House Remodel

Pam Russell

Member
Messages
53
Location
Holland
We bought a house 5 years ago to live in/remodel. The house was in terrible shape and we had to do drastic repairs just to make it livable. It still isn't finished, we still have the living room to do, but while depressing looking it wasn't falling apart like the rest of the house. I thought I would show before and after photos otherwise it could take forever. Some of the photos are not clear because they were the photos that the realtor put up in the ad, but they give the best idea of how bad it was. Keep in mind after we finish all the rooms then we can start fixing it up the way we want it.

house1.jpg house2.jpg Diningroom.jpg Diningroom9.jpg bedroom1.jpg bedroom1b.jpg bedroom2.jpg bedroom2b.jpg kitchen.jpg kitchenb.jpg
 
Looks like you've done a lot of work, but the outcome was worth it. The exterior shot is the most dramatic change. :thumb: I'll bet your neighbors were happy with the results.
 
All the neighbors thought that the house brought down the value of every house on the block it was in such bad shape. They love the changes.
 
you have been one busy gal:) and i see your helper in the one pic a furry one:) those cabs need to go dont got with the rest of your work at all:) love that old window trim in the one bedroom 2 shot
 
The house was built in 1893, most of the old trim was up in several of the rooms. We took out the trim on the doorways in the dining room and used them to replace the pieces that were missing in the downstairs bedrooms. There used to be a doorway between the two rooms that we closed off on one side and I turned the doorway into a built in bookcase on the other side and trimmed it to match with old trim. You can't tell it hadn't been there always. I will say that after 5 years of living with sheetrock dust I'm more than a little sick of working with drywall and there is still more to go. Working in enclosed areas are the worst, like the narrow stairway to the top floor bedroom.

stairway.jpg stairwayb.jpg
 
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Lots and lots of work, but you've done a great job and have every right to be proud. It looks like the end is in sight, just the one room left to go?
 
It's always good to see someone that has a vision for what something can be. I used to be a Realtor and it always amazed me at the lack of vision that some of the folks had. We'd show them perfectly good houses, but a paint color would turn them off of the whole house. We actually listed a house that we sat on for 8 months and the only negative comments were the paint color of the kitchen. We finally convinced the seller to paint it after 8 months and it sold in two weeks. :dunno:

Nice job on the remodeling. :thumb:
 
The guy I live with had experience with plastering and I had experience with sheetrock. We figured we could manage it. To be honest we had hopes of just being able to repair the plaster, but the dining room taught us that wasn't going to happen. We steamed and scraped our way through 5 layers of wallpaper before we hit plaster just to have it start falling out in chunks. Seemed the wallpaper was the only thing holding it up. after that it was a tear out and replace job in every room. The living room is only 13 x 13 so it won't take long, the dining room and the upstairs bedroom are 11 x 22 and took forever it seemed like. The bathroom is only half done actually, we want to replace the tub with a walk in shower. I'm including a photo of how I want it to look.

upstairs.jpg upstairsb.jpg bathroom.jpg bathroomc.jpg
 
This is a bit off-topic, but Pam, if you live within driving distance of Tom and Larry, you really owe it to yourself to meet them both face-to-face. Both of them are some of the finest folks you could hope to meet, and they can teach you a whole lot about woodworking. (Probably feed you pretty good, too.) :D
 
This is a bit off-topic, but Pam, if you live within driving distance of Tom and Larry, you really owe it to yourself to meet them both face-to-face. Both of them are some of the finest folks you could hope to meet, and they can teach you a whole lot about woodworking. (Probably feed you pretty good, too.) :D

I'll definitely second that recommendation! Great folks - both the guys and their families. Comaradery, beer, and good food...what more could you ask for? :D
 
I would love to and not just for the free wood ;) It will have to be after the snow is gone. I grew up in NC where an average snow is between 1/2 and 3 inches which sounds like the beginning of a joke but my part of NC is mountains. Snow and mountain roads usually meant someone I know slides off a mountain or overpass. I never learned to drive in it until moving here and I'll never get over being afraid to drive in it. And I would like to enjoy the visit. But when it's gone I might just show up on your doorstep!
 
Has anyone had to deal with peg and tube wiring? Our house was about 80 % peg and tube, 5% the wiring that came after peg and tube but before romex, and 15 % romex. Got tired of dealing with it and rewired the whole house. Just finished it actually, going to be inspected next week.
 
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