pugdog
Novice
May 7, 2007, 2:51 PM
Post #1 of 2
(19146 views)
Shortcut
|
|
Farm house renovation
|
Can't Post
|
|
I have had a bunch of houses I bought partially finished sitting around for years. I decided I needed some room, so I took the most finished one (done by the factory or company that shipped it out) and figured I'd wire it and put it up for sale. I'd never really looked closely at it, I guess, since the roof didn't lay right, the chimney was buckling the roof, the trim didn't meet flush anywhere, there were holes around and under most windows going through the clapboard siding (which was another issue) .... oh well. In the attic, the roof met the floor with a huge gap, that wouldn't have existed in all but the most unfinished, and unused attics. The fact this attic had a floor (the plywood ceiling of the second floor) means this "crack" and "gap" would have been fixed in some way. I chose one (which pictures will explain far better than words). Anyway.....
Two days later, this almost finished house was down to it's shell. No porch, no windows, trim removed -- gutted.
I pulled up the roof and notched it so it set flat, then renailed it and glued it. First step. I tightened up the foundation, with screws and nails. Second step. I cut out the window holes, squared the corners, and got the windows to sit right without gaps. Third step.
I started to electrify the walls, and run tape outside for lighting, and realized that I would have to repaint the whole house. They had repaired/touched it up and the two paints didn't match. Color was off, but the original paint was semi-gloss and the touch up was flat! Yucch!!
I will also have to seal and sand the floors and walls. The wood is old, but could benefit from a sealer, even on one side. (I don't like sealing only one side... but if it's going to be papered at any point, one side is better than none.)
As much as I want to repaint the outside to make it look like I'm getting somewhere, I really should wait until after I seal and sand the inside, and give it a coat of primer (to help hide/cover the tape). I should have sealed before the tape wire, but I'm not going to seal the walls, only the floors. Why? I don't like sealing only one side, and this house has been sitting at least 10 years. It's well aged, dried, and acclimatized. Sealing the floors, I can also seal the ceiling, thus doing both sides, and hopefully giving the wood a bit of strength. PRIMER is my only real option on the walls ... and hopefully it will do what I want it to.
I'm going to put wood under the eves, on the porch (the slab plywood looked really, really aweful) and will make the attic area wood and plaster look the way these old houses probably were done in most cases -- "finished" as if the owners intended to use it for living (or kids). The lower two floors will be comfy and farm-like.
Right now, my "ready to go out the door" house has had over 14 hours of work on it removing trim, porches and windows, electrifying the first floor (in retrospect I'd have done it differently, but I'm not going to pull it off), and getting ready to do the second and third ones.
I haven't really even started the renovations -- only the demolition! :)
|
