Redone plans because of the Zoning Board
cpartist
8 years ago
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cpartist
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Q s because it is decision time about buying a house/lead paint
Comments (11)I feel your pain. I posted about this on another board and will include a link to the answers. The short version is lots of people are raising young kids in old houses without bad things happening. I have a 4 1/2 year old boy and twin 4 1/2 month old girls. We are closing on a ~70 year old house tomorrow. (I think it may actually be older, we'll see) I bounce between thinking "It's going to be OK" and "Oh my god what the heck is wrong with me, putting my own selfish desires to live in an old house above my children's health?" But we're closing TOMORROW and my husband would seriously kick my butt if I said I wanted to walk out now. (OK not seriously but there would be strong words...) My biggest worry is actually asbestos and come hell or high water - that's getting treated. I have gotten a lot of different opinions on it but I want it out. It's a small amount so hopefully having it done by the experts won't be too much. (It's one or two pipes, 2 feet long or so... mostly in good repair but one of the metal clamps has come off and there's fuzzy stuff under it). As for the lead - like lindac said, any house older than 30 years probably has lead paint. If the paint is in good repair you're in pretty good shape. I can't say much about the outside stuff... luckily our house is brick with a bitty bit of alluminum siding up high so that's not a huge issue for us - but nevertheless I intend to have the soil tested. We want to have a garden and I want to make sure I'm not giving my babies lead in their veggies. (You remember a couple years ago there was the spinach/e coli thing? Some 2 year old died because his mom fed him spinach smoothies. I want to make sure my kids aren't better off eating no veggies than veggies we grow!) So that's one thing I intend to do. Then we will act accordingly. As worried as I am over lead paint - the last place we were living was built in the 50s so probably had some lead paint. We never did any major major renovations but I did have to do a bit of dry wall or plaster repair from my son ramming his trucks into this one corner near the kitchen or the one time he flung a doorknob through our bedroom wall. Probably kicked up a little dust but no one was any worse for the wear (and our landlord never knew about the damage so go me!) My husband and I also took it upon ourselves to replace a window when our neighbor's kid threw a golf ball through it. Old, old single pane aluminum frame windows. Halfway through chipping out all that old putty, I said, "Hmmm, I wonder if there's lead in here?" and DH took over the job as we were trying to get pregnant at the time (I pointed out to him that him having lead poisoning wouldn't help, either, but oh well) Was there lead? Maybe, maybe not... but it was messy as anything, I did not know about proper lead clean up precautions afterwards, and again no one is any worse for the wear. I did get pregnant soon after that and as far as we can tell the babies are fine. My son has never been tested but he shows no signs that he should be. So... I'm hoping it will all be OK. I am going to ask our pediatrician if she'd be OK with periodic lead testing, especially if/when we plan to do any major work. (supposedly it's just a finger stick now) The biggest thing we have in mind is removing a chimney so I plan to keep the kids out of the house while that is done. Also hope to keep the mess as contained as possible and clean up well before we all move back in. I'm hoping it will be OK. I'm a little scared but then I think live in Pittsburgh which is a great place to live if you like old old houses - and so many of my friends growing up lived in really old houses - and I never personally knew anyone who had problems with lead. So while it's scary... I think you also have to take the fear with a grain of salt. It will *probably* be just fine. There are all kinds or precautions you can take from handwashing after you play in the dirt to using the right stripping techniques if you do work on painted areas - these things should help a lot. That's what I am hoping anyway!...See Morehexagonal tile: should I have it redone?
Comments (34)And I have to respond to some of the other comments about the trades not caring anymore (sloppy work, lack of ethics, etc.). For those of us who have dedicated our lives to quality craftsmanship and service in our dedicated trade, it is sad to hear of such impressions of our craft. But we get it to a point, and make no excuses for the disasters we hear here, yet they don't really represent the majority of experiences. So let's be fair. It doesn't represent the industry as a whole. If someone does a bad job, the customer will tell 30 people. If someone does a great job, they might tell one or two (and oh, then there's the internet to add to this "discussion"). Here are some things that we think have contributed to some of the poor tile installations you hear about today. 1) The recession: Too many construction workers went off on their own to make a living and were not technically qualified, nor had the business skills to serve the market well. 2) Lack of interest in the trades as a career: Little value is placed on trade occupations and training (It's all about expensive 4 year college degrees pushed by high school guidance counselors and society as a whole). 3) Lack of respect for the trades overall: Related to the above but an evolving cultural shift from days gone by. 4) Younger folks that ARE working in the trades are from a different generation with different values and expectations. 5) Consumers often do not do the homework they need to do: This is BIG. 6) $$$$$$: Yes, I know there are times when someone paid for a quality job and did not get the result, but MANY of these poor executions were likely priced below the market value for quality work. Our customers pay us to deliver top notch quality. They tend to be seasoned home owners who have experience over years, expect quality, will pay for it and promptly, and respect us as we respect them. If I were a younger home owner today, I would start gathering my "go-to's" for this and that. I would use them repeatedly as need be and develop relationships that are built on respect. Because the circle will go round and round. Our two cents (and we are only here to pass on a little wisdom in our "seasoned" years as craftsmen and business owners)....See MoreDoes removing a wall require flooring to be completely redone?
Comments (28)You have a nice floor, it will be sad to have to change it all. I drew tiles on your floor plan just to make it easier to explain. I recommend that you do this exercise: measure the distance I showed on the floor plan. You have to be precise in your measurements like making sure the tape 90 degrees (not 89, not 91) and has the same tension. You do these measurements in the 2 rooms. If they are identical, mark with a masking tape where you took the measurements and have your guy come back and check with him in case he sees other problems. I believe if he says he can do it, he would have to replace all the tiles I marked in the green area and the partial tiles around it. Maybe he will have to go up to the East wall....See Moreneed help with window design
Comments (44)Mary, if you have time and would like, I posted my complete saga from horrible start to finished house. Here they all are: Please Critique our house Almost Final Plans Which of These Look More Craftsman (answer: NONE!) Which of these craftsman choices New elevations, please review Redone Plans because of the zoning board Moving the W/D out of the foyer (One of my dumb ideas I was talked out of.) These are my plans finally (hahaha) Trying to rework my master suite Rethinking my upstairs The continuing saga (This is after we purchased an additional 1/2 lot) Architects, need help Just when you thought my saga was over Which Porch do you prefer Absolute Final Plans [Finished House[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/cpartists-finished-house-dsvw-vd~5590161) [Finished Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/cpartists-kitchen-finished-dsvw-vd~5590582) Meaning, don't be in a rush to start. Get it right first....See Morecpartist
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