Is Buying a Fixer-Upper Home Feasible? (paint, cleaning, carpet, glue)

[andybuildz]

Originally Posted by tiffela74

beautiful......wish you had pics of the bedrooms too though...Love the airy openness of it all, Id love to live in a home like that someday!
btw, I also love the teepee there next door. lol I want a teepee!!!

also, with all the talk about fixers and all, what about those historical homes? anyone ever get one of them and fix it? theres the neatest website, historicproperties.com or historicproperty.com dont remember which, anyhow, they have all these historical places for sale, some for free, you typically have to move them. anyhow, many of these homes are just jawdropping. My personal favorite (and first purchase if I ever win the lottery) is the castle. anyhow, anyone ever buy one of those and do the fixing? Some of them it doesnt seem like it would be that much....

Thanks...And I'd venture to gues my house is historic being it's c:1680
Also, there are pictures of the bedrooms in the virtual tour I left a link to.
About my 20' tipi..people always ask me why I have it so my default answer at this point is, "what, don't you have one"?lol

[tiffela74]

Beautiful home!!!! Im envious!!
I would love to live in such an incredible house, with so much history! i love your tie-ins!
And, your tipi ROCKS! LOVE IT!
Tiffany

[andybuildz]

Originally Posted by tiffela74

Beautiful home!!!! Im envious!!
I would love to live in such an incredible house, with so much history! i love your tie-ins!
And, your tipi ROCKS! LOVE IT!
Tiffany

Thanks much tiffany..goes appreciated. Can't believe I'm finlly finished with it and now onto other projects for other people on their houses. Too bad real estates so slow now...As beautiful as the house is I really don't need a 5000 sq ft house, especially being my youngest daughter will be off to college in the spring.
If you know anyone that needs any work done around NY give them my web site...thats always appreciated too : )
Thanks mucho
andy

[tiffela74]

Id pass that on, if i knew anyone out that way. Im waaaaayyyyyy over here in Oregon though, and dont know a soul in NY. but if i run into anyone, by all means, Id be glad to recommend your site. Looks like you do quality work!
Dang, what we could do w/5000sqft....sigh.

[andybuildz]

Originally Posted by tiffela74

Id pass that on, if i knew anyone out that way. Im waaaaayyyyyy over here in Oregon though, and dont know a soul in NY. but if i run into anyone, by all means, Id be glad to recommend your site. Looks like you do quality work!
Dang, what we could do w/5000sqft....sigh.

I don't know a soul in
NY either and I've lived here all my life...lol

And what you would do with 5000 sq ft in New York in the winter is work to make enough to heat it...gas ain't gettin' any cheaper

I probably use 1/4 of this house to live in.

[AVTechMan]

I know my thread here is somewhat old but, as of January 9 I am now the official owner of the property which we finally closed on! Was supposed to close last month but due to survey delays it got pushed into January.

Anyway I took alot more pics of the area and it really isn't that bad at all. No tear-down is necessary. I plan to gut it though and redo the walls as some of the wood paneling there is no drywall, just the insulation. Electrical will need to be redone since all the outlets are two-pronged...no grounded outlets throughout. Haven't inspected the plumbing throughly yet but that will be next.

My mom has suggested to get the materials to make the place livable (like buying linoleum in place of tile, proper baseboard walls for the bathrooms and such). In other words, there's no need to get granite countertops and fancy tiles, things like that which of course makes sense. I will save that stuff for my new dream house for the future.

Anyway, need new toilets, sinks possibly, newer appliances since the dryer is scratched up and the washer is very ancient. Need a fridge too and no, there's no need stainless steel appliances lol.

The seller gave me the central AC fan unit which was bought in 2003 so still relatively in great shape but will have to be reconnected to the house and recharged with new freon (seller removed the unit it to prevent theft for the copper) and the thermostat inside the house is still pretty new. I don't know the condition of the ducts but I know the vents will be changed to something a bit more modern....or I can clean them up and reuse them, just possibly changing the ducting.

The LP tank outside uses liquid propane of course and the tank is empty with a 250-gallon capacity so I will need to check the condition of the tank before it gets refilled. I am sure a full tank can last awhile depending on how much gas is used.

Thankfully, my mom knows people that can do the kind of work that I will need done so that will save time looking for someone, and hopefully save money as well. I plan to work on the big stuff first to where I can make it livable so that I can move in within a few months.

And for two acres of property, a riding-mower will be a definite must! The seller mentioned how it took her 2+ hours to mow the lawn so you can bet that will be a full Saturday morning.

Also I am debating on whether to fence my property, since mine and the neighbors near me on smaller lots are not fenced. Since I know where my boundaries are I was thinking on a low-profile based fence (not chain link, too ugly and definitely not appropriate for a rural area home).

Below are the pics of the house, and the property.

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg28/Picture31man/House-13-edit.jpg (broken link)

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg28/Picture31man/House-1.jpg (broken link)

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg28/Picture31man/Land-8.jpg (broken link)

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg28/Picture31man/Land-6.jpg (broken link)

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg28/Picture31man/Land-5.jpg (broken link)

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg28/Picture31man/Land-3.jpg (broken link)

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg28/Picture31man/House-3.jpg (broken link)

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg28/Picture31man/House-16.jpg (broken link)

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg28/Picture31man/House-15.jpg (broken link)

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg28/Picture31man/House-14.jpg (broken link)

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg28/Picture31man/House-12.jpg (broken link)

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg28/Picture31man/House-11.jpg (broken link)

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg28/Picture31man/House-6.jpg (broken link)

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg28/Picture31man/House-7.jpg (broken link)

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg28/Picture31man/House-9.jpg (broken link)

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg28/Picture31man/Land-1.jpg (broken link)

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg28/Picture31man/Land-10.jpg (broken link)

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg28/Picture31man/Land-11.jpg (broken link)

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg28/Picture31man/Land-12.jpg (broken link)

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg28/Picture31man/Land-2.jpg (broken link)

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg28/Picture31man/House-2.jpg (broken link)

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg28/Picture31man/House-4.jpg (broken link)

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg28/Picture31man/House-5.jpg (broken link)

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg28/Picture31man/Land-4.jpg (broken link)

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg28/Picture31man/House-10.jpg (broken link)

[Tesaje]

Congratulations! You have a good hobby now. It really doesn't look all that bad if the hidden things are not too bad. Don't discount how much a thorough cleaning and new paint can make a place livable for very little money. Protect those floors when you do work in those rooms. I've seen vinyl in decent shape painted over with floor paint to get a "new" and cleaner surface on the cheap until they could afford or were ready to remodel. You might want to keep those cabinets and clean and paint them until you are ready to do a complete remodel. If the toilets are not cracked, you can get them working fine with new innards. The cheap ones without a float work very well. You don't have to tear out everything, necessarily.

One thing you may have an issue with is rust in the water. The tub has some pretty significant rust stains (Whink is a good rust remover and works fast) that might be from a lot of rust in the water. Or it could be from the fixtures.

You have a new adventure in front of you. Enjoy.

[andybuildz]

I especially love how the back of the toilet seat is wallpapered...hope you don't intend to remove that...LOL
Looks like a great project. One right up my alley. Just get right in there and start rippin' away. A nice big dumpster and a couple of weeks will get'r gutted and cleaned up purty nice and then you can get to work makin' real nice to her.

First thing that comes to mind and it's just a suggestion is...you "could" add a single green ground wire to all the outlets and change the recepticles all to 3 prong and GFI by water and your electronics ( ie: puter and TV and sterio equipt). And add a grounding rod into the ground by the panel box to ground everything. You could do that yourself for less than a hundred bucks.....if you think it's worth the time. If all the walls are open it should be pretty easy.

Another sugestion is to get one of those yellow metal garden carts that lowes sells. They're about $80 and pretty heavy duty. I got tons of use from mine. Comes with an attachment for your garden tractor. Wish I'd had bought it sooner!!! Way better than any wheel barrow for a lot of hauling jobs although you still need the wheel barrow.

After you clean up wash everything with "TSP". You can get it in powder form from any box store or paint store. It's way cheaper than the already mixed stuff. Its the best stuff to clean most everything with especially good use on walls before painting.

I have two acres of lawn too as you can see in some of the previous pic I posted and the owners right. Takes me 2 hours to mow it all.
Not sure if you'll have leaf issues like I do in the fall which is a nightmare of a job!!!! I spent $400 on a grass/leaf catcher for my mower. PAid for itself the first year. Made doing leaves cake!! The year before it took me and a helper almost one full week...full time...whewwwww. ..and I was hatin' life every minute.
With the catcher? Wasn't much different than jut cutting t he lawn cept I had to empty the catcher once in a while into the woods.

Any plumbing you need to do look into using PEX. Its way cheaper than copper and easy to run.

Oh yeh..and when you get to it...you "could" if you want...you could take the kitchen cab doors and drawer fronts off and get brand new replacements in any style you want to fit exactly. You can stain/paint then yourself if you think you can do a good job. I can recommend soem companies that sell some reasonably priced doors through the mail. Way cheaper than anything else you can do other than clean up wht you have. Clean with TSP and spray them...or sand em down and spray them.
Here's a real good company I've used. http://www.walzcraft.com/index.asp (broken link)

If you ever have any questions feel free to ask.
Good luck dude...not that you'll need any : )
andy

[Tesaje]

Originally Posted by andybuildz

Here's a real good company I've used. http://www.walzcraft.com/index.asp (broken link)

The link will probably get zapped but it says it will sell only to pros - no homeowners.

I agree that if the carcasses on the cabinets are in decent shape, you can refinish and get new doors to really make them nice. There are other companies that will sell to anybody. Or if just getting something clean and decent enough to live with quickly is the objective, paint is a good cheap option. TSP is a good cleaner. Be careful pouring it down your septic system. Fabric softener is the best thing to strip the wallpaper (except on the back of the toilet seat). Score it and slop it on (diluted, of course), let it sit for a few minutes, then start pulling it off. Use a spackling knife to scrape off as much glue as you can, then clean it.

[andybuildz]

Originally Posted by Tesaje

The link will probably get zapped but it says it will sell only to pros - no homeowners.

I agree that if the carcasses on the cabinets are in decent shape, you can refinish and get new doors to really make them nice. There are other companies that will sell to anybody. Or if just getting something clean and decent enough to live with quickly is the objective, paint is a good cheap option. TSP is a good cleaner. Be careful pouring it down your septic system. Fabric softener is the best thing to strip the wallpaper (except on the back of the toilet seat). Score it and slop it on (diluted, of course), let it sit for a few minutes, then start pulling it off. Use a spackling knife to scrape off as much glue as you can, then clean it.

Yeh...there's lots of cab door companies. Look in the back of any trade kind of rag like Fine Homebuilding or The Journel Of Light Construction and those two rags have the best advertisers for stuff like that but you need to be careful. I'd probably just choose one from within those rags b/c I know most of them are good and used by us carps in the trade.

With wallpaper you're right..you can use fabric softner in hot water but I prefer to use DIF. Its chap enough and I always have good results. I've done miles and miles of wallpaer removal. More than I'd like to admit.
edit: if the wall paper is vinyl paper like you see in some bathrooms rip it off first b/c the water never penitrates it and you can rip it off. It'll leave the backing paper on the wall from behind it. USe the stripper on that or you can buy a special tool know as the TIGER that makes holes in the vinyl paper and lets the stripper penitrate it...I just rip the first layer off if I can.
the trick is to use HOT water and be PATIENT! Let it sit at least 20 minutes and keep it wet with your garden sprayer or a big sponge. Garden sprayers a lot easier if you have one. And right...scrape off all the gue and backing paper if there is backing paper. LEt dry and touch up spackle. with a non shrinking spackle like Red Devil in the oz or one gal containers. The real LIGHT and FLUFFY spackle.
And oh yeh...Don't cheap out on a good primer!!
I also like to lightly sand over the primer after it dries to give it a real smooth base to cover. Have the people you buy your paint from tint the primer close to the color of the top coat if you're using a darker top coat.