My story: ripped off existing cape roof with attatched garage, new 2nd floor addition (4 bedrooms, 1 large master bath, 1 family room, 1 study, 1 5’x8′ closet, 2 large walk in closets. Also bumped out kitchen 9’x12′ and built on top of that. I did all the demolition, all the prep to the deck. Framers came in built 2nd floor walls and roof system. I hired out the roofing shingles (10/12 pitch) I installed all the windows, installed all the tar paper, all the siding. Inside: did all the wiring, all the copper supply lines, hired out the sheetrock, and spray insulation. I did all the painting, flooring, woodwork, installation of electric fixtures, closet organizer systems I made from 4×8 sheets of melamine. I did all the trim, baseboard heat (1 new zone added), I’m just starting to tile the master bath. I built the shower using the kerdi system, hopefully have a functioning shower and toilet by Thanksgiving. Bathroom should be totally done by Christmas or 1st of the year. Then its downstairs to repair all the ceilings that got messed up and do the new kitchen. I’m hoping to be done by next summer (2008) My building permit was issued June 6th, 2006. I hade done some pre demo starting in the previous April. How long have you guys been working on YOUR house project?
Craig
Replies
forever.....
and ever...
and ever....
and ever.
Liberty = Freedom from unjust or undue governmental control.
American Heritage Dictionary
These things supposed to get done??, I know an individual that lives in Main thats working on his project 35yrs; still not done!!. You're doing great!
started demo the day we closed... 7 years ago. hope to be finished by the houses 100th b-day in 2010
good luck
dave
The Chinese proverb says when a man finishes his house, he dies...
I think I prefer Lisa's: "A finished house is a listed house"
Whew, I'm gonna live forever.
This lady took that literally. I toured the place as a teenager in the 60's. Cool place.
http://www.winchestermysteryhouse.com/story.html"I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul." Invictus, by Henley.
Yeah, that is a cool place. It's on the History Channel occasionally.Like to make time to see it in person one day.
>"My story: ripped off existing cape roof with attatched garage,"
Dude, your roof had a garage attached to it?
Seriously, I owned one house for 24 years, and never truly finished the remodeling till AFTER it was listed to sell.
Politics is the antithesis of problem solving.
You're serious? What do you define as "finished"? For me, it's the certificate of occupancy and the conversion of the bank construction loan to a mortgage, in which case - the end of this month will be four years and six months. I closed on my land and built my driveway in May of 2003, drilled the well in September 2003, poured the foundation in May 2004, put up the timber frame in May 2005, put the panels on in July 2005, septic system installed in June 2006, everything else done between July '05 and now. Bank didn't get involved until I ran out of money sometime in early 2006.
The house won't ever be truly finished, but close enough to have a lifetime of "honey-do" lists and a place to live while you're doing them.
So what does your wife think about all this?
Oh man, I've been working so long on the wifey's house that we're ready to remodel the remodel work. I can't keep up with it all.
Bought a 1100 sf cottage to live in. Added 2800 sf to it, moved into that side. gutted and redid the original 1100 sf. Started September 1999. Got the C.O. June 2007.
Not bad for a two year turnaround.
You don't wanna go there.
As an architect and also a builder of three of my own homes (ok 2 1/2 homes because I'm in the middle of the third one) my little advice to clients:
Runnerguys 90/90 theorem of construction schedules:
The first 90% of the project will take 90% of the time. The last 10% of the project will take the other 90% of the time.
Runnerguy
Edited 10/29/2007 5:46 pm ET by runnerguy
But I find that there's always another 90% that you finally decide to just live with having unfinished.
If your view never changes you're following the wrong leader
That's true until the Listed theorem alluded to above comes into the picture.
Runnerguy
No, the 90% you leave undone is over and above the 180% previously mentioned.
If your view never changes you're following the wrong leader
Broke ground 12/26/06. CO issued 7/26/07. 7 months to the day. Added a 24 x36 2 car garage and laundry room. Paid out the foundation, insulation, drywall. All framing, electrical (including 90A subpanel in garage), plumbing, tile floor by me (with a LOT of help from friends / family during framing stage). Tearoff of existing 24sq roof and reroof of old house and addition with 40yr dimensional shingles by my wife and myself. Replaced every window in house, bathroom skylight, R&R all the siding adding housewrap under new siding (again just me and my wife). New kitchen floor and repaint of entire house. Replaced all carpet in house. Did I mention I had to dig up 30' of my electric service so the foundation guy didn't hit it with the hoe? Through the gravel drive? Wife helped there too. That sucked, but saved about $4K in relocation expense.
Great sense of satisfaction and I love my wife today even more than when we started. (She fed me shingles in a gale in April while I had the week off to do the roof, her and her father did over 50% of the tearoff and replacement of 30lb felt- she's a keeper) But I won't do it again. I'm not a builder. I loved the project but am glad it's over.
And while I appreciated what pro builders do before I started, I appreciate it even more having lived through it.
We moved into our current house in 97. I pulled the paneling out of the family room and put in drywall. There's still no trim and were moving out this weekend.
I wanted to allow the house to settle before I set the base and casing so my miters would remain tight.
I gotta remember that one. Though I'm not sure my wife will buy it.
If your view never changes you're following the wrong leader
5-6 years... maybe 3 full time... but then i'm building 19 condo units plus mine... so 20 total... i need to finish soon... interest is start'n to eat my lunch... but i'm still have'n fun...
p
28 years, As i go around one side and finish the side i started on needs to be redone, I might be depressed by this but i still have the first wive
Sphere bought his and had 'er completely done 30days after closing.
beforeView Image
after
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My wife has had her moments, she's been pretty good up until now. She always has the kids and now my little ones are getting older so they're involved in more (soccer, dance, etc.) I don't want to miss all that stuff so the house has to be put off sometimes. My wife always tries to help. During the summer when I was doing all the siding, she helped out with the yard work up until she was trimming hedges with electric hedgetrimmer and nearly cut three of her fingers off. Sliced through the tendon on her ring finger. Had to have surgery and has to go to physical therapy till this day. After that i hired a landscaper! Still if she just complains, I let her vent. It is frustrating when people ask "how is the house coming" or "why is it taking so long" My favorite line is one of her dumb friends said "why don't you just hire someone to finish all of it"? Yeah...................
CRaig
8 years ago I build a house for my wife and I. She said she would help. Well... First it was "too muddy over there". Then there were "bees over there". Then it was too dusty. etc, etc, etc. As it turned out she was an immense help though... no, no yard work... :-) She sold our old house (and for a good price I might add), packed up all our stuff, arranged for the movers, but the one most significant thing she did was when she said "I'm not moving in there until it is 100% done!!!" It was 10 months of working 14 to 16 hr days for me (with that and my regular job). I subbed out about 60% of it. In the end we moved into a new house with like a 5 item punch list. One of those items still isn't done. :-)
Just to give you an idea that it isn't a shack, it's a souther style 3100 sq ft ranch with brick on 3 sides, a steep hip roof and big white columns on the front porch.
Once a man said to me "Not needing to do everything yourself (just because you can) shows maturity". Not my words, but I try to subscribe to that. Sure it's hard to bite the bullet and hire a painter for example, when I know I can DIY for 1/4 the price, but I realized some time back that I gotta set my priorities and spend more quality time, since time is something I will never get back.
Matt that's the exact phrase my wife is saying. "I'm not moving till it's 100% done!"
I screwed up on our last house by leaving a bathroom unfinished for five years, yup, finished it 1 week before we sold it. And dang if it wasn't nice to have that bathroom downstairs. So I guess now she doesn't trust me to ever finish anything.
Current house, just past 3 years in progress, hope to be done by April. or at least 95% done, and I'm moving with her or without.
Aaron
I think the women are the smart ones. They know what it takes to get it done - well, some of them anyway.
I remember when I (nearly) finished the downstairs apartment in the last house. I told my wife (then fiancee) that I wanted to rent that one out to a tenant for income, and that we would move upstairs to the part that was not finished. She told me in no uncertain terms that she had gone to great lengths to see the place get the finishes she liked and no tenant was going to get it. It took me months to get the upstairs unit (more or less) done, much of it after the tenant moved in. (We were friends.)
Total time - over five years. Thank God I got help or I'd still be there.
Don K.
I still have no bathroom or kitchern, what I want and what sells or too different things..
.
I talk politics because I hate to drink alone
I wonder what it really does look like now?
The man's got way more gumption than me - to undertake a project like that.
I think Sphere said he's down to burning only a cord/mo to keep from freezing. Something like a quarter his original consumption.
13 yrs in here; the several it took to get a CO are mostly forgotten.
I tried to sub out a lot on my place. Didn't work, too small a project I guess. We moved in with much left to do, just happy to be in. Reworking the 1/2 mile, $20k, driveway after the mess the "professional" left us with was the major bone of contention.
Always a silver lining, I've become the go-to guy around here for difficult driveways. My surveys work very well.
PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
Yup. I am still truckin along.
Started the hardie siding on the new west wall and the North wall, I got tired of re-tarpapering the outside..LOL
Hamstrung my self, with the shop downstairs in the living quarters, I can't finish the rooms. I NEED to get a shop up before the next phase of switching which half we are living in so I can work on this half.
Hell, I got time.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"If you want something you've never had, do something you've never done"
There's always the SPHERAMID shop dream... (with the eyeball or something on top)
Wasn't that going to turn into a fest?
Best thing about a plan is you know when you change it.PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
That washed up with my lot(s) survey, where I WANTED to plant the shop, would encroach on my other lot..some County setback BS..even tho' I own them both, they are sub-divided tax wise.
I'm really thinking a quonset hut about 25'x50' would be easiest. Nothing says "hey, I'm a builder" like steel eyesore out back..LOLSpheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
"If you want something you've never had, do something you've never done"
Nothing says "hey, I'm a builder" like steel eyesore out back..LOL
In a nutshell.
Was talking with one of my deer hunters who recently bought some acreage. Wants a large shop so I was giving the underground pitch. Steel is his budget. And not burial steel.
Some quonsets are strong enough to bury. Never freezes inside.
Bertha added 150' to the new driveway today, and another 4 cu yds of hickory to the firewood pile.PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
You are obviously not familiar with the old chinese proverb,
"Man finish house -- Man die!"
But really. The I did not finish our last remodel (that we were living in) until the week before we sold it to buy the current remodel (that we are living in...)
Cheers,
Pat
No subs, all direct. 5300 sq ft, 3 floors.
Bought land April 1971
Bought 1st dozer June '71
cleared 800 ft of road thru big DF till March 72
Drew house plans in Jan 72
Dug foundation April 72
Septic, well (hand dug) and roofed in by Oct 73
Moved in in June '74.
All rooms finished by mid '75.
Started sheds and garages in '76, still at those<G>
What REALLY hurts about a long build (and it's going on 18 months for me) is the long port-potty rental. 12 months of handy house rental. Now what would Confuscious say about that??
Make like a bear?
PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
started 9 / 24/07. we ripped off the roof of a single story ranch (1k square feet)
framed new floor system, did plumbing in floor before we sheathed the floor, layed out perimeter walls (two different plate heights, cross gable situation.
framed roof, filled in gable framing, sheathed the walls, tyvek, windows, added a 42' long front porch, roofers installed shingles, electrician rough wired. getting ready to insualte next week. no siding or soffits yet. fascias are done.
"it aint the work I mind,
It's the feeling of falling further behind."
Bozini Latini
http://www.ingrainedwoodworking.com
slow down buddy,if i could delete your post i would,what if one of our dw's read this. we got them to thinking quality takes time and here you are 40 days into it and insulating. why don't you go to this old house form or something and you and norm can shoot the b.s over there.!! that guy burns me up to. the wife thinks you can build a 20 drawer dresser with dovetails in 30 mins. j.k.
larry
if a man speaks in the forest,and there's not a woman to hear him,is he still wrong?
Edited 10/30/2007 11:35 pm by alwaysoverbudget
I missed the fact that it was about our own houses. My house? different story. I have pump jacks up in the front since august. DW decorated them with cornstalks to help hide them. guess that's a hint to get going."it aint the work I mind,
It's the feeling of falling further behind."Bozini Latinihttp://www.ingrainedwoodworking.com
I gutted 1000 s/f 2nd floor to the outside walls. Started on 2/1/04. Put in 2 room master suite,4th bedroom, hall way, master bath with walk in closet and new hall way to 4th bedroom. Had a dedicated HVAC installed to handle 2nd floor. I framed, trimmed and laid and finished all wood flooring. Subbed out drywall/ electric/ plumbing and paint. Also put in new oak treads on enclosed stair way. I finished on 10/1/04. Would have finished one month sooner, but, my 15 year business and friendship relationship with the plumber/bath guy went in the tank and it cost me 4 -5 weeks. I finally "fired" him. He had the nerve to ask me when he would get paid for the balance of the contract!! I could not stop laughing. He was paid far in advance of the stage at which I terminated the deal and for the life of me, I could not figure out, nor could he tell me how he thought I still owed him money. Some people are amazing....
craig,
6 years and counting.. hopefully three to go. Well three before the bulk of it is done..
Norm Abhrams from this old house still hadn't finished his house after ten years and it's likely it's still unfinished..
the cobblers children go barefoot syndrom.
First house. 900 sf. Circa 1901. Took it down to framing and rebuilt it. No surface untouched. Spent 20 years on it. Finished it the day I listed it.
Second house. 7000ish sf. Built ground-up. Spent 8 years on it. Finished it 6 months after listing it.
(At least the years/ksf is improving!)
Got smart with the current one. Bought it finished, and committed to not doing a damn thing on it. OK, I added a central vac, but that was more fun than work.
How long have you guys been working on YOUR house project?
Well, I remember it seems it was sometime back in the 80s where I had this screwball idea about renovating this old turn of the century place I'd nicknamed the dozer house 'cause it was literally ready for the dozer but still feeling young and dumb with less sense and even lesser cents I opted to take on the project and realized somewhere along the way I'd need to get some tools, boy, that's when the fun began 'cause after awhile I learned that this was going to be more than just vacuuming up some dirt and painting 'gee, is that myazz or a hole in the ground and when I found this website that kept getting mentioned in my FineHomebuilding magazine that I patiently waited at my mailbox each month...
Edited 10/31/2007 12:59 pm ET by rez
rez,
Oh, so your problems all are the fault of fine homebuilding as well? Yeh I keep expecting them to be out here to help me since they were the real motivation behind my place too.
In fact I should stop buying their magazine untill they appear to help bail me out of my never ending project..
What's worse the stupid idea of a rolled roof edge with thatchweave shingles.. I sure wish they would have explained that each 4 in shingle takes 4 1/2 minutes of steaming before it could be installed.. that doing my roof that way meant months and months of work, close to a year before it's completely done..
whereas if I'd done it with normal 3 tab shingles it was a couple of days of work..
Ya, those old mags really were something else.
One thing I could never figure out tho' is an old advertisement in there. What in the world was that guy on a ladder building with the Paslode Impulse framing nailer out of those cedar 4x4s and how was he using 3 1/4 inch nails to do it?
Edited 10/31/2007 1:29 pm ET by rez
Tgats pretty good. I think I would have been done with ours in 6 monthes if the family were to take an extended leave.
I guess that I'm the 3rd generation of my family to be working on our house. Grandfather moved into the house (previously abandoned) in 38 and fixed it up as money allowed and lived there for 60 years, Dad did a lot of work on it the last 20 year and I moved in 5 years ago. I figure if I keep working at it myself I should have about the next 20 years worth of evenings and weekends filled up.
A.
Done?<!----><!----><!---->
What’s that? Every time I think I’m done the wife comes up with something else! At this rate I'll never even start on the garage mahal.<!----><!---->
Bought the house in May of 04 and that when my living hell started.<!----><!---->
New bathroom...minus trim. 2 years start to finish. But... I took 9 months off in between. Finshed (xcept trim) in June (trim to be done this weekend). This space was originally an out side (open air) porch and at some point was converted to a weird den with a full basement below. Had to re-route the basement stairs and rebuild the entire floor structure. Reinforce the entire wall and ceiling (roof) framing. Removed a roof from the inside (some genius had roofed over the original shed porch roof to the ridge when it was converted to inside space). When I got to the point where I was ready to connect into the supply water I realized that I would have to deal with the galvanized piping.... blahhhh. New copper lines to the entire house are soo much better anyway. Then....that 35 yr old water heater with galvanized lines...yea, new water heater is easier. This was by far the biggest job I will ever undertake and was waaaayyyy more than I expected. New elec., new supply & DWV plumbing. Man... that first dookie was satisfying.<!----><!---->
Ohh and almost forgot, part of the reason I took some time off was that all my f'n around removing the lower roof exacerbated the problems with the old roof! Had to switch gears and re roof about 6 sq roof over the bath in question and the kitchen. 3 layers AND 100 yr old cedar shake. Also had to replace about 1/3 of the rotted roof deck and 20 ft of eve & sofit. Wonder why it was leaking?!<!----><!---->
About a month before I noticed the roof leak, the furnace went out. Luckily it was April and had some time to figure out what I was going to do. No A/C all summer was a real B!&@#. I think all the HVAC guys around here had coffee after I called a few of em and decided that I was their new target. Fu&@r$ !!! The lowest quote I got for installing a new furnace was $3500 and that was not high efficiency. Well, I’m too cheap for that so I bought a high efficiency out of state and tried for 3 months to get someone to install it. If you’ve been reading this you already know that I don’t have that kind of luck so when the temp in the house dropped to 50 deg. I put on my HVAC hat and got to work. In hind site, I should have just done myself about two months earlier. It was no problem and I was able to justify some new metal working tool purchases!<!----><!---->
Old (original) bathroom demoed. Check. I hate plaster & lath. Wall adjoining old bath and Master bedroom was removed and several feet of additional space were gained in the bedroom as well as a large closet. Door to bed room was shifted for better flow and space inside the room. Second bedroom wall adjoining dining room demoed. Who the hell needs a 15 x 20 dining room?! Bumped out 4 feet. Now the crib and misc. baby stuff will fit! 10 x 8 just did not cut it. Now the second bedroom is 14 x 8. The worst of it was of course the plaster demo and patching the wood floors. Should have just done carpet but that would be too easy.<!----><!---->
I should finish the work in progress this weekend, just paint and trim to left. I have no idea when anything else is going to get done. The wife is ready to pop any second.<!----><!---->
and now in hindsight armed with what you know and starting fresh in the same scenario,
to say 'if you had it to do over again knowing what you do now' the question is:
How would you do it differently?
old houses can be such fun
Hind sight is 20/20... how many time have I said that to my self or waxed on the subject with DW!
I knew this place was going to take some work, I just had no idea how much was entailed. Knowing what I know now will definitely be an asset when the time comes to move up the property ladder. I also took for granted the home inspector's OK on the furnace, water heater.... basically on every appliance in the home. They all took a #### from the stove the week we moved in to the furnace a year and a half later. BTW, the furnace was suposedly circa '96...yea 1984. Turns out one of the guy's I called in for a quote was the one who put it in.
The number one thing I would be more careful about is who does the home inspection... they guy we had was a total hack. Being a young engineer, I had lotsa book smarts and not too much real world expirience. Even less home improvement/ remodeling expirirnce. I didnt know enough to pay attention to the potential big ticket items. But, what I lacked (still lack) in expirirnce I make up for in cheap labor, perfectionism and good research. Save for the migrant labor Ive provided, I'll come out way ahead on this place I we ever move... and I ve built a modest tool collection!
Number two, Unless I can afford to pay someone else or stay somewhere else, I will never attempt to reside in the same house through the kind of renovation that I have done to date.
Number three, now this might seem devious to some, run a backround check on the previous owner...or at least do some serius questioing of the nieghbors. If they arent a pro or have hired pros or at the very least can show reaonable proof of competence, I wouldnt even look twice. I cant tell you how many times in the middle of a particularly frustrating repair/ project, one of my nieghbors has mentioned that they witnessed the old lady who lived here previously dooing her own repairs. Apparently being a janitor for the local school district also made her a home repair guru. HAHA! The unbelievable carnage that was burried under layers of cheap panneling and paint make me cringe.
The bottom line is that I've improved a really crappy 110 yr old house and have learned a lot in the process, but the previous DIY sins are enough to make me want to hunt the old lady down and give her a piece of my mind. Too many thing were intentionally covered up for my to pass it off as just some crazy old bird who didnt know any better. One final snippet; As I was up replacing the roof deck, eve and sofit on the roof (refenced in my previous post) my nosey nieghbor yells over the fence..."______ (PO's name ommitted) will be comming by to visit next week, you think she could see her old place?!....My DW hears this from around the corner and storms into the back yard and proceeds into a tirade about all the #### that we feel decieved about and finishes with: If I see that B!t@# on the street, I'll run her over with my truck." She never knocked on the door!
-J
This I understand.
Had a senile Great Aunt that had stayed a few years during the early '80s in the place I later took on and had made a lot of whoopee in there as she liked to build stuff. heh heh
And the place was beat to a pulp even before she put her imprint on it, God Rest her soul.
A side porch had short 2x4s scabbed together like a joist sitting on the slab 2 ft apart with 4x8 sheets of masonite hardboard laid on top for a floor kinda like a trampoline .Had hung plastic up to make a wall and then wallpapered it. That kind of stuff.
Took a long time till I finally was able to eliminate every trace 'cause everything ended up getting torn out.
be an old house
Edited 11/2/2007 8:00 pm ET by rez
If I'd had it all to do over again, I probably would have left a slight gas leak and maybe a sparky wire splice in the basement a couple of weeks after closing, just as the renovation was just starting.
Would have saved me 7 years of misery (so far...)!
Phase One: 500 sq ft addition, 15 months.
Phase Two: 900 sq ft addition, 3 months in and I had better be done 9 months from now, if you get my drift!