Fixer Upper / Window Replacement - Need help Navigating The Options!!
jmmacleon
5 years ago
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My New Fixer Upper Needs You!
Comments (31)Why would you put on vinyl siding and then paint it? If you are set on vinyl, that defeats the purpose of no maintenance. Just throwing out my thoughts....... IF the structure is sound, it doesn't appear there is much inside worth working around so I'd make it a blank slate. In other words, I don't see interesting old casings or a cute kitchen to restore. My inclination would be to make it clean and spare, no curliques. As for the metal roof, I love them and think that would look great on a structure like that but not in blue. I also wouldn't do blue siding (or paint) but I'm not a blue house person....See MoreBuying a major fixer upper
Comments (38)I was in the same situation a few yrs ago. The house I purchased was a total gut job. But I loved the midcentury lines and it was built by an architect I admire. The house has 5 bedrooms, 4 full baths. It is in very high priced neighborhood. I had cash to start the renovation process and owned a condo that I could live in meanwhile. Before I moved in, I tore out all the plaster and put in new drywall. Rewired most of the house. Tore down EVERY wall I could to open the rooms up. New kitchen (by custom cabinet maker) and redid two guest bathrooms. Added recessed lights. The master bath was hideous but liveable (I am still using it today and will need to replace soon). I had to replace the HVAC system which was around 12k (2 units). New double paned glass throughout plus glass front doors. Because of the neighborhood, I put in high end appliances. I staggered everything according to necessity. First, make the house liveable and move in. Second, after a couple years, tear off roof and put on new roof. Third, repaint and restucco exterior. Fourth, tear out old nonfunctional pool and put in lap pool. Next, landscaping, new fencing, and new patios. Questions to ask yourself: Do you love the architecture of the home? Can you afford (with cash or loan) to make the house liveable? Are you planning to live long term at the residence? What shape is the pool in? The tennis court? Is the area appreciating? Is this a location you are really want to live in, but cant afford to get into otherwise? If you go through with it: Get the best architect you can afford. Possibly live in the house for awhile. Now that I have lived in the house for awhile, I will have to redo things. Beware of high taxes in more expensive homes. If you remodel, your taxes may go up. Before you put down flooring, make sure you have torn down all the walls you want. If you need to have in floor elec. sockets in the middle of large rooms, do it first. Also, beware of landscaping costs. I will definitely get all the money I have put into the house back out of it. If I sold, I should make a profit. But even then, I could not afford to buy in this neighborhood as prices have gone up so much. Despite the tribulations of the remodel, I am still glad that I did it. It has become sort of a hobby now....See Morebuying a fixer upper and need help!!!
Comments (18)Ana474, I see that you and I share some landscaping sensibilities. Even if cleaned up, I do not find the current design appealing. The property is roomy but two islands oddly dwarf the entrance to the house. The fact that one island is a bit high makes it seem to loom over the arched entrance. I see no design reason for those beds to exist. I would create extra beds only after I had run out of room at the house itself. The foundation bed to the left of the arch is deep but has been designed poorly. It could be made beautiful. On the overhead map I see another overgrown area off the right side corner of the house. I think that area needs attention too. I am not pleased with the Ring Around the Rosie paving either. It offers a path to nowhere and is just perplexing. I believe the paving should lead to the entrance and if you want interesting paths on the property they would be better somewhere else. If I had purchased this home I would remove both the front island beds and never look back. The trees you find attractive can stay and the area may need to be somewhat elevated but could be much lower. I would replace with lawn leaving a smallish bed at the base of the tree. When someone calls their house a fixer upper I think of it as a long time project. If you are not in a rush I think you can do a great deal of the work on your own. You did not say if you have experience with garden clean up. I've done a bit of it for friends and neighbors over the years. It is tiresome and tedious and dirty but I don't find it difficult at all. A good thing about doing the work yourself is that you can familiarize yourself with what plants you have, discover their names and then consider if you want to have a goal or removing them some day. There is a Name That Plant forum that you may find useful. The one area I might hire out for is the two islands that I would demo. Someone with a Bobcat could smooth them out quickly. Hand dig and remove plants you want to keep in advance. If you want to pile the soil somewhere else for a new island I would consider the view from inside the house. Good luck and please post update photos....See MoreCurb Appeal for a Post-War Fixer-Upper [UPDATED w/pics & question!]
Comments (21)Let's take my illustrations less literally. And we'll all be happier. :-) Where I use "purple-y" plants is to illustrate a plant of substantial difference from the main shrubs below a window. It could be a perennial. Or it could be a spreading shrub. Or just about anything in between and of any color. Where I used red to flank the porch, that is any kind of seasonal color or arrangement. I'm not trying to limit your choices. A main feature of my design is a limitation of shrubs. Therefore, there are "leftover" spaces and these can be filled with annuals, perennials, subshrubs, low spreading "shrubs," bulbs, etc. ... using, of course, some kind of sensible repetition and balance. But all the details would be up to the person putting all their fine tuning on my schemes. What I'm hoping people don't do is: a line of shrubs marching across the entire front ... delete trees where needed or have them too close to the house .... make beds too shallow ... and those kinds of things. I'm not crazy about annuals in pots if there is the option to place them in the ground because it's more maintenance of potentially in the way (visually or physically) of the entrance. (Just don't squeeze them in too close to the walk.) In the case here, I don't think the larger window warrants two shrubs, and that one shrub could easily get to the right size. If the same species is used, keeping them sized to the window would boil down to trimming. Or different types of shrubs that are similar (green) but of slightly different sizes, could be used. It's pretty much impossible to tell a shrub to be a specific size and expect it to comply. Trimming is the control. I might be shaping and subdividing the bed along these lines. (Something at the back of the bed would be taller than what's at the fore.) Hopefully, your walk will be at least 4' wide....See Morejmmacleon
5 years agojmmacleon
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