HOUSE TOUR: Hilarious couple's 200-year-old DC home
Gizmo
3 years ago
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Marylee H
3 years agoarcy_gw
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoRelated Discussions
What to do when couple can't agree on house? (BUY)
Comments (46)My SO are struggling here. For us, its mostly price thats the wedge. My SO works as an attorney and longs for adventure so when we had the opportunity to move out state we did. He was so happy to buy cheap and in a beautiful place but it forced him to learn to work remotely. I wasnt sold on the house maintance and size, the people in the area, the distance from conveniences, and distance from our families back home. I was getting increasingly depressed and couldnt see a future making it work so i pushed us to move back home. we heard of sticker shock and even though we mentally prepared for it we were still hit by the absorbent prices. Within seeing the first few homes i met the one immediately when i walked into it. My partner was not so moved bc the price was the top of our budget. it has the neighborhood we want, the flexibility to turn into other things over time and being that we also have a gap in our real estate market ($600k condo or $800k house) this house is the middle of the road of all of them. To be fair on his side of things, I am not working yet. i am in the process of getting my license to start working which i think if i was working, he would feel much more comfortable about the price. There is a part of me that feels sick when i think of passing on this house, we are in escrow right now. but i also feel sick knowing he feels sick about the price. His happiness means more to me than a house… but then there is this weird “but wait, what about my happiness too”. when we moved out of state to the other house I fell in love with a condo that he semi-sabotaged in negotiation. i was heartbroken. the second place we went for i was also enamored with and he liked the price but over time it proved to be too big and too much maintenance for us. I dont deny that I am type A and I like having everything in its place. And I dont deny that me working is going to help this situation and I will do everything possible to make this work. i just dont like to make promises that i cant 100% predict. so what do we do? our location is like a New York market and everytime we make a move to avoid the inevitability of living here we pay more money for it and time. slowly the set back of houses where we want to live shrink even more. at any one time we have maybe 2 or 3 houses or 2-3 condos come through. i also know i have a problem with explicitly saying what i want and how much i want it bc i dont want to us to make a decisions that is wrong. I cant even really get excited about it because i just dont want to be let down if we decide to back it. we are both very cautious people in life in general and also put the breaks on things often which keep us stuck or going in circles. So what do we do?...See MoreHelp me estimate the cost of fixing up this old house
Comments (22)If you are going to do a lot of the work yourself, and only hire out the work for some specific licensed trades and work that specialty equipment or tools or skill are needed, you sound similar to what my husband and I have done on approx 5 houses in the last 10 years, all similar in age and character and condition to the one you are looking at. I know prices vary by region, and I'm probably opening myself up to a bunch of critical comments from people saying either we spent too much and wasted money in one area, or too cheap in another... But I want to try to offer some help in a possible pricing to help you decide if you want to go down this path or not... P - hire a plumber: varies with the house and whether you add a bathroom, but plan for $5k, assumes they take care of big stuff, roughin the shower, code, venting, but you DIY fixture installations - Hire an electrician: similar to plumbing, varies with the house, but assume $3k for them to do layout changes, code corrections, but you DIY fixture installations - if a roof is needed and/ or painting touchups, fascia repairs, etc: big variable but for this assume $8k minimum - assumes siding is in good condtition, $0k or add more - assumes heat / air conditioning / hot water heater are all in good condition, or add more - assumes water in the basement isn't a problem, or add more for dealing with mold, draintile, grade corrections outside, etc. - Hire a hardwood floor refinisher: $2k - assumes hardwood everywhere except kitchen and bathrooms, otherwise add more for carpet/ new floor in other rooms - windows: Varies a lot if you repair or replace, and if replace what quality, but for this rough estimate figure $200 per window x probably around 20 windows would either pay for repair supplies and hardware, or a cheap vinyl replacement, DIY install. $4k - Kitchen materials: ikea cabinets $4k with butcher block countertops, or add $3-4k for granite, $3k cheap ss appliances, $1k tile and paint, you DIY all installation - Bathroom materials: $2k ( tub/shower, vanity, faucets, ligt fixtures, tile), You DIY all installation, Looks like times two in this house plus $1k powder room= $5k., all DIY installation except for the roughin plumbing notes above - light and door fixtures : $1k, all DIY install - basic supplies: Paint, sheetrock, spackle, sanding pads, hinges, eurythane : $3k, all DIY install - holding costs: depends on tax rates, if you need to heat/cool, etc but if you figure $400/ month for 3-4 months (this would have you and your husband there probably 20-30/hrs a week if you are moderately competent but not streamlined professionals at this), adds a bit more than $1k, more if you have a loan with interest accruing. Soooo.... If I add all of this up, I get at least $40k of fixup costs which is you doing almost all of the work. And I should note these are economical material and finishing choices. And assumes you already own all the tools needed to do the work. If you pay $25 k plus $1k in closing costs (no mortgage fees) you'd have at least $66k in to it. If you later sell for $125k, after real estate commissions and another 3 months of holding costs, you may get $110k. So- best case scenario i think you might potentially take home a little over $40k for 3+ months of work. Or, it could be a lot less profit if you hire out more of the work, if you add a 10% error budget ($4k), need new HVAC ($6k), mold/water issues ($?), extensive plumbing (+$6k), exterior repairs ($3-$15k), if opening up walls triggers other code improvements like insulation and vapor barrier ($2k or more), if you add landscaping curb appeal ($1-3k)..... Hopefully you find this helpful, and can adjust this to fit the house you are looking at, your local requirements and rates, etc. It can be fun to bring these houses back to beautiful, and there can be some money to be made doing it. But it's important to run the numbers upfront so you know what you are getting in to. It also makes the work a lot more fun when you feel like you are doing it "on budget"- noone has fun when things are going wrong or you are stuck midway knowing you are loosing money on it. Another thing that my husband and I do, is we each get a $1k "allowance" to spent on "frivolous" things for the house. Well maybe "frivolous" is too spendy of a word, but for certain as you are going through the project you and you husband will have differences of opinion on what to put in the house: Maybe he likes a $2.99/sqft tile and you don't want to waste money and are ok with a $0.99 tile. If he really likes the more expensive tile, that extra $2/ sqft can come out of his "frivolous allowance". It allows both of you to have input and fun with some minor upgrades, but keeps a cap on them. Good luck if you decide to do this - either on this house or a different one! :-)...See MoreAdvice Before & During Building A Custom Home
Comments (20)I think the distinction between semi-custom home and truly custom construction is significant. I've done both plus lots of renovations. In our custom build, we had a fabulous GC. The way he liked to do business was to spend countless hours up front getting into excruciating detail about building products. Once we had cost out our desires, it became apparent that this house was going to cost a whole lot more than we had anticipated. We owned the land. The unknown costs lay in porches and basements. We all agreed that we needed another plan. (We were using William E. Poole plans) I went home and quickly found another plan that would work with a few modifications. It had smaller porches and we ditched the basement in favor of a FROG. It was a smarter build thanks to my GC. We owned the land and had more than 60% of the construction cost in cash. The bank loved us. Low risk. They only got involved when we were close to finishing up. I think we had one construction draw and a final inspection. Our GC suggested that we mutually determine his fee up front. It was a flat amount. This way, he was assured that he would be paid and make his profit. We paid him in monthly installments. The last payment would be withheld until we had release of liens from all of the subcontractors and the GC. Any costs would merely be passed through his accounts. There were no mark up on materials and services. They were entirely at his cost. I was given a copy of all of the receipts. He would present a months worth of bills and receipts at a time. There was one or two items that he needed the money a little faster. I think the framing material was an example. It was a pretty big bill as I recollect. In the areas where a guestimate was required in the budget, he would tend to overestimate. This way the surprises were pleasant. The hard work was done up front. We used those surprises to finish out the FROG. I ended up sourcing the appliances, the plumbing fixtures and the decorative electrical fixtures. He was a little leery about that, but I had everything ordered and stored in my garage ahead of time. I would take them over the day before they were needed and have them on site. The appliance dealer kept my appliances in storage until I was ready. The only plumbing fixture that I had the plumber order was two real cast iron tubs. I didn't want to be responsible for transport or installation of those. The GC had such a great time working with us, he and his brother, decided to do all of the interior finish carpentry themselves. They were used to working on projects that were 50% bigger than our home. We fit right into their schedule. It had been a long time since they had gotten to work together, they wanted to do it. They did a beautiful job. They built my mantle and an arched pocket door from a picture I provided them. They did a beautiful job. Semi-custom building, now that is an exercise in frustration. I'll never do that again. The answers in semi-custom building always seem to be no....See MoreOur late 1990s tract house windows: how to navigate renovation?
Comments (0)New poster here in this section of the forums. Long post too. I have enjoyed reading the forums and the advice given to other people on their windows. Thanks in advance for your opinions on our “window improvement” project. My questions What can be done to improve sealing when re-wrapping metal on a frame? Same question on installing the pocket replacement window (seems limited). Any recommendations on window installation services companies in the Northern Virginia area? I'd love to get 5 install quotes. Any decent mid-range window hardware companies you like? I have a low-end quote, and I have a Kolbe quote. I really liked the quality of the Kolbe operation. I'd like to get at least 2-3 more midrange quotes. What do you think of the DC area renovation average figures for 10 3x5 vinyl replacement windows installed of $17,462? Here’s the link to the general web site: https://www.remodeling.hw.net/cost-vs-value/2020/south-atlantic/washington-dc/ What amount or range might I budget for the services in the DC area generally? (I looked at the 2020 cost vs. value report for their “10 window” project - but I’d like your opinion too.) Is $200-400 reasonable, depending on the wrapping needed? Anything else I’m missing? Maybe quite a lot :) General Background. We live in Fairfax Virginia. Our neighborhood is nice, but not “historic”; a “tract home”. Background details are here (http://levittownbeyond.com/Greenbriar.html ) We have the “Essex” model. Our siding is white vinyl, and is in decent shape. We carefully clean it every fall. Hopefully it will last our time in this house. Our attic is well and fully insulated. Our time horizon in this house is 10-15 years. The front of the house faces due south. There will be a lot of sun exposure in 1-2 years time when the two old Norway Maples (invasive, non-native) die back completely and turn into log compost. Maybe a solar project is in the future, but not now. There are a lot of windows. There are some fairly nice Andersen windows, and they will be part of a future phase to clean, restore, or renovate their hardware operation. Glass seems fine there. Project The focus now is on 16 windows on the house. Almost the entire neighborhood has double-hung pocket white vinyl inserts on what appear to be OK white frames. We have the same. The size of the windows is W 35.75” and H 49.75” . There are a couple smaller, and a couple need tempered glass for bathrooms. Current Frames: seem OK, possibly some extra sealing would be in order to improve air-tightness. The same window veteran recommended a refresh of the exterior metal wrapping “as needed” because our current wrapping is pock-marked with a few small holes. Current Windows: these current windows now seem somewhat compromised through old age and use. Our current windows are vinyl. The labels are very faded, and almost illegible. A few numbers are visible. They appear to have “HECH” as a recurring word. One windows veteran suggested this might mean the former hardware company Hechinger (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hechinger ) might have been the local distributor of these windows. That means the latest date of installation would be the late 1990’s; 20+ years of service from a vinyl window does not seem so bad. The weatherstripping is of the “fur pile” kind, as is fairly degraded or flattened. There is some warping of sashes. Some glass is degraded. Some example photos 1. Some degraded glass 2. A warp on a frame Assumptions Given our time horizon, the good condition of our siding, and the context of the wider neighborhood we are considering a pocket white insert window as the replacement. We don’t need to have the “fanciest windows in the neighborhood”, but we would like them to be good quality from a decent company, very well-installed by professionals who can help us with other projects in the future (doors, other windows, etc). I do like the idea of the windows being “nice” to operate for their lifespan, and with a good, simple, and efficient warranty. I liked the Kolbe windows for that. I do like the concepts of the “passive house” movement on sustainability end energy efficiency. What I have had quoted so far. Local contractor recommendation: Interstate windows combined with installation. This was very cost-efficient, but the services were rated extremely poorly on review sites. $11K. Kolbe ultra pocket. $15K before services. Weather Shield pocket replacement $12K before services...See MorePreslie Cott
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