The front stoop...(love that word):
And then just a random (but kind of cool) pic I took of the neighbor's house with a glowing orange orb peaking through the tree/shrubbery thing.
That is all.
Follow along with the remodel of a 1957 custom ranch house in swanky Mesa, Arizona.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Goofin' Around
The GF made me put some orange bulbs in the luminous orbs of awesomeness (one of the very few upgrades we did durning the period I didn't post anything) so I did and they are even more awesomer than before. Check out the house at night. There was a lot of wind going on last night so the camera was moving around a bit.
The front stoop...(love that word):
And then just a random (but kind of cool) pic I took of the neighbor's house with a glowing orange orb peaking through the tree/shrubbery thing.
That is all.
The front stoop...(love that word):
And then just a random (but kind of cool) pic I took of the neighbor's house with a glowing orange orb peaking through the tree/shrubbery thing.
That is all.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
The Internets
Well I obviously didn't create the diagrams I was planning on but I will...along with the electrical layout. But, in the mean time, I've managed to hit one critical milestone in the office project...
I have wired access to the internets! That little progress bar on the screen is music to my eyes. It may still be sitting on the yet to be removed quarry tile floor and it may eventually be powered via extension cord from the next room over but by golly, I'm connected! Note that during noveling I'll be using my desktop computer which does have wireless capabilities but the wireless connection is about 80' away on the other side of the house. I get a "very low" reading on the wireless signal so I needed...yes NEEDED...wired connectivity. And that's where this weekend's adventure began.
There are two access points to the attic. This one, on the south end of the house is in the closet. The shoe closet to be exact.
No...those aren't the shoes I had to move to get to the attic...These are:
Yes...we have issues. And it doesn't stop there. I'm almost embarrased to say that it took me almost the entire day on Saturday just to run the Cat5e cable from one side of the house to the other.
The other access to the attic is on the low roof next to the A/C unit pictured in a previous post. Once up in the attic I realized the attic space above the living room/kitchen/breakfast area was only about 18" tall at the center with several things in the way between on end and the other. There was no way for me get through on the inside. Climbing up and down and running from one end of the house to other and back up and down and back to the other side (rinse, repeat) and then employing the help of the GF, I found a wire that went directly though, looked like it would pull easily and didn't look like it would disable any major functions of the household.
Well...I was two out of three. I cut the cable, attached the Cat5 along with some twine for a future fish line and had the GF pull it through and it worked. But the cut line turned out to be the phone line to the south end of the house. Of course. That would be the line supplying the signal to the modem/router that I am trying to run data signal from.
I should note here that there are security system wires run everywhere in the house and doubly so in the attic and it could have been any one of them...but no...it was the phone line. So, used the twine to pull that line back across (with more twine) and then spent about an hour mickey mousing a reconnection using an old phone jack as my junction in the middle of the attic. That worked too.
By the end of the day Saturday, I had the cable through the house, through a wall jack hole in the "orange room" where the modem is and the other end was routed out of the attic, around the flat roof and back into the office where it awaited routing through the one wall of the office that is currently in existence.
The GF was multitasking and this is her replacing all the hardware on the living room built-ins. This is an area, like the rest of the place that will get tackled in earnest at a later date but she decided she could not deal with the shiny brass any longer.
As a stop-gap measure it went a long way...a really long way in updating the area.
She was on a mission and she even painted...yes painted, every last hinge, by hand, in place.
And they look great. And there were alot of them.
And...she did the same thing in the master bath. She is using rustoleum metallic "aluminum" paint and a small artist brush and said it wasn't too tough but it looked tough.
Whereas I spent quadruple the time and you can't even see what I did and it really only benefits myself. I think things are right in my universe.
Here's a "before" pic with the shiny brass:
Sunday we, with the help of GF's dad, put in a new toilet (dual flush, thank you) in the powder room, routed the wire on the office side and terminated the ends along with the ends of a second cable I ran from the orange room to the green room (current office) which allowed us to get rid of the ghetto patch cord running across the hallway.
The end...today.
I have wired access to the internets! That little progress bar on the screen is music to my eyes. It may still be sitting on the yet to be removed quarry tile floor and it may eventually be powered via extension cord from the next room over but by golly, I'm connected! Note that during noveling I'll be using my desktop computer which does have wireless capabilities but the wireless connection is about 80' away on the other side of the house. I get a "very low" reading on the wireless signal so I needed...yes NEEDED...wired connectivity. And that's where this weekend's adventure began.
There are two access points to the attic. This one, on the south end of the house is in the closet. The shoe closet to be exact.
No...those aren't the shoes I had to move to get to the attic...These are:
Yes...we have issues. And it doesn't stop there. I'm almost embarrased to say that it took me almost the entire day on Saturday just to run the Cat5e cable from one side of the house to the other.
The other access to the attic is on the low roof next to the A/C unit pictured in a previous post. Once up in the attic I realized the attic space above the living room/kitchen/breakfast area was only about 18" tall at the center with several things in the way between on end and the other. There was no way for me get through on the inside. Climbing up and down and running from one end of the house to other and back up and down and back to the other side (rinse, repeat) and then employing the help of the GF, I found a wire that went directly though, looked like it would pull easily and didn't look like it would disable any major functions of the household.
Well...I was two out of three. I cut the cable, attached the Cat5 along with some twine for a future fish line and had the GF pull it through and it worked. But the cut line turned out to be the phone line to the south end of the house. Of course. That would be the line supplying the signal to the modem/router that I am trying to run data signal from.
I should note here that there are security system wires run everywhere in the house and doubly so in the attic and it could have been any one of them...but no...it was the phone line. So, used the twine to pull that line back across (with more twine) and then spent about an hour mickey mousing a reconnection using an old phone jack as my junction in the middle of the attic. That worked too.
By the end of the day Saturday, I had the cable through the house, through a wall jack hole in the "orange room" where the modem is and the other end was routed out of the attic, around the flat roof and back into the office where it awaited routing through the one wall of the office that is currently in existence.
The GF was multitasking and this is her replacing all the hardware on the living room built-ins. This is an area, like the rest of the place that will get tackled in earnest at a later date but she decided she could not deal with the shiny brass any longer.
As a stop-gap measure it went a long way...a really long way in updating the area.
She was on a mission and she even painted...yes painted, every last hinge, by hand, in place.
And they look great. And there were alot of them.
And...she did the same thing in the master bath. She is using rustoleum metallic "aluminum" paint and a small artist brush and said it wasn't too tough but it looked tough.
Whereas I spent quadruple the time and you can't even see what I did and it really only benefits myself. I think things are right in my universe.
Here's a "before" pic with the shiny brass:
Sunday we, with the help of GF's dad, put in a new toilet (dual flush, thank you) in the powder room, routed the wire on the office side and terminated the ends along with the ends of a second cable I ran from the orange room to the green room (current office) which allowed us to get rid of the ghetto patch cord running across the hallway.
The end...today.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Not What I Was Hoping For
I messed around a little bit more on the never ending demo. Do you watch those shows on HGTV where they come in and just obliterate everything and then simply build it all back? That is either some fancy editing or they just add a huge contingency in the budget for redoing things they could have left in place. I say this because I spend half my time standing there scratching my head trying to decide what to take out and what to leave. Part of this, of course, is my own limited knowledge...or maybe my expansive knowledge of my own limitations. I try not to get too far down a road I can't return from. Anyway, that is just me ranting about how long this is taking.
Last night I was going to start tearing out the ceiling. That is, the wood ceiling over the area that will be the office. As I only really have a weekend and a half to get this done before "writing season" I am already starting to consider what I'm going to be left with at midnight November 1st. And it isn't pretty. GF, sensing the same thing asked if I really wanted to be trying to write with itchy particals of fiberglass wafting down on me the whole time, which, not surprisingly, gave pause to that enterprise.
Note, the ceiling has to come out so that when I put the new gyp in, it is at the same level as that on the other side of the wall and they match up. Otherwise, I'd probably just make holes where I need to to run wires and then gyp over it. Also note that I'm not yet locked into gyp. bd. I've been thinking about using sanded plywood on the ceiling. As it is looking like I'm going to have another month to think about it I will not make the decision today that I can so comfortably put off.
So, as I was pondering what to do with the ceiling I pulled a couple of peices of paneling down to see what is above it. (Not over my desk, thank you.) And what I found did not please me one little bit. That's not entirely true...the ceiling is insulated for which I am very thankful. But, the wall I am taking out...have halfway taken out...appears to be bearing. Or has aspects of a wall that could possibly be bearing. I was really hoping that was just a demising wall and I could ditch it completely.
See...the rafter is notched around the double top plate on the wall. You might say "duh" but check out the image below...there is no direct structural path through or around the clerestory windows and there is no header above them. Theoretically, if the roof sagged at all, it would crack the glass...but never has.
So...now I don't know what to do...besides stand there scratch my head and look at it some more. I'm posting this on lunch so I don't have time right now but I'll make a little diagram of the options (and why I don't like them) and post them later.
The thing I keep buoying myself up with is that this is an old house and some of the existing bones are going to show through...and that is ok.
Last night I was going to start tearing out the ceiling. That is, the wood ceiling over the area that will be the office. As I only really have a weekend and a half to get this done before "writing season" I am already starting to consider what I'm going to be left with at midnight November 1st. And it isn't pretty. GF, sensing the same thing asked if I really wanted to be trying to write with itchy particals of fiberglass wafting down on me the whole time, which, not surprisingly, gave pause to that enterprise.
Note, the ceiling has to come out so that when I put the new gyp in, it is at the same level as that on the other side of the wall and they match up. Otherwise, I'd probably just make holes where I need to to run wires and then gyp over it. Also note that I'm not yet locked into gyp. bd. I've been thinking about using sanded plywood on the ceiling. As it is looking like I'm going to have another month to think about it I will not make the decision today that I can so comfortably put off.
So, as I was pondering what to do with the ceiling I pulled a couple of peices of paneling down to see what is above it. (Not over my desk, thank you.) And what I found did not please me one little bit. That's not entirely true...the ceiling is insulated for which I am very thankful. But, the wall I am taking out...have halfway taken out...appears to be bearing. Or has aspects of a wall that could possibly be bearing. I was really hoping that was just a demising wall and I could ditch it completely.
See...the rafter is notched around the double top plate on the wall. You might say "duh" but check out the image below...there is no direct structural path through or around the clerestory windows and there is no header above them. Theoretically, if the roof sagged at all, it would crack the glass...but never has.
So...now I don't know what to do...besides stand there scratch my head and look at it some more. I'm posting this on lunch so I don't have time right now but I'll make a little diagram of the options (and why I don't like them) and post them later.
The thing I keep buoying myself up with is that this is an old house and some of the existing bones are going to show through...and that is ok.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Unsteady Progress
In typical "me" fashion, I'm making sporadic progress generally in the right direction. This might sound like a broken record but I didn't get as much done as I would have liked but all-in-all, I like where I'm at.
Work continued on the demo in and around the office. Since I came up with a little bit of a plan earlier in the week I'm pretty excited because as I'm working in there I can start to picture what it'll look like when complete.
So, the big thing yesterday was I started working on removing the bi-fold doors and the header above. Not sure if I mentioned this but the plan is for this whole upper space (the loft) which is about 20' wide by 23' long to be one big open room except for my little corner of an office I'm carving out of it. That means the wall that bi-sects the room at the second widow mullion from the north has to go. For the office project, I only need to get the header out of the way so I can finish off the "end" of the green wall from the diagrams below.
Here's the header still in place with the doors removed:
Here it is with the header gone!
I tried to take a pic from outside looking in to show how much more open it is already:
Not sure how that might be looking on your end. On my computer it looked better but once I uploaded it, it looks really dark but trust me...way more open! I'm so excited about it that I'm thinking about taking the rest of the wall down while I'm at it just to finish the job. That'll put me further behind but I'm already behind so...big deal. I can't wait to see that whole gable end full of winows in its entirety in that room...can't wait!
As is to be expected I discovered some things in this endeavor. Foremost is the electrical situation. I think this whole space is being fed from 2 15 amp circuits. That was probably fine in '57 but not so much, today. The power, though, seemed to be running from the back wall of the office out through the green wall across the header to the front of the room. So, that is gone. Now, those 2 circuits feed just my office, which I think will be fine. I have a plan as to how to get more power to the other side of the room but that will have to wait for a new panel. In the mean time, I'm going to pull some wire between a couple of boxes and leave it for "future" use. I think I'll ty to create a wiring diagram and hopefully post it tomorrow.
I also have a plan for the cat5 cable. I almost bought some today but thought I'd look up whether I really need cat6 or if cat5 will be ok. My router is on the far end of the house away from this room so I'm going to hardwire it from there. I need about 150'. I'll post more about this later after I do a little research. Trying to decide if, in case I want another connection in this room, if I need to run a couple of runs or if I can install a single line and just splice in a switch in the future.
One other thing discoverd this weekend is that room gets hot! It was over one hundred today and it was pretty miserable up there. There is one A/C vent that feeds the whole space but that doesn't really do anything for the space on the north (office) side of the wall. That is why the wall unit was installed when that space was enclosed, I'm sure. And, that is why that unit is going to remain there. I will most likely build an enclosure to hide it but until I upgrade the system on the whole house, the wall unit will have to stay. I'm hoping while I'm writing in November, that I will not need it. Heat may be a different story but that is easier (and quiter) to deal with.
As far as the current A/C goes...it's ok. But I have the one vent in the Loft closed almost completely off because we haven't been up there this summer at all. As we get this closer to livable, it will be imperative that this room can be cooled and not with a wall unit. As we would like to also cool the AZ room (part for more usable space and part for the beasts) I am going to look into putting a second unit on the house. I would have to take a little space out of the "downstairs" storage room for the airhandler but I'm not real sure where the compressor would go.
The existing compressor is on the small piece of roof above the powder room next to the back door. (Note, pic is from before we moved in.) For reference, the wall unit is just behind the compressor. I have been thinking about extending that low roof out anyway because there isn't enough shade in the back yard for the beasts. So, when it's at all hot, we have to keep them in more than we (or they) like. If I build that extended cover, I'll make sure it can accomodate another unit.
Oy! So many projects...
Next step will be removing the ceiling and installing the wiring and cabling. Stay tuned.
Work continued on the demo in and around the office. Since I came up with a little bit of a plan earlier in the week I'm pretty excited because as I'm working in there I can start to picture what it'll look like when complete.
So, the big thing yesterday was I started working on removing the bi-fold doors and the header above. Not sure if I mentioned this but the plan is for this whole upper space (the loft) which is about 20' wide by 23' long to be one big open room except for my little corner of an office I'm carving out of it. That means the wall that bi-sects the room at the second widow mullion from the north has to go. For the office project, I only need to get the header out of the way so I can finish off the "end" of the green wall from the diagrams below.
Here's the header still in place with the doors removed:
Here it is with the header gone!
I tried to take a pic from outside looking in to show how much more open it is already:
Not sure how that might be looking on your end. On my computer it looked better but once I uploaded it, it looks really dark but trust me...way more open! I'm so excited about it that I'm thinking about taking the rest of the wall down while I'm at it just to finish the job. That'll put me further behind but I'm already behind so...big deal. I can't wait to see that whole gable end full of winows in its entirety in that room...can't wait!
As is to be expected I discovered some things in this endeavor. Foremost is the electrical situation. I think this whole space is being fed from 2 15 amp circuits. That was probably fine in '57 but not so much, today. The power, though, seemed to be running from the back wall of the office out through the green wall across the header to the front of the room. So, that is gone. Now, those 2 circuits feed just my office, which I think will be fine. I have a plan as to how to get more power to the other side of the room but that will have to wait for a new panel. In the mean time, I'm going to pull some wire between a couple of boxes and leave it for "future" use. I think I'll ty to create a wiring diagram and hopefully post it tomorrow.
I also have a plan for the cat5 cable. I almost bought some today but thought I'd look up whether I really need cat6 or if cat5 will be ok. My router is on the far end of the house away from this room so I'm going to hardwire it from there. I need about 150'. I'll post more about this later after I do a little research. Trying to decide if, in case I want another connection in this room, if I need to run a couple of runs or if I can install a single line and just splice in a switch in the future.
One other thing discoverd this weekend is that room gets hot! It was over one hundred today and it was pretty miserable up there. There is one A/C vent that feeds the whole space but that doesn't really do anything for the space on the north (office) side of the wall. That is why the wall unit was installed when that space was enclosed, I'm sure. And, that is why that unit is going to remain there. I will most likely build an enclosure to hide it but until I upgrade the system on the whole house, the wall unit will have to stay. I'm hoping while I'm writing in November, that I will not need it. Heat may be a different story but that is easier (and quiter) to deal with.
As far as the current A/C goes...it's ok. But I have the one vent in the Loft closed almost completely off because we haven't been up there this summer at all. As we get this closer to livable, it will be imperative that this room can be cooled and not with a wall unit. As we would like to also cool the AZ room (part for more usable space and part for the beasts) I am going to look into putting a second unit on the house. I would have to take a little space out of the "downstairs" storage room for the airhandler but I'm not real sure where the compressor would go.
The existing compressor is on the small piece of roof above the powder room next to the back door. (Note, pic is from before we moved in.) For reference, the wall unit is just behind the compressor. I have been thinking about extending that low roof out anyway because there isn't enough shade in the back yard for the beasts. So, when it's at all hot, we have to keep them in more than we (or they) like. If I build that extended cover, I'll make sure it can accomodate another unit.
Oy! So many projects...
Next step will be removing the ceiling and installing the wiring and cabling. Stay tuned.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Thinking Out Loud...as usual
So, I haven't made any progress in the real sense but I have been scheming...I mean planning.
The green wall was planned to be some sort of translucent plastic but I'm having trouble finding something to use. I'm looking for something thin and cheap but not corrugated that I can screw to the studs on both sides of the wall.
If that doesn't happen I'm going to just drywall it and paint it out. The window in the top is existing and I'll leave it but I'm thinking of adding another pane of glass to give it some insulation. The one good thing about drywalling this wall is it's already insulated because it was an exterior wall at one time and that will provide some sound attenuation. Probably doesn't matter much though because the door I have designed will likely leak sound like crazy.
The green wall was planned to be some sort of translucent plastic but I'm having trouble finding something to use. I'm looking for something thin and cheap but not corrugated that I can screw to the studs on both sides of the wall.
If that doesn't happen I'm going to just drywall it and paint it out. The window in the top is existing and I'll leave it but I'm thinking of adding another pane of glass to give it some insulation. The one good thing about drywalling this wall is it's already insulated because it was an exterior wall at one time and that will provide some sound attenuation. Probably doesn't matter much though because the door I have designed will likely leak sound like crazy.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Well, It's been a while. 4 months, to the day, was my last post. There is good reason for that. We hadn't actually done anything. Well, nothing of any interest. Basically we moved in and started working on the GF's house in Gilbert to get it ready to rent. And then we worked on it some more. And some more. And then some more. And today we finally put the FOR RENT sign up.
I have decided to throw my hat in the ring for National Novel Writing Month (check out www.NaNoWriMo.org) so I'm going to try and crank out a 50 thousand word novel draft in the month of November. To that end, I decided to try to get my office built out before then. This accomplishes a couple of things: It will give me some privacy. It will, hopefully, provide an inspiring place to write and it gives me the opportunity to avoid thinking about my novel until the very last minute. Oh...and maybe most importantly it makes me make some decisions as I have limited time to get it figured out and built.
So, the fun has begun. I have started the demo. Below is the space as it existed when we bought it. I removed the carpet the day after I purchased it but otherwise haven't touched it.
The plan is to tear it down to the studs and bring it back up to speed. One of the biggest challenges to that plan is that I don't really have a plan. The only thing I'm "pretty sure" of right now is that the extent of the new office will be about the extent of the white tile. So the operable window on the right will be in my office. Thursday night after work I just decided to jump in and start removing things. 2 hours later it looked like this:
The "frove" is going to go because I don't think the fridge part can be fixed. It would have been an excellent writing companion with a stove top for hot water and a fridge for red bulls and monsters but I'm sure it is wildly ineffecient even if it worked and likely noisy too so it's "on to rustier pastures" for it. Actually, I'll post it on craigslist and hopefully someone will want it. The sink cabinet I am attempting to save to use in my workshop. Once removed, it's only about half a cabinet because, like lots of millwork from this era, it's built in place but luckily it came out intact. I'll add a back and a side to it and it will work out fine in the shop.
Note in the picture above that the floor is quarry tile. I was pretty sure this was previously an outdoor space but this confirmed it. The white tile that as over it came right up without a mark. Too bad I don't like it...I'd love to reuse it just to keep it out of the landfill but it's just not attractive and will come up. I'm hoping it doesn't give me too much hassel but I'm preparing for a battle.
After working on the rental today I came home and spent a couple more hours in the office and got everything out and started removing the wall paneling.
Removing the paneling showed that there was exterior type masonite paneling...previously board and batten.
Next step is going to be to remove all the paneling, which I'm hoping to accomplish tomorrow. That includes the ceiling. I'm not sure if I'll be removing the cladding from the tie-beams but I'll definitely be removing the tiffany lamps.
Sorry the pics are so yellow and out of focus...the camera is way smarter than me and I'm still trying to catch up.
So...to sum up; I work slow. I have no plan. I'm no photographer.
I have decided to throw my hat in the ring for National Novel Writing Month (check out www.NaNoWriMo.org) so I'm going to try and crank out a 50 thousand word novel draft in the month of November. To that end, I decided to try to get my office built out before then. This accomplishes a couple of things: It will give me some privacy. It will, hopefully, provide an inspiring place to write and it gives me the opportunity to avoid thinking about my novel until the very last minute. Oh...and maybe most importantly it makes me make some decisions as I have limited time to get it figured out and built.
So, the fun has begun. I have started the demo. Below is the space as it existed when we bought it. I removed the carpet the day after I purchased it but otherwise haven't touched it.
The plan is to tear it down to the studs and bring it back up to speed. One of the biggest challenges to that plan is that I don't really have a plan. The only thing I'm "pretty sure" of right now is that the extent of the new office will be about the extent of the white tile. So the operable window on the right will be in my office. Thursday night after work I just decided to jump in and start removing things. 2 hours later it looked like this:
The "frove" is going to go because I don't think the fridge part can be fixed. It would have been an excellent writing companion with a stove top for hot water and a fridge for red bulls and monsters but I'm sure it is wildly ineffecient even if it worked and likely noisy too so it's "on to rustier pastures" for it. Actually, I'll post it on craigslist and hopefully someone will want it. The sink cabinet I am attempting to save to use in my workshop. Once removed, it's only about half a cabinet because, like lots of millwork from this era, it's built in place but luckily it came out intact. I'll add a back and a side to it and it will work out fine in the shop.
Note in the picture above that the floor is quarry tile. I was pretty sure this was previously an outdoor space but this confirmed it. The white tile that as over it came right up without a mark. Too bad I don't like it...I'd love to reuse it just to keep it out of the landfill but it's just not attractive and will come up. I'm hoping it doesn't give me too much hassel but I'm preparing for a battle.
After working on the rental today I came home and spent a couple more hours in the office and got everything out and started removing the wall paneling.
Removing the paneling showed that there was exterior type masonite paneling...previously board and batten.
Next step is going to be to remove all the paneling, which I'm hoping to accomplish tomorrow. That includes the ceiling. I'm not sure if I'll be removing the cladding from the tie-beams but I'll definitely be removing the tiffany lamps.
Sorry the pics are so yellow and out of focus...the camera is way smarter than me and I'm still trying to catch up.
So...to sum up; I work slow. I have no plan. I'm no photographer.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Moving Along...
Last night was an experience I have been waiting for a long time. I got to sit and read a book in my own house! Most excellent. I didn't have a glass of wine of anything fancy going on but to just sit on my sofa (surrounded by unplaced furniture) and read in my own place was excellent. Now I feel guilty though...back to work!
The wicked wall paper is dead!
BTW...to give some scale to that dresser, it is 5 feet wide. If you scroll down a ways, there is a picture of this same wall with the old wallpaper. Here I have to admit to some half-ass-edness. I want to enlarge this room but it is not the room I want to start on so in order to at least make it livable (without inciting dementia) the wallpaper could not stay but it was on so good that I decided to paint over it. I would never do this on something that was going to stay but as I think only one wall may remain, it was a quick and easy fix. It made the GF very happy, too, which is always a bonus. She is used to me not doing something because I'm going to do something "bigger or better" later and then nothing ever gets done and we live with the old thing. Know how it goes? GF did all the painting. I spent a couple hours patching areas that looked like it might peel or was bubbling but overall didn't put too much work into the temporary fix. We haven't decided what to do with the trim. I thought she'd just paint over it when she was painting and maybe we still will. So happy it's not what was there before! Gurgh...I still gag a little when I think about it.
GF will probably be moving in soon. With the help of GF's dad, we got the swamp running this weekend and it will cool the AZ Room (and half of Mesa probably) so that will allow us to bring the beasts over and the beasts and GF go together. I will do a good post on the beasts soon.
The wicked wall paper is dead!
BTW...to give some scale to that dresser, it is 5 feet wide. If you scroll down a ways, there is a picture of this same wall with the old wallpaper. Here I have to admit to some half-ass-edness. I want to enlarge this room but it is not the room I want to start on so in order to at least make it livable (without inciting dementia) the wallpaper could not stay but it was on so good that I decided to paint over it. I would never do this on something that was going to stay but as I think only one wall may remain, it was a quick and easy fix. It made the GF very happy, too, which is always a bonus. She is used to me not doing something because I'm going to do something "bigger or better" later and then nothing ever gets done and we live with the old thing. Know how it goes? GF did all the painting. I spent a couple hours patching areas that looked like it might peel or was bubbling but overall didn't put too much work into the temporary fix. We haven't decided what to do with the trim. I thought she'd just paint over it when she was painting and maybe we still will. So happy it's not what was there before! Gurgh...I still gag a little when I think about it.
GF will probably be moving in soon. With the help of GF's dad, we got the swamp running this weekend and it will cool the AZ Room (and half of Mesa probably) so that will allow us to bring the beasts over and the beasts and GF go together. I will do a good post on the beasts soon.
What have we learned today? I'm a procrastinator, I half-assed my bedroom, I made the GF do the bulk of the work. I made GF's dad do the rest and the Beasts are on their way.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Pipe Dreams
Meaning I must be hitting the crack pipe a little too hard if I think I can afford all (any) of this. But below is an existing plan of the house and lot and what my current thought is for its future.
Existing Plan
1 Entry
2 Living Room
3 Kitchen
4 Breakfast Area (or very informal dining room)
5 Master Bedroom
6 Walk-in Closet
7 Master Bath (3/4)
8 Hall Bath
9 Bedroom 2
10 Bedroom 3
11 "Loft" (with Carport below 11 and 12)
12 Separate room on the Loft level - was once an outdoor space
13 AC unit sits on flat roof above a powder room and back door
14 Kitchenette (not shown) with Laundry Room below
15 Arizona Room (unconditioned but has a swamp cooler) with Spa (came with the house)
16 Storage (unconditioned)
17 Shed (large - with garage door)
18 Patio
I did not include a plan of the area under the loft which drops down to carport level and includes the laundry room, a large storage room (7 x10) and the mechanical closet that opens to the carport.
Here is my current thought:
1 Entry - large pivot door
2 Living/Dining
3 Kitchen
4 Informal Dining (or maybe some arcade games!)
5 Family Room (with the entertainment system - carport to remain, below)
6 My Office
7 Arizona Room (conditioned) configured to be the Kennel for the Beasts
8 3 Car Garage and Work Shop (my Pièce de résistance)
9 Master Suite (not fully resolved)
10 Bedroom 3 - Guest Bedroom and GF's office
11 Bedroom 2 - My temporary office and the cat's room. (GF's Dad is allergic)
12 Hall Bath
13 Storage (reduced to allow outdoor access from Master)
14 Covered patio with relocated Spa
15 Pool (GF's Pièce de résistance)
16 Grassy Area - entire width of yard for the Beasts to run.
Note the "proposed plan" is a bit misleading because the garage is actually at carport level, which is about 4' down from the main floor of the house. The door into the garage that appears to be in a wall in my office is actually into the laundry room below.
That's all for this installment.
Existing Plan
1 Entry
2 Living Room
3 Kitchen
4 Breakfast Area (or very informal dining room)
5 Master Bedroom
6 Walk-in Closet
7 Master Bath (3/4)
8 Hall Bath
9 Bedroom 2
10 Bedroom 3
11 "Loft" (with Carport below 11 and 12)
12 Separate room on the Loft level - was once an outdoor space
13 AC unit sits on flat roof above a powder room and back door
14 Kitchenette (not shown) with Laundry Room below
15 Arizona Room (unconditioned but has a swamp cooler) with Spa (came with the house)
16 Storage (unconditioned)
17 Shed (large - with garage door)
18 Patio
I did not include a plan of the area under the loft which drops down to carport level and includes the laundry room, a large storage room (7 x10) and the mechanical closet that opens to the carport.
Here is my current thought:
1 Entry - large pivot door
2 Living/Dining
3 Kitchen
4 Informal Dining (or maybe some arcade games!)
5 Family Room (with the entertainment system - carport to remain, below)
6 My Office
7 Arizona Room (conditioned) configured to be the Kennel for the Beasts
8 3 Car Garage and Work Shop (my Pièce de résistance)
9 Master Suite (not fully resolved)
10 Bedroom 3 - Guest Bedroom and GF's office
11 Bedroom 2 - My temporary office and the cat's room. (GF's Dad is allergic)
12 Hall Bath
13 Storage (reduced to allow outdoor access from Master)
14 Covered patio with relocated Spa
15 Pool (GF's Pièce de résistance)
16 Grassy Area - entire width of yard for the Beasts to run.
Note the "proposed plan" is a bit misleading because the garage is actually at carport level, which is about 4' down from the main floor of the house. The door into the garage that appears to be in a wall in my office is actually into the laundry room below.
That's all for this installment.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Almost Famous
Forgot to mention that the piano that we got as part of the house deal is almost a movie star...or something like that. The GF and I are in the midst of watching the TrueBlood HBO series (season 1) to try to get through it before the next season starts in June and while watching, noticed that Sookie's Gran's piano is nearly the same as ours. The only difference is where ours has two main "swoops" in the carving on the front panel, hers has three. Haven't had time to look it up and I'm not at the house right now so I forget the brand but it is from St. Louis, like me, so pretty cool. Ours, like me, needs some work.
One Move...Nearly Complete
Hi all one of my followers! I haven't posted anything because we haven't done anything interesting in a while. I've been moving stuff...and I mean "stuff" constantly and then rented a truck to move my tools and furniture on Saturday. It's amazing how much can be stuffed into a 625sf rental house. As every room in the place needs some attention somehow, GF and I still haven't figured out where we're putting things but I need to be out of my place by the end of the month so now we have one room full of boxes and the living room full of furniture just stacked there. I only moved two pieces into the master bedroom because I'm feeling more and more like I want to move a couple of walls before we get settled. I did move my OSB dresser and the bed in there because they are large and needed to be out of the way but they may get moved again as we work on that room.
The dresser clashes tragically with the wallpaper so as much as we would have loved to keep it, the wallpaper has to go. It's on pretty good. We've tried the device that punctures the paper (I call it the "violator") and then sprayed release agent on it without much sucess in our brief experiments. I'm thinking a back hoe should do the trick.
As soon as I get a little more time, I'll post a floor plan of the house and what I think I'm going to do with the "master suite".
The dresser clashes tragically with the wallpaper so as much as we would have loved to keep it, the wallpaper has to go. It's on pretty good. We've tried the device that punctures the paper (I call it the "violator") and then sprayed release agent on it without much sucess in our brief experiments. I'm thinking a back hoe should do the trick.
As soon as I get a little more time, I'll post a floor plan of the house and what I think I'm going to do with the "master suite".
Monday, May 18, 2009
No More Carpets...a Few More Kittens
I've been very busy. Basically I move stuff every night after work then go home and pack-up more stuff to move the next night. On top of that, I've been pulling out more carpet. Yesterday I removed the last stitch of carpet from the entire house. It is the last stitch of carpet the house will ever see...at least as long as I own it. Anyone who has removed carpet knows how gross it is...after that, I just can't see ever putting carpet down again. Factor in the dogs...forget it! I'll post some pics as soon as I get a few spare minutes in which I am not exhausted.
We were going to leave carpet in two bedrooms that had it until we got around to deciding what to do with them but once the house had a chance to sit for a week we were picking up on more funk and traced it to the master walk-in closet. I should explain that the house has a doggie door on it and from the first day we looked at it, I realized that door was was open and the cover was bent so it couldn't close all the way. So, I'm pretty sure it wasn't the previous owners nastiness we've been smelling but the neighborhood cats squatting in my house. The moment I got the key I bashed it shut with a brick but the damage as done. I found a mama cat and 3 (maybe 4) kittens hiding behind my shed. At first I thought it was a dead cat laying in front of the shed because what I saw didn't move but as I approached, a head popped up and what I thought was one dead cat divided into 4 kinetic pieces and bolted in between the shed and the wall where I couldn't get to them. I haven't had time to coax them out but they seem to be doing fine. The dogs spend all their time out in the yard with their noses pushed into the crack between the shed and wall with mama doing the witchy-cat up on the wall so at least it is entertaining them.
My latest dilemma is the irrigation system. The plants all looked good when I took ownership but they are slowly drying up and I can't figure out how to get it running. I got the main box in the back programmed and seemed to be working but it never kicked any of the valves on. I'll probably have to get someone out there to check it out. I watered everything by hand over the weekend to keep it alive but will hopefully get the system working soon as that will be much more efficient, both time and water wise.
We were going to leave carpet in two bedrooms that had it until we got around to deciding what to do with them but once the house had a chance to sit for a week we were picking up on more funk and traced it to the master walk-in closet. I should explain that the house has a doggie door on it and from the first day we looked at it, I realized that door was was open and the cover was bent so it couldn't close all the way. So, I'm pretty sure it wasn't the previous owners nastiness we've been smelling but the neighborhood cats squatting in my house. The moment I got the key I bashed it shut with a brick but the damage as done. I found a mama cat and 3 (maybe 4) kittens hiding behind my shed. At first I thought it was a dead cat laying in front of the shed because what I saw didn't move but as I approached, a head popped up and what I thought was one dead cat divided into 4 kinetic pieces and bolted in between the shed and the wall where I couldn't get to them. I haven't had time to coax them out but they seem to be doing fine. The dogs spend all their time out in the yard with their noses pushed into the crack between the shed and wall with mama doing the witchy-cat up on the wall so at least it is entertaining them.
My latest dilemma is the irrigation system. The plants all looked good when I took ownership but they are slowly drying up and I can't figure out how to get it running. I got the main box in the back programmed and seemed to be working but it never kicked any of the valves on. I'll probably have to get someone out there to check it out. I watered everything by hand over the weekend to keep it alive but will hopefully get the system working soon as that will be much more efficient, both time and water wise.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Some Background
GF finally got to come over and see her new house. She is very happy with it and even happier it no longer smells. She is the reason I bought this place in Mesa at all. I was looking at the Marlen Groves Haver house that djinertia2 posts about here. They beat me too it…I couldn’t get my down payment together in time…but it worked out for the best because in the process of seriously considering getting that house, I realized it was going to put what was likely to be an insurmountable strain on my relationship.
The problem we have is that my rental in Phoenix is only 4.5 miles from my office and her house in Gilbert, which she owns, is only about a half mile from her office. So any move closer to her puts me further from my office and any move closer to me puts her further from hers. We are both very happy with our jobs so there is no plan to try to reconcile the distance. So after the Haver deal was off the table, I decided to look somewhere between us. I would have preferred Tempe but we have lots of dogs and cars which means we need some space. I started off looking for a place with a 3 car garage but all I could find in my price range is 80’s crap that is all garage door up front and typical stucco and clay tile. (Note, I like stucco so don’t be insulted). I couldn’t deal with that and it usually came with a small yard anyway so I started just looking for a place with a big yard with hopes I could build a garage.
That lead to Mesa and to the first place I put an offer in on. It was in the Evergreen Historic district. That was a 1947 bungalow, about 1600 sf 3 bedroom one bath on a 17,000sf lot! It would have been perfect for the dogs. The house was in great shape and didn’t “need” anything to begin with so I would have been free to concentrate on a garage. It wasn’t very modern though and it was going to take a lot of work to get it to the appearance that I would be happy with. Doesn’t matter. It didn’t appraise…it actually appraised for $37,000 less than I offered for it. Basically, Mesa is full of $100k 1600 sf homes so finding comps for $200k was impossible. The seller wasn’t in any kind of bind so there was no reason for them to let it go for such a low price so we just ended that deal. It’s still on the market but someone is going to have to come up with some cash if they want to buy it.
So, I was back on the internets looking for the next one and couldn’t find anything else with a lot that size that was at all desireable. I changed my parameters and decided to look for something larger hoping to find at least a 2 car garage and some space for all the rest of our junk. That didn’t happen either. But somehow I stumbled on the Hillcrest house which didn’t meet hardly any of my criteria other than it is a 50's ranch. But it is large enough for all our stuff and has a decent size lot. Due to the layout, there is room for a large garage and a pool and can still maintain the long length of the lot for the dogs to stretch their legs. Plus, we just fell in love with it when we looked at it. Both the house and the neighborhood sold us as soon as we drove by.
The vital stats on the house are:
Built: 1957
Addition: Unknown.
Conditioned space: 2350 sf.
Arizona room: 300 sf
3 bedroom
2-1/2 baths
Living room
Kitchen
Breakfast area
Family Room
Porch (closed in now)
Laundry Room
Carport (under family room)
Lot size: 12,200 sf.
Xerascape front, Grass in back
Block and frame with some vertical vinyl siding (lovely)
Wood Shake roof (in pretty bad shape)
Getting it was not a smooth path but well worth it…so far. I had a budget of around $200k. When I found this house it was listed for $260k. I thought, who knows, maybe I can offer 225 or 230. I drove the GF by it and she freaked out so I called Janice, my real estate agent and told her we were interested. She called me back and said it was about to be foreclosed on and they were dropping the price to $209k the next day! We were in. I don’t know why they waited so long to drop the price but it worked in our favor. We did a lot of talking with the seller’s agent and due to my first experience, I was afraid the house wouldn’t appraise for that money in Mesa and neither did my agent. I felt like the house was worth the $209 or around there but had to factor in what it would appraise for. I considered low-balling it at $185k but we ran that by the seller’s agent and she basically said if it went that low, it would have to go to a short sale because the seller owed too much on it and by the time all fees and everything else was taken care of, that wouldn’t cover it. Plus, with a short sale, the bank has the option to consider other offers and it strings out the timeline indefinitely… So, I offered $200k even and they took it. Amazingly it appraised! It needed some repairs to meet FHA standards and the seller took care of most of it and I kicked in a little extra. In the end, the seller ended up just about flat even but she didn’t get foreclosed on so it worked out great. Part of me thinks I could have gotten it for less but it would have taken a lot longer and now I don’t have to feel bad about the seller even though her issues weren’t my fault.
So, that is how we ended up in Mesa.
The problem we have is that my rental in Phoenix is only 4.5 miles from my office and her house in Gilbert, which she owns, is only about a half mile from her office. So any move closer to her puts me further from my office and any move closer to me puts her further from hers. We are both very happy with our jobs so there is no plan to try to reconcile the distance. So after the Haver deal was off the table, I decided to look somewhere between us. I would have preferred Tempe but we have lots of dogs and cars which means we need some space. I started off looking for a place with a 3 car garage but all I could find in my price range is 80’s crap that is all garage door up front and typical stucco and clay tile. (Note, I like stucco so don’t be insulted). I couldn’t deal with that and it usually came with a small yard anyway so I started just looking for a place with a big yard with hopes I could build a garage.
That lead to Mesa and to the first place I put an offer in on. It was in the Evergreen Historic district. That was a 1947 bungalow, about 1600 sf 3 bedroom one bath on a 17,000sf lot! It would have been perfect for the dogs. The house was in great shape and didn’t “need” anything to begin with so I would have been free to concentrate on a garage. It wasn’t very modern though and it was going to take a lot of work to get it to the appearance that I would be happy with. Doesn’t matter. It didn’t appraise…it actually appraised for $37,000 less than I offered for it. Basically, Mesa is full of $100k 1600 sf homes so finding comps for $200k was impossible. The seller wasn’t in any kind of bind so there was no reason for them to let it go for such a low price so we just ended that deal. It’s still on the market but someone is going to have to come up with some cash if they want to buy it.
So, I was back on the internets looking for the next one and couldn’t find anything else with a lot that size that was at all desireable. I changed my parameters and decided to look for something larger hoping to find at least a 2 car garage and some space for all the rest of our junk. That didn’t happen either. But somehow I stumbled on the Hillcrest house which didn’t meet hardly any of my criteria other than it is a 50's ranch. But it is large enough for all our stuff and has a decent size lot. Due to the layout, there is room for a large garage and a pool and can still maintain the long length of the lot for the dogs to stretch their legs. Plus, we just fell in love with it when we looked at it. Both the house and the neighborhood sold us as soon as we drove by.
The vital stats on the house are:
Built: 1957
Addition: Unknown.
Conditioned space: 2350 sf.
Arizona room: 300 sf
3 bedroom
2-1/2 baths
Living room
Kitchen
Breakfast area
Family Room
Porch (closed in now)
Laundry Room
Carport (under family room)
Lot size: 12,200 sf.
Xerascape front, Grass in back
Block and frame with some vertical vinyl siding (lovely)
Wood Shake roof (in pretty bad shape)
Getting it was not a smooth path but well worth it…so far. I had a budget of around $200k. When I found this house it was listed for $260k. I thought, who knows, maybe I can offer 225 or 230. I drove the GF by it and she freaked out so I called Janice, my real estate agent and told her we were interested. She called me back and said it was about to be foreclosed on and they were dropping the price to $209k the next day! We were in. I don’t know why they waited so long to drop the price but it worked in our favor. We did a lot of talking with the seller’s agent and due to my first experience, I was afraid the house wouldn’t appraise for that money in Mesa and neither did my agent. I felt like the house was worth the $209 or around there but had to factor in what it would appraise for. I considered low-balling it at $185k but we ran that by the seller’s agent and she basically said if it went that low, it would have to go to a short sale because the seller owed too much on it and by the time all fees and everything else was taken care of, that wouldn’t cover it. Plus, with a short sale, the bank has the option to consider other offers and it strings out the timeline indefinitely… So, I offered $200k even and they took it. Amazingly it appraised! It needed some repairs to meet FHA standards and the seller took care of most of it and I kicked in a little extra. In the end, the seller ended up just about flat even but she didn’t get foreclosed on so it worked out great. Part of me thinks I could have gotten it for less but it would have taken a lot longer and now I don’t have to feel bad about the seller even though her issues weren’t my fault.
So, that is how we ended up in Mesa.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Day Three
The cat pee smell seems to be history. I’ll see when I go back next time after the place has had time to cook without the AC on. By the time we left yesterday, though, it only smelled like cleaning products so I’m keeping my fingers crossed. “We” yesterday, consisted of the GF’s parents, and me. GF has been out of town so she hasn’t even been able to bask in the glow of our new place. I haven’t told her I ripped the carpet out of the loft yet. That was something I wasn’t sure I was going to do but when I got there yesterday, I sat on the stairs and there was a definite odor so I’m not sure there was anything directly on it but the smell was in it and that carpet had to go eventually anyway so I did it. I think it made a huge improvement in the smell. And…it lead to a new discovery.
Let me back up for a minute. The “loft” as we call it, is a large room with a cathedral ceiling built over the carport. It’s 54” higher than the main floor of the house. I am sure that it is an addition but I can’t tell when it was built. My gut feeling is that it was not long after the house was built. Overall it is about 20’ by 23’ inside but if you look at the picture above, there is an interior wall aligned with the second mullion from the right. This ends up dividing the space into about a 12’-8” wide main room and a 7’ wide side room. In looking at it I pretty much determined that the small side (north side) was a screened porch at one time. The glass gabled end faces east, the south wall is solid with no glass and the north wall is all glass from about 24” up. Removing the carpeting all but confirmed the screened porch theory as under the carpet on that side was quarry tile. Unfortunately, there is a small rise in the floor at the transition because, inexplicably, the “outside” side is a tad higher than the inside. I’m not sure how the ramp up was accomplished so I have to take up the plywood to see what is under it.
Here's a pic of the upper floor subfloor and one of the beasts.
This one shows the transition that ramps up at the doorway. This will have to be taken care of if the rooms are to be combined. I'm not looking forward to chipping out this tile. The ramp looks worse than it is in this pic due to the coloration of the floor. It's only about a quarter inch.
The plan is to take out this dividing wall. I’m not sure yet whether I’m going to take it all out or leave a small area for some office space toward the back end. GF wants to leave the wall and put my office on the small side and the family room on the other but I don’t think that is the best use of the space. Sure, it would make a spectacular office with all the glass and views but this room is the “attention getter” from the outside and I think it should deliver on that on the inside. 12’-8” is not enough to put in a decent family room layout. If I took it out to where I think I will, I’d end up with a 20’ x 15’ space that would take full advantage of the all glass gable end. Also, compounding the narrowness is the position of the door into the small side…it’s 8’ wide and right in the center. I could, of course, close off the doorway and either make it smaller or move it altogether and we’ll see how much pressure the GF puts on me but I think the “big family room” concept is where we’re headed.
You know that is the coolest railing ever but I forecast it is soon to have a structural failure. You can see how stained the carpet is and why I'm glad to be rid of it. I plan on opening up this staircase somewhat but I'm not sure how just yet. One of the attractions of this house is it has tons of storage so I don't want to entirely get rid of the storage under the stair. I can weld a little bit and my buddy Mike Pearce at Carbon Vudu can do even more so I think it will be metal. The wall to the right of the stair, where it is a halfwall up top is a planter (tre chic) and will be summarily shown the trash heap eventually with just a railing in its place.
This is the living room that I spoke about on Day One. You can see by the piano (came with the house!) that there was a wall over there previously. I guess it was a 4 bedroom house. It's now three and the 4th bedroom was turned into a decent sized walkin closet and extra space in the living room. Really makes me wonder what the purpose of that built in to the left is. It would have been in the hallway. The mirrors will be the next to go.
What have we learned? Carpet is disappearing. I'm ignoring my GF's wishes. I'm putting her parents to work for my benefit. I have beasts. Metal is cool.
Let me back up for a minute. The “loft” as we call it, is a large room with a cathedral ceiling built over the carport. It’s 54” higher than the main floor of the house. I am sure that it is an addition but I can’t tell when it was built. My gut feeling is that it was not long after the house was built. Overall it is about 20’ by 23’ inside but if you look at the picture above, there is an interior wall aligned with the second mullion from the right. This ends up dividing the space into about a 12’-8” wide main room and a 7’ wide side room. In looking at it I pretty much determined that the small side (north side) was a screened porch at one time. The glass gabled end faces east, the south wall is solid with no glass and the north wall is all glass from about 24” up. Removing the carpeting all but confirmed the screened porch theory as under the carpet on that side was quarry tile. Unfortunately, there is a small rise in the floor at the transition because, inexplicably, the “outside” side is a tad higher than the inside. I’m not sure how the ramp up was accomplished so I have to take up the plywood to see what is under it.
Here's a pic of the upper floor subfloor and one of the beasts.
This one shows the transition that ramps up at the doorway. This will have to be taken care of if the rooms are to be combined. I'm not looking forward to chipping out this tile. The ramp looks worse than it is in this pic due to the coloration of the floor. It's only about a quarter inch.
The plan is to take out this dividing wall. I’m not sure yet whether I’m going to take it all out or leave a small area for some office space toward the back end. GF wants to leave the wall and put my office on the small side and the family room on the other but I don’t think that is the best use of the space. Sure, it would make a spectacular office with all the glass and views but this room is the “attention getter” from the outside and I think it should deliver on that on the inside. 12’-8” is not enough to put in a decent family room layout. If I took it out to where I think I will, I’d end up with a 20’ x 15’ space that would take full advantage of the all glass gable end. Also, compounding the narrowness is the position of the door into the small side…it’s 8’ wide and right in the center. I could, of course, close off the doorway and either make it smaller or move it altogether and we’ll see how much pressure the GF puts on me but I think the “big family room” concept is where we’re headed.
You know that is the coolest railing ever but I forecast it is soon to have a structural failure. You can see how stained the carpet is and why I'm glad to be rid of it. I plan on opening up this staircase somewhat but I'm not sure how just yet. One of the attractions of this house is it has tons of storage so I don't want to entirely get rid of the storage under the stair. I can weld a little bit and my buddy Mike Pearce at Carbon Vudu can do even more so I think it will be metal. The wall to the right of the stair, where it is a halfwall up top is a planter (tre chic) and will be summarily shown the trash heap eventually with just a railing in its place.
This is the living room that I spoke about on Day One. You can see by the piano (came with the house!) that there was a wall over there previously. I guess it was a 4 bedroom house. It's now three and the 4th bedroom was turned into a decent sized walkin closet and extra space in the living room. Really makes me wonder what the purpose of that built in to the left is. It would have been in the hallway. The mirrors will be the next to go.
What have we learned? Carpet is disappearing. I'm ignoring my GF's wishes. I'm putting her parents to work for my benefit. I have beasts. Metal is cool.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Day One
A little history is probably in order...but that'll have to wait. I'll start at the now and get to the beginning...later. I bought my house yesterday. She's a beaut. A 1957 custom ranch in a country club neighborhood in Mesa, Arizona. It's very swanky. I am not. But you will come to know that all too well if you chose to follow. It's not a decison to make lightly...but it's also not irreversible...as far as you know.
So I say I bought the house yesterday but anyone who has bought a house knows, you don't buy one in a day. This was only my second full attempt to buy a house but there were a couple of "almosts." I'll get around to the first attempt and the almosts when it seems relevant. I "closed" on the house yesterday. That is, I got the cheapo but glorious Ace Hardware key in my grubby mits...yesterday.
Today I ripped the carpet out. It smelled like cat pee. I got a good deal on it. Sometimes when you get at good deal on stuff, it smells like cat pee. Don't judge. Now I probably smell like cat pee but the good news is that after spending a day in there, I can't tell the difference. But that was something that needed to be done immediately. I pretty much just went over there with a utility knife and a couple bottles of water and went at it. I didn't bring any cleaning supplies or anything else so I will be back tomorrow to try to eradicate what more I can of the smell. I'm hoping that made a good dent in it but there was a dubious corner that I think is going to need some attention.
My intent for this place is sure to change, randomly and often as I am a Libra and that's the way it is. The intent for this blog is to first, follow along with the remodel and second, whatever else I want to do with it. But for all intents and purposes, this house is projected to be my domicile for quite a while so while I plan on keeping an eye on the marketability of what I'm doing to it, I mostly am going to be setting it up to work best for the GF and myself. It will be modern - that is a given. It is a mid-century ranch although it is not in the "atomic ranch" style. It's traditional construction...block walls a trussed roof except for the "loft", which is a room constructed above the carport that makes it kind of a split level and is really the room that "makes" the house. That room has a cathedral ceiling with a couple of cross braces to counteract the spread. Still not post and beam, but it looks pretty cool.
Oh, uh, now would be a good time to inform you that this is my first-ever blog so I'm learning as I go and I have no idea if stuff is going to show up right or if I can edit it later (kinda seems like cheating) or whatever. So I apologize this once for all the dumb stuff I am about to do and I won't apologize again. Probably.
Anyway, I'd like the end product to be kind of slick but with some DIY touches to it as well. I like things that look constructed rather than purchased so I'm not concerned with it looking like a model home when I get done. One of my instructors would tell me "Vissitudes may occur" and that was supposed to be a good thing. I adhere to that wholeheartedly. I like to build things. I like to make things so this remodel is just one big long drawn out "thing." When you get into a project you inevitably find things along the way that turn it into something different, sometimes way different, than what you imagined when you start out and that part of the process is my favorite part. That and the part when everybody tells me I'm smart and cool.
So what did we learn? I have a ranch house. I think it's cool. I want to make it a modern architectural masterpiece. I smell like cat pee. Hope you are keeping up.
So I say I bought the house yesterday but anyone who has bought a house knows, you don't buy one in a day. This was only my second full attempt to buy a house but there were a couple of "almosts." I'll get around to the first attempt and the almosts when it seems relevant. I "closed" on the house yesterday. That is, I got the cheapo but glorious Ace Hardware key in my grubby mits...yesterday.
Today I ripped the carpet out. It smelled like cat pee. I got a good deal on it. Sometimes when you get at good deal on stuff, it smells like cat pee. Don't judge. Now I probably smell like cat pee but the good news is that after spending a day in there, I can't tell the difference. But that was something that needed to be done immediately. I pretty much just went over there with a utility knife and a couple bottles of water and went at it. I didn't bring any cleaning supplies or anything else so I will be back tomorrow to try to eradicate what more I can of the smell. I'm hoping that made a good dent in it but there was a dubious corner that I think is going to need some attention.
My intent for this place is sure to change, randomly and often as I am a Libra and that's the way it is. The intent for this blog is to first, follow along with the remodel and second, whatever else I want to do with it. But for all intents and purposes, this house is projected to be my domicile for quite a while so while I plan on keeping an eye on the marketability of what I'm doing to it, I mostly am going to be setting it up to work best for the GF and myself. It will be modern - that is a given. It is a mid-century ranch although it is not in the "atomic ranch" style. It's traditional construction...block walls a trussed roof except for the "loft", which is a room constructed above the carport that makes it kind of a split level and is really the room that "makes" the house. That room has a cathedral ceiling with a couple of cross braces to counteract the spread. Still not post and beam, but it looks pretty cool.
Oh, uh, now would be a good time to inform you that this is my first-ever blog so I'm learning as I go and I have no idea if stuff is going to show up right or if I can edit it later (kinda seems like cheating) or whatever. So I apologize this once for all the dumb stuff I am about to do and I won't apologize again. Probably.
Anyway, I'd like the end product to be kind of slick but with some DIY touches to it as well. I like things that look constructed rather than purchased so I'm not concerned with it looking like a model home when I get done. One of my instructors would tell me "Vissitudes may occur" and that was supposed to be a good thing. I adhere to that wholeheartedly. I like to build things. I like to make things so this remodel is just one big long drawn out "thing." When you get into a project you inevitably find things along the way that turn it into something different, sometimes way different, than what you imagined when you start out and that part of the process is my favorite part. That and the part when everybody tells me I'm smart and cool.
So what did we learn? I have a ranch house. I think it's cool. I want to make it a modern architectural masterpiece. I smell like cat pee. Hope you are keeping up.
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