Hi Judy,

Do not ignore incorporating energy efficiency into your plans. The easiest time by far to incorporate energy efficient this or that is in the planning stages.

For example, do you plan to have ENERGY STAR rated windows for the ones you plan on replacing? They are more expensive so if you do this will cause reduced money for other stuff if you have a fixed $$$ budget.

Or, have you decided to simply go with exterior solar shades for the south and west facing windows instead? The ones we installed this past spring were very easy to install ourselves and have saved us lots of air conditioning costs by blocking out most of the sun from our 5 foot high south facing windows.

What about solar water heating? How about a solar air collector to help provide supplemental heat in the fall & winter on sunny days?

What about radiant floor heating vs force air furnace? Much, much easier to install during the construction phase.

What about solar radiant floor heating combined with solar water heating?

What about tankless water heater (gas or electric)?

What about ...... see what I mean.

I hope this helps.
Dan

Thanks for your suggestions, Dan. Windows were replaced with more energy-efficient ones, 10 years ago.

Solar shades are a great idea. Solar panels not feasible at this time but I really like the idea of tank-less water heater.

Judy

I'd be interested to know your budget and the size of the place. Also wondering you've considered replacing altogether, and what sort of character and sentimental issues the place has.

From experience I would echo something along the lines of Dandrt which is this: make sure that you spell out where all the insulation needs to be. Code requires a certain amount of insulation but there are things the contractors ignore such as insulating 100% of the heating ducts (they might use pre-insulated duct and then switch to an uninsulated metal part) and insulating both the hot and cold water pipes. Contractors insulate to code; you have more at stake!

As for having a set amount of money the line goes, and it's true, when you're having work done on an existing structure you need to account for the unknown. The contractors do not pay for making things level or fixing things that are rotten or addressing unforeseen structural problems etc. So you need to have a contingency fund part of your budget and to know what parts of the work you would choose to postpone or do yourself if it comes to that. You can spell this out in the contract (e.g., finish carpentry to be decided at a later date).

I would ask to speak to references for the contractor as it sounds as if that's something you didn't do, unless perhaps your architect has worked with him. Some of these people are charming but do not perform the way you would like.

I visited 2 pre-fab/modular companies and,yes, a couple of the houses fit my budget and I liked - but, when the add-ons (appliances, digging new foundations, removal of the existing house, new septic system,etc) were added in to the cost - everything would run at least $100,000 more than renovation.

The alternative would be adding a trailer/mobile home and having local fire dept burn the house for practice.

The builder of this house was the owner of the property and used timber from the land - he had a sawmill, etc. so the wood used in the house is all true 2x6s, 2x8s. etc. One can see rough cuts on the timbers(8x8s) that support the house - locust, chesnut. We are second owners of the house, buying it from the builder's widow.

The first floor is about 800sqft-LR,DR/study,2 bedrm,kit, and bath and we will be keeping the same "footprint"

Your thoughts are valid and this is why I came here for advice and ideas.

Contractor and I have already discussed unforseen possibilities - rotten/insect-eaten wood. The attic shows good wood but who knows what hides behind the wallboard on first floor.

Contractor knows that he has $150,000 to "PLAY WITH" and I have another $30,000 available for those unforeseen problems. Architect has worked with contractor for over 6 years (probably on much larger jobs) so that is a plus.

What haven't I answered - oh insulation. Contractor told me what he would be insulating - walls, ceilings, pipes (esp waterline from pumphead) and I checked online - seems to be the areas normally insulated.

You leave out too much critical information for anyone to even venture a helpful guess.

For example:

-Do you plan to live in this house or turn it around for a quick resale?

-How LONG do you plan to live in this house if you plan to try to make money on it?

In ANY case, NOW is NOT the time to be trying to 'make money' on any home by remodeling it.

It is likley you will NEVER recoup your investment.

Material costs remain high while returns-on-investments remain low.

Real estate is NOT the place to be speculating with money now in this economy...even if you have money to burn.

My suggestion is to think twice, thrice and a dozen more times than that before you invest a nickle in this property...

Unless you plan to be there in 20 years...and plan to retire in it with no mortgage or loans.

From here everything you suggest is a VERY BAD plan and needs to be avoided at all costs.

Manhattan 42 - valid points and I appreciate your questions/statements.

After the house is made liveable, I plan to live in it for as long as I can. Age and all that will determine the length of time.

There will be no mortgage nor loan involved for this work, fortunately we sold a rental house and funds will cover the renovations on farmhouse.

I am doing this for me - I want to retire in the country with the ability to raise a garden, have a few farm animals around me - something NOT possible in northern Virginia. Selfish - yes but so be it.

you spent $150 grand to renovate an 800 square foot 90 year old bungalow in nowhere virginia? if you're permitting the work, I'd knock everything down except the front porch and build an entirely new house behind it, new design, new floor plan, plumbing, electrical, modern materials, energy efficient, etc etc. with that kind of money you're wasting your time with a junker that needs new everything. with that kind of cash in had you can easily find a home builder who can build a new home behind a remodel permit that will be very nice to live in. best of luck.

A few thoughts -- don't ever tell the contractor that there is extra money to play with. I don't care how honest they are, they then know your budget is not firm. I also think that is way too much money to put into a house that size. Have you check out other houses on the market that might be bigger and have a floor plan you like? Also, I would stay away from heat pumps -- the one's I've seen just blow around cool air. If you do go ahead with project, don't pay more than 15 percent down and NEVER pay ahead of the work being done and it being inspected. I would go and personally interview past customers. Ask detailed questions -- did he stay on budget, was he easy to get hold of with problems, etc. good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: General remodeling costs

If you have architects already involved you should be asking them for this kind of advice instead of strangers not familiar with the project, the location, your needs, or the capability of the builder.