Oldog ... that's why I love this site. You guys give real world advice. Drew ... well, we've been in the house right at a year. The last people in the house (1890, 2 story, on a full basement with brick foundation) were renters and destroyed the place. 7 windows were broken out, the kids kicked the middle support post on the side porch out (which is why I have to rebuild it), the kitchen was a disaster with no appliances except a stove, the side door had been kicked in and was held shut by a 2X4 across it screwed to the studs, and the upstairs bathroom vanity supply line wasn't connected - they moved out with the water running. It destroyed the plaster ceiling in the dining room, and soaked the cheap carpet in the dining room and living room; which destroyed the hardwood floors underneath.
We first took the kitchen down to the studs and subfloor. I put in new wiring and insulation and backer board on the floor. We had a cabinet maker build us some new cabinets and after he installed them, I put in floor tile and new appliances (kitchen is usable and about 95% complete). We hired plumbers to remove all the iron pipe and put in new PEX (plus a water sediment filter, water softener, and water heater). We went to Lumber Liquidators and bought the red oak hardwood flooring to replace the LR & DR. We hired a pro to remove the old stuff and put down the new, and refinish the rest of the hardwood floors in the house (then we covered them with plastic sheet and cardboard so they won't get damaged). We ripped out the half bath that was adjacent to the dining room and remodeled it (hey - at least we had a toilet. Until that, we had to run down the street to BK, McD, or a gas station!). For 7 weeks, we showered at a neighbor's house (she's definitely an angel!). Upstairs was the full bath and 3 bedrooms. One bedroom was very tiny (adjacent to the "master" bedroom. It shares a common wall (part of it, anyway) with the full bath. We decided to turn the small BR into a bath and closet, to give us a "master suite". So far, I have gotten a tub in and floor tile. That's about it. The main bath had the tub next to the outside wall (under the sloping ceiling.) The shower head was literally about 3 1/2 - 4' above the tub. We worked out a design with the plumber to move everything around (the toilet will go under the sloping ceiling). So I took it down to the floor joists. Every floor joist had been cut (notched out) so I had to sister in some new joists. Will work on that more soon, but we want to get one "complete" bath finished. Hope I haven't bored y'all. So, drew, what's your house story?
