Saturday, February 28, 2009
Nothing Itsy Bitsy About This!
The Best Shower in the World
2 4' x 8' sections of Spruce Rustic Stockade Fence at a cost of $44.78.
4 Tan Landscape Blocks at a cost of $7.96
1 roll of 1/2" x 100' of pex piping/tubing at $25.97
6 miscellaneous push couplings (see note) $29.13
The rest of the story
There are obviously more parts to this cute little shower than the parts we purchased. That's where we reused material.
We used the same hot and cold dials and the shower head from the house shower in the itty bitty bathroom. We also used the shower pan for the base of our shower and the drain hardware.
Here's how Dave did it
The fencing was cut to fit around three sides of the shower base (32" square). We did not put a door on the shower because it faced a field and woods.
Dave laid a base of pressure-treated 2" x 6" pieces, laid flat. The four blocks went on that and then the shower base sat on that. He attached the fencing to the wooden base. He used 3" decking screws to attach the sides to each other. He then cut the holes in the fencing and when he removed the piping from the old bath he just cut some of the piping along with it and poked the stuff through. We (notice I said we) connected the Pex tubing to it (hot and cold) and ran the tubing.
Dave just asked me if I ever saw deer out in the field. I said no. I just saw Harry. LOL. Harry was our neighbor that came by on the tractor one afternoon. Figures.
To drain the gray water from the shower we simply attached a couple of old pieces of gutter from the house to the drain hole beneath the shower pan and ran it out to the back yard. The only problem we ever had with that is we occassionally got a chipmunk in the gutter. Easy to fix. Run the water and the chipmunk comes tumbling out and runs away.
The Pex was run around the house, tucked up close to not get caught in the mower, and then fed into a basement window to be hooked up.
Preplanning for this hookup
When Dave cut the pipes in the basement to the hot and cold water, he cut them about 8" or so away from the shutoff valves and then we connected the Pex to those. That way, if we needed to shut off the water to the shower, we could without shutting off the water to the entire house.
What was difficult
I think the hardest part of all this is we really needed a shower. Trust me. We really needed it. The hookup of this shower took longer than planned (and it always does). It got to be dark and we were hooking this up, outside at night at 11:30 PM with a flashlight. I kid you not. The snarky couplings (see above) kept leaking. To get to the window where the Pex was coming in, Dave had to keep climbing in and out of the cistern (now empty). Right near the end he was in the very far corner of the cistern and the bulb on his flashlight went out. We were so exhausted but we had a shower.
Note: You see a bungy cord in the picture, appearing to hold the sides of the shower together. That was simply a precausion because we experienced some high winds. But, that shower held up and held well. A job well worth the effort.
1. If you are going to do a major demo like this, or if you are going to do a big bath remodel and it's summertime, we urge you to consider a simple shower like this. It was amazingly wonderful to be able to clean off after a hard day gutting the house. We got filthy. We also rinsed off all our equipment (hard hats, respirators, goggles, etc.) in the shower.
2. Get the Shark Bites.
3. Have a runner or a buddy with you if you are working like this and especially if you are tired. Better yet, if you can, wait for another day and get some rest.
The Itty Bitty Bath That Could
The Dressing Room
Cabinet and Wallpaper
More Dining Room
Sealing Off the Rest of the House
In the second dining room picture you can see at the opening that there is a wallboard/drywall boxed-in area. That area was the way to get to the kitchen. That is also where the stairs were (enclosed) to get up to the second floor. We sealed off the kitchen but left the area open to get to the stairway.
Now we could no longer get to the kitchen or family room from the front of the house which also included our only full bath, which equated to our only source of bathing (shower). We were now completely committed to our project.
Oh, this just gets better and better.
The Dining Room
Our Front Door
So what did we do? We hired a local furniture refinisher, Don Behlke, to come and remove the door and and strip it down for us. We also asked that he remove the glass as it was cracked and we were going to replace that. Dave knows how to cut glass so that would also save us some money.
If you want to contact Don Behlke, make a connection through The Brick House Antique Center in Palmyra, NY at (315) 597-3883. I have also linked to Brick House in the links section of this blog.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Welcome to the Living Room
Since that first hole went into the living room, I figured I would put up some pictures of that room before we really started gutting. The first picture is looking to the north and east. The two-window wall is the wall that faces the road and the one you see in the Hardy House blog picture.
The second picture is from standing in the living room looking into the dining room. To the left of the opening is were a door was, original to the house. This was common and probably went into the parlor, or what we have now, the living room. We also pulled up wall-to-wall carpeting in the rooms and discarded it.
Advice: When pulling up carpet, cut it in strips with a utility knife. It makes it really easy to handle and throw into a dumpster or garbage can.
Grab the Crowbar 'Cause Here We Go
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Ready, Get Set, Pack!
Monday, February 23, 2009
MORE PLANNING...
BTW - sometimes these decisions are a point of stress, especially when you are already tired. We made our decisions between 9 - 10:30 PM. Dave and I tend to want the same things but express them differently and that can make me snarky. :) I ended up pulling out our notebooks on things we like (see the picture elsewhere in this blog). By looking at the pictures we were able to actually show each other what we were thinking and get a visual on size. We also took a measuring tape around and got a visual that way. It does work to do that.
Get Ready! We'll Be Stepping Inside Very Soon
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Get That Building Permit!
Of course, I used to work for our town so I know the code enforcement officer and understand the job he has to do. I wouldn’t think of NOT getting a building permit. Here’s why.
1. The permit keeps everyone (homeowner and contractor) on an honest playing field. There won’t be any shortcuts by the contractor that might affect the owner’s investment or safety. Upon inspection of the work by the code enforcement officer, that kind of issue would be identified.
2. You get free inspections of the work the contractor does. For example, at Hardy House, when the construction portion was completed, the code enforcement officer came out and inspected the work, making sure it was “up to code,” that is, the work was completed as outlined by the rules mandated by the state. Once the code enforcement officer gives the okay, work can continue. That inspection is all covered by the building permit. Our inspection sailed through.
3. When we get to the point of our plumbing and electrical installations, those efforts will also be inspected by the code enforcement officer.
4. The code enforcement officer may make surprise visits to your construction/remodeling site just to check on things. This is a benefit. It keeps everyone honest.
5. Before we can occupy our new space, the code enforcement officer will also give us a certificate of occupancy which equates to all the work being up to code. This also means everything is safe.
6. Another benefit from the building permit is that if anything should happen to the house while under construction (say an electrical malfunction that causes a fire) you will be able to claim insurance easier than if no building permit was issued. This is a huge benefit. As we all know, stuff happens.
Building permits are simple to obtain. You might have to have a drawing of the work but then again, maybe not. Sometimes just a hand sketch is enough. The code enforcement officer is your friend not your enemy. You can call on your town’s code enforcement officer anytime, not just when you are building something. They have the knowledge and expertise to help answer many remodeling questions you might have. And their salary is normally paid through your property taxes so it seems like it’s free advice. Don’t hire an extra consultant. Ask your code enforcement officer first.
The cost of the permit can be very minimal, depending on the work you are having done. For Hardy House, the permit cost us about $100.00 and is often based on the estimated cost of your project.
Tankless Water Heaters
Right now he is asking me how many output sources I think we are going to want for the tankless water heater. I have no idea. I have to count. Here's what I'm thinking:
Washing machine, dishwasher, two showers, all faucets/sinks.
We have decided that we will only purchase the size of a unit that will supply two of the above units at once, i.e., the showers, washing machine and/or dishwasher, not the faucets. Dave says to do more than that will significantly add to our costs. We don't want to do that and think we can live with this option.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Early Considerations
Preparing to remodel your home is usually not an overnight decision. As previously stated, we had wanted to build for many years and did not. Because of that early desire we had already done a little planning.
Get Your Visuals Organized
This is easy. Get a notebook of paper (like a 5-subject notebook used in school). Get a roll of tape and start looking at magazines. Rip out anything that you think you might like and tape it in your notebook. We started ours several years ago, then quit, then pulled it out again. We now have two of them.
Your first clippings will be of anything you like. After you get a little more focused in your design you will start to clip pictures that are more focused toward your desired outcomes. For example, I found a picture recently of some wallpaper that had the exact colors in it that I was looking for for upstairs. I clipped it, taped it, and wrote a note next to it. That's important, too. Write on or near the picture what in the picture has attracted you.
Make a List
This is also easy. Write down what you think you must have. Write down what you might consider. The list can be changed whenever you want. It's a work in progress but helps clarify your desires.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
The Not So Big House
WE WERE NUTS
What the heck were we thinking? Stu did exactly what we asked him to do. We paid for his plane ticket (from Austin, TX) and he hung out with us for a couple days. He sketched a fantastic home for us. It had absolutely EVERYTHING we wanted. We stared at it. It appeared to be twice the size of the existing house. And that was just the addition!
I looked at it and tried to imagine the two of us in this house. I started laughing. Were we crazy? Yup. We were crazy.
It took an architect's drawing to make us realize we didn't need such a big house. We decided to work within the footprint we had. It would also cost us a whole lot less money. Duh. It was our Aha! moment. We had been thinking of resale value and were still in the mindset, I think, of having kids around. We will have kids around but they won't be staying long with us. We decided we had to build the house for US. We also had already decided this would be the last house we owned so we would design it for us and nobody else. Everything else fell into place after that. Stu also recommended we read THE NOT SO BIG HOUSE. What an eye opener.
ADVICE
1: Hire an architect to show you what your design concepts look like. It really puts your thoughts and ideas into perspective. It will be money well spent.
2: Read THE NOT SO BIG HOUSE and learn how you can do a lot in the space you already have or are planning to have.
3: If you don't plan to sell your home anytime soon, build for yourself. You will be happier.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Slideshow added!
The horses are not ours but belong to our southern neighbor. We love the horses and they're pretty friendly. They only got out once and came for a visit...
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Repointing
Stuff We Did Before Touching the Inside of the House
After we bought the house we realized we had other stuff to do before we could touch the house.
1. The well water was bad. The prior owners had lived here for 50 years and drank the well water and never had a problem. The basement included a cistern that was full of water. We had the water tested twice over a couple weeks. Both times it tested for E-Coli. We shocked it but decided you would never know the exact moment it went bad. And it smelled bad. It smelled like a pond. When we took a shower with the water it smelled like you were showering in a pond, complete with frogs and seaweed. Yuck. No real frogs, it just smelled like it.
2. So what did we do? Well, we were approximately 900 feet from town water which was down at the next road. We contacted the town and requested we be hooked into the water line. We were then considered an "out of district water user." Plus, we had to foot the bill. And we have to pay extra on our property taxes for it. We paid approximately $7,000 for water. That was about $5,000 for the contractor to dig a line 900 feet, dig a pit for the water meter, lay 1 1/4" black pipe, and grade over and plumbing. Since he already had the backhoe on the property, we also had him pull a big old stump that was sitting in the middle of the front lawn, and take out a really bad arborvitae tree in the front yard. Then we spent another $2,000 for the town to install and connect the meter. We also signed an agreement with the town that when water was brought up our road (probably this Spring-2009) that we would hook in. We will get a break on the price, though. This was a huge expense and one we were not expecting right away. However, it is probably the best thing we ever did. We have fantastic water and we have had no problems with the water line. Also, becaue we still have the well, Dave (hubby) was able to rig up a PEX line and the original Goulds pump from the well, to install a line to the opposite side of the basement. Dave then installed an outdoor faucet to it and we run a hose from that to water our vegetable garden and do any other outdoor watering we need to do. This saves us money. Yes we have an old water hand pump and it still works. We pump the water into a bucket to use on flowers.
3. All gutters on the house AND on the barn (which we did not realize right away) were aimed at the cistern which we no longer needed and wanted to remove. We reoriented all the gutters away from the house and also had to install some extra drainage pipe because of that.
4. Draining the cistern was a project in itself. Once we changed the gutters on the house, the cistern was still filling. We were so frustrated. Once we realized the barn was also being piped over there, we could correct that and eliminate the water going in.
5. We put a submersible pump with a garden hose attached to it in the cistern and drained it. At one point there was a dead squirrel floating on the top of the cistern. Another reason for not using the water. Gross.
Most of the drainage work cost very little. Just time and sweat - mostly Dave's. I would not go into the creepy basement unless I had to.
6. Spiders. Big, black, brown, fuzzy things that would carry away a small baby, I swear. They completely freaked me out and they were the hardest things to kill. One night, I was in bed and waiting for Dave to come upstairs. He had gone into the basement and I don't remember why. All of a sudden I heard this HUGE WAP WAP WAP! I knew exactly what he was doing. He was TRYING to kill a spider. He came upstairs and even he was freaked out. He said, "I can't even tell you. That's the biggest damn spider I have ever seen." He had been wacking it with a 2 x 4. I shiver to think of it. Sometimes we would be sitting watching television and all of a sudden, one would run across the floor. Up went my legs and I would screech. I hate spiders. We realized that there they were probably in or around one of the outside walls where the previous owners had kept a woodpile. It was also near the exterior basement stairs. We have since been able to eliminate the spiders. There were also tons of webs and dried up spider thingies in the basement rafters. Dave cleaned them out. Did I mention Dave's a really good guy? :)
7. After a hundred years of no powder post beetles, all of a sudden we had them. We had to have an exterminator come in at a $500.00 pop.
8. We found that the barn roof was not in as good as shape as we had thought and we had to replace the back section. We replaced it with green metal roofing. We spent $4,000.00 on that for materials and installation.
9. We sold a building we had and with the $10,000 profit we re-roofed our house. That was in 2007. We purchased 30-year shingles. I'll have to look up the manufacturer on those and the metal roof for the barn. We are pleased with both.
10. There was a 1970's-era trailer home that was on the property right next to the house. It was being rented out at the time we bought the house. We had to evict the tenant as we were going to have it dismantled. Because of its age and town zoning laws, we couldn't have it sold (or give it away) and moved elsewhere. The cost to dismantle and remove it was approximately $1,700.00.
Why We Love This Place
A Couple of Stats About Hardy House
Built: 1890s
Why Hardy House
The Hardy House - In the beginning...
In 2005 my husband and I purchased this house on 13 acres in upstate New York. We loved the property. The house...not so much. But, we thought, we could live in it and it had potential and the kitchen was only 20 years old which was a real plus.
The house actually looks pretty good here. If I can locate the other picture from when we moved, you will see the improvements already. That's the barn in the background. That's a whole other blog...
The Hardy House Blog is our journey. We had always wanted to build a house but nothing ever worked out. The kids were grown. It was time. We found this spot and loved it.
Stop back as I'll be taking you through our remodeling process. I'll tell you what we did and what we didn't do and why. I'll also let you know what products we used and why. Maybe you'll be able to learn a thing or two and perhaps the research we have already done will keep you from having to spend the time researching yourself.
Spring is coming and the work continues. Come join me.