Catching up....

[mrcaptainbob]

I'm gaining on Troy. Will start that bathroom remodeling pretty soon! Today we raised the second floor up about an inch and it's setting on four 4 x 4 stilts to the basement floor. The first floor is now on a 12' 4 x 4 I-beam and that's setting on three temporary jackposts. Will have the permanents in place by Monday. There was a two-brick thick 8' x 10' wall setting on a perimeter 10" x 10" beam that was taken down also. The 10/10 was heavily eaten away by past carpenter ants, as was the upper plate. That I-beam is taking the place of that rotted perimeter beam. THe next step will be to sister up the water rotted first floor joists. Replace the subfloor after that, then build up a new stud wall for the second floor joists to rest on. Won't be too much longer after that when I can start that neat remodeling job! PITIFUL!!

[Moonmaedyn]

Hey, when you're done with that, I gotta project for ya...we also found a lot of nasty surprises in one of the four bathrooms in our house when we removed a corner shower--rotten joists...a whole lot of them. Then there's the whole electrical wiring nightmare...and the wallpaper...and what's up with that goofy ceiling in the kitchen[]....?

We're to the point on the monster back bathroom (it's 13x14) where I'm picking out my dream bathtub and writing REALLY big checks to Lowes and HomeDepot...

[mrcaptainbob]

Well, I can do that rotted joist for you with no problem. As soon as I'm done with this place, I'll be right over! That corner shower issue of yours is exactly one of the problems with ours. And you can't do the joists without removing the wiring and whatever else is in the way! Home Depot has 10% off every once in a while, and we DO take advantage of that, Menard's just had their 11% sale (up to $2,000) and we took FULL advantage of that! We have a couple fireplace here. THis is neat...one of them is in the master bedroom! Sounds nice, huh? Too bad neither one of them is useable. The first floor has the flu cemented shut...FROM THE OUTSIDE! How did they do that? ANd the one upstairs is so rusted/corroded, it would be a monoxide hazard to use it[xx(]! Aren't these places fun?

[Moonmaedyn]

[]Oh, if you could only see what I'm living with...LazyPup has listened (bless his heart) to my trials and tribulations for the past four months or so. Let me start out by saying that in all the Counties in all the States we could have moved to, we apparently picked one of the three that do NOT have building codes.

We bought a foreclosure in Podunkia, and the evicted creeps flushed clumping cat litter down every drain.

We have two fireplaces as well--one in the formal living room, which, I might add, gives off as much heat as a roaring candle (tis is, basically, our only heat source right now, too). The second one is encased in orange plaster (don't ask) and the roof leaked so bad that the flu actually rusted shut. The room that this particular nicety is in is what we call the "media room." It is 1400 square feet of pure stupid with green carpet integrated with imported italian marble tiles and a friggin' fountain! The fireplace has four steel I beams holding it up and it's the major support in the gigantic span (four beams run out from it to connect to the walls).

The original house was constructed around 1850 and then someone from Miami did this really horrid "art deco" remodel in the '80's. It looks like a weird cross--upstairs (right now) is one big dorimer that juts out over the front door (just one bedroom--it's 26 x 36) and the media room looks like a double wide with a heli-pad--they had installed a sundeck right over the roof, without much support, and surrounded the stupid thing with an apron so no one could see there was a deck up there. We have removed the apron (and the four tons of plywood, 2x4's and asphalt shingles) and will begin removal of the deck when the weather starts cooperating.

The house is 3300 square feet total. It has ONE bedroom and FOUR bathrooms. We even had an elevator that went from the bedroom down to the basement. Since all of the plumbing was toast, we had to use what worked in each room--a sink upstairs, a toilet in the media room bathroom (where that corner shower was) and a shower in the back bath--that room is 13x14. We tore out the basement bathroom already.

SBC (the phone guys) went into hysterics when they came to rewire for a second line (computer line) and went into the basement and saw that the place is wired better than most manufacturing plants. I guess the previous owners had some issues (we won't go into that), and we have intercoms all over heck and back. The wires are so screwy that we are afraid to cut anything for fear one of them actually IS the phone line.

I have been waiting not so patiently for Uncle Sam to release my beautious tax refund so I can take advantage of being stuck inside and actually work on something. We are trying to get the back bath completely finished this month--except for the tub; even with my tax refund (s) they aren't going to be enough to buy the tub of my dreams (a 5.5 foot x 4 foot corner soaker), so we'll have to wait on that for awhile. We'll still plumb for it, tho.

One of the other forums I hang out on--the guys actually asked me if there was anything about the house that a gallon of diesel and a match couldn't cure. On the bad days, I can't think of one...

But all in all (oh, you KNEW I was going to say this) we love the stupid place, so whaddahya gonna do?

[mrcaptainbob]

Ha! Good story! I think their relatives had a hand in remodeling this place! Our was built around 1860. A lot of neat stuff on the original part of the house. That part is a two story brick with a full basement. The add on was a 30x20 area and the 'idea' wsa great, but the 'application' was pitiful. wiring wsa pulled snug after the outlets and switches were installed. Trying to get one of them out is a chore. Trying to replace is impossible. Found several areas where the insulation was scraped back, new wire wound aroundit and all blacktaped up and tucked back in between the studs! But.....as you said....we still manage to 'like' the place...