I finally sold the circa:1680 farmhouse I restored on the north shore of Long Island here in NY and found (a foreclosure) house in a great hood I’m about to renovate less than five minutes from the one I sold. The bones are really good and the property out back is pretty interesting.
The house is seriously dated (50’s). I feel like I’m back in the Leave it To Beaverland. It’s kinda sad to rip it all apart but pink bathrooms and…well…you know, won’t really go over well when I go to sell in a cpl of years.
My first dilemma is trying to decide what to do with the front’s exterior. The one area I want to redo is the gable end. I considered building out the soffits about 12″ or so to give it some dept b/c it seems kinda flat and boring to me.
I’ve considered replacing the two windows with taller ones that have circular tops. Use some stone facing where the brick is which is my dilemma.
I can’t decide whether or not the existing brick is appealing or not to your average HO. I have mixed feelings about it.
Should it stay..or should it go???
[IMG]View Image[/IMG]
BTW…one of the two windows in that gable end is in a bathroom and the other window is in the master bedroom so I’m going to have to strategically place them accordingly to look good from outside as well as in.
I will be cathedraling (is that a word? lol) the bed/bathrooms.
Link to other photos of this dump
http://picasaweb.google.com/andybuildz/6BlairDrHuntingtonNY_211724?authkey=Gv1sRgCITc-Zr_v8_diQE&feat=directlink
Replies
won't let me edit...GEEZZZZ
SO I can't edit my own post??? Geezzz
Here's the photo of the front..
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/XP53YT9rhcLRgBoXFb_L-g?feat=directlink
If it were me, I'd probably start with Pressure washing the brick to see what it really looks like. Replace the gable siding with fake shakes and maybe replace the rest of the siding and call it a week.
That brick is what it looks like. It's supposed to have that faded white paint look. You see a lot of older homes with it around here. It's just that I don't think I like how it looks but it's not what I like...it's what the general public (buyers) think of it...hence this thread.
I really can't decide if it just looks dated or it's just not my taste...or anyone else's for that matter.
The cedar shingles I will replace, but the brick? I considered using a sort of river rock stone facing over the the face of it around to the front door and wide front window which will also get replaced.
I just don't wanna spend money and time where it adds little to nothing.
I think this is a first for me...where I can't figure out if the brick looks blahhhh or not.
This whole house ain't my taste but it's just another project for resale so it's not what "I" like...it's what most people might like.
looks like s good
score, andy..... glad to see you're still close
ever see your lawyer buddy around ?
Shaggy? Nope. Not a squeek.
I agree with other poster, wash the brick and replace the (aluminium?) siding with cedar or similar, maybe do some sort of pattern.. a starburst or fish-scales or something. Stone is nice but a big expense if the brick looks just fine.
I don't know how practical it would be to put arched windows there, since it looks like the top of the windows already hitting the gable. Maybe work it into the design or drop the new larger windows a little lower than the existing to accomodate the extra height.
Building the soffits out me thinks is a good idea. I like wide sofits.
Ted...I'll be raising the ceilings in those front rooms which would accomodate taller windows. I'd also lower the windows as well as raising them. I thought stone just around the circular part of the tops might look interesting and have the cedar butt into that. Stone facing isn't terribly expensive and I wouldn't need a real lot of it being I'd just do the lower sections...and I wouldn't need to sub it out.
I also considered board and batten on the upper gable and keep the rest of the house striated cedar shingles stained greyish.
There's no aluminum siding btw...it's real cedar that was painted and is peeling real badly but hasn't rotted the cedar at all.
Replacing the cedar would probably be a lot easier than scraping it plus it'd look a whole lot better..There's also not a ton of that either.
Fish scales isn't a bad idea if I go with the cedar again but it can't be anything too unconventional...as hard as that is for me not to do...lol
Sure doesn't look like cedar. Who'd a thunk it? Looks like extremely wide aluminum. Thats why I thought shakes or fish scales on the gable would look great but I would go fake either vinyl or hardie in a contrasting color. Builders probably prefer hardie but from a buyers side vinyl has that nice no maintenance ring to it.
Personally, if I'm trying to make money on it, I'm not going to dump money into replacing the brick because you've already pointed out your taste may not be the markets. If that isn't just incredibly dirty, then I think I would opt to paint it and yes I know how some pros will feel about painting brick but it will freshen it up and give a good clean look with little expense. In this kind of market, I think the name of the game is to just freshen things up and make the house turn key move in ready. Make it look fresh and clean on the outside and put your money on fixing the dated interior.
The brick actually isn't dirty...lol...it just has that used look. Believe it or not there's some very very expensive houses that use those bricks when they go to build.
I was at my mason supplier the other day and they said they still sell lots of it. It gives a sort of antique look.
I'm sure there's a name for them but it slips my mind. I just call em' ugly brick...lol.
Some people told me they really like em'....go figga...hence this thread. It's got me really baffled as to what to do...the brick actually goes around the entire right side of the house as well...ugh.
I agree about cleaning it up for the most part but being it's a ranch and fairly easy to work on I feel as though spending some money on the front to give it some real curb appeal should help sell this place quite a bit. First impressions and all.
This hood has houses for sale now that are in the 7's and 8's and many sold at that price recently. Up the block a cpl of builders built some houses that are over a mil as well but they're not quite finished and I have no idea what they WILL sell for so I can't totally use them as comps but people are spending money around here.
I bought this house as a bank foreclosure for about 500K and figure if I sink $100-150,000 into it I can still make a decent buck in two years when I go to sell it so I want to put the money where it'll do the most good. Bathrooms(4)/kitchen and the grounds are #1 I'd say.
I just need to be careful where I spend the bigger bucks.
I figure for kitchen cabs I may use the company "Cabinet Parts"
http://www.cabparts.com/download_screen.html
after I weigh out whether or not it'll save me enough to warrant the time it takes putting em' togther....blah blah blah : )~
Here we go again....
If the brick were just dirty or factory "distressed" you could clean it or paint it, but I'm not sure what you can do for that bad case of pixelation.
Is the brick only on that face? If so, I'd yank it.
What is in that part of the house, a family room? It doesnt look to be bedrooms.
I agree on extending the soffits on the gable. 12" may not be enough, maybe 16".
Bedroom is on the right and bathroom on the left.
I thought I might run the ridge out about 18-24" bringing that roof/soffit extention down a few feet then step it back to a 12" roof/soffit extention and pop a few corbels in. One under the extended ridge and one at the ends of each of the 18-24" roof/soffit extentions.
The brick is real brick, not facing and it's on real well so I think going over it..if thats what I end up doing...will be a lot faster and less costly.
I'd be using real stone ...but it'd be facing, not full stones. That too goes on pretty easily and looks decent especially with shrubbery and plants in front of it.
The window on the left is in the green bathroom right up against the same wall that has the bedroom on the other side of it. I think there's a bad picture of it in here..
http://picasaweb.google.com/andybuildz/6BlairDrHuntingtonNY_211724?authkey=Gv1sRgCITc-Zr_v8_diQE#
I'm gonna cathedral both the bathroom and bedroom up to where you see that giant gable vent btw...making the bedroom and bathroom part of one another creating a small master bedroom suite..It all needs a bit of flair...1950's were about rooms like cubicles for the most part...kinda boring.
I looked through your PicasaWeb pictures. Looks like a nice project for you.
I saw the green and pink bathrooms. Pure 50's.
Pure fifties is right...along with a stereo cabinet and an old turn table. Gotta get out my Meet The Beatles album and Stones High Tide and Green Grass album and see how they sound under a needle.....although..at that time I think all those guys were under the needle...lol.
It's a real pity to rip apart those bathrooms. They're in mint condition. Maybe I should wait and see if the 50's comes back....nahhh.
I do have to save the hamper thats built into the wall and reuse it..I love it. Reminds me of when I grew up in the projects of Queens here in NY.
I ripped up all the shag carpets the day b/4 we closed on the house before the movers moved us in.....as much as I love shag carpets.
So I loaded my van to the brim. Called the dump to see their hours cause it was getting late. They tell me they won't take carpet.WHAT??? Oh shid now what?
I called the town. They said if it's cut up and bundled in 4' long pieces they'll take it from the street. Luckily It WAS all bundled up in small rolls so I put it all out.
The garbage men came and went and didn't take it..WHAT????
I call the town AGAIN. They tell me I can only put out six pieces. SIX PIECES???
It'll take ten years to get it all. A-HOLES!!!
So I load my van back up AGAIN. Call dumpster companies. THREE FRIGGEN HUNDRED DOLLARS for a ten yarder!! WHAT????
So I call a local dumpster guy and ask...if I bring it to you how much? $100.
Whewwwww.
This world is filled with A-HOLES...I swear to god..
Andy bought himself a job!
Congrats on the sale, bet your relieved that's over.
So what the hell does the city do with the 6 pieces they will take?
Maybe you shudda given every neighbor a stack of 6?
Last dumpster I had in California had to pay the city a fee, think it was $45 for any dumpster that couldn't be put in the garage out of sight.
Another $45 to the blood suckers who didn't even come help me load it. Did stop by to see if I had the permit though, so got something for my money.
This looks like a lot of drudge work, what happened to that big job you had going with the Tattooed Jew? Thought that would keep you busy for a year.
Good luck buddy, Joe H
A relief that I sold that 5000sq ft dump IS a major relief..whewww. I was really gettin' worried there. The taxes alone'd kill most people($20K)...not that they're THAT much cheaper here..although...$5000 cheaper is quite a difference....least in this neck O' the woods it is.
Finished the Tattooed Jew's job just a cpl a weeks ago. Actually I'm going back Saturday for a day to install one small cabinet that was back ordered along with some mouldings.
I was on that job almost two years...enough's enough over there already.
Here's the kitchen we finished. Did everything from the demo to drywall to painting, tile, cabs etc and so on.
Ain't my taste but it does look awesome!
http://picasaweb.google.com/andybuildz/KaylinKitchenGreatRoom02#slideshow/5455320141792558402
Sometimes these links work here in BT sometimes they don't. No idea why so if it doesn't work just paste it in your browser.
Yeh...this house'll keep me busy but I'm still taking on outside work when it comes along.
Trying to get my shop back in order is mind boggling...OMG. I just wanna run away...lol.
Dude you're not thinking like a New Yorker. Meet the G man at the curb, 20 bucks and a cold drink and everything goes on the truck.
My guy, unless there's blood oozing out of a bag, grabs everything. Even then he might take them.
As far as those windows on the gable wall, what about a french door in the bedroom and a private little patio/garden? It looks to be back from the street enough.
I have the same radiators in my house. And a small fortune in them. Had them chemically stripped and I spray them with enamel when I paint.