Renovating and repairing old home... suggestions??

Ok, so I've stated before I live in an old house. Much has been remodeled, but there are things that need work. Problem is, I have no idea as to cost of these things (even ballpark) or what would be entailed.

First off, I think I need new water pipes. I can't even get a full tub of water before it's cold, and it takes 15-20 minutes to fill up because the hot water trickles from the faucet. :( I have a new hot water heater that I got for Christmas last year from Santa (errr.. mom and dad). Now, in the half bath on the 1st floor, the water is really hot, and it's wonderful, but no tub, just shower. However, walk 5 feet to the kitchen sink, and you'll be waiting 5-7 minutes for hot water. It just doesn't make sense!!! Do I need new pipes?? The half bath was a newer remodel by previous tenants, but then again, so was the kitchen (which is built on a concrete slab and gets to about 42* in the winter due to no insulation :eek: ).

Secondly, I mentioned before I have a gas fireplace that I don't use. Can I just rip out the gas logs that are there and use regular wood logs?? Does the chimney need to be inspected? If so, any clue what that costs?? Do they still have those skinny guys in tops and tails who clean them??? Those sweeps guys??? (I know I'm thinking Mary Poppins... forgive me :o )

Thirdly, ancient, drafty windows. 6 on the first floor; 6 on the 2nd floor, and then some tiny suckers in the basement. The attic is already done, and so is the kitchen. What kind of expense are windows? I have some very wide windows (I had to custom order shades/blinds because they didn't make them wide enough anywhere I looked (56"w by 74"L), and some as narrow as 19 or 21" and still 74" long. Gotta love these 100 year old homes.

The walls are still all plaster. Only the kitchen is drywall (Sophie loves to scratch those corners of drywall... sigh). And although the 1st floor has gorgeous hardwood floors, the 2nd and 3rd floors have this very wide, dark wood that looks like you'd put in a barn. Well... maybe not THAT bad... but it's this dark red brown wood. I can see it cause the kitties have clawed the carpets up at the bedroom door because they can't stand to be without me... :rolleyes:

Any ideas on any of these items??? My dad used to do carpentry and plumbing and all that, but since he's lost his vision and has all his other medical problems, he gets totally depressed when he can't help me out with something I ask about in the house, and I don't want to make him feel worse.

I wish I could just hire a husband for a while or something. Doing this on my own is overwhelming.

HUmmm... sounds like a lot of work is needed. I love those old houses but they do require a lot of money to fix up. Sounds to me like you need to win the lotto!

I would NOT be using that fire place until it has been inspected. It could burn your house down.

Yes, there are still have chimmey sweeps around doing their business.

If your on city water you should have loads of pressure. It's when folks are on cystern that things slow down.

Windows, when you replace whole house that's were you get the deals.
Doing one window at a time gets pricy.
I've seen ad's from reputable companies that replace for $89 a month (you can make payments).

Sounds like you have alot of work ahead of you.

I cannot help with the pipes,I would think by you adding a new water heater should have fixed the problem.

I also have a Fireplace that has never been used,I was told that i should have it inspected,and also was told i should get an insert.

I just replaced all the windows in my home i have a bungalow so i only have 2 floors,I actually did not put the same size window back in,You can Frame around your window if you do not want them big.
We spent two thousand dollars(But we did not have the installers fee we did them ourselves,It was cheaper to make the windows smaller,rather than put the original size back in(That is what sometimes runs you into money)

Lath and Plaster,I feel for you in my other home i had to rip it all out,Or alot of people i have heard Wall paper the top and put wainscotting on the bottom,Which saves the hassle sometimes.
And you can stain the wainscotting and it looks really nice.
A friend of mine did that to her house and it looks brand new.

Back to windows,Once you have changed them and insulated you will find a big difference in your Hydro bill.

Hope that helps a little,I have renovated my hole house this summer,It takes time but is worth it in the end.

TV!

Rent the movie The Money Pit, laugh...

Watch PBS, learn to fix things and cry. ;)

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Learn as much as you can about fixing your home as possible.

Writing a check to a company is easy.

Fixing a problem on your own is priceless-and way cheaper!

Jenn - use your own librarian skills first to do lots of internet research, which should be a cake-walk to you! Try to find a women's group in your area that does this work by helping each other, trading skills. They will have experience in remodelling their own old homes and probably won't give you the frustrations that contractors come with - such as changing dates on you, doing several homes at the same time and pulling crews from one to the other, etc. I work with them, so I know why they need to do this, but as a homeowner I find it irksome. A women's group may simply do it for a price, rather than an exchange, when they know how much volunteer work you do.

When you need to use contractors, ask for estimates (I'm sure you already know this). You should get four for each job you are considering. The range is shocking but don't worry about trying to go for the highest, it's not always the best. I was given a price twice that of the person I eventually chose to do my roof and the first guy didn't even go over the extra ventilation needs that should be put in place. I didn't go with the cheapest either. I work for the state and we have to do that, with some awful results sometimes. Go with someone you feel trust in, that looks you in the eye and goes over the details, answering questions. Call their references. They should be able to come out to your home in the late afternoon, early evening or weekends.

You probably need new plumbing. A friend with an old house in Seattle put in a new water heater that made no difference at all, but when she had new plumbing put in she had gushing faucets for the first time in ten years. Your costs on the east coast are cheaper than on the west coast, so I can't give you any price ideas. She used someone who "did jobs" rather than plumber and had to keep calling him back to fix leaks, so not a good option. Her determination to save money caused her to have to deal with later water damage.

What Lori said about re-framing the windows is spot-on.

I agree with everyone else about the fireplace. The gas one has to be removed professionally and the whole fireplace and chimney inspected, and possibly modified if it was always a gas fireplace.

What's wrong with the floor boards in the second and third floor? Can't they just be sanded and sealed - you don't want to do that yourself either, I don't think.

Why are you worried about plaster walls? I have sheet-rock walls and hate them. My friend with the old house has plaster walls and I really envy her - and she has the same kind of wonderful wood floors that you have. Sigh!

oh supertoomuch ..
oh supercalifragilisticexpialidocious ...
oh supercalifragilisticexpialidocious ....

just move out... and live with us. :D your house sounds so much like mine anyway. :rolleyes: except no gas fireplace and plaster walls..(I think? lol).

I can help with this only (:o) - water pipes, I don't think you need new pipes - the settings on water heater just need to be changed. what probably happened is you don't have the water heater evened out and the settings cause inequality throughout the house if hot water is the only problem. isn't that quite a happy news? :p

and just one thing, don't hire the hubsand. remember the word you told me last night. ;)

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Originally Posted by jenn_librarian

I wish I could just hire a husband for a while or something. Doing this on my own is overwhelming.

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Forget the husband, hire a father-in-law! ;) My husband and my father-in-law are ripping up my bathroom as I type. My husband couldn't do any of it without the instruction and supervision of his dad.

I really can't answer any of your questions, I just wanted to wish you luck with your renovations.

Pipes- sounds like the pipes are at best corroded/clogged with scale in some areas. That would explain hot water qickly in some places, not so much in others. This isn't uncommon, especially in older houses.

Chimney/fireplaces- the gas logs can be taken out, and the fireplaces can be used as wood fireplaces BUT the chimneys should be inspected and cleaned prior to use. We had 3 fireplaces/chimneys cleaned and inspected for about $250.

Windows- depends on how handy you feel. If you can use a level, a square, screw gun and caulking gun they aren't that hard to replace. From the dimensions you list I'm assuming you have multiple sashes in some windows, in which case you would measure each sash and replace each one in turn. depending on the size and what you use for replacements, they run $100 for a small window to $250 for a larger window. (those prices are for the windows themselves, not installation) Most home centers will have classes on how to both measure and install replacements.

Do you have a Handyman Connections outfit in your area ? I would divide
up the jobs & decide which I wanted done first & then call them. They have
people skilled in all home repair/remodel jobs. The company guarentees the work too. Your water pipe problem sounds like a pain.

Hi Jennie!

I asked my Dad and we ran through each item. Here goes!

Upstairs bathroom. Can you figure out if the pipes are copper, galvanized or black iron pipe? There could be a plug which may be rust, if it is either galvanized or black iron pipe. If that is what it is, you need new pipes. The pipes “could” be PVC (that is a plastic), but that is a new material and would only be there if it is not the original pipes. If it is copper or PVC, look to see if there is a shut off valve which is not open all the way. This could be under the sink or at the tub. Is there an access panel next to the tub which exposes the piping? There could be a shut off valve in there which needs to be adjusted. Does the cold water also come through at a trickle? If yes, then check if there is some sort of filter on the spout at the tub. Usually these are only at the kitchen sinks, but you never know who did what to a home over 100 years.

Downstairs kitchen sink. Is the water flowing OK in there when you open that faucet? Or is it just a trickle in there as well? Taking 5 to 7 minutes to get hot water seems about right if it is 42 in there! All those pipes need to be heated up. But they are cooling the hot water down. So it takes time.

Fireplace. You can’t just remove the gas logs, a professional who can work with gas has to do that. They have put plugs in the gas lines to prevent leaking so you don’t have an explosion. You need to determine if this was gas logs put into an original fireplace which was built for wood, or was the fireplace built FOR the gas? It makes a huge difference. In general, you will have less heat escaping up the chimney the way it is now rather than opening it to use for wood.

Windows. Others have already covered that pretty well. You will see a HUGE difference in heating costs once you upgrade! You will want to learn about windows with double glazing, or triple, with gases inside. Could be $100 to $200 each. We did new windows at my Dad’s house 4 years ago through Sears and it was amazing the improvement! They had a local handyman do the installation. If you do it yourself, keep in mind that the window unit may be quite heavy, depending on the size! Plus the newer windows tilt in for easy cleaning; oh I LOVE them. If you can’t do these right away, you may want to consider getting the vinyl covering from Home Depot for this winter, as the news says home heating bills are going way up this winter.

Walls. Drywall or plaster, either one can be insulated. Not sure why you think one is better than the other I prefer plaster, hate drywall. Look into insulating all exterior walls for a start. As for Sophie, Home Depot sells plastic strips you can put on corners. I put them on 3 corners where my cats kept rubbing. On plaster walls. Don’t know if that will help stop her or not.

Floors. Is the second floor a double layer or a single layer of flooring? It sounds like there is wall to wall carpet on top? It isn’t clear what you want to do there.

Do you have a cellar under the house? Do you have central heating?
Have you been working out at the gym and lifting weights so you are able to doall this work?

Sorry, LH - wrong on the FP question - Sandi had the right answer.

Secondly, I mentioned before I have a gas fireplace that I don't use. Can I just rip out the gas logs that are there and use regular wood logs?? NO. Gas and Wood use entirely different chimneys. Wood burns a LOT hotter, with sparks going up and creosote forming inside the chimney. Does the chimney need to be inspected? Gas inspectors need to inspect the gas connection. Wood chimneys should be checked - summer is a good time, as cleaners are not busy! :-)

If you really want a wood burner, you will need an insert and the insulated chimney installed.If so, any clue what that costs?? Do they still have those skinny guys in tops and tails who clean them??? Those sweeps guys??? (I know I'm thinking Mary Poppins... forgive me)

Your gas FP might be better than a woodburner....there should be a 'grate' under the main glass that lifts up from the bottom. Inside will be a metal tag (possibly under a LOT of dust :) ). Find the make and model number there. If the model # ends in N or B, it's a natural vent, and draws air FROM the room to the outside for combustion.

If it is a direct vent, then adding a fan would give you more and cleaner heat than the wood would LOL.

If you want to post or PM the make and model I'll do a search for you.

(I worked at a fireplace and HVAC store for several years, which is why I am such a pain.... :D )

Having gone thru some renovations lately myself (on the "new" house we bought), I highly recommend hiring a general contractor to deal with all this.

I would ask all my friends, family and co-workers for recommendations on who they have hired to do their major work. Ask them if they were happy with the work. More importantly, if they were not happy. After you have 3 or 4 names, call them and get estimates for what you want done, think you might want done, or just the list of problems for them to investigate. Then get their bids. Ask for references. Check out the references. Ask them if there is a recent project you can visit. Check with your Better Business Bureau to see if they have any lawsuits against them.

It will take a lot of your time, but doing this prep work will save you lots of time and money in the long run.

When we were thinking about buying our new house, we hired an inspector to go through it to point out problems. Then, we asked him for recommendations on general contractors for some remodeling -- note, he should NOT recomend himself or a family member! Once we had 2 names, we asked our friends and family if they had used them. Turns out one of them had been highly recommended to my sister by another person but she never got around to hiring him. This guy and his team has kicked butt at our house. I'm recommending him to everyone I know -- but he's in Alaska, so that won't be of much help to you.

Ask around. If you can afford it, pay a good general contractor to do all the hard work.

Also, the very first thing we wanted to do when we bought the house was rip out the gas fireplace and replace it with a woodburning one. We are so glad that we didn't. We use the fireplace every morning and it really heats up the house. Our old house had a woodburning fireplace and we found it too much of a bother to build a fire.

Catty1....Sorry, been there, done that.

In an old house, it is more than likely a wood fireplace that has been converted over to a gas log. It all depends on the age of the fireplace. A modern construction gas log fireplace has most likely been put in with that in mind. In an older house, however, the fireplace was more than likely constructed as a wood heat source for the house, in which case the gas log can be removed and the fireplace reverted to wood burning with little trouble. As stated in my prior post, however, an inspection and cleaning is an absolute neccesity.

LH, I see what you mean. However, when they guys at our shop were putting in a gas insert to replace a wood, the venting had to be a proper vent, either natural or direct.

If whoever worked on the fireplace in Jenn's place merely put in a gas line, and then gas logs without the associated venting, it would sure give out crappy heat! :D So maybe that is what happened - it was a do-it-yourself job, which would be at the least not up to code.

Jenn - if your city or town government has an inspection section for gas and other installations, you might want to see if they have a record for what was done at your place. At the least - the fireplace gas line would have to be inspected in mots jurisdictions when it was newly installed.

Plumbing...I don't know anything about it, but the water pressure sounds lousy. Maybe not new pipes...but wonder if there is a way to clean the ones that are there? Might take some pressure cleaning with an anti-corrosive liquid, though I don't know if that is how pipes are cleaned, or eve if they can be.

Maybe get an estimate - my guess would be to replace main metal/iron pipes with PVC. How to find out if they are clogged, I don't know.

ETA: Found a good link on this: http://www.drainsandplumbing.com/waterpipes.html

Catty.... what I see at the fireplace are pipes that come up at the bottom into the logs. The logs are mounted somehow. No glass, no vent looking anything. I know there is supposed to be a flue with fireplaces, but I really don't want to feel around inside a creepy, dusty fireplace to find it.

As for installing my own replacement windows.... lol. I may be handy, but when it comes to something like a window that can leak, I know my luck, lol. There's no way I'd try to do that myself. My luck, I'd drop them as well. I actually wouldn't want to make them smaller (the larger ones) because I love the look of them, and then I'd have to change the shades and everything else as well. The shades I have in my bedroom I special ordered from JC Penneys, and are really nice.

What I'm gathering is that this is going to take an extended amount of time. I think the first thing I want to deal with is the hot water and pipes. I miss taking a hot bath. I hate wasting water waiting for it to get hot.

I guess I'll have to also look into getting some of the plastic stuff to put over some of the windows that are super drafty. I do keep the doors closed to the rooms that aren't being used, and I put the magnetic sheets over the vents in those rooms as well so that it push the heat back to the other rooms. I have small electric heaters in the 3rd floor for the kitties up there since it doesn't seem to stay as warm up there (or the wall vents don't seem to get the heat all the way up there).

I like the idea of the wainscotting for the walls. That might look really nice in the dining room. I can't see me ever trying to make this house look contemporary, it's more historic, so I think the wainscotting would be a nice touch.

I'm not sure how I'd insulate the kitchen... I'd have to ask someone about that. The guy who built my deck also does regular construction, roofing and things like that, so maybe he'd know about the insulation. Not sure about the windows. The guy who installed my hot water heater has his own small company and does handyman jobs and plumbing. I'll have to find his card again. He was really nice. He worked at Home Depot, but drove me to Lowes to pick up my hot water heater, and even changed the pipes and hooked up the electric for the hot water heater cause the previous one was gas (and Home Depot and Lowes installers wouldn't do any of that for me).

So much to do. Expensive too. Sigh. Part of me wonders why I stopped renting :rolleyes: . I miss having things fixed for me by the landlord, lol.

But when you own your own house, the renovations go toward your equity in the house. All your rent does is go into the landlord's pocket.

You're probably going to have to replace at least some pipes. With the cost of copper at the moment it's guaranteed to be damned expensive, but it's worth it. Most codes in the northeast don't allow PVC for supply lines due to bursting issuesin cold weather, but will allow Cpvc (PVC lined copper). The problem with Cpvc is that you have to re-plumb whole areas of the house with it as opposed to merely fixing the problem areas.

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Originally Posted by jenn_librarian

So much to do. Expensive too. Sigh. Part of me wonders why I stopped renting :rolleyes: . I miss having things fixed for me by the landlord, lol.

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As LH says, it all builds your equity If you haven't already, make sure you set up a file folder and place ALL the receipts for every single renovation in that folder. Some day in the far future when you sell, you will need all that info!

I keep a folder for each job, so I can get the warranty, phone numbers, and so forth, easily if something develops. Then I photocopy the receipt or cancelled check or credit card bill with the payment and put THAT in the equity folder. However you do it, doing it on an ongoing basis will simply things when you sell.

Oh Jenny do I know what you're saying!

We have many of the same issues.... I think we're living in the same house!!! I can take a hot bath, but if I want hot water from the sink, which is a whole 2 inches away, forget about it! And if the washer is running, we get a trickle coming from any other faucets.

Last week, we had no heat. None. The utility guy came out to fix it. He said he fixed the furnace this time, but we'd need a new one soon, maybe stretch til next year if we're lucky. Thats an easy $3,000 :eek: It might as well a million right now because we can't get that kind of money. :(

We also need a new roof soon.... talk about a chunk of money there!!!

Kim, your house reminds me soooo much of mine... looks and all!! They've gotta be the same era. Mine was built in 1904. I'm in the semi-historic district (they're working on getting this area/block included with the area across Hamilton Street). So much work. So much money, which I definitely don't have. I can't budget to save my life, and have someone working with me on refinancing my 1st, 2nd and 3rd mortgages/lines of credit. Why they gave me the last one as a VISA card, I'll never know. Way too easy to use the money, and I should have used the majority of it for repairs, which I intended to, but then other things in life got involved. I'm 37.. I should be better at budgeting and stuff at this point. :o

I would love to see some pictures of your house.

My house was built in 1912-1913 - it was rented for years so nothing much was done to it. When I bought it the repairs began - and have never stopped.

I have read through this thread with all of the excellent advice you have been given - (I just love Pet Talk).................

The best advice I could give you is to decide which is the most important project - your water pipes? and concentrate on that one thing.

Otherwise you go nuts - have no money - and nothing is finished.

I wish you the best of luck - everything you do to this home will only increase your equity and having the work done can be so gratifying!

In Chicago we had a "vintage" house. We did tear up the carpet and redo some floors ourselves (one thing I learned....do NOT sit in furniture stripper...it hurts.)

We converted the fireplaces from wood burning to gas. We felt cleaner, safer, and less work. We had a plumber do it.

We replaced all the windows (many non-standard...that was probably the biggest expense but what a difference!)

We also redid the kitchen and bathroom. I asked people I knew had used a contractor - especially on vintage houses, we visited different firms, we had a few estimates.

We really liked the guy we used. Had him back for the second (kitchen) project. But it always takes longer and costs more than you expect. The wiring was frighteningly not up to code, pipes, etc, etc, etc!

But, despite all that...I loved the whole experience...and the outcome!

As to getting a general contractor, you might want to consider doing all the projects you can dealing with the individual subcontractors (plumber, electrician, carpenter, etc.) yourself, as your general will be marking up whatever their cost is. What a general contractor is good for is making sure that things are done in the correct order so that what one sub does will not need to be undone by what the next one does.

Also consider the fact that as you are interviewing these individuals, they are interviewing you. Ever had a guy come out to look at a job and then never call you back with an estimate. He probably has decided your job wasn't worth his time. Don't divulge too much information, i.e. *I'm getting three other bids.* He may decide he doesn't want to get involved in *competitive bidding*. Be sure to ask about whether he carries liability and workman's compensation insurance and ask to see his certificate of insurance. Some trademen who do the work themselves might not carry the workman's comp. but at least you should know that and what risks it involves.

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Originally Posted by kuhio98

When we were thinking about buying our new house, we hired an inspector to go through it to point out problems.

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If you didn't have an inspection prior to buying the house, you may want to consider one now to determine which things are health and safety issues and which things could wait.

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Originally Posted by kuhio98

Also, the very first thing we wanted to do when we bought the house was rip out the gas fireplace and replace it with a woodburning one. We are so glad that we didn't. We use the fireplace every morning and it really heats up the house. Our old house had a woodburning fireplace and we found it too much of a bother to build a fire.

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I agree whole heartedly. The hauling of wood is a real pain and we had our wood burning fireplace converted to gas for the same reason. Since you don't know the condition of the chimney or where your damper is, don't use the fireplace unityou have the thing inspected. Also I would want to have a plumber check out the gas line, etc.