Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
When we bought our 70 something y/o house someone had finished the basement (crappily) and they had a few leaks/floods over the years and the basement had mold. Sadly mold spores are everywhere and with moisture and food (paper on wallboard, wood, carpeting, even dust) it will grow rampantly. We spent 8 weeks in haz-mat gear and gutted the entire structure to the outer envelope, dug the foundation walls by hand and put a water-shield barrier over the block and footing to the soil line. We scrubbed every surface, used two mold killer solutions, let the structure dry out completely, replaced the rotted windows with historically accurate looking but modern windows and resided it properly, added guttering to the roof, (the only good thing on the house) and regraded the lot to drain away from the house. Whew!
It would have been less work to tear it down but there is very little history left up here (for the above reasons) so we lovingly restored this cottage where we live now. It was a Quixotic mission of tilting at windmills but we have been successful. We have people stopping to take photos as an older cottage in good repair is a rarity outside of a few (high dollar) blocks south of the downtown core. Our constant aim now is to manage moisture as condensation is a big deal up here in the winter and we are rainy and cool in the summer. The humidity stays at 50% or less year round without a dehumidifier, any more and we dry it out.
TrapperJohn jumped on what I said earlier. Fix the critter holes (caulk, concrete patch, wood trim and weatherstripping are your friends) seal up the perimeter to weather and critters. It can be done. We had a tremendous spider problem in the house particularly in the basement even after gutting the place but after sealing everything, residing the exterior properly, new windows, cleaning everywhere and the final thing was having the cracked concrete floor bonded and over-poured with self leveling concrete and then tiling and painting, we see very few critters of any kind anywhere in the house. Smells clean and dry everywhere, even the basement.
TrapperJohn is alluding to the type of finishing that I was going to suggest after you got your prep work done and that is the type of finish that we did to the basement which is very minimal. Seal, get rid of your intermittent flooding problem, clean (in your garage's case perhaps pressure wash in and out but be sure to turn off the garage power, use an extension cord from the house) let it dry out completely and paint all of the wood inside. You'll probably need a sprayer to do that. If the brick is not sealed (painted) on the outside, you really can't expect paint to adhere on the inside even with a water sealer over the inner brick and brick if it's decent looking brick is a handsome finish in itself. If you get rid of the water intrusion you might be able to paint the floor or get one of those epoxy garage floor coating guys in to see if they can do the job with a warranty. Perhaps gable end venting that can be closed and opened with a tiny attic fan at one end will help with ventilation and a Toyo or gas stove should keep it warm enough to use in the winter except on the most bitter cold days. Ditto for the summer.
I might be tempted to put a screen on that door, open the window and run the attic fan in the summer and except for the most scorching days, it should be useable. Maybe a small window A/C if you must. You can be critter free but you won't be energy efficient. Put down a few exterior type breathable sisal mats/area rugs for comfort and whatever you want in there as far as furnishings and given Virginia's rather mild climate you could use this space for at least 10 of the 12 months, probably more. The best part is you won't spend too much money or ruin it for the next owner that might want the space for a garage or wood shop.
I think you'll find that once the space is sealed and cleaned that it isn't so bad as it is. Brighten the wood up with paint (clean it well and use a very good sealer primer) and clean the old brick and I think you might find the area even pleasant to be in.
LOVELY post! Yes, all of the suggestions thus far will help fine tune what we are to do.
It has also downgraded my imagination (and that's fine) to getting the basic
essentials done, and done correctly to the letter, and adding each corrective layer after.
Fortunately there is no mold, and the water that gets in is very rare. Door sweep on list.
It doesn't have to be difficult to get it right, and a simple sisal rug is a good idea. NQ.
The garage is small enough to paint and it will look really nice too. I'm sick of looking at
all of those bricks. Blech!
Always investigate thoroughly before deciding a plan of action! You may discover that the problems aren't severe and are reparable without extreme measures or expense. Or you may discover that the problems are way more severe than originally suspected.
If the "bones" are still good and you just need maintenance and a few upgrades, I certainly wouldn't jump straight to bulldozing and starting over. Just because a structure is older and has a few issues doesn't automatically mean it's ready for the graveyard.
When factoring whether it's more resource-effective to start over fresh, you should also factor in the cost of wrecking & disposal (including environmental fees) of the original structure, any site repairs that may be needed before or afterwards, any permits required for demolition & rebuild vs repair & remodel... including any subsequent mandatory upgrades to other structures/systems to bring them up to code as a result of modifications. And let's not forget the possible property valuation and tax impacts. Sometimes it's not as simple as only cost of labor or materials.
Not to mention that you almost never want the city/county in your business if you can at all help it. Some of the code folks are fine and reasonable, others make it impossible to upgrade. You just never know if it's Andy or Barney Fife that shows up for an inspection.
Not to mention that you almost never want the city/county in your business if you can at all help it. Some of the code folks are fine and reasonable, others make it impossible to upgrade. You just never know if it's Andy or Barney Fife that shows up for an inspection.
Yeppers! I had a roof leak in another older home and easily got it repaired. But I had to get an "environmental hazard" permit to remove the moldy insulation and plaster. And that removel had to be inspected... the inspector then told the county that my electrical wasn't to code. And the county informed me that because I'd opened the ceiling and walls in that room, I had to upgrade the wiring... which meant I had to upgrade pretty much the whole house, and get that permitted and inspected, and all the plaster replaced (with drywall) and repainted, and pay the dump fees for all the perfectly good plaster and lathing and wiring that I was forced to replace.
That $5k project ended up costing me closer to $30k in the end
But the kicker... the leak was in the detached garage, but the house got involved the minute they forced me to upgrade the wiring. arg
California is just as bad. In Palo Alto we also have restrictions on just about everything you can imagine. I told my wife I was going to trim the trees and she joked I'd better clear it first.
Our neighbors were doing a remodel and got caught in the "lead paint" racket. We live in a nice area with older homes built before 1978. Anything prior to '78 must be treated as if it had lead.
True enough on the costs of gubbermints getting involved...
The town 40 miles away had 'housepainting classes for residential owners' - according to their gubbermint, they could not repaint their homes - inside or out - until they'd paid $135 for the course. It was all about 'lead paint removal' and haz-mat.
We are currently in the (slow) process of cleaning out a spot on our property we fondly refer to as "Superfund Gulch". Since it was abandoned/neglected for quite a few years, there are a lot of items back there that not only previous owners, but other people in the town, discarded. Now that metal is up to $140 a ton (any metal, any condition) we are steadily filling the big trailer with old cast iron tubs, old metal sheeting - even some cast-iron radiator parts. Any metal that is too rusted or that DH can't rework - including lengths of rusted barb'wire fence - goes on the pile. What no one could legally or cost-effectively sell or discard 10 years ago, has become a potential source of profit.
California is just as bad. In Palo Alto we also have restrictions on just about everything you can imagine. I told my wife I was going to trim the trees and she joked I'd better clear it first.
You may discover that the problems aren't severe and are reparable without extreme measures or expense.
If the "bones" are still good and you just need maintenance and a few upgrades, I certainly wouldn't jump straight to bulldozing and starting over. Just because a structure is older and has a few issues doesn't automatically mean it's ready for the graveyard.
Well said This is the case.. It's now a matter of removing the storage, (waiting for this oppressive heat to lift), rolling up our sleeves... to get in there and begin.
(Regarding the weather: something is askew.. It's so HOT here, I just saw two trees fighting over a dog)
We are currently in the (slow) process of cleaning out a spot on our property we fondly refer to as "Superfund Gulch". Since it was abandoned/neglected for quite a few years, there are a lot of items back there that not only previous owners, but other people in the town, discarded. Now that metal is up to $140 a ton (any metal, any condition) we are steadily filling the big trailer with old cast iron tubs, old metal sheeting - even some cast-iron radiator parts. Any metal that is too rusted or that DH can't rework - including lengths of rusted barb'wire fence - goes on the pile. What no one could legally or cost-effectively sell or discard 10 years ago, has become a potential source of profit.
Brilliant clean up SC GRANNY So, each time you drive to the weigh station you get paid!
We have big rusting empty drums we find on our property, tucked in the woods here and there.
Its amazing the stuff that people will leave on their property hoping you won't notice.
We found a Murphy bed frame!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
This is the case.. It's now a matter of removing the storage, (waiting for this oppressive heat to lift), rolling up our sleeves... to get in there and begin.
