We had some folks from the State Preservation office out to the house last week to help us figure it out. To give due credit- they are the ones that discovered the evidence of the previous fire. Harris and I had been looking at the walls going, damn, it's odd for a slumlord to paint the wallpaper black, but hey, we've seen weirder things.
Yeah...that was soot.
They did point us to the Sanborn maps for Durham. In 1913 the house appears on the maps in a different form than what is there now. The preservation folks were also able to point out that the room we were in with the dropped ceiling- yeah, that was an addition- couldn't we see the wallboards behind the drywall?
And the drywall, they can look at the wall and in under five seconds tell if it's plaster or wallboard. I thought I was good; they are amazing.
Nothing really new this weekend. We had a fun guest in town and hung out with her instead of working on the house.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Helper elf
Someone wanted in on some pre-naptime action
Mad'l grabbed a hard hat and proclaimed "hat!" She then put it on her head, and carrying a glowstick flashlight that I handed her to keep a grabby little hand occupied, she placed the hat on her head and began to head off down the aisle. It was by the miracle of the lord and sonny jesus that I was able to snap a picture before she changed her mind.
-H
Mad'l grabbed a hard hat and proclaimed "hat!" She then put it on her head, and carrying a glowstick flashlight that I handed her to keep a grabby little hand occupied, she placed the hat on her head and began to head off down the aisle. It was by the miracle of the lord and sonny jesus that I was able to snap a picture before she changed her mind.
-H
Deconstruction
Before demolition there is deconstruction.It is in this phase that you find very scary things, hysterical things, and some remaining gems that keep hope alive.
Before we made an offer on the house we pulled corners of carpet to check for wood floors. While in the crawl space we also looked for signs that the original wood floors had been removed. If for example, we saw new floor joists and plywood from below then we would know there were no wood floors waiting to be uncovered. Today, being bona fide owners of the property, I sliced into the carpet and ripped it back.
WOOD FLOORS! Beautiful wide plank floors in 4 of 5 rooms checked. This is good.
We are leaving the carpet down for a long time. Not only will it trap dirt that we put down, but we're hoping that it will keep the dust down in the house. We also know that there are holes in the floors- you can feel soft softs in different places. The carpet will help us not break ourselves while doing demolition.
Harris and I were very curious to figure out if we're dealing with plaster or drywall. Our little house has plaster and I love the soundproofing it provides. In the big house we had to remove the plaster as after we removed the paneling and drywall, the plaster fell off the lathe in huge chunks. Removing plaster and lathe is gross and time consuming. We were hoping that our new place did not require that.
4/5 rooms in the house have paneling covering the walls. Today, I removed some of the paneling and found the fireplace (double sided) and that some walls are studs with paneling affixed directly and others have 20 year old drywall underneath. So far, the only plaster we've found has been near the fire place and in the "undisturbed" room. We will remove more paneling on date night and post pictures. Today, I used the claw of a hammer and flashlight to peer behind.
Hysterical - After finding the double fire place I went looking for the other side fireplace. Since the house was a duplex, the right side needed to have a heating mechanism. I went to the back bedroom and pulled at the paneling on what I was 99% sure was a fireplace.
I pulled back the paperboard paneling to reveal....
...more paneling! The second layer was wood type paneling that seemed to be of a higher quality and much older. I'm guessing some slumlord installed in the 1970s or 1980s to class up the joint. I wanted to check on the condition of the chimney, but Mad'lberry woke up from her nap so we headed home for a shower.
Before we made an offer on the house we pulled corners of carpet to check for wood floors. While in the crawl space we also looked for signs that the original wood floors had been removed. If for example, we saw new floor joists and plywood from below then we would know there were no wood floors waiting to be uncovered. Today, being bona fide owners of the property, I sliced into the carpet and ripped it back.
WOOD FLOORS! Beautiful wide plank floors in 4 of 5 rooms checked. This is good.
We are leaving the carpet down for a long time. Not only will it trap dirt that we put down, but we're hoping that it will keep the dust down in the house. We also know that there are holes in the floors- you can feel soft softs in different places. The carpet will help us not break ourselves while doing demolition.
Harris and I were very curious to figure out if we're dealing with plaster or drywall. Our little house has plaster and I love the soundproofing it provides. In the big house we had to remove the plaster as after we removed the paneling and drywall, the plaster fell off the lathe in huge chunks. Removing plaster and lathe is gross and time consuming. We were hoping that our new place did not require that.
4/5 rooms in the house have paneling covering the walls. Today, I removed some of the paneling and found the fireplace (double sided) and that some walls are studs with paneling affixed directly and others have 20 year old drywall underneath. So far, the only plaster we've found has been near the fire place and in the "undisturbed" room. We will remove more paneling on date night and post pictures. Today, I used the claw of a hammer and flashlight to peer behind.
Hysterical - After finding the double fire place I went looking for the other side fireplace. Since the house was a duplex, the right side needed to have a heating mechanism. I went to the back bedroom and pulled at the paneling on what I was 99% sure was a fireplace.
I pulled back the paperboard paneling to reveal....
...more paneling! The second layer was wood type paneling that seemed to be of a higher quality and much older. I'm guessing some slumlord installed in the 1970s or 1980s to class up the joint. I wanted to check on the condition of the chimney, but Mad'lberry woke up from her nap so we headed home for a shower.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Bamboo
The vacant lot next door is currently overgrown with Bamboo.
This invasive is incredibly hard to kill and LURVES North Carolina. Our side yard provided the most perfect growing conditions evAr and is currently covered in the stuff.
Hats off to Danny Hunt at Hunt Surveying for getting in there and finding that damn property line, marked with orange surveyors tape. You, good sir, are brave.
Here you can see the jungle and our various game faces that we employ to scare the bamboo.
Using the pictured orange machete we spent about two hours hacking at bamboo. Yes, there are probably more expedient methods to initially remove bamboo stalks, but how often do either of us have the opportunity to wear ourselves out hacking at stuff with a machete?
Our destruction- a pile of bamboo stalks about four and a half feet tall and as many feet wide. Sun is shining on parts of the side yard that have probably not seen light in years. We were also able to pull a contractor bag of junk out of the bamboo.
Little known facts about slumlords:
1. They will go around their ass to reuse anything that has not been utterly destroyed yet.
2. Nothing is ever hauled off site- yards that are covered in ivy, or in this case, bamboo, make the perfect dumping ground for any materials that have been utterly destroyed.
It's not because they particularly care about craftsmanship or recycling or their impact on the environment;they are just cheap.
This invasive is incredibly hard to kill and LURVES North Carolina. Our side yard provided the most perfect growing conditions evAr and is currently covered in the stuff.
Hats off to Danny Hunt at Hunt Surveying for getting in there and finding that damn property line, marked with orange surveyors tape. You, good sir, are brave.
Here you can see the jungle and our various game faces that we employ to scare the bamboo.
Using the pictured orange machete we spent about two hours hacking at bamboo. Yes, there are probably more expedient methods to initially remove bamboo stalks, but how often do either of us have the opportunity to wear ourselves out hacking at stuff with a machete?
Our destruction- a pile of bamboo stalks about four and a half feet tall and as many feet wide. Sun is shining on parts of the side yard that have probably not seen light in years. We were also able to pull a contractor bag of junk out of the bamboo.
Little known facts about slumlords:
1. They will go around their ass to reuse anything that has not been utterly destroyed yet.
2. Nothing is ever hauled off site- yards that are covered in ivy, or in this case, bamboo, make the perfect dumping ground for any materials that have been utterly destroyed.
It's not because they particularly care about craftsmanship or recycling or their impact on the environment;they are just cheap.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Simple little house
The North Carolina State Preservation office surveyed the neighborhood back in 1980. For a whooping $8 (shipping included) we were able to get copies of the exterior photos of the house.
It seems the crawlspace door has not been shut in 30 years.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Filed!
Papers were filed with the clerk of court.
We officially own the N. Elizabeth house.
Once we got the news, Harris went over and changed the deadbolts to the doors. In at least one instance (as a testament to how good our hood is) he installed an actual deadbolt where a dummy plate had been.
We officially own the N. Elizabeth house.
Once we got the news, Harris went over and changed the deadbolts to the doors. In at least one instance (as a testament to how good our hood is) he installed an actual deadbolt where a dummy plate had been.
We think we own it
We have not yet changed the locks on the house, while we closed today, Freddie Mac has not yet signed the papers. We are waiting for the deed to be filed in order to go padlock the crawl space and change the locks.
Considering we just turned the contents of our savings account (including couch cushions, diaper bag, and pants pockets out turned) over to a lawyer to turn over to a bank, I am hoping that we get some sort of confirmation soon.
No plutonium was stored in the house prior to closing. We checked.
We had plans for today and I took off work because I knew I'd be too excited to focus on my job and we had to scrap them. We did go for a lovely lunch at VITA and 2/3 are now enjoying a nap. After lunch, I'll admit it, we did go to the property and hack some bamboo :)
Friday, September 10, 2010
Pictures from Day One.
We will be spending our date nights working on the house together. However, the schedule is such that we will actually have to wait a week to get our hammers, crowbars, and wonderbars out.
Here is the current state of the house. You'll notice there is no power or running water.
On approach from the sidewalk...
One of the bedrooms. Such FINE carpet! There are at least three different types of carpet in this house.
Scary bathroom #1
The back bedroom in the addition.
What's wrong with the house
Currently, our little Elizabeth St house has no name. After we're free to pull down walls and get rid of the nasty, I'm sure her special character will reveil itself to us and a name will flow.
Since we're discussing the problems, it's probably best that we're not associating a name with her yet.
We did not have a home inspection done on the house. Why? Because we know that the house is utterly fucked. If it wasn't why were we able to buy it for $9,500? If we are buying it for $9,500, why waste $500 on an inspector who will tell us what we already know.
Since we're discussing the problems, it's probably best that we're not associating a name with her yet.
We did not have a home inspection done on the house. Why? Because we know that the house is utterly fucked. If it wasn't why were we able to buy it for $9,500? If we are buying it for $9,500, why waste $500 on an inspector who will tell us what we already know.
We anticipate having to do the following:
- Demolition - Removal of carpets, vinyl, and plywood flooring. Removal of dropped ceilings, removal of fake walls and smaller doorways.
- Install new roof - fix the inadequate roofing and replace all shingles.
- Fix the foundation- build new piers, replace and shore main girders and floor joists where appropriate, rebuild portions of exterior skirt wall.
- Yard infill- slope soils so that water drains away from foundation instead of TO the foundation.
- Rebuild front porch
- Replace broken replacement windows- some of the original windows remain (YAY!) however, some of the replacement windows are crappy and will need to be replaced.
- Replace fake siding with German profile siding - A previous owner ripped and painted plywood instead of installing siding...
- Gut bathrooms.
- Create new bathrooms.
- Check on electrical wiring.
- Build new kitchen.
- Fix plaster or drywall
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Contract
We started negotiating for the house in August. We finally agreed to a price and one week before our set closing date have a signed contract to purchase the house in cash.
In one week we will own the house and its special little problems outright.
We initially offered them 30% of original asking price. We finally agreed on 57.5% of original asking price.
First costs
1. House - $9,500
2. Survey - $350
3. Title Insurance - $ 20
4. Attorney closing - $ 675
5. Prorated taxes - $ 195
Purchase price of house = $10,740
In one week we will own the house and its special little problems outright.
We initially offered them 30% of original asking price. We finally agreed on 57.5% of original asking price.
First costs
1. House - $9,500
2. Survey - $350
3. Title Insurance - $ 20
4. Attorney closing - $ 675
5. Prorated taxes - $ 195
Purchase price of house = $10,740
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