How to buy a “Fixer Up” House to be a Home.

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No they are fiberglass. They are commonly sold for mobile homes. They are a light framework covered with plywood and then sprayed with chopped fiberglass. Even at that I had a heck of a time getting them in the truck alone. They look like concrete I plan on using them for now anyway.
 
No they are fiberglass. They are commonly sold for mobile homes. They are a light framework covered with plywood and then sprayed with chopped fiberglass. Even at that I had a heck of a time getting them in the truck alone. They look like concrete I plan on using them for now anyway.
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Interesting. Can you just set them down on the ground or do you need to build a base?
 
You can just sit them down on a level surface. Mine I have a PT 4x4 on one side screwed on and a 1x on the other because the ground is tipped. You would think they are made of rock. Very sturdy. Hand rails can be screwed to the sides.


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As this thread is about the ongoing saga of resurrecting a house from the grasps of the wrecking ball and doing it with DIY spirit, I was too busy making it livable at the time to post a lot of photos of the progress. As things are becoming less urgent and I’m participating more on here when I offer some advice on other threads with photos I will try and add them here also as this thread is about the big picture of just one big project of our new home.

As of late the topic has been the free deck but a year ago the more pressing issue was heat and water. I redid the whole house with PEX one of the smartest moves I made. Here is a photo of the control center for the PEX supply. They sell manifolds but this was a DIY one using the cheaper copper manifolds and doing the valves and all piece by piece.

IMG_5510.jpg
 
Wow! Sounds like you took on a lot of work and have done well with it, Bud.
My family purchased a house that had a LOT of hidden problems. Some of which took almost 30 years to come to light. One was that the septic tank was insufficient (it was put in when this was a one bedroom house and never updated when two more bedrooms were added) and the field lines were done incorrectly. We just had to rectify that a couple of years ago. The plumbing jumble is a mess for a different thread. LOL.

I wish you lived in my area. A friend of mine passed away and now his yard with two houses a workshop, and greenhouse, and some storage sheds is sitting empty and for sale. The real estate agent blows and the market here is terrible though. Its in need of a roof replacement and mold remediation now. Plus there were a few break-ins until I installed an alarm and very loudly announced around town that I was going to be sitting in the house with a shotgun waiting for the next break-in. That seems to have done the trick.

Something I will say that I've learned when shopping for homes is to check the crime rate in the area and talk to people in surrounding areas-- the real estate agent won't want to tell you the dirt. We saw a house that my mother wanted to buy and the price was right, but I wondered what the catch was. Turns out there are TWO Mexican cartels operating in the area, more registered sex offenders than cops, and the crime is so high that Fedex has a standing policy to not deliver there after dark (since a cartel killed one of their drivers and hijacked a truck once). Tip: Stay away from the Meadow Lake neighborhood of Los Lunas in New Mexico.

Is there anything you can do to keep critters off of PEX? I've heard that there are certain bugs that will eat it and that mice will sometimes chew through it. Despite having 14 cats, mice are an issue inside the walls and in the attic.

I forgot to mention that I LOVE the cathedral style raised panel doors on the cabinets you installed.
 
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To be honest I had not heard of anything eating PEX. I know mice and chipmunks will eat thru wires so I guess they could eat PEX also. As to Bugs when I Googled it I was finding some reports of wood bores eating it on the west coast but those reports were pretty few and far between as best I could tell. Like I said earlier it’s good to learn something new every day. I will file that away for future reference. I don’t think I would stop recommending PEX as all piping has drawbacks and failure modes and from what I have seen so far I’m still a fan. I would do something to limit the mice though. They can cause lots of problems unrelated to plumbing.

The cabinets were used and bought on line. We got the sink, counters, faucets dishwasher and stove and all the cabinets for $1200 if I remember correct and the fridge was also a on line used purchase for $300. We hauled the kitchen 100 miles in a cattle trailer (well cleaned).

I didn’t mention crime areas but that’s a great point. Different cities are different. Around here there is crime intermixed everyplace you look but for the most part the high crime areas are also the worst sections of town as to run down conditions and poor schools just everything is not desirable in those areas. I do see crime must pay well because more and more around here its moving to some of the nicer suburbs.

The location where we bought was economically challenged more than crime. In fact I feel it’s a pretty safe little town just a bit too far for many to drive where the work is. I spend about $100 a week on fuel now and my commute is about 45 minutes each way. Being able to buy a home cash that has super low taxes far outweighs the cost of commuting. My old drive was 30 crossing the city and I hated every minute of it and now I drive on country roads going thru a couple other small nice towns and I love every minute of the drive. I often use the time to catch up with my sisters on the phone after work.

As to a lot of work yes it was but it didn’t seem to be. I learned from my dad and it was reconfirmed working on this house with my girlfriends grandfather who in many ways reminds me of my dad, that it’s not a race just do a little bit every day and the work gets done. That time in between really helps I can’t tell how many times I was stumped on the next step of something and quite for the night. The next morning I knew just what I wanted to do and could hardly wait to get home from work and do it.

It’s amazing how much you can do if you don’t turn the TV on also.
 
There have been a lot of little ongoing projects lately and I have been forgetting to take photos. All the decks have been stained now and we really got a lot of use out of the new one built from reclaimed materials over the summer.

Last winter when it was 10 below zero the radiator went out in my truck and it was the first time I tried bringing the truck in the garage. Well the old falling apart roll up door would only let me get the nose in the door and then when the hood went up it hit the door making working on the truck cold and miserable. The door I found out was thrown out by one neighbor and the guy that owned our house grabbed it and installed it. Even with the springs it almost took both of us to open it and the final straw happened last week when the bottom panel fell apart and the thing really jammed. I thought about buying a new door for about 10 minutes and saw the price installed and decided to build my own 8x8 and be able to enjoy the height of the free span inside without a door track in the way. The previous owner put a big collar tie beam across that looked like he sized it for pulling an engine with and I could take advantage of that also without the tracks inside. So for about $250 bucks this is what I built and it was too dark when I got it painted I will have to post the finished photo later.

Before and After.

garage_Fotor.jpg

door2.jpg

door1.jpg
 
Good job Bud. I know you have "J" channel above the door, but what about putting a drip rail to kick water past the top of the door so you don't have water dripping on the top edge of the door?
 
oldognewtrick said:
Good job Bud. I know you have "J" channel above the door, but what about putting a drip rail to kick water past the top of the door so you don't have water dripping on the top edge of the door?
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That’s a good idea and I think I will do that. I had to take some siding off to make the taller opening. I was lucky there as the header was for 8’ height and he built it down for the smaller door. The siding job is all done with scrap pieces it looks like he had left over from the house and they are all really faded. I found a pile of it left in the garage there might even be something to make a drip rail out of.

Would you tuck it under the J channel?

The door sits back about half inch behind the J now.

I took a piece of the old faded siding to Home depot and had them color match it for paint for the door they did pretty good on the color. Oh it’s been a long time that I brush painted T1-11, Dang that stuff is like a sponge. :)
 
Yes, under the j channel extended up the wall at least 3". Seal the top edge with tape like they wrap windows with if you have some.
 
Looking good! The new garage doors are a nice improvement.
 
Obviously things like location, neighbors etc. are important, but, what should we be looking for in terms of fixing it up ourselves? Neither of us have much DIY experience.
 
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MarkBrandon said:
Obviously things like location, neighbors etc. are important, but, what should we be looking for in terms of fixing it up ourselves? Neither of us have much DIY experience.
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I would say any items that are high on labor and low on skills are major DIY pluses. In our case we saved thousands on clean up and demo and that's all just hard work with little skill. Next would be skills that are easily learned. Painting patching plaster etc. not a lot of special tools easy skills and lots of labor savings. Landscaping is another similar task. Then you have to start learning skills. But many are not bad to learn and guys here will help.


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I would also suggest to do your research on how things should be done and practice on small things before doing larger things.

and then we have the old adage "measure twice, cut once".
 
zellijgallery said:
Amazing thread Bud, If you have any picture to share.



Ill feel happy to see that.
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I'm working on putting a slide show together for home right now. I will select some photos and post some soon.


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