House Overview

We purchased this home, 1) because it was the only thing in our price range that let us have a home with a yard for the kids and dog, now dogs (our other option was an area of downtown that was not desirable from a safety perspective), 2) because it was very close to the church and community that we are actively involved in, and 3) because it was a fixer-upper and we like a challenge.

Good thing! Because we're challenged now. I have actually dithered over whether or not to do a post like this. I don't want to sound like we're complaining, and I know the written word does not have the same communicative punch that a one-on-one conversation complete with facial expressions has. Quite simply, working on this house will probably be a very large part of our lives for a very long time so I'm going to share what we'll be working on. This blog will, in addition to following A's challenges, also follow our home improvement saga -- if for nothing else then to have something that indicates progress, for those occasions when I want to dash my head against a wall, in tears over the frustration of living in drywall dust, paint spills, and cooking over a hot plate while we re-do the kitchen...whenever that happens. I don't know anyone who has attempted a renovation (large or small) that hasn't wanted to cry or choke something at some point in the process. I'm sure people exist whose renovations went perfectly, but I don't know any of them.

This home has beautiful potential, and we really do love it. The view across the street of the mountains is stellar, we have just over 1/2 acre of land that I can hopefully garden on soon, with room leftover for kids and dogs to play. The bones of the house are good, although there are a few minor cosmetic issues that we thought were just that: cosmetic. We love the space inside, if not the exact layout, and it keeps the rain out. We have been so blessed living here, the kids love the backyard (as do our dogs). It is located conveniently to pretty much any amenity we could wish for, within 10 minutes. This includes our church, friends' houses, movie theatres, the grocery store, and parks and fishing holes. There are some things that we have noticed, though...

In our last year and a half, we have discovered that: we blow through a nearly 300-gallon tank of heating oil in a month -- keeping the temp at 65 degrees or lower. This was confounding to say the least; we could understand if we were trying to simulate the Sahara, but 65 degrees? Z and I couldn't figure out why it was so cold all the time when we were burning through that much heating oil, and then so darned hot once summertime came and soon discovered the reason.

We never did get that second load of insulation, and we can't fit any of it in at the top of the stairs because of the way the wooden beamwork is over the metal acoustic tile grid -- much of our heat still goes right on up and out the roof. We do have the R-19 stuff over the bedrooms, though, which helps a lot. We have discovered that using electric space heaters, we can effectively heat individual rooms OK. The mommy in me cringes to leave one on in either of my kids' (OK, they're still my babies) rooms overnight, though, and we only have two heaters. We usually put one on each floor of the house, and then I cook or bake during the day, adding heat from the kitchen.

This is why the acquisition of a woodstove is such an enormous blessing! We have calculated, based on neighbors' wood consumptions, that we can heat the house the entire winter for a total cost of $330 in logs, give or take a few (and adding the cost of getting the woodstove and accessories needed like stovepipe, etc). $330 sure beats the heck out of over $3,000, especially with our cash flow these days! I know it's "inconvenient", but I'll deal with the ash and constant reloading; besides which, humans have been doing this for thousands of years so I figure I can handle it. Plus, bonus: if the power goes out, we still have heat and I can cook on top of the thing. We won't have running water, but we'll stay warm and be fed while we stink from a lack of showering. : )

We have also discovered that: all the electricity in the house is "slaved" off other appliances and outlets in the room, sometimes multiple rooms. For example, we can not run the overhead light in the living room if the ceiling fan in the kitchen is on. And my son's closet light can only be turned on IF the overhead room light is in the "on" position and you unscrew its bulb before you screw in the closet light to turn it on. The reverse is also true. Also, if you run the microwave in the kitchen off of two particular outlets and the television is on in the living room, you'll blow the fuse. Our electric wiring and box have inspection stickers slapped all over it but no inspector number or name...someone did a "Harry Homejob" (as Z and I are starting to call these things) and got a roll of stickers somehow. As the inspector said, though, "It's not unsafe...just not practical". So, we don't have to deal with potentially lethal consequences, just fuse-blowing irritation. So at some point, you will be regaled with rewiring stories. Yes, "stories", because undoubtedly there will be more than one.

Moving on to the ceilings: the acoustic tile ceilings in a metal grid are purely a cosmetic dislike. Do they stop the room at the top of the walls? Yes. Do they look like the playing field for some sort of space-aged game, or hopelessly outdated relics of the 1960's? Yes to both. So at some point, likely after we get the wiring done, we'll tackle putting up real, live drywall on the ceilings. Of the non-popcorn variety.

We'd also really like to raise the ceiling height upstairs, because my 6'+ (some days he's an inch taller than others, depends on his back) can walk through the doorways with a mere inch or two to spare. All of the upstairs ceilings are between 6' and 6'5". This doesn't particularly bother me, because I'm only 5'4", but it is a little weird to see your otherwise "normally heighthed" (is that a real word?)husband look like the giant from Gulliver's Travels when he enters a room. And he unconsciously ducks through most of the doorways, even though he clears the frame by an inch or so.

All the walls currently end at the upstairs ceiling (natch), so we'll have to completely redo all the walls while we're raising the ceiling to avoid an odd one and a half foot gap if we do standard 8' ceilings.

And while we're tearing down the walls, we'll have to shore up the flooring. We have that lovely "vintage roll" effect right now -- meaning that you can go uphill both ways crossing my daughter's room. The peak is in the middle of the room, so at least it's symmetrical. Apparently in 1960, they had different standards of how far apart your support beams could be, as compared to today's much closer requirements. And we're finding particle board and other, shall we say, inexpensive materials used throughout the house. We're betting on finding more under the carpet, which we haven't had the heart to rip out yet. Mostly because we can't afford to replace it yet. And we're scared to see what's underneath.

Speaking of carpet, our tenants had rabbits and cats who, for all appearances, seemed to have had some directionally challenged issues with regards to litterbox location. Most especially in my daughter's room. Our dog did not decorate in this manner while we lived here before, and the previous owners had no pets (and they're the ones who installed the carpet), so logically the smell must be from the tenants' critters. That all needs some replacing, too, because both of my dogs all of a sudden feel the urge to...ah, relieve their urge in that room since our return from TX. We'll let you know what we find when we replace it all. That will likely have a posting all its own.

Drywall will need to be replaced throughout the house, as we have some...dents...and other places where the seams are not quite lined up right. We're not sure if our tenants were slam-dancing or what, but there are quite a few spots that need a little attention at some point. They're not outright holes, so this is wayyyy down on the repair list.

Paint is easy, we've already managed to cover over the Play-Doh blue color bequeathed to us by our tenants, although that took us until about 3 weeks ago to accomplish. Of course, the tenants had to deal with my fire-engine red hallway, so tit for tat I suppose. (It's now brown).

Bathroom ~ is functional. We do have 2 sinks that sit on top of white laminate cabinetry. Whoever installed the cabinets didn't measure very well because there is a huge gap between the back wall and the cabinets, and several inches of open space in the corner, and the doors won't hang quite right. Just for aesthetic reasons, we'd like to have something a little more ... together. Also, it looks like someone bought a home kit shower replacement dealie and had some interesting caulk technique. Again, cosmetic. The bathroom, as mentioned above, is fully functional so we really don't have anything to complain about. At least we have one, right?

Kitchen -- well. The cabinets hold the dishes, so their function is fine. I do have three different colors of wood, and two different door styles going on, which I'd like to simplify to one color and one style if possible. I could just reface them, probably, the only exception being the section between the refrigerator and the stove. Despite multiple bleach treatments, we have a mold problem under there that just won't go away. I'd take pictures, but it ain't pretty; you could film a horror flick under there without much additional cost for set construction. And if you could find actors small enough to fit in the cabinet. Heh. The kitchen is pretty much all cosmetic issues so it's also way down on the priority list. I use the top of the (rolling) dishwasher or our table to prep food on so I have my "work triangle" going on. For an interesting story about the dishwasher, go here.

The countertops are faux marble in a dark hunter green, and none of them are actually attached to the cabinets underneath. The floor coordinates nicely with peel-and-stick vinyl tiles, also in dark green "marble" -- but the tiles aren't lined up too well and the finish has worn off over time. Again, purely cosmetic; just not my color preference. Still work just fine, and I actually feel a little rotten mentioning it. The floor doesn't have to shine, even if the Mop'N'Glo bottle says it will.

We have a very unfinished addition that someone put on one side of the house, with a concrete subfloor. It works as a kind of "mudroom", a place to unlock the door without getting drowned when it rains, and where we currently are storing cardboard boxes, the recycling bins, and firewood. The walls need finishing because you can see outside between the boards, and the roof is too flat and needs a higher pitch (per the house inspector). The roof does leak, and raising the angle is supposed to fix this issue. We'd love to turn it into a screen porch or even a dining room in the distant future, because we don't have either right now.

Our garage...has a very nice concrete floor, holds two vehicles, and has a work area to one side. The fake brick asbestos siding is coming off, and we're not entirely sure what to do with that. I know asbestos is bad stuff, but not much beyond that, so we have some research to do.

Most recently (and of course having both the highest cost and necessity) is our septic system. We don't have one. What was listed on the deed of the house as a septic system is, in fact, a big concrete pit three feet from our house with a slit in one side. And the rock and clay in the ground just won't hold any more...stuff...after 50 years.

To put in a new (real) system, we have to move it out at least 10 feet from the house. Which puts it too close to our well, which we'll have to subsequently move. We can't put the septic or the well in the side yard, because that will be too close to our neighbors' well. After several visits from the county health department, our ONLY option is to take off the front part of the driveway and install a system in a 10 x 15 spot, using a new biometric system -- and provided they can blast a hole big enough through the rocky ridge we sit on. This ridge goes up into New York and down into the Carolinas. This will be potentially cheaper because it means we don't have to move our existing well, but will also be more expensive than a regular septic system, which could normally be installed for around $5K in these here parts. There's always the possibility that we'll have to move the well anyway, and that's where it gets expensive -- $30K for the whole job is a conservative estimate given by the inspector.

We're not entirely sure how we're going to do this; we're already not taking A to outside OT and speech appointments because we can't afford to, even with insurance. We are barely keeping our heads above water as it is, so this is most unwelcome news. Blessedly, the county is giving us some time to correct the problem and isn't making us get it done NEXT WEEK. We're hoping maybe by spring time to a)win the lottery we don't play, b) have a miracle happen and it fix itself somehow, or c)be able to get a loan to cover it, which is unlikely at this point.

Anyone looking to off-load a year's salary? Just checking.

Compounding all of these issues is my husband's back issues. Z has the back of a 70-yr old man even though he just turned 29. If his time in the Army had not come to the end of his enlistment, he would have had a medical discharge. He can't handle a lot of the DIY stuff we'd intended to do, and neither can I due to a bum hip from a car accident a few years ago.

So, this will be an interesting saga indeed! I am interested to see how things develop, chiefly because it's my house, but also from a detached scientific point of view. This is our Mad Scientist experiment. Let the fun begin! And I promise to share most, if not all, of the gory details.