fix up this fixer-upper

In the basement the wood stove has been installed (temporarily) and the oil tank and furnace were taken out – although I have to get the furnace all the way out. The supporting beam was replaced – close call as the temporary beam started to go and it was a scary period of time last year! Lolly columns (which I hate) support the beam but it’s better than catastrophic failure.
The wall is finished along the brook.
I learned a good deal more about solar thermal heating and have a much clearer sense of how II want the various features to integrate. Will post more soon.

I need to schedule deadlines just like it’s an at-work job. I do this for a living, but for myself got mired in….

turn this fixer-upper into my dream house

(That’s what it used to say. I just don’t want to forget the original name of this goal.)

That CRANE has to be DISMANTLED before it topples/the freeze sets in.

CRANE.
DISMANTLE.

Got it?
Uh huh.

For one thing, it already is my dream house in many ways.
For another, it still needs a lot of work.
Because of my job, I now have some sense of what order to do things, how to create good plans, what to do myself and what to farm out, how to check on work done, how much different things cost. I’ve also had a chance to save some money, so things should start happening.
This goal is way too big and broad. Better to break it down into specific projects.
So I’m not really giving up – just setting aside in favor of more concrete goals. I can still keep dream lists here.

I attended the JLC Live conference in Providence RI last week. It was for work, but it helps me plan my own project(s) much better, too. I now know a great deal more about weatherization and insulation, kitchen design, taping – just love taping – and tons more. I took classes from people whose opinions I truly respect. Had a hard time with the trade show, though; way too much was going on in there for me to stay on the exhibition hall floor for more than a few short bursts.

Next planning steps:
Review my old entries and revise them.
Redo drawings with new measurements, and incorporate new ideas to current state of thinking.
Note where there are still either/or decisions.
Do project planning with timing and sequence of activities.
Review from several different perspectives…by topic (stabilization, air sealing, ... all the way to finishes), by location, by cost, by what makes sense to hire out.
Regularly solicit second, third opinions.

• Properly Insulated Envelope
1. Blow-in cellulose for main walls
2. Combo of batts and hard foam for basement walls
3. Insulate Attic
4. Insulate basement floor
5. New basement windows
6. Storms, caulk and weather stripping for upstairs windows
7. All the minor leaky spots

• Crucial elements – basement
1. remove all moldy materials from basement
2. find and repair all sources of water damage in basement
3. remove and replace all dry-rotted wood, including floor, in basement
4. jack for sagging
5. oil tank to cubby
6. rewire
7. soft ducts up into ceiling

• Beauty/Comfort
1. Repaint hideous front door
2. Radiant heat floors (basement and 1st floor)& pellet stove?
3. Kitchen and living area to basement
4. Ease of indoor/outdoor living
5. Paint all walls and trim
6. Transom between current kitchen/dr
7. Front br becomes laundry & walk-in closet
8. Attic rehab

• Energy Efficient Appliances
1. Water Heater
2. Furnace
3. Washer
4. Fridge
5. Dryer
6. Dishwasher
7. Wood/pellet stove
8. Cooktop
9. Oven

• Crucial elements – roof
1. Flashing patch and chimney brick fix

We started jacking the house up but it seems the concrete slab was only an inch on top of dirt. It cracked, naturally. I’m not upset or surprised, considering the half-a$$ed way so many other things were “fixed-up” around here in the past.

So the next thing is we need to dig a hole and install a 4’deep concrete support, then do the jacking from that. We also will need to make a second concrete support for a permanent lolly column to support the center area of the house.

The house has a small footprint and balloon construction. It is sagging in the middle. The reason for this is the basement walls supporting the middle parts of the house were built on wood that was directly touching dirt. Over the years the wood rotted and sank in a few inches. People fixed up the basement by adding new layers of wood on top of the rotting wood, and sealed it all in with linoleum, further hastening the rot-out process.

Until the jacking is done, there’s no point in trying to paint up here, as there may be cracks that will need to be repaired first.

The plywood is off of the “basement” windows, and now there are new windows in the openings. Well, in all but one. I’m ordering another(correctly-sized) window, and later we’ll add a new window on the staircase with the wrong-sized one.

With birdfeeders and pretty autumn leaves all about, it is wonderful to look out the windows of my future kitchen!

I had done some work on the house, then stopped for a long time. Now I’m back at it. My idea of a dream house is still morphing, in any case.