The house is a 1920s craftsman with beautiful architecture in North Seattle. List price is $330k, comparables for sqft are in the $400-500s.
The bad:
All windows need replacement, including casings.
There is extensive water damage to the entire South wall (see photos). It looks like a combination of water coming in from the chimney, and from the window casings. The damage is centralized around the windows that are on both sides of the fireplace.
There is some light mold on the inside of an exterior wall closet in the SE corner of the house.
There is also some very light mold in an interior wall closet that is closer to the NW side of the house.
There is a basement / garage (house is on enough of a hill to put the garage entrance above grade). In the basement there is one interior wall with drywall, which has mold.
The carpet was ripped out just prior to the house listing, and it's unclear if the floors were refinished. You can see where the tack strips were nailed in. The floor is in excellent condition and looks refinished, but there is still some carpet padding stuck in one area.
The roof was replaced recently, so we don't know if the leaking came from that.
Almost everything is original or from the 40s / 50s.
The good:
Every surface in the house appears to be level
The floors do not show signs of water damage
The ceiling does not show signs of water damage
The foundation does not appear to have any structural problems. There is obvious signs of water on the South side of the basement, coming from the chimney.
The house is on a slope, so the West side foundation / garage & basement level is above grade.
The floor joists and wall studs at the South wall do not appear to be rotted
We did not find any moisture anywhere (but we haven't had rain for a couple weeks)
We had a contractor come in and quote $75-100k for a full repair of the South wall. Includes windows, chimney, new stucco on outside of wall, new plaster on inside of wall, replacing any studs that are bad, and bringing everything touched up to code (which probably includes wiring). We were looking for more of a "shore it up", cost, but to his credit he did come out on his own dime to a house we haven't even offered on yet.
Upon move-in we really only want to stop the water from coming in, and kill any existing mold. Like I said, moisture meter shows nothing, and we would like to keep it that way.
We do want to do most of the work ourselves, with exception of anything requiring permits and inspections, unless we are confident that we can do the work correct and it will pass inspection.
Anybody have any idea what the work load this might be, and if we are stupid to assume we can do most of the work? Any way to find out the condition inside the walls? Is it a good sign that there is no bucking, bulging, or unlevel walls, ceilings, or floors? We have turned down many fixer-uppers that we have seen, this house seems to be quite fixable and solid, despite the amount of visual damage.
Thanks!
The bad:
All windows need replacement, including casings.
There is extensive water damage to the entire South wall (see photos). It looks like a combination of water coming in from the chimney, and from the window casings. The damage is centralized around the windows that are on both sides of the fireplace.
There is some light mold on the inside of an exterior wall closet in the SE corner of the house.
There is also some very light mold in an interior wall closet that is closer to the NW side of the house.
There is a basement / garage (house is on enough of a hill to put the garage entrance above grade). In the basement there is one interior wall with drywall, which has mold.
The carpet was ripped out just prior to the house listing, and it's unclear if the floors were refinished. You can see where the tack strips were nailed in. The floor is in excellent condition and looks refinished, but there is still some carpet padding stuck in one area.
The roof was replaced recently, so we don't know if the leaking came from that.
Almost everything is original or from the 40s / 50s.
The good:
Every surface in the house appears to be level
The floors do not show signs of water damage
The ceiling does not show signs of water damage
The foundation does not appear to have any structural problems. There is obvious signs of water on the South side of the basement, coming from the chimney.
The house is on a slope, so the West side foundation / garage & basement level is above grade.
The floor joists and wall studs at the South wall do not appear to be rotted
We did not find any moisture anywhere (but we haven't had rain for a couple weeks)
We had a contractor come in and quote $75-100k for a full repair of the South wall. Includes windows, chimney, new stucco on outside of wall, new plaster on inside of wall, replacing any studs that are bad, and bringing everything touched up to code (which probably includes wiring). We were looking for more of a "shore it up", cost, but to his credit he did come out on his own dime to a house we haven't even offered on yet.
Upon move-in we really only want to stop the water from coming in, and kill any existing mold. Like I said, moisture meter shows nothing, and we would like to keep it that way.
We do want to do most of the work ourselves, with exception of anything requiring permits and inspections, unless we are confident that we can do the work correct and it will pass inspection.
Anybody have any idea what the work load this might be, and if we are stupid to assume we can do most of the work? Any way to find out the condition inside the walls? Is it a good sign that there is no bucking, bulging, or unlevel walls, ceilings, or floors? We have turned down many fixer-uppers that we have seen, this house seems to be quite fixable and solid, despite the amount of visual damage.
Thanks!
to House Repair Talk! Anxious to see pics.
