardware stores and Home Depot know me already. Plumber says I’m “mean” because I actually want him to work harder and more efficiently. Whatevs. He better get it done today or Hubby takes over this long weekend.

Haven’t gotten to do any of the fun stuff yet, like shopping for my salvage materials. I can’t seem to get away from the house. Hopefully next week, I’ll be free once the plumber and electrician have done their stuff and the other guys are just taping.

And that’s where I’m at. Gotta go. I’m picking up the plumber at 7am to take him with me to Home Depot. Ugh.

Behind the Walls

August 13, 2012 RH

Hidden stash of 70’s/80’s porn

By Friday we had gotten the dumpster. I ordered a 30 yarder and they delivered a 20. The plan was to finish the entire demo by Saturday afternoon, but we decided to get rid of a bit more rotty sheetrock than planned so demo will continue this week.

Plumber Larry plumbed on Sunday. He knew his stuff and was able to repair all of the corroded pipes and then some in one long day. Hubby and I just acted as his gophers, running to Home Depot for materials. Two trips over the bridge back into Brooklyn on a hot summer Sunday with beach traffic.

Today is a day off for all except for the chimney guy, Manny LaSalle. Well, it’s not my day off but I’ll be doing some fun shopping for salvaged materials.

Anyway, here are some more finds.

Wall paneling behind wall paneling

This insulation looks like charcoal in person but it was actually some kind of cement. There were a couple of pieces of foam stuck in the wall. We think it was supposed to be concrete and foam insulation, but the foam was only in one spot.

Doesn’t look like this “insulation” was doing much. Why bother?

Kitchen wallpaper through the ages. Guess it was a child’s room at one point.

Found this 70’s linoleum under the carpet. It will be reused.

The Charles Manson Tate trials! Found under some kitchen lino. Also, papers from the 40’s during war time.

Stripped Naked

August 10, 2012 RH 2 Comments

Dayim, there were more pics from Demo Week but I left my camera card in the house. The photo above was from day 2. By day 3, that pile tripled and we had more piles going in other rooms. The dumpster comes today. A 30 yarder.

No terrible surprises so far. Yeah, some rotted wood where I figured there would be. Some sheetrock needs to be replaced. I’m satisfied with the wood floors we uncovered. Knock wood, it’s going ok.

The 30 yarder will be filled with drop ceiling tiles, wall paneling and carpets. That’s the bulk of it. Lots of “covering” of the original materials that just need some TLC.

Yeah, not much to report today. Just wanted to let y’all know I’m still alive.

Day 1: Left Behind

August 8, 2012 RH 1 Comment

Yesterday I just went over to the house with the dogs to clean up the bathrooms and kitchen, shop for essentials and figure out what I’m doing. I spent over an hour changing a lock and scratched my head quite a lot over the configuration of the house.

One of my favorite parts of a renovation is discovering things unearthed in the demo. Well, since I didn’t really start demo yet, here are some items the seller left behind.

No, not the dog and not the whiskey. The whiskey was a gift from the selling broker. I’m gonna need it.

Look Up! Beautiful Ceilings

May 29, 2012 RH 6 Comments

Can’t wait to find out what’s under those drop ceilings in the new home! My guess is a bunch of moldy, crumbling plaster. Ever work on a ceiling before? It’s a pain in the neck. Literally. So, I’ve been looking for alternatives to plain old plastering or sheetrocking. If I’m going to have to go through that, it might as well look fabulous.

I was standing at the Museum of Natural History over the weekend when I looked up and saw the gawgeous paneled ceiling above. Lots of work, for sure. Worth it? Of course! Especially if you can paint the molding before it goes up. I even found a place called Fantastic Finish where I can cheat and order pre-assembled kits. Not that I would do that of course, because budget, budget, budget!

Who doesn’t love an antique tin ceiling? Personally, I’m loving the chippy paint look but I don’t think I’d be able to get away with it in a new renovation. Perhaps a small section of the house…a bathroom, mayyyybe. But it would have to be sealed anyway, because as we all know, any paint prior to 1978 contains lead.

Here’s a modern take on the traditional tin ceiling. For me, it’s going to come down to whatever I can find at the salvage shops.

Reclaimed wood ceilings may look a bit dark around the entire house but they can always be painted to brighten them up. The photo above is actually weathered plywood cut into strips. That stroke of genius is from Burlap and Denim.

Drop ceilings have come a long way since the 1970’s. The tile above is from a company that does PVC drop ceiling tiles. They aren’t cheap and you’ve gotta have lots of time on your hands to paint each tile to look like that, but I’m just throwin’ around ideas here.

The Finish Line

May 22, 2012 RH

The only time we’ve ever finished our renovations have been when we put a house on the market. Well, this time we’re not going anywhere but it’s probably a good idea to finish our own house before taking on the next project.

The thing is that we’ve lived in a construction zone in one house or another for the last 18 years so we are quite used to it. Plus, this place is so close to being done that we tend to forget there’s still work to do.

Nobody ever realllly finishes their renovations anyway, do they?

Here’s the punch list. I don’t have too much faith that we’ll get it done any time soon, but perhaps we can check off a few items.

1. Light fixtures. I keep buying them, but I don’t install them.

2. Paint basement steps.

3. Convert work room into dining room. Ugh. Now that I’m embarking on my first flip, the Reclaimed Home store is going out of business. I now have the task of liquidating my merchandise and crafts. Years of crap to sift through. Then I just move the table and chairs in, right? Nah, we want to take down a wall. Demo in an already finished room.

4. Get rid of pissy cabinet. It was nice while it lasted but we no longer need a sink downstairs. Plus, the cats are peeing on it.

5. Get rid of cats. Only kidding!

6. Molding for window sills. We did the marble and never finished it off.

7. Fireplace screen. It’s not fixed to the mantel and it needs painting. Currently being held up by a table I pulled out of someone’s trash. Classy.

8. Molding in bathroom. We finished that bathroom 5 years ago and still, no molding.

9. Redo stairs from garden to parlor level. Yeah, that’s a job for the stair guy.

10. That damn deck! Ha, it’s going to go another summer before we get to it.

Meet the New Project

May 21, 2012 RH 6 Comments

I didn’t want to jinx it by mentioning it, but now that my offer has been accepted, inspection is done and I’m about to go into contract, I think it’s safe to tell you about the new house!

After looking in The Rockaways in bad weather then deciding to search upstate for a few months, I got discouraged with “the country”. Yes, there were houses in my price range. Loads of them. And I looked at them all. Only, none of them made too much sense. After travel time and/or living away from home most of the week, high taxes and the amount of work these places needed, I decided to give it one last shot locally.

I caught this house on Craigs and the agent actually did her job (unheard of in NYC in my price range) by returning my call and showing me the house. Not only that, but she has followed through on everything with this deal.

Location is pretty darn good even if it’s not on the beach. It’s actually located on the bay side of the peninsula with a view of the water. The parks department bought the property across the street on the bay and it will be a park with an area to put in kayaks and such. At the rate they’re going, I’ll be finished before them. This is in the high Beach 80’s, close to Thai Rock and within walking distance to the hip beach area. Like 4 blocks walk to beach.

The house is not much to look at. New vinyl siding. Hate it! But since I gotta keep costs down and I don’t want to put all that vinyl in the dumpster, I’ll try to purdy it up best I can with some molding to take away from the fugliness.

The 1920’s house probably never had any detail to begin with and it surely doesn’t now. There is actually wood flooring under that carpet, but who knows what I’ll find behind that drop ceiling and wall paneling? I’m thinking of going with Hollywood Regency style to spice it up.

It’s a legal 2 family of about 1000 square feet and I’ll keep as two units. I figure that rental income is never a bad thing. When all is said and done, the house should be fairly affordable to moderate income buyers. Even if someone just purchases it as a second home or two parties want to split it, the two apartments, although small, make sense.

The kitchens will get face lifts as will the entire house. What is NOT getting ripped out? Hello….

So, here’s where this blog will take another turn. Look for info on The Rocks (Yeah, gross term, I know. I said it to make you puke in your mouth alittle.) in the upcoming months. I’ll be posting design tips and DIY videos once the renovation starts.

If you follow me on Pinterest and you’ve noticed me creating boards like “Siding options”, “Tiny Back Yards” and “Hollywood Regency” now you know why. Let the fun begin! (In about a month when I close.)

Groovy Stairs

May 15, 2012 RH

Howzabout some ideas to spice up those steps? These can be done without rebuilding your whole staircase.

Lovin’ the vintage linoleum stairs but it’s hard to come by real vintage lino these days.

Soda crates! Or choose any kind of crate you can get your hands on. Notice how they just inserted the reclaimed treads in the middle without messing with the bannister?

These are actually porcelain tile. They fooled me. I thought it was stained or faux painted wood. The Italian tiles are awesome but they may be pricey and hard to come by. Nothing wrong with using the real thing. Just sand and stain.

Oy. That seems like a ton of work. Not to worry. Cut the risers and stencil them on a table BEFORE installation. Still a ton of work but at least you won’t break you’re neck.

reclaimedhome.com

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