# Bringing an abandoned house back online



## Driftweed (Nov 7, 2012)

This has to be the most work i have ever seen on a rental.

Knock loose plaster off walls
pull trim (sand/paint/reinstall)
remove all electrical/plumbing (relocate laundry facilities from kitchen to basement)
Total re-plumb drains included (2 inch drains to 4 inch main/and 4 inch vent stack)
Total rewire from the weather head outside inward. Put each room on a breaker. 
Fur walls flat/level (had a variance of up to 3 inches over 12 feet)
Drywall 1/2" walls/ceilings
Install attic access
Reconfigure bath layout to accommodate 48 inch tile shower/30" vanity/Toilet (to increase floorplan efficiency/make bathroom "feel" larger)
Install kitchen cabinetry around chimney to create new kitchen with a breakfast bar
Patch wood floors/sand/clearcoat
Whole house paint
All new windows
Install new fencing around property

So far we have gotten the mechanicals done and just finished furring out the walls. Now we are on the drywall phase. 70 12 footers, yuck!! 

Here's some before pics


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## Driftweed (Nov 7, 2012)

sorry about the crooked pics


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## KAP (Feb 19, 2011)

IOW... a total gut... here you go... :thumbsup:


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

How much of this are you self performing, and how much are you subbing out?


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## KAP (Feb 19, 2011)

hdavis said:


> How much of this are you self performing, and how much are you subbing out?


Good question... whoever is doing the work, from the pics, that foundation needs some help...


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

At least the floor joists are substantial. The ones in my 1891 house are (true) 2x6. But they had the gall to go the length of the house with them. Longest span is 23'. Needless to say, someone who had the house before me divided it up and used steel beams to support it.

But can you imagine using 2x6 for a 23 foot unsupported run in a two story house?


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## VinylHanger (Jul 14, 2011)

People were lighter back then. Also, all those spans didn't have the weight of needless codes and regulations weighing them down.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

Leo G said:


> At least the floor joists are substantial. The ones in my 1891 house are (true) 2x6. But they had the gall to go the length of the house with them. Longest span is 23'. Needless to say, someone who had the house before me divided it up and used steel beams to support it.
> 
> But can you imagine using 2x6 for a 23 foot unsupported run in a two story house?


There is a good chance that it had intermediate support beams that rotted or had insect damage and were replaced. People weren't above using green beams when they built, then the powder post beetles come along, and it goes down hill from there....


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## Driftweed (Nov 7, 2012)

hdavis said:


> How much of this are you self performing, and how much are you subbing out?


Hvac was 100% subbed

Sparky relocated panel to basement and supervised from that point onward (in order for me to learn) Bathroom had fusebox, definitely was not keeping it there.

Plumber also supervised/advised

will have a window sub as well but he will do all the work

Everything else done in house. No real rush on this one so I am bringing in experienced tradesmen to learn from them and hone my skills.

I wanted to go back to studs and insulate, customer insisted on furring walls

Bathroom got 3 new joists due to rot.


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## KAP (Feb 19, 2011)

Driftweed said:


> Hvac was 100% subbed
> 
> Sparky relocated panel to basement and supervised from that point onward (in order for me to learn) Bathroom had fusebox, definitely was not keeping it there.
> 
> ...


Turn the phone the other way... :laughing: 

In the meantime, here ya' go...


.


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## griz (Nov 26, 2009)

is it yours or a client?


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## Driftweed (Nov 7, 2012)

Definitely not mine.

At best its a $50k house once finished, but he is not shy about these types of projects. I am used to slap and go, in and out in 2 weeks. This one is budgeted for 2 months

But at least there 2 months of $$ as well :thumbsup: It's nice to not have to slap lipstick on a pig for a change.

Funny thing is that this job came about because he saw the quality I gave him on bathtub refinish. Just goes to show how little jobs can lead to large ones.:clap:


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## griz (Nov 26, 2009)

Driftweed said:


> .... Just goes to show how little jobs can lead to large ones.:clap:


Early 80's I used to do front door replacements, locksets and dead bolts for a local door shop. Great fill in work for me or my guys on a rainy/slow day.....

Owner of the shop asked me to call an elderly college professor who was trying to get a deadbolt installed.

I called and made arrangements to do it one Friday afternoon.

Lead to 45k worth of remodel work at his place. 1980's dollars

Worked on that street for several years because people thought if old John can trust you, you must be ok....:thumbsup:

You just never know who it is who calls.....


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

Driftweed said:


> I wanted to go back to studs and insulate, customer insisted on furring walls


Going back to studs can open other cans of worms - you just don't need some of those kinds of surprises. Insulation on these are typically best blown - drill and fill.

Shimming the walls if they're pretty far out isn't such a bad thing - the finish quality can still be good, but there is the issue of jamb extensions.


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## Driftweed (Nov 7, 2012)

Yeah we will now have fatter door jambs, and shorter trim because we are recycling the original trim. On a plus, the trim was never mitered so reinstalling will go crazy fast.


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## Driftweed (Nov 7, 2012)

80% of the drywall is up, starting to look like a house now


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## KAP (Feb 19, 2011)

Driftweed said:


> 80% of the drywall is up, starting to look like a house now


Looks like someone forgot to turn his phone the other way... :whistling :laughing:

Here ya' go... :thumbsup:


.


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## Driftweed (Nov 7, 2012)

Drywall is up, and primer is on. It's all downhill now.


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

Looking forward to the finals on this.:thumbsup:


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## Driftweed (Nov 7, 2012)

I am aiming for a finish date of october 1st


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## Driftweed (Nov 7, 2012)

Just about got plumbing finalized today, here is a teaser of the bathroom. Customer dropped in and changed the kitchen cabinet configuration so had to deal with that. It's still up in the air if we will be doing butcher block or a laminate countertop. Never played with butcher block, so that's the one I am rooting for.


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## Driftweed (Nov 7, 2012)

Started sanding floors Friday. Got lazy and took today off. I'll probably go in and do some sanding tomorrow in the corners and other areas, so I can start to stain. 

Starring to look like a house.


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

Looking good, just a little more left to do.:thumbsup:


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## ScipioAfricanus (Sep 13, 2008)

WTH is wrong is these pictures not coming out oriented correctly?

Andy.


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

ScipioAfricanus said:


> WTH is wrong is these pictures not coming out oriented correctly?
> 
> Andy.


I bet he's posting from a phone - mine puts them in upside down....


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## KAP (Feb 19, 2011)

hdavis said:


> I bet he's posting from a phone - mine puts them in upside down....


So turn the phone the other way...


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

KAP said:


> So turn the phone the other way...


I tried that when I uploaded, but it didn't work....


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## Driftweed (Nov 7, 2012)

These pics are shared with customers and shown better when I hold phone vertical, unfortunately that means when I post here it's sideways.


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## 91782 (Sep 6, 2012)

hdavis said:


> I tried that when I uploaded, but it didn't work....


....:laughing:


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## greg24k (May 19, 2007)

Got to love this old houses, done complete gut jobs on many of them... it's a lot of dusty work in the beginning. Nice work!


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## greg24k (May 19, 2007)

ScipioAfricanus said:


> WTH is wrong is these pictures not coming out oriented correctly?
> 
> Andy.


I don't know why it does that with the pictures, even if you post from your PC when you open them to resize they appear in the normal position but when you post them, they come out sideways. Not all, but some...Had the same problem when I was posting my vacation pictures.


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## Driftweed (Nov 7, 2012)

Guess what i'm doing today...12x24 vertical layout, 1/3 offset 1/8 spacing. It's a marbled porcelain tile, and I am hoping I can make one final plea to the customer today to flip them horizontal...but i'm not paying haha so he will get what he wants


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## aquakbd (Aug 19, 2016)

Wow, great job! It's amazing when you compare the condition of the house when you started and now. These would make an amazing Before/After gallery.


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## Driftweed (Nov 7, 2012)

Ready to wipe it off, and apply grout tomorrow. Turned my phone sideways just for you guys. New guy pulled the spacers when cleaning mortar out of the grout lines and never put them back. The the back wall and right off a hair. I offered to redo it, but customer said it still looked better than the last tile guy he had.


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## Driftweed (Nov 7, 2012)

Tadah!


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## nancyvinci (Nov 16, 2017)

Wow!!! That's amazing.. Keep up the good work!!:thumbup:


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## Pangdev (Dec 6, 2017)

*looks good*

keep rockin


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