Old Houses

[ParadiseRoad]

...when my in laws bought a new farm in central Nebraska in the late 1970s...they had to decide between refurbishing the 1880s farm house that was there or bringing in a double wide modular home...

...my father in law was concerned with the old house being so far from the code at the time...and they decided on the modular home...

...I helped my father in law and brother in law tear the old house down board by board...pulling all the square nails...and stacking the lumber...

..when my father in law was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma...they had to move up here and he brought that old lumber up and built a really nice addition to the house up here with it...

...after we tore the old farm house down...reflecting on the amount of work it took due to the good original construction...and realizing that the house had been standing for nearly 100 years at the time...I came to the conclusion that we probably should have refurbished the old place...

...20-20 hindsight...

 

[Kiwi cop]

Tarting up the old girl

After several months of every day off (when it was not raining, which was often) removing old broken and soft weatherboards, window surrounds, barge boards etc and replacing with new timber the painter finally arrived last week.

Of course, the day he turned up to water blast the outside was the same day the council had shut off water to the entire end of the street to replace the water main , so he had to be content with half a day doing some of the repairs I hadn't done (I hate working up ladders).

So far he is about 1/4 of the way through with the main colour on the front and down one side. The barge boards on the same side have been painted (a little brighter red than the missus would like) and part of the roof started.

But it is starting to come together.

 

[jag312]

My house in San Jose was built in 1926. It needed extensive repairs and remodeling after the 1989 earthquake. I would make an educated or semi-educated guess about how many hours a particular job would take for me to complete. It always took about 4 times as long.


The plumber disappeared for 4 months in the middle of the job. I was replacing all the old iron pipes with copper. The reason he disappeared for 4 months? Because he had 2 months reduced from his 6 month drug possession sentence. Wonderful.


The electrician disappeared in the middle of the work. I had to finish it. I was told that the electrician was in jail. Why was he in jail, you ask? It seems that he was driving around San Jose one night and saw an attractive young lady standing on a street corner. He pulled up in his car, rolled down the window, and offered to trade drugs for her "personal services". She was a decoy, he was immediately arrested, and he got to be a guest of Santa Clara County at the Elmwood jail. Wonderful. Almost a year later, I get a phone call at 6:00 AM. It is the electrician. He just got out of jail and would like to come by to do some work. Not just NO!, but Bucking Bell NO!


About a year after that, I get a call about the electrician. Guess what, he got arrested again. San Jose PD thinks this is hilarious. It seems that he was driving around San Jose one night again and saw an attractive young lady standing on a street corner. He pulled up in his car, rolled down the window, and offered to trade drugs for her "personal services". She was a decoy, he was immediately arrested again, but this time he got to be a guest of The State of California for 5 years at San Quentin.


I think I did a good job, and I was very proud of the finished work. It hurt me when I sold the house to escape from The People's Republic of California and move to Nevada. I knew the buyer would demolish the house to build a new McMansion, but sometimes sacrifices have to be made.

 

[bgrafsr]

We just looked at a house with a little over 10 acres around it last evening. It was built in 1888. There is a nice bank barn on the property, also built in 1888, a 3 car garage, and a pond with a small beach area. House and barn are metal roofed, and the house has propane and a new outside wood burning stove for heat. Asking price was $260,000. House needed lots of work, too much for me as I'm turning 75 in December. Basement floor is concrete, but breaking up and should be replaced, along with plumbing, electrical, and windows. Basement also has water seepage and smells damp. We declined to even make an offer.

 

[soFlaNative]

But it is starting to come together.

I get the "down under" but isn't there a easier way for flipping a house ?

 

[Kiwi cop]

I get the "down under" but isn't there a easier way for flipping a house ?

Something in the picture order does that. It is right side up in my photo album that I upload from.