Homeowners

Our house was in very good condition. However, there was wall paper all over the house which we tore off and have since painted every room. We changed the tiles on the kitchen floor. We installed central ac. We also tore the carpet out from the basement & put new tiles in. We also put a new roof in.

Next few projects: we are going to put new cement around the entire house and build a balcony from the guest bedroom.

In a couple of years: We will probably change the bathrooms & kitchen.

scoop, put a balcony in your own bedroom !

I refuse to invest time and money on 'guestrooms'. all of my 'spare' rooms will be utilized for those of us that live here, and will be transitional (futons, sofabeds) for when we have guests. thats just my way of thinking !

My house is also very OLD, built in 1933, and nothing was ever done to it, that's why it needed so much work.

With all the work that needed to be done, you'd think we bought the house cheap...yeah right, it was at the top of our price range!

Our house was only 33 years old but the condition made it seem over 100. We had unknown termite/water damage everywhere. The house was sinking into itself because the sill of the house (it's a wideline New Orleans high ranch - balcony across entire front of 2nd floor) was gone!! Most of the exterior 2 x 4's were literally dust and could be blown away with a single breath. We had a fire the night we took possession and the fireman GUTTED the bathroom (oh well, it needed it!). That was the beginning of the end. The former owners were crack heads and the place was demolished inside. Fists through walls, doors ripped off hinges, etc. We had aluminium wiring which needed to be replaced (this is one of the main reasons we had the fire). You name it, it happened. As my father/brother/husband started tearing each room apart, more damage and disasters were discovered. Swarming termites, black ants, etc. A few thousand for exterminators. 85% of the existing exterior structure was rebuilt/replaced. Every single window, every single door (interior/exterior/garage), the stucco/shingle facade was torn off and replaced with vinyl siding, the heating system failed in the middle of the worst of the repairs and that had to be replaced as well as the baseboard heating. The sheetrock was demolished from the tearing out and replacement of the exterior walls, so every inch of that had to be replaced (along with all of the insulation in the house. Every ounce of electric was changed. Every phone wire, outlet box, fixture, etc. The kitchen and both bathrooms were gutted and re-done. Tile was put in several areas of the house. The existing concrete patios had to be demolished and replaced (only replaced them a few weeks ago) because they contributed to the drainedge problem on the property. The cesspools failed early this spring and had to be replaced. An alarm system was installed. In the heat of the renovation, a windstorm blew off several sections of the roof and that had to be repaired (not replaced because we had no $$$). Every square inch of the house has been exposed and changed. The property itself is a disaster becuase we had to take up several thousands of dollars worth of trees/shrubs, etc. that were concealing the house and contributing to the termite/water damage situation.

We bought the house for 160,000, and put over 150,000 into it.

Things we had planned for the future (before the uncertaintly of the survivial of our marriage came up) was PVC fence (like Anna - holy !!! for approx 350 feet of fencing), a pool, belgium block planters, landscaping, etc. All of that is now on hold indefinitely because of the separation/pending divorce. It seems like all our effort and $$$ was for nothing...

so srry to hear about the fire

Wow it is amazing to read all the projects everyone has done
We moved into a house that was already redone-- so we were really lucky in that sense--but of course we found projects that HAD to be done

Put real hardwood in DR(had carpet like rest of house)

DH built a new patio with pavers in the backyard

Redid master bathroom(yes I am a brat it was just redone but I didn't like it so DH did a complete redo)

Painted 2nd bedroom(it was a nursery so we had to)

Our well ewnt so we had to replace that- not a fun project

and now we are finally doing our master bedroom-- DH is putting up crown moulding, painting and then we finally get our new furniture!!!

Here are some pics
Our Home

anna....I agree with you and this is what I originally wanted to do, but my husband wants to have the entrance through the guest room. His thought is when we have people over (we both have big families), he doesn't want people & kids running through our bedroom to get outside.

You guys are great--thanks so much--- I have to give DH some of the credit-- he def picked out most of the furniture and made me think about things (quality) in ways I never would have-- so we spent a lot but def worth it in the end!!!!!
Thanks again

Ahh, the house. It's been our never ending project. This summer marks 3 years that we're in it and we're still re-doing it.

Basically, our home was move-in condition. However, it wasn't our taste. The woman who lived in it before us hadn't redecorated since the house was built in 1962. So we set out to redo things room by room. Here's what we've done so far:

* Hubby installed high-hat lighting (recessed lighting) in every room (the house was built in the 60's and the rooms did not have ceiling lights - you had to have a lamp plugged into an outlet!). That was a super, major electrical upgrade that took a long time and no one ever notices because they think the house was like that.

* Bought and had Home Depot install a new front door (and storm door) complete with 2 sidelights.

* Re-did the master bedroom's bathroom and put in all new tile, pedestal sink and new toilet.

* Replaced every single interior door of the house (got rid of the luan style and put in 6-panel pine doors). Stained each one. Put on new handle fixtures. That was a large undertaking in itself.

* Painted all the rooms we are using. So far we did the office, master bedroom, dining room and we're still working on the living room. Our office and dining room both have oak wainscoting on the lower half with a chair rail.

* Replaced the sliding glass doors from the dining room which lead to our deck with french doors (this is one of my favorite changes!).

* Got rid of all the wall to wall carpeting and had the hardwood floors refinished. They look beautiful!

* Took out railing in living room and built wall complete with arch-style cut-outs.

* Landscaped the whole property.

* Bought new front-loading washer and dryer.

* Replaced the interior front entry way steps. They were carpeted at first, but when we took up the carpeting, we replaced all the treads.

* Ordered new dining room set, complete with china cabinet and our new living room couch and love seat is on order.


Future Projects, in no particular order

*Install Central Air. This requires us to move the vents from the floor level to ceiling level.

* Have the house opaque-stained. It's cedar-shake shingles and is a doo-doo brown color. Would love to do a grey-blue color.

* Put new window in living room to replace crappy ones that are there.

* Renovate back bedroom into a nursery.

* Remove kitchen area from lower level of house. It used to be used by tenants, but we have no desire to have tenants, so we'd like to use the lower level as a family room.

* Paint and put new fixtures in the full bathroom downstairs.

* Paint and re-do main bathroom upstairs.

COST? OMG - too much to add up, but it's a priceless feeling when you sit back and see what you have done and take it all in knowing it's your house you made a home

So, now I know I will never want a house. Holy Sh*t that is a lot of work to be done. I don't really think that I would have the time or the patience that you all have. My props to you all! The worst part is that my FH is totally useless when it comes to being handy. However, he can build you a computer that flies, but no painting...Two left hands! Bravo to you all!

Jenny, we did. I have entire albums I am putting together both in albums and digital ones online at shutterfly. It's amazing when we look at the befores. It's amazing how different things look!! I definitely recommed it if no one has taken this route.

One example off the top of my head. Old sliding glass doors (um, pardon hubby's a$$):


New french doors, just after they were installed (you can see it still required some touch-ups after that, LOL!):


Part of old bathroom:


Part of new bathroom:


Old front door:


New front door:



Okay, I'll go away now......

Laura

I just took a look at your house pictures!! Very Beautiful. I have a question? Is your dining room set made by Canadel? And where did you get it if you don't mind me asking. We just ordered a similar set from them and was wondering how you liked it....

It never ends!!!! DH and his brother bought the house 7 yrs ago. It's a Levittown style cape. The house was in great condition so they did not do much. It was their bachelor pad so they did not care about esthetics much and just fixed maintenance stuff. We've done one project at a time since I moved in with them in Sept 2001. We built an extension so my BIL could have his own space. The 4 bedroom house is now two large 'apartments' That was finished Dec 2001.

Now we are building a deck for the second floor so BIL can have a private entrance.

This Last winter (2002) we redid our kitchen. It was so tiny and desperately needed updating. We doubled the space.

The winter before we repainted our bedroom and got new furniture.

Next is our bathroom. The tiles are falling down and I have mildew damage all over from the old sheetrock. That will also be gutted.

Last is the living room and our spare bedroom. They need to be painted. Some sheetrock will need to be redone in the spare room that was damaged during the construction of the extension. The wood floors need to be sanded and refinished. The driveway needs to be repaved. We're going to eventually add onto our lower deck and connect it to the second story deck.

Right now, I am reseeding the lawn to get it looking good and filled in. I'm also working on my flower beds.

Like I said...it NEVER ends! By the time we get the house looking the way we want it, we'll be ready to move! Luckily FIL and my other BIL are carpenters. DH is also very handy. I've learned how to help and do sheetrocking, painting etc.

Beautiful homes!
Dh and I bought a townhouse so it's really just for a few years. We'd love to rip stuff out and start new but if we don't plan to stay, we're just doing the minimum. So far we've put high hats (recessed lighting) in the kitchen, living room and basement. Replaced all of the kitchen appliances (stove, fridge, dishwasher to stainless steel). We installed a new entry door as well. We replaced door knobs and one closet door in the spare room. If we were going to stay for a while we'd probably put ceramic tile in the kitchen and new cabinets but we're not going to waste our $$ on this house.

Ah we've got big dreams! Just need some $$ to go buy it

so much work!!!