evansvillehousewife
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Hi all.
My husband and I and two small children bought an old 1920's farmhouse that just got plumbing and electricity (and quite badly, I might add) in 1973.
The electricity and foundation (failing fieldstone) are the only projects we've hired out so far. The foundation, well, because we had to lift the house and the cost/time of all the heavy equipment was beyond just the two of us; and the electricity, because it needed such extensive panel/wiring work and we needed it to be up to code. The electric still isn't done.
Projects' we've completed:
1) Took up 1970s brown shag carpet upstairs to find layers of tar paper underneath. Under that, pieces of asbestos covering a painted wood floor. Under the paint, BEAUTIFUL western fir with rotary sawmill marks and pencil marks. Husband slightly sanded them then varnished. They are gorgeous. Our own reclaimed wood! Upstairs is sagging drywall, old pine painted trim.
2) Tore out plastic shower/tub surround because of leak behind wall. hasband repaired plumbing, new fixtures, I demo'ed out the masonite, which turned out to be covering original gypsum plaster, which I tore out down to the lathes. Applied cement moldstopper backerboard, and we white tiled it with blue glass tile accents. Our next bath project is to tear out the fake plastic tile, rip up and install a new subfloor, install a pedestal sink, install wall vent fan. Then proceed to put in a NICE tile floor (it is 12x8 so floor cost per square foot is not much of a factor)
3) Our kitchen is big- 300 ft sq. Originally covered in a blue berber carpet that was so nasty you could make soup out of it. Installed over pad on cement slab (they added the kitchen in the 50's) Ripped out pad, hired contractor to grind cement floor to level and apply self-leveling epoxy. We then drilled expanding sinkers and applied a 3/4 plywood subfloor (over plastic and moldstopper foam) Now we just finished applying the 8" oak planks with countersunk screws, which we filled in by setting oak dowels and cutting flush. Now we are waiting to sand and finish.
This is all just background for the questions I[m going to post now!
Best Regards!
My husband and I and two small children bought an old 1920's farmhouse that just got plumbing and electricity (and quite badly, I might add) in 1973.
The electricity and foundation (failing fieldstone) are the only projects we've hired out so far. The foundation, well, because we had to lift the house and the cost/time of all the heavy equipment was beyond just the two of us; and the electricity, because it needed such extensive panel/wiring work and we needed it to be up to code. The electric still isn't done.
Projects' we've completed:
1) Took up 1970s brown shag carpet upstairs to find layers of tar paper underneath. Under that, pieces of asbestos covering a painted wood floor. Under the paint, BEAUTIFUL western fir with rotary sawmill marks and pencil marks. Husband slightly sanded them then varnished. They are gorgeous. Our own reclaimed wood! Upstairs is sagging drywall, old pine painted trim.
2) Tore out plastic shower/tub surround because of leak behind wall. hasband repaired plumbing, new fixtures, I demo'ed out the masonite, which turned out to be covering original gypsum plaster, which I tore out down to the lathes. Applied cement moldstopper backerboard, and we white tiled it with blue glass tile accents. Our next bath project is to tear out the fake plastic tile, rip up and install a new subfloor, install a pedestal sink, install wall vent fan. Then proceed to put in a NICE tile floor (it is 12x8 so floor cost per square foot is not much of a factor)
3) Our kitchen is big- 300 ft sq. Originally covered in a blue berber carpet that was so nasty you could make soup out of it. Installed over pad on cement slab (they added the kitchen in the 50's) Ripped out pad, hired contractor to grind cement floor to level and apply self-leveling epoxy. We then drilled expanding sinkers and applied a 3/4 plywood subfloor (over plastic and moldstopper foam) Now we just finished applying the 8" oak planks with countersunk screws, which we filled in by setting oak dowels and cutting flush. Now we are waiting to sand and finish.
This is all just background for the questions I[m going to post now!
Best Regards!
