Can this room be saved?(#2)

[amerikat]

Here are some pics of the demolition.

The plaster removed from the exterior wall and drop ceiling removed. The walls on either side are useless closets 4' deep and 18' long. The closet walls have since been removed. Note the total lack of insulation.



Removing lathe and plaster. The image is so poor because the camera flash reflects off all the dust in the air.



After removing the drop ceiling and plaster and lathe, we discovered this old chimney above the ceiling line. It was very unstable in fact I could rock it back and forth. I used lolly columns and made a brace out of 2 x 6's to stabilize it. It was so loose we were able to take it apart with just a small pry bar.


For some reason my brother had them put the dumpster 75' from where we needed it.


Large pieces were thrown out the window and carried to the dumpster. Small pieces and rubble were lowered out the window in 5 gallon buckets.


Lots of lathe. I mostly bundled these up with twine and my brother in law uses it to start his wood stove.

[lavenderdiva]

1. These are great pics..

thanks for sharing them. Is your brother living in the space while you are doing all this work? Also, how long do you forsee this project lasting? Is this your full-time job, or do you do this in your off-time, while you have another line of work?

I'm just interested as we have LOADS of work to do around our house, Hubby works full-time, so if its to be done, its just me to do it. I haven't ever done anything major like this, but I need to learn FAST! Any suggestions on how to learn what/how to do it? I do watch programs on DIY network, This Old House, Yankee Workshop, etc. And I'm not afraid of tools.

[amerikat]

2. My brother is living in the apartment.

The area under renovation is closed off behind a door. The project is farther along than the pictures show. I'm working this full time although i'm only putting in about 4 or 5 hours a day.I'm hoping to be finished in a bout three weeks. I'm keeping track of my hours and the cost of materials and I'll post all the info when the job is done. I'll be applying for a full time job when this project is done.

Watching the diy shows is a great way to gain construction knowledge. You might also get a book that covers the basics of remodeling and building. Friends, neighbors and coworkers are also a great source of information and inspiration.

Do you have a particular project in mind?

[lavenderdiva]

3. Where to begin?

We have sooo many projects staring us in the face, all demanding attention. All the fascia on the house is falling off, and needs to be repaired/replaced. 2 bathrooms need to be remodelled- including plumbing moved around the space. Our kitchen needs to be expanded. We currently have a center atrium that we want to enclose and use the space to expand our kitchen. One of the supporting floor joists in the living is completely rotted through, needs to be replaced, which will affect my recently refinished wood floors! We also have a plumbing leak somewhere in the attic, which has worked its way all the way down 2 floors into our laundry room, and has completely soaked a large portion of the ceiling in that room. All the sheetrock needs to be ripped out, leak fixed, then sheetrock repaired.

These are all major projects, but without the funds to hire a contractor, it looks like it will be mainly me, and sometimes Mr. Lavenderdiva doing the work!

[NMDemDist2]

4. leak fixed and floor joist need to come first IMO

those are the ones that will bring the house down, the fascia and the remodeling can wait...

[lavenderdiva]

5. You're right....

We often feel like we are living in the house from the movie, 'The Money Pit', starring Tom Hanks and Shelley Long. We bought the house in 2001 & its 30 years old. When we bought the house, we hired our own inspector to try to avoid any future problems. Even had a one-year warranty included in the act of sale. The home inspector was ridiculously inept (we learned after some of these problems started surfacing), and the home warranty people would keep us waiting out the clock, as it were, until our 1 year coverage was over and done, and they didn't have to cover anything any more. We got a lemon, and are now stuck with it. We can't possibly sell it in the condition its in, and can't afford to move. Can't afford to hire anyone to do the work for us, so its up to us to fix it all. sucks big time. Oh, and 1 of the 2 air compressors for the air conditioning is broken, and can't be fixed. Need a new one, but no $ to buy one. So, we live in Houston, 2 story home, and VERY little air-conditioning in the summer months. We have fans everywhere, trying to move the air around.

[amerikat]

6. How do you know it's plumbing leak and not the roof?

Get up in that attic and find that leak. Can you take some pictures so I can see what's going on? I assume the bad floor joist in one of the sill plates( on an outside wall and sitting on the foundation). If it's not sitting on the foundation it will be easier to repair.

Sound like you need to round up some Texas Du'ers for a weekend to help you.

[Warpy]

7. Moving from one Boston slum apartment to another in the 70s

and 80s was also a great way to learn about construction. I made all my mistakes on overpriced, crummy apartments in bad neighborhoods where the landlords hadn't inspected the place since they'd bought it in the 60s (hadn't done repairs since then, either).

Are you fixing the place up to sell at a profit? Some folks are making a decent living doing that.

[amerikat]

8. Fixing it up so my brother and his wife have more space.

I think flipping real estate is pretty risky in this topped out market.