So… we bought this thing. Where on earth are we to start? We have a bucket of work ahead of us, and the list is going to grow as we go. I fully expect the list of things to fix and repair and dream projects will balloon with every other project we undertake. But we have this list to get us started.
Phase 0: What we needed to do immediately
Trash removal
Organization of building materials left on premises
Chimneys repaired and capped
We had the privilege of opening our home on the local holiday home tour this last winter as a “pre-renovation sneak peak.” Even though we were billed as exactly what we are, we still wanted to put our best foot forward and dove into a few things to make the house look her best before opening the doors to over 500 tour guests. We cleaned. And cleaned and cleaned. She’s been through two separate flipper owners prior to us getting the keys and the trash and discarded items had built up. Our family and friends chipped in and we pulled a trailer load of trash out of the house and organized the building materials that remained.
(Thanks to our dads for their help!)
One of the items the prior owners had completed was replace the roof that was in dire need. However, the first time we came to visit the house after closing, we had new, apparent water damage staining through the foyer walls. The only thing that had changed we could think of was the flashing on the chimney that is covered between the dining room and foyer.
(Staining from failed flashing to the left of the door)
A visit from the roofers confirmed that the flashing had failed, due to the poor condition of the chimneys. These things would lean if they pushed on them, and we had more than a couple bricks that had made their way down into the yard. The roofers suggested we “delete the chimneys, but that was a non-option for us as they were important to preserving the original roofline of the house. This all put chimneys in the immediate fixes category. Luckily, I found a great local brick guy that was able to sneak us in during the end of December for a fantastic price.
Before: Transparent chimney....
After: Fresh mortar and a new custom cap. Ready for the next 134 years!
Phase 1: Top Priorities
Insulation
Plumbing
Electrical
Framing
Widow’s Walk Repair
First things first, we’re opening the walls and tackling our high priority full house systems. The copy of the inspection report from 1992 we have states that the electrical system was adequate, but we beg to differ based on ours (a few remnants of the old knob and tube are lingering on the third floor and the part of the second floor seems to be lacking power.) The big Texas freeze a couple years ago burst a pipe and we’re going to have to re-plumb the house. The walls also look like Swiss cheese in places, so insulation is also on the top of the list.
Looking forward to updating the wiring with a system we trust
All the bathrooms currently look something like this...
We’re doing a slight floor plan rearrangement on the second floor with regards to adding closet space and expanding one bathroom, so we’ll frame in these changes at the same time. The widow’s walk repair is also slated for this first phase, so we can keep the issues there from getting worse (leaking, sagging, rot).
Phase 2: Bare Minimum Living Spaces
Once the full house has its major systems upgraded and in working order, it’ll be time to put the house back together. The high priority rooms so that we’ll be able to move in will be two of the four second floor bedrooms, one of the two bathrooms if not both on the second floor, and the kitchen on the ground floor. We’ll also want to wrap up all of the floors on the first two floors and all of the walls (no one wants to live in drywall dust). Once we have livable space, we hope to move in while we finish out the rest of the house.
Phase 3: Remaining Primary Floor and Second Floor
We’ll have an additional two bedrooms to wrap up on the second floor, as well as the dining, front parlor, and our mudroom and powder room on the first floor. While it seems like a short list, it’s the majority of the main square footage we’ll have to wrap up during this phase.
Phase 4: Removal of Addition And Exterior Paint
Once we wrap up the bottom two floors, it will be time to remove the addition on the back of the house from circa 1960. While we’re working on the bulk of the interior of the house, it will function as a shop and storage, but the plan is to demolish it eventually (it’s not in the best structural shape and we’d rather have the yard space), repair the siding on the back of the house, and finally re-paint the house in whatever color scheme we settle on as our final choice. (It won’t be pink.)
The addition...currently sagging and missing the rear siding.
A few possible color options!
Phase 5: Garden, Landscaping, and Third Floor
Once we have reclaimed the footprint of the addition in the backyard, it’ll be time to tackle some landscaping, which we’re looking forward to immensely. At this point, we’ll also tackle the third floor, which is comprised on one small room, and large area we’d like to repurpose as a kids hangout/media room, and a larger room which will become Corbin’s office and whiskey room (I refer to this room as the Norma Bates window room…IYKYK).
Phase 6: Long Term Dreams
Eventually, when both our energy and finances are feeling a bit more replenished, we’d like to add an orangery or conservatory off the backside of the house, using a portion of the addition’s footprint. The house also had a carriage house along the back alley, which was demolished by the owners prior to us (we were told it was too far gone to save), and we’d like to build a garage in that space in the style of the carriage house.
This is a pretty short overview of the thousands of projects and repair items we have yet to discover, but it’s our current roadmap for the house renovations. We expect this list to take us a few years to tackle in full, and we’re glad you’re joining along!
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