# Slight home remodeling



## specialguest (Sep 10, 2007)

I'm going to copy/paste this from another forum I post on. I will disclaim that we are working with a GC/ electrician and plumber because of the magnitude of the project we took on we wanted to do this right the first time however all the demo was done by us and we've been helping them out as they go. While we are both capable of doing the work, the intricacy of Baltimore codes was prohibitive since I haven't worked in the city before. We've learned so much from this project that I can't wait to start another. I'll keep the dates included with each post so you can see the progress made and what we learned along the way and bold anything that was incorrect in our initial assessment. Anyway:

6/15/09
This is a house me and a friend of mine are working on. Pretty much got the deal of the century on it in Baltimore. It was a foreclosure that was a giant hassle to settle on but finally happened. In a nut shell the bank was asking 139k, we low balled at $87,900 assuming after countering we'd end up around 110k. Didn't hear anything for a few weeks until we saw it went up for auction. Well the auction fell through and the bank was in the process of being bought out so they accepted our offer in an area of Baltimore where the average home sale was/is $250,000+. We were ecstatic, even the realtor was amazed.

Then it got bad. The new bank started sandbagging the whole process refusing to accept the offer even though the previous bank did. They wanted us to pull our offer and reoffer $30,000 more! Finally after two months of waiting we settled paying the transfer tax and kept our original offer. 

So from start to finish we looked at over 50 homes, put out three formal offers and finally ended up with our "dream house". A foreclosure in a nice area that needs updating but doesn't need to be bulldozed.

It's the first major renovation that we've taken on by ourselves. It's actually been a pretty fun process thus far doing the demo. We hauled out 2.5 tons of stuff the other day and will probably do the same again next week. 

The house is a brick row home built ~100 years ago. 2 floors and a basement. It technically is a 3/1.5 but really is a 2/1 because the basement is only 6' tall.

The pros:
Original hardwood flooring thoughout
Excellent location
3 homes for sale within spitting distance are listed at 285k, 325k and 355k respectively
9' ceilings
Original oak staircase still in tact
*200 amp service*
Brand new AC unit (AC is actually pretty rare in these homes other than high end renovations)

The cons:
Nothing other than the flooring and staircase is really salvageable
Original hardwood is under crappy linoleum
Each wall consists of brick (which we're exposing), plaster, 4 layers of wall paper, wood furring strips and wood paneling
Wiring outside of the AC run is the old nylon braid conduit style
*Termite damage in the backdoor* (understatement of the year!)
Former owner had an unhealthy obsession with dragons
The kitchen sink leaked for at least a year onto the sink base but fortunately most of it was absorbed.
Has a 'fake' ceiling in each room below the actual ceiling

So the plan is to gut almost everything in the house. Off the top of my head: tear down the plaster, rip out the old wiring, reframe the majority of the house, rewire, address the lighting issue, new sheetrock throughout, sand down the floors and stair case and refinish and build a really nice kitchen and master bath. I'm sure I'm leaving out a lot but it's late and I'm tired.

The original pictures:


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## specialguest (Sep 10, 2007)

6/15/09 cont.


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## specialguest (Sep 10, 2007)

6/15/09 cont.

The original bathroom and kitchen:























































There were more layers of grease and crap in the kitchen than I ever care to come in contact with ever again.


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## specialguest (Sep 10, 2007)

6/25/09 

Before and after (circa about 1.5 weeks ago)



















The arch between the kitchen and living room is out, brick is exposed throughout and the fake ceiling as well as the original plaster ceiling above is out. It kind of looks like a log cabin right now with the beams exposed. I'll try and get an updated pic tonight. The wall on the right is something we're kind of up in the air about. We don't know whether or not to build a 4' stud wall to run the electrical and whatnot or just frame the whole thing and build a built in entertainment center. That's pretty far down the road but doesn't hurt to day dream.

Also by pulling down the fake ceiling which had cardboard tile, we actually gained app. a foot of head room throughout giving up 9'+ ceilings.


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## specialguest (Sep 10, 2007)

Cont.


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## specialguest (Sep 10, 2007)

7/20/09


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## specialguest (Sep 10, 2007)

Cont.


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## specialguest (Sep 10, 2007)

Cont.


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## specialguest (Sep 10, 2007)




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## specialguest (Sep 10, 2007)

Cont.


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## specialguest (Sep 10, 2007)

Cont.


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## specialguest (Sep 10, 2007)

Cont.

No lead paint. Instead they used spray paint to decorate the walls.

Either way I'm glad it's over. It was a hell of a lot of work for two guys and a grandfather (who is unreal in how strong he is) to take on but we've finished the hard part.

We've got a contractor on retainer for the electrical and plumbing. Basically we were incorrect in what the house had power wise. It is only 100 amp service which according to our contractor implies they either never ran the AC or there was 4 separate breakers for it. Either way doesn't matter. BGE (power company) has to come in and move the electrical meter outside and we'll upgrade to 200 amp service at the same time. All the wiring in the house was the metal armored conduit with the nylon braid for the insulation. That stuff is a royal pain in the ass to remove and finally it took a pair of big bolt cutters to get it out.

The plumbing is also going to go and we'll replace it with PVC. I'm concerned we'll only get about another 10 years out of the current plumbing and we already know there is a minor leak under the toilet pipe because there was water damage on the ceiling tiles right beneath it. Also only the kitchen lines had on/off valves and they are crap anyway. The water main doesn't fully shut off the water as we found out the fun way. Another major reason is we're going to add a 1/2 bath on the first floor and rearrange the upstairs bath's layout (tub going perpendicular on the back side and toilet/sink on the front side) since originally there was barely any room to get to the toilet.

So all that will be subbed out. More than likely unless something dramatic happens with my schedule, we'll do the framing and probably hang the drywall then sub out the finish work. The flooring will then be addressed. Under the pergo floor downstairs are hardwoods in excellent condition from one of the pics above. Upstairs we'll have to replace most of the wood planks with 1/2 inch plywood then probably carpet the bedrooms and hallway and tile the bath.

Regarding the brick. That is a project in and of itself. Every square inch we expose will need to be meticulously scrubbed and sealed. The troughs dug out for the metal conduit electrical will be attributed to 'old world charm' and probably left as is.


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## specialguest (Sep 10, 2007)

8/31/09


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## specialguest (Sep 10, 2007)




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## specialguest (Sep 10, 2007)

Cont.


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## specialguest (Sep 10, 2007)

Cont.

Also you can see in the above pictures where they had to sister 2 of the beams that support the roof. A prior owner wanted a skylight and to do so, actually cut out one of the load bearing beams and supported it with a closet. Then we discovered 2 of the beams that support the kitchen floor were completely useless as the _interior_ door used to close off the basement from the outside apparently let in a little water and some termites. The floor sagged 1.5 inches in the corner which would have made doing cabinets a nightmare. 

Oh yeah and brand new windows all around. No more having to prop the windows closed with the crowbar anymore









So yeah, found a little more than we bargained for in terms of structural components but everything is gravy now.


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## jerryh3 (Dec 10, 2007)

What street is it on? Somewhere off Boston I suppose...


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## derf36 (Jul 4, 2009)

subscribed to the thread... this is one I'm going to enjoy. Keep the posts coming.


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## Tigwldr (Jan 2, 2009)

I love the rough finished brick walls. I want to add walls like in my house now but its to much work to add that feature in a house that already has sheetrock walls.  I really like the industrial look of walls like that.


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## jackie treehorn (Jan 27, 2009)

Looking good Senor Fartman :wink: (fellow nasiocer)


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## LeviDIY (Apr 16, 2009)

Great.. love the views... like Jerryh3, I'm thinking near Canton waterfront... hope not near the Red Line!  I'm in Montgomery County now, but a son of Bmore. GREAT work so far and pictures... keep up the good work!


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## specialguest (Sep 10, 2007)

Thanks for all the kind words. We passed plumbing yesterday! Just need the construction and electrical inspection and we can start drywalling. It's close to Boston St. It's on Robinson and Fait right in the middle of Canton. Originally we were going to flip the house but with real estate slower than the past and that we've grown a bit attached to this house, we'll probably live here for a few years and renovate more in the area. The nice thing is that houses we turned down because they were just to much of a dump before hand are now eye candy for us. It is interesting because a few years ago I used to rent in Canton and vowed never to return but after buying a place in Pigtown, I've now seem to have drifted back haha. 

Anyway here are some pics of the brick cleaned up, the tub in and the new front window in. We didn't use muriatic acid on the brick because it stains the mortar brown. Instead we used some kind of detergent and then sealed it. If anyone is interested in the product I can look it up.


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## specialguest (Sep 10, 2007)




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## FlyingChampCar (Aug 24, 2009)

Wow that's quite a task. Great work.


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## specialguest (Sep 10, 2007)

Some updates:

Passed electrical, hvac, building and plumbing rough inspections. 

All new hvac ducting throughout. We found out the previous owners didn't install any return lines for the hvac system so we're not entirely sure how it worked for them.

Cans are all buttoned up and the heavy up (upgrade to 200 amp service) is completed. Bought the greenboard, tile, toilets and vanities for the baths. Also bought the kitchen sink and faucet, garbage disposal and ordered the cabinets. We went with a light mocha stained maple shaker style. We have a lot of cabinets going in for the size of the house so storage will never be an issue.

Found out the city wanted a permit for the coax and ethernet cable I ran. Complete bs so I ended up just pulling it all out so we could move forward.

Building inspector came yesterday, liked the framing but wanted to see it with insulation  so he's coming back tomorrow. We installed most of the insulation yesterday. He also wanted blocking for the cabinets. 

So that's where we stand. Hopefully get cracking on the drywall and floors within the week so we can move in.


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## specialguest (Sep 10, 2007)

So new update. Drywall is up and primed, cabinets are in, shower is tiled, bathroom floors are tiled, interior doors are hung and trimmed, new backdoor is in, all the laminate flooring (including the adhesive **** for the linoleum in the kitchen) is out, 100 year old heart pine flooring is sanded down and a couple coats of poly are going down. Floors are still wet so I can't get any pics at the moment.

Found out the enormous HVAC system is in fact way over sized for the house. The indoor temp went from 55 to 75 in about 10 minutes with it on









Got the electrical/gas meter moved outside. Also got the new service upgrade from BGE to 200 amp. Had the fun time of learning the old service line was MELTED and that we share a service line with the neighbor's house. Had we turned on power we more than likely would have burned down ours and a couple adjoining houses. Neighbors were really excited to hear that. 

The stairwell is getting reworked as well. The treads weren't really salvageable so they're out. We are also moving the railing to the edge so in total, we've gained about 6 inches of stairwell space by doing that and exposing the brick.

I think that's it. We should be in supposedly by Thanksgiving. I'm really excited for these floors, I think they will look incredible when all is said and done.

Oh also when we pulled up the old flooring, we found a couple places were patched with old soup cans that were unrolled and made flat and shimmed by newspaper from the 1960s. We are thinking about mounting them in a frame and leaving them with the house when we sell as a memento.




EDIT: found a couple pics on my iphone from about 2 weeks ago. Top cabinets are 42's and hang out 6" below the ceiling. The brick side of the kitchen will have bottoms and the fridge. 

The floors have all been sanded down and have a couple coats of poly drying as we speak.


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## LeviDIY (Apr 16, 2009)

Good to hear the progression!


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## merle (Dec 18, 2007)

Nice work guys. House will be beautiful. What is old is new and what is new is old.


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## specialguest (Sep 10, 2007)




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## specialguest (Sep 10, 2007)




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## specialguest (Sep 10, 2007)




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## specialguest (Sep 10, 2007)




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## specialguest (Sep 10, 2007)




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## specialguest (Sep 10, 2007)




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## jerryh3 (Dec 10, 2007)

Maple spice cabinets?


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## kickarse (Mar 7, 2009)

Wow that's a really nice reno! I hope my job is half as good!


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## LeviDIY (Apr 16, 2009)

Baltimore rowhouse charm.... great updates, thanks! That exposed wall is gorgeous.


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## specialguest (Sep 10, 2007)

Thanks it's about 99% done now. Just finishing up the little things.

To above yes they are maple shaker style spice cabs. Special order from home depot. They're really cool actually they have the piston in the door that closes it automatically.


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