We did that with the first three homes we owned. Took two of them to the studs and did all the work besides HVAC ourselves. Made a killing on each of them. Kept buying bigger and better each time. But, its a young persons game. Today, I dont think I could stand the long nights and weekends of being a carpenter/drywaller/plumber/electrician on top of having a regular job. Also, living in a mess for years at a time can take its toll, especially with little ones. But, there is no greater satisfaction than enjoying the final product and knowing you did it on your own. Looking back, I certainly don't regret any of it. It also made my sons into do-it-yourselfers because it's all they ever knew. Today they pull up YouTube videos and fix everything themselves. I love it. The one thing about owning a home is that there is always something you can be doing inside or out.
Foley does have city sewer and water. It’s right in town. I’m pretty blessed to have a lot of friends who are contractors (that actually do good work). My girlfriends dad has experience in just about every aspect of home improvement. I have near 0 handyman experience so it’s going to be a nice learning experience. My dad was not a real good handyman (even though we grew up on a farm) so I didn’t get the first hand experience a lot do. Thanks for the suggestions so far! Maybe I’ll take some pics once we get moved in next Friday and go over some of the projects we plan to do down the road. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I would hope not long. I didn’t want a house in town. Ideally I’d like to build by her parents place so I’m close to the hunting land and closer to their Gold’n Plump chicken barn that I help with (only 10 minutes away, but I still don’t like being in town). Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Final walk through yesterday and closing this morning. Headed straight to Menards/Home depot for some things. Not moving in until we redo the upstairs flooring (taking the carpet out and going with vinyl flooring). We also need to fix a ceiling/wall in the main living area (kitchen/living room). The last homeowner had someone take down a wall and they did not do a good job patching it. Should be fun fixing a popcorn ceiling that has been painted over and had a ****ty patch job. Don't think we will be able to scrape it. Let the fun times begin and let the money start bleeding out of my account.
Congrats! It is an exciting feeling. One thing to consider, if it is not too late, wood laminate flooring will last longer and increase the value of the house more than vinyl. Either way, new flooring is a good thing.
Pitter patter. If anything it should come off in stripes and stay attached to the paint making it easy to clean up, been there and hate that nasty stuff. I've restored three historic homes in my life and much like fletch couldn't see myself doing it again but looking back it was a fun ride. Once you've settled in make a list, prioritize and schedule. You should always be worried about what you're missing once you think your all caught up.
This thread inspired me to talk to bank guy and ended up refied for 2.6%! Saved 80k over the course of the loan. Thanks guys.
1000% this ^^^ nothing like being 4 hours away up at Deer Camp on November 7 and getting a series of screaming voicemails from the wife "THE EFFING BASEMENT HAS 2' OF EFFING WATER" to ruin your trip...or month...or rest of calendar year. and 2 years later it still gets pulled out of her quiver whenever I eff up bad enough. So yeah, get a battery-powered backup sump pump.
I had to laugh at this one! About 15 years ago we threw 4 guys in my truck and took off for for a 2,200 mile ONE WAY trip to LG4 hydro dam in Quebec where we got on a float plane to head out to a camp to hunt caribou for a week. Three days of pounding down the road ahead of us and 60 miles into the trip, one of the guys gets a call from his wife who is in tears because she left the laundry sink running to soak a sweater and put 6" of water in the finished basement. The very next trip we took together was to New Mexico on an elk hunt and same wife calls when we are half way there because the water heater went out. I'm not sure he has been on a trip since. lol The joys of homeownership.
OK, so in the vein of sump pumps...make sure the check valve is hard plumbed (glued) into the pipe. The ones that use hose clamps are B.A.D. Don't ask me how I know.
We also need to fix a ceiling/wall in the main living area (kitchen/living room). The last homeowner had someone take down a wall and they did not do a good job patching it. Should be fun fixing a popcorn ceiling that has been painted over and had a ****ty patch job. Don't think we will be able to scrape it. “Patching popcorn ceiling “ the big green store has a popcorn spray can you could try? More than likely it’ll look like a patch tho? But is the cheapest/easiest fix. Or a taper that works with us has had good luck with using a Hudson sprayer with water lightly spray the ceiling and scrape the “popcorn” off then repeat the process but it’s gonna make a mess and then just skim coat the whole ceiling with taping compound
FIFY If a tree falls in the woods (or a basement floods) and there's nobody to hear it, did it happen? Maybe, but there's also nobody to (b)itch about it until after Rutcation Deer Camp, either.
It is a laminate flooring that looks like hardwood flooring but is much easier to install and maintain than real hardwood. It also holds up better than vinyl flooring.
That will NOT add value to a house.. There a better flooring options now. Personally, I like a quality glue down vinyl plank Karndean Van Gough.
We put Luxury Vinyl Planking (LVP) down, I’m thinking that is what some are referring to. Easy to install and is supposed to be “life proof”, looks like real wood and installs easy. I just put up this board an batten entry way wall thing...wife’s idea, you can see the lvp as well if you need a real picture.
That is nice and a simple way to dress up a wall to give it a wow factor. I did the same thing in my foyer. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
