The Renovate Otis's New House Thread (1 Viewer)

[Otis]

Just because one of those walls in that corner is load-bearing, does not mean it can't be done. It will just take some creative engineering to add support there. It would be much cheaper than extending the house.

?

eta: meant to ask- what can't be done?

Master bedroom 18 x 30? Holy crap WTF would you do/have in there that requires so much space? They have a trapeze platform or something?

Lol, my "master" bedroom is 12 x 13.

You never know when an orgy will break out.

or the missus doing yoga.

She used to do hot yoga. Hot.

 

[glock]

4 user(s) are reading this topic2 members, 1 guests, 1 anonymous users

• glock, Otis

 

[Otis]

Without moving the stairs, I think he could squeeze another foot out of that opening by cutting across the corner of that stair landing. It would take more work of course, but you could get a 3 plus foot wide doorway there.

Great idea.

 

[Otis]

If you knocked out that corner between the Living Room and Breakfast, you at most will have a 2.5' passage. I am not sure I would make a bet on which way the joists run without seeing the house. The assumption was the joist ran from front to back, but with a 30' long Living Room, there would have to be a beam somewhere to make that span. It is possible they instead decided to run the floor joists above the Living Room from side to side. There is a good chance at least one wall of that little corner is weight bearing in either case. A small pass-thru would not be a problem, but it would probably only be between the wall studs which may give you about a 14" wide passage.

As far as the Center Hall....if any of the second-floor floor joists run side to side, they are weight-bearing. You would have to replace the headers above the openings with a longer beam to enlarge those openings. It is all doable, but you absolutely need to know what the floor system looks like on the second floor before tearing out walls. For all the effort, I am not sure you will gain that much as far as openess goes. I would be more interested at getting some french doors between the Family Room and Living Room.

The living room is going to become the man family room. Will put a TV over the fireplace and make the the man hangout. Too big a room to waste. The family room will end up being a second TV room, office, playroom, or something. But we want to use that living room as the main hangout. Just wish I had a good way to open that up more than the kitchen without bumping out the back of the house.

This is why you don't buy this house.

For chrissakes- these houses were not built to accommodate the HGTV Open ConceptTM crap without looking messed up. Walls define spaces. Some can be moved/removed to open spaces, but that kitchen is locked over in that corner with the main staircase between it and the living space. It ain't happening unless you throw all sorts of money at this place.

Then what is the point of buying this place??

:heavysigh:

this.

sorry otis.

Pushing the Living Room up (adding on) is your only bet, short of moving those stairs (bad idea).

I'm not a fan of the Family Room off the Living Room the way this is set up, unless you don't mind the constant required movement through the more formal Living Room.

I'd prefer having the Dining Room area more of the informal hanging/family/kids space and somehow moving the Dining over to the top of the Living Room (addition? rearraging the LR).

Here's the thing -- we really love traditional center hall colonials and general layouts, but with a modern twist. We'd like to do that with this house.

Here's an example of the kitchen from UglyHouse. You can see they blew out the back of the house and added on the modern great room concept with a massive kitchen island. That would be our ideal.

LINK

So one thing we are considering is eventually bumping out along the back line of the house so that the kitchen wraps around into what is now the formal living room (we will repurpose as a more informal family room), and then we have an open flow into there and more room for a massive island and high end kitchen.

The layout of UglyHaus has some bad feng shui. Be glad you passed.

Felt damn nice walking through it, and looked great.

What was bad about the feng shui?

 

[Otis]

No "O Cave?"

I've got an O Putting Green.

And I think what is termed the "family room" in the above will be an "O office." If not, I get one of the bedrooms on the 3rd floor as my O Office/hangout. I have options. Probably should stake my claim to a space soon. Not sure which is best.

 

[El Floppo]

Without moving the stairs, I think he could squeeze another foot out of that opening by cutting across the corner of that stair landing. It would take more work of course, but you could get a 3 plus foot wide doorway there.

Great idea.

I hope that can work for you... doesn't *look* like there's enough room for that from your plans... but reality might be different.

 

[Henry Ford]

So you want an open-concept center-hall-colonial?

Leeeeerrrooooooyyyy Jeennnkkkiiiiiiiiinnns!

I was on a conference call with a client when I read your first post on that in this thread and started laughing out loud. Had to turn it into a cough midway. Killed me.

I do my best.

 

[Henry Ford]

No "O Cave?"

I've got an O Putting Green.

And I think what is termed the "family room" in the above will be an "O office." If not, I get one of the bedrooms on the 3rd floor as my O Office/hangout. I have options. Probably should stake my claim to a space soon. Not sure which is best.

If you're a guy who can work knowing that the wife and kids will be barging in and talking to you while you work, or who likes that sort of thing, go family room. If you're a curmudgeonly ####bag like me, go upstairs bedroom.

 

[St. Louis Bob]

Just because one of those walls in that corner is load-bearing, does not mean it can't be done. It will just take some creative engineering to add support there. It would be much cheaper than extending the house.

?

eta: meant to ask- what can't be done?

Master bedroom 18 x 30? Holy crap WTF would you do/have in there that requires so much space? They have a trapeze platform or something?

Lol, my "master" bedroom is 12 x 13.

You never know when an orgy will break out.

or the missus doing yoga.

She used to do hot yoga. Hot.

Hot

 

[glock]

Just because one of those walls in that corner is load-bearing, does not mean it can't be done. It will just take some creative engineering to add support there. It would be much cheaper than extending the house.

?

eta: meant to ask- what can't be done?

Master bedroom 18 x 30? Holy crap WTF would you do/have in there that requires so much space? They have a trapeze platform or something?

Lol, my "master" bedroom is 12 x 13.

You never know when an orgy will break out.

or the missus doing yoga.

She used to do hot yoga. Hot.

This neeeeds to be fixed. Stat. Stop putting babys up in there already.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Just because one of those walls in that corner is load-bearing, does not mean it can't be done. It will just take some creative engineering to add support there. It would be much cheaper than extending the house.

?eta: meant to ask- what can't be done?

Master bedroom 18 x 30? Holy crap WTF would you do/have in there that requires so much space? They have a trapeze platform or something?

Lol, my "master" bedroom is 12 x 13.

You never know when an orgy will break out.

or the missus doing yoga.

She used to do hot yoga. Hot.

It is hot. My wife does it all the time.

 

[drummer]

Master bedroom 18 x 30? Holy crap WTF would you do/have in there that requires so much space? They have a trapeze platform or something?

Lol, my "master" bedroom is 12 x 13.

One word: levels.

 

[drummer]

This thread reads like a whole lot of chetproblems.

 

[jon_mx]

Just to give you an idea of what I was talking about.....

Old and New Plan

That was accomplished without moving the stairs, just chopping off corner of the stairway landing. This change should probably flow down to the basement for support. I assumed that corner as measured in the kitchen is 2' x 2', which is probably pretty close if that is drawn close to scale.

 

[Otis]

Just to give you an idea of what I was talking about.....

Old and New Plan

That was accomplished without moving the stairs, just chopping off corner of the stairway landing. This change should probably flow down to the basement for support. I assumed that corner as measured in the kitchen is 2' x 2', which is probably pretty close if that is drawn close to scale.

Wow this is clutch. Thanks man. I see what you're saying now.

I was also wondering if we could blow open the walls around the top of the stairs and put a railing. That would leave a more open feel even if it's not space you can walk through, and opens up to the playroom in the basement below. Any reason I would want to keep a finished basement separate with walls and a door?

 

[jon_mx]

Just to give you an idea of what I was talking about.....

Old and New Plan

That was accomplished without moving the stairs, just chopping off corner of the stairway landing. This change should probably flow down to the basement for support. I assumed that corner as measured in the kitchen is 2' x 2', which is probably pretty close if that is drawn close to scale.

Wow this is clutch. Thanks man. I see what you're saying now.

I was also wondering if we could blow open the walls around the top of the stairs and put a railing. That would leave a more open feel even if it's not space you can walk through, and opens up to the playroom in the basement below. Any reason I would want to keep a finished basement separate with walls and a door?

That wall that runs down the middle of your basement is almost assuredly a support wall, meaning the floor joists are running from side to side perpendicular to it. Yes, you could open it up, but you would have to put a beam in its place and probably a support pole like the one right across from it.

And you could take out that wall by the stairs and put in a rail, but it is a support wall, meaning the weight of your bedroom is resting on it. You will need a beam there to replace it. If you do both of these changes, i would be a bit concern about the support. You will want to line up any support point on the first floor with a pole or a wall in the basement.

 

[El Floppo]

that gap scaled out to 1'-10" for me.

like I said- hope it's bigger in reality.

 

[Otis]

that gap scaled out to 1'-10" for me.

like I said- hope it's bigger in reality.

My wife is really skinny.

When we were there live I remember it seeming like it was decent space, but I was probably focusing on the brick wall on the outside and forgetting about all the stuff in the middle....

 

[Otis]

Keep in mind those are not construction grade drawings. Those floor plans are out of the real estate broker's brochure. Lord only knows how accurate that is.

 

[jon_mx]

Keep in mind those are not construction grade drawings. Those floor plans are out of the real estate broker's brochure. Lord only knows how accurate that is.

If you could measure that corner dimensions (wall to corner) from the breakfast area side, we could tell you. Upon closer inspection, having 2' there as I have drawn is a bit optimistic, as it does appear just a hair shorter than a width of a kitchen cabinet.. As long as those walls are 1'-8" or more, you would have at least 2' across there, then you could get that extra foot by cutting into the stairway and get a 3' opening. I think 3' is the minimum you should be aiming for.

 

[gianmarco]

Keep in mind those are not construction grade drawings. Those floor plans are out of the real estate broker's brochure. Lord only knows how accurate that is.

Should be good enough to work with if you're only knocking out a few walls.

 

[jon_mx]

Keep in mind those are not construction grade drawings. Those floor plans are out of the real estate broker's brochure. Lord only knows how accurate that is.

Should be good enough to work with if you're only knocking out a few walls.

What we need is a ArizonaRon drawing. It was Ron who provided some pretty awesome CAD illustrations a while back.

 

[Carolina Hustler]

Just to give you an idea of what I was talking about.....

Old and New Plan

That was accomplished without moving the stairs, just chopping off corner of the stairway landing. This change should probably flow down to the basement for support. I assumed that corner as measured in the kitchen is 2' x 2', which is probably pretty close if that is drawn close to scale.

Wow this is clutch. Thanks man. I see what you're saying now.

I was also wondering if we could blow open the walls around the top of the stairs and put a railing. That would leave a more open feel even if it's not space you can walk through, and opens up to the playroom in the basement below. Any reason I would want to keep a finished basement separate with walls and a door?

Stair walls are usually load bearing walls. Itr can be done, but will require a little more work if it's carrying load. You''ll have to transfer load..

 

[Otis]

Just to give you an idea of what I was talking about.....

Old and New Plan

That was accomplished without moving the stairs, just chopping off corner of the stairway landing. This change should probably flow down to the basement for support. I assumed that corner as measured in the kitchen is 2' x 2', which is probably pretty close if that is drawn close to scale.

Wow this is clutch. Thanks man. I see what you're saying now.

I was also wondering if we could blow open the walls around the top of the stairs and put a railing. That would leave a more open feel even if it's not space you can walk through, and opens up to the playroom in the basement below. Any reason I would want to keep a finished basement separate with walls and a door?

Stair walls are usually load bearing walls. Itr can be done, but will require a little more work if it's carrying load. You''ll have to transfer load..

I'm OK with putting, e.g., a post or beam, whatever it takes really, if that allows us to open up the space a bunch.

The alternative I suppose would be to just live with it for now and, when we decide to pursue bumping out the back of the house and gutting the kitchen, just resolving it all then.

 

[OC Zed]

Just to give you an idea of what I was talking about.....

Old and New Plan

That was accomplished without moving the stairs, just chopping off corner of the stairway landing. This change should probably flow down to the basement for support. I assumed that corner as measured in the kitchen is 2' x 2', which is probably pretty close if that is drawn close to scale.

Wow this is clutch. Thanks man. I see what you're saying now.

I was also wondering if we could blow open the walls around the top of the stairs and put a railing. That would leave a more open feel even if it's not space you can walk through, and opens up to the playroom in the basement below. Any reason I would want to keep a finished basement separate with walls and a door?

Stair walls are usually load bearing walls. Itr can be done, but will require a little more work if it's carrying load. You''ll have to transfer load..

I'm OK with putting, e.g., a post or beam, whatever it takes really, if that allows us to open up the space a bunch.

The alternative I suppose would be to just live with it for now and, when we decide to pursue bumping out the back of the house and gutting the kitchen, just resolving it all then.

You'll probably have a better idea what you really want after living there for a year and seeing how the family actually operates in the existing space. You may realize that you want the basement closed off because of sound, dampness, etc. Or the amount of work necessary to open a 3' pathway would ruin the nature of floor plan. Or etc. etc.

 

[Otis]

Just to give you an idea of what I was talking about.....

Old and New Plan

That was accomplished without moving the stairs, just chopping off corner of the stairway landing. This change should probably flow down to the basement for support. I assumed that corner as measured in the kitchen is 2' x 2', which is probably pretty close if that is drawn close to scale.

Wow this is clutch. Thanks man. I see what you're saying now.

I was also wondering if we could blow open the walls around the top of the stairs and put a railing. That would leave a more open feel even if it's not space you can walk through, and opens up to the playroom in the basement below. Any reason I would want to keep a finished basement separate with walls and a door?

Stair walls are usually load bearing walls. Itr can be done, but will require a little more work if it's carrying load. You''ll have to transfer load..

I'm OK with putting, e.g., a post or beam, whatever it takes really, if that allows us to open up the space a bunch.

The alternative I suppose would be to just live with it for now and, when we decide to pursue bumping out the back of the house and gutting the kitchen, just resolving it all then.

You'll probably have a better idea what you really want after living there for a year and seeing how the family actually operates in the existing space. You may realize that you want the basement closed off because of sound, dampness, etc. Or the amount of work necessary to open a 3' pathway would ruin the nature of floor plan. Or etc. etc.

Probably smart. If we limit the pre-move-in stuff to a minor bit of work in the kitchen, paint, and refinishing some of the woof floors, not such a bad thing, as it means we get out of wherever we are stuck living (with my family, or in a rental) all the more quickly.

 

[Rohn Jambo]

O, I would like to see some pics of the putting green before you demolish it.

 

[El Floppo]

Just to give you an idea of what I was talking about.....

Old and New Plan

That was accomplished without moving the stairs, just chopping off corner of the stairway landing. This change should probably flow down to the basement for support. I assumed that corner as measured in the kitchen is 2' x 2', which is probably pretty close if that is drawn close to scale.

Wow this is clutch. Thanks man. I see what you're saying now.

I was also wondering if we could blow open the walls around the top of the stairs and put a railing. That would leave a more open feel even if it's not space you can walk through, and opens up to the playroom in the basement below. Any reason I would want to keep a finished basement separate with walls and a door?

Stair walls are usually load bearing walls. Itr can be done, but will require a little more work if it's carrying load. You''ll have to transfer load..

I'm OK with putting, e.g., a post or beam, whatever it takes really, if that allows us to open up the space a bunch.

The alternative I suppose would be to just live with it for now and, when we decide to pursue bumping out the back of the house and gutting the kitchen, just resolving it all then.

You'll probably have a better idea what you really want after living there for a year and seeing how the family actually operates in the existing space. You may realize that you want the basement closed off because of sound, dampness, etc. Or the amount of work necessary to open a 3' pathway would ruin the nature of floor plan. Or etc. etc.

Probably smart. If we limit the pre-move-in stuff to a minor bit of work in the kitchen, paint, and refinishing some of the woof floors, not such a bad thing, as it means we get out of wherever we are stuck living (with my family, or in a rental) all the more quickly.

As we all keep harping... opening up an old house for structural work puts you into the deep, dark unknown in terms of time and $. Anything can be done if you're willing to part with both of those, but chances are good you're not just zipping in there on the quick and cheap (aka: "one week")

And yeah- we know those aren't accurate plans... but right now that's all we have to look at. And fwiw- consider what happens to that breakfast space if you add the opening and lose that corner... not the end of the world as you should be able to have a table in the other corner, but it's a strange move architecturally to me.

 

[Otis]

Just to give you an idea of what I was talking about.....

Old and New Plan

That was accomplished without moving the stairs, just chopping off corner of the stairway landing. This change should probably flow down to the basement for support. I assumed that corner as measured in the kitchen is 2' x 2', which is probably pretty close if that is drawn close to scale.

Wow this is clutch. Thanks man. I see what you're saying now.

I was also wondering if we could blow open the walls around the top of the stairs and put a railing. That would leave a more open feel even if it's not space you can walk through, and opens up to the playroom in the basement below. Any reason I would want to keep a finished basement separate with walls and a door?

Stair walls are usually load bearing walls. Itr can be done, but will require a little more work if it's carrying load. You''ll have to transfer load..

I'm OK with putting, e.g., a post or beam, whatever it takes really, if that allows us to open up the space a bunch.

The alternative I suppose would be to just live with it for now and, when we decide to pursue bumping out the back of the house and gutting the kitchen, just resolving it all then.

You'll probably have a better idea what you really want after living there for a year and seeing how the family actually operates in the existing space. You may realize that you want the basement closed off because of sound, dampness, etc. Or the amount of work necessary to open a 3' pathway would ruin the nature of floor plan. Or etc. etc.

Probably smart. If we limit the pre-move-in stuff to a minor bit of work in the kitchen, paint, and refinishing some of the woof floors, not such a bad thing, as it means we get out of wherever we are stuck living (with my family, or in a rental) all the more quickly.

As we all keep harping... opening up an old house for structural work puts you into the deep, dark unknown in terms of time and $. Anything can be done if you're willing to part with both of those, but chances are good you're not just zipping in there on the quick and cheap (aka: "one week")

And yeah- we know those aren't accurate plans... but right now that's all we have to look at. And fwiw- consider what happens to that breakfast space if you add the opening and lose that corner... not the end of the world as you should be able to have a table in the other corner, but it's a strange move architecturally to me.

Maybe one day I can invite the Floppo family out for a BBQ and drinks for some free advice

 

[Otis]

Had the inspection today, all went well. You guys were totally right about the wall through to the living room, looks like the opening would be a lot smaller than I'd thought. I'll need to open up the landing to the basement too, to get that wall space into the living room. The complication is that landing is about 2 steps down, so it will make things a little tricky. Someone smart and creative enough surely can devise a solution.

Excited to get the place closed and get in there in September and see what we can do.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Congrats dude! Blow out the mud room

Eta: unintended euphemism intended

 

[jon_mx]

Had the inspection today, all went well. You guys were totally right about the wall through to the living room, looks like the opening would be a lot smaller than I'd thought. I'll need to open up the landing to the basement too, to get that wall space into the living room. The complication is that landing is about 2 steps down, so it will make things a little tricky. Someone smart and creative enough surely can devise a solution.

Excited to get the place closed and get in there in September and see what we can do.

Did you get a measurement on that corner walls in the breakfast area? What i proposed does not matter where the landing is, you will cut off that corner and build a floor in that corner. The corner is kind of wasted space on the stairway anyways.

 

[Otis]

Had the inspection today, all went well. You guys were totally right about the wall through to the living room, looks like the opening would be a lot smaller than I'd thought. I'll need to open up the landing to the basement too, to get that wall space into the living room. The complication is that landing is about 2 steps down, so it will make things a little tricky. Someone smart and creative enough surely can devise a solution.

Excited to get the place closed and get in there in September and see what we can do.

Did you get a measurement on that corner walls in the breakfast area? What i proposed does not matter where the landing is, you will cut off that corner and build a floor in that corner. The corner is kind of wasted space on the stairway anyways.

Did not get measurements. Just eyeballed it. But I'll obviously measure it out more closely after closing.

 

[ragincajun]

My parents started to build a house when my Dad had a massive heart attack. He survived but I had to take it upon myself to help watch over things.

Needless to say my parents divorced 2 years later.

The pricing in South LA is around $140-$150 sqft including land. If I acted as the contractor taking the builders commission / markup out I am sure I could beat that price per sqft, if I knew what I was doing, but the thought of screwing up a slab pour or something keeps me thinking I will go with a builder.

I have also been told if you want to contract it yourself plan to be there every day.

 

[Carolina Hustler]

Had the inspection today, all went well. You guys were totally right about the wall through to the living room, looks like the opening would be a lot smaller than I'd thought. I'll need to open up the landing to the basement too, to get that wall space into the living room. The complication is that landing is about 2 steps down, so it will make things a little tricky. Someone smart and creative enough surely can devise a solution.

Excited to get the place closed and get in there in September and see what we can do.

Did you get a measurement on that corner walls in the breakfast area? What i proposed does not matter where the landing is, you will cut off that corner and build a floor in that corner. The corner is kind of wasted space on the stairway anyways.

Sometimes that extra space in the stairway is needed for bringing boxes and furniture up stairs.. I've seen many stairways that were very comfortable to walk, but were impassable with large furniture..

On a stair turn, sometimes you will need to set something down and reposition to navigate the next set of stairs.

A very creative idea Jon, and it may work. Otis, just make sure you leave yourself enough room for furniture.

 

[Carolina Hustler]

If you have 36" or less between the rails, I wouldn't take anything out of the stairway

 

[Otis]

Had the inspection today, all went well. You guys were totally right about the wall through to the living room, looks like the opening would be a lot smaller than I'd thought. I'll need to open up the landing to the basement too, to get that wall space into the living room. The complication is that landing is about 2 steps down, so it will make things a little tricky. Someone smart and creative enough surely can devise a solution.

Excited to get the place closed and get in there in September and see what we can do.

Did you get a measurement on that corner walls in the breakfast area? What i proposed does not matter where the landing is, you will cut off that corner and build a floor in that corner. The corner is kind of wasted space on the stairway anyways.

Sometimes that extra space in the stairway is needed for bringing boxes and furniture up stairs.. I've seen many stairways that were very comfortable to walk, but were impassable with large furniture..

On a stair turn, sometimes you will need to set something down and reposition to navigate the next set of stairs.

A very creative idea Jon, and it may work. Otis, just make sure you leave yourself enough room for furniture.

The good news here is we have a separate door to the basement, and I expect would load large objects that way.

 

[Otis]

If you have 36" or less between the rails, I wouldn't take anything out of the stairway

What means this part?

 

[Village Idiot]

My dream would be to find a house with historical significance that has fallen into disrepair and restore it completely true to period on the outside and main common areas, but have all the modern conveniences in the kitchen and baths, walk-in closets, etc. The ultimate home with character that no new house could ever come close to matching.

And still retain any of the cool historic stuff inside if possible.

For example if it had an awesome imported Europen fireplace or built ins in a dining room etc.

 

[El Floppo]

If you have 36" or less between the rails, I wouldn't take anything out of the stairway

What means this part?

36" clear between handrails, not wall-to-wall.

 

[glock]

Just to give you an idea of what I was talking about.....

Old and New Plan

That was accomplished without moving the stairs, just chopping off corner of the stairway landing. This change should probably flow down to the basement for support. I assumed that corner as measured in the kitchen is 2' x 2', which is probably pretty close if that is drawn close to scale.

Wow this is clutch. Thanks man. I see what you're saying now.

I was also wondering if we could blow open the walls around the top of the stairs and put a railing. That would leave a more open feel even if it's not space you can walk through, and opens up to the playroom in the basement below. Any reason I would want to keep a finished basement separate with walls and a door?

Stair walls are usually load bearing walls. Itr can be done, but will require a little more work if it's carrying load. You''ll have to transfer load..

I'm OK with putting, e.g., a post or beam, whatever it takes really, if that allows us to open up the space a bunch.

The alternative I suppose would be to just live with it for now and, when we decide to pursue bumping out the back of the house and gutting the kitchen, just resolving it all then.

You'll probably have a better idea what you really want after living there for a year and seeing how the family actually operates in the existing space. You may realize that you want the basement closed off because of sound, dampness, etc. Or the amount of work necessary to open a 3' pathway would ruin the nature of floor plan. Or etc. etc.

This.

We have been planning our high ranch kitchen makeover for years now (side tracked by doing the backyard) and everyone suggests we open it up to the living room and dining room. As it stands now I created a double doorway width entry from the kitchen into the dining room. The dining room in turn is mostly open to the living room to the right. No sight lines from the kitchen to the living room. There is an entrance to the kitchen via the entry hall/living room We honestly have no desire to remove the wall between the kitchen and the living room. Would it be an awesome space? Sure. But knowing what we know about our large gathering of family or friends, one crowd usually ends up in the kitchen discussing (rather loudly) one topic de jour while in the living room the "discussion" is completely different. Or football.

An open concept would create absolute havoc.

This living room also functions as our family room. As the boys were growing up it was always just 3 short steps to a clear sight line...

 

[BobbyLayne]

My dream would be to find a house with historical significance that has fallen into disrepair and restore it completely true to period on the outside and main common areas, but have all the modern conveniences in the kitchen and baths, walk-in closets, etc. The ultimate home with character that no new house could ever come close to matching.

And still retain any of the cool historic stuff inside if possible.

For example if it had an awesome imported Europen fireplace or built ins in a dining room etc.

Your thoughts on dumb waiters?

 

[glock]

My dream would be to find a house with historical significance that has fallen into disrepair and restore it completely true to period on the outside and main common areas, but have all the modern conveniences in the kitchen and baths, walk-in closets, etc. The ultimate home with character that no new house could ever come close to matching.

And still retain any of the cool historic stuff inside if possible.

For example if it had an awesome imported Europen fireplace or built ins in a dining room etc.

Your thoughts on dumb waiters?

I don't tip them.

(softball)

 

[glock]

My dream would be to find a house with historical significance that has fallen into disrepair and restore it completely true to period on the outside and main common areas, but have all the modern conveniences in the kitchen and baths, walk-in closets, etc. The ultimate home with character that no new house could ever come close to matching.

And still retain any of the cool historic stuff inside if possible.

For example if it had an awesome imported Europen fireplace or built ins in a dining room etc.

Your thoughts on dumb waiters?

They are hard to communicate with...

 

[BobbyLayne]

My dream would be to find a house with historical significance that has fallen into disrepair and restore it completely true to period on the outside and main common areas, but have all the modern conveniences in the kitchen and baths, walk-in closets, etc. The ultimate home with character that no new house could ever come close to matching.

And still retain any of the cool historic stuff inside if possible.

For example if it had an awesome imported Europen fireplace or built ins in a dining room etc.

Your thoughts on dumb waiters?

They are hard to communicate with...

You don't see too many laundry shoots these days. I loved that growing up. You throw all your clothes into a hole in the wall, and a week later they appear folded and hung in your bedroom again.

 

[Village Idiot]

Decided to bail on our offer on UglyHouse. The offer put in was way higher than it's worth; seller had multiple offers and came back with a counter, asking for new counters by 1pm. We're pulling out.

Just as we pull out, the owners on the original house we loved came around. We have a deal at asking price. Which is less than we offered on UglyHouse. And a lot more house for the money, better location, much bigger lot. Oh and it's not ugly.



FOR THE WIN. Sorry for bailing on the build. Someone let Keith know we can shut this one down.

Congratulations. Let us know when renovations begin.

Week before move-in

You're renovating the house one week before you move in? Why on earth would you think that will work?

Will you be installing a window air conditioner that has the power to freeze half of the North Pole?

 

[Henry Ford]

Had the inspection today, all went well. You guys were totally right about the wall through to the living room, looks like the opening would be a lot smaller than I'd thought. I'll need to open up the landing to the basement too, to get that wall space into the living room. The complication is that landing is about 2 steps down, so it will make things a little tricky. Someone smart and creative enough surely can devise a solution.

Excited to get the place closed and get in there in September and see what we can do.

Did you get a measurement on that corner walls in the breakfast area? What i proposed does not matter where the landing is, you will cut off that corner and build a floor in that corner. The corner is kind of wasted space on the stairway anyways.

Sometimes that extra space in the stairway is needed for bringing boxes and furniture up stairs.. I've seen many stairways that were very comfortable to walk, but were impassable with large furniture..

On a stair turn, sometimes you will need to set something down and reposition to navigate the next set of stairs.

A very creative idea Jon, and it may work. Otis, just make sure you leave yourself enough room for furniture.

The good news here is we have a separate door to the basement, and I expect would load large objects that way.

It's always good to have a separate entrance for burglars like that one.

 

[glock]

Had the inspection today, all went well. You guys were totally right about the wall through to the living room, looks like the opening would be a lot smaller than I'd thought. I'll need to open up the landing to the basement too, to get that wall space into the living room. The complication is that landing is about 2 steps down, so it will make things a little tricky. Someone smart and creative enough surely can devise a solution.

Excited to get the place closed and get in there in September and see what we can do.

Did you get a measurement on that corner walls in the breakfast area? What i proposed does not matter where the landing is, you will cut off that corner and build a floor in that corner. The corner is kind of wasted space on the stairway anyways.

Sometimes that extra space in the stairway is needed for bringing boxes and furniture up stairs.. I've seen many stairways that were very comfortable to walk, but were impassable with large furniture..

On a stair turn, sometimes you will need to set something down and reposition to navigate the next set of stairs.

A very creative idea Jon, and it may work. Otis, just make sure you leave yourself enough room for furniture.

The good news here is we have a separate door to the basement, and I expect would load large objects that way.

And how would those large objects get past the first floor on their way to the second?

 

[Henry Ford]

Had the inspection today, all went well. You guys were totally right about the wall through to the living room, looks like the opening would be a lot smaller than I'd thought. I'll need to open up the landing to the basement too, to get that wall space into the living room. The complication is that landing is about 2 steps down, so it will make things a little tricky. Someone smart and creative enough surely can devise a solution.

Excited to get the place closed and get in there in September and see what we can do.

Did you get a measurement on that corner walls in the breakfast area? What i proposed does not matter where the landing is, you will cut off that corner and build a floor in that corner. The corner is kind of wasted space on the stairway anyways.

Sometimes that extra space in the stairway is needed for bringing boxes and furniture up stairs.. I've seen many stairways that were very comfortable to walk, but were impassable with large furniture..

On a stair turn, sometimes you will need to set something down and reposition to navigate the next set of stairs.

A very creative idea Jon, and it may work. Otis, just make sure you leave yourself enough room for furniture.

The good news here is we have a separate door to the basement, and I expect would load large objects that way.

And how would those large objects get past the first floor on their way to the second?

He has a separate entrance on the third floor, too.

 

[gianmarco]

Had the inspection today, all went well. You guys were totally right about the wall through to the living room, looks like the opening would be a lot smaller than I'd thought. I'll need to open up the landing to the basement too, to get that wall space into the living room. The complication is that landing is about 2 steps down, so it will make things a little tricky. Someone smart and creative enough surely can devise a solution.

Excited to get the place closed and get in there in September and see what we can do.

Did you get a measurement on that corner walls in the breakfast area? What i proposed does not matter where the landing is, you will cut off that corner and build a floor in that corner. The corner is kind of wasted space on the stairway anyways.

Sometimes that extra space in the stairway is needed for bringing boxes and furniture up stairs.. I've seen many stairways that were very comfortable to walk, but were impassable with large furniture..

On a stair turn, sometimes you will need to set something down and reposition to navigate the next set of stairs.

A very creative idea Jon, and it may work. Otis, just make sure you leave yourself enough room for furniture.

The good news here is we have a separate door to the basement, and I expect would load large objects that way.

And how would those large objects get past the first floor on their way to the second?

He has a separate entrance on the third floor, too.

And if not, he'll just blow one out.