# Need a lot of advice...



## LeMetsker (Mar 14, 2008)

Hello,

Since this question will be about various topics, I thought I would post it in this board...instead of posting in more than one forum.

The house my father lives in needs a lot of work. With all the work that needs done, I have no idea which one or where I should start.

The wiring in the house is not horrible, but does need replaced. Would it be easier to rewire the whole house at once, or room by room? On top of the wiring, there are a few electrical items I would like to replace (light fixtures, outlets, switches, etc).

Pretty much all of the floors need done (none have carpet, and some are "bowing" in areas). All of the floors are pretty much what you would put in before you would install "real" wood floors or carpets. It just looks like a plywood base and have been painted over.

The windows and doors are very drafty, so I would like to replace them. The windows are bad enough that they need replaced, but the doors may be able to just be fixed.

The walls also lets a lot of air exchange (cold air in during the winter, hot during the summer). I plan on replacing the dry walling and maybe the insulation as well.

The plumbing is not horrible, so I don't have to deal with the pipes. But there are a few things like the bath tub, sink, etc...that I want to replace.

And finally, I think some of the cold air coming into the house is because of the siding on the house not being the greatest. I would eventually like to replace this as well.

I know all these repairs will be expensive AND time consuming, but I am prepared for that. I am just wondering what would be the best way to proceed. I was hoping that I could do one thing in each room at a time, so that my father can still reside in his residence.

The bathroom for example. One on day, I can replace the bath tub. Another day, I can replace the sink. Another day, I can remove the drywall, do the needed replacement of wiring, and then put up new drywall. Then another day I can do the floor. And finally, put on the finishing touches to the room (such as painting the wall, etc).

So, would it be better (less time, less expensive) to do one thing in each room at a time...or would it be better to do each major project (rewiring ALL rooms, replacing ALL drywall at once, etc) at one time?

Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Sincerely,
Jane


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## inspectorD (Mar 14, 2008)

You can take a couple of routes. You can get professionals in to bid the jobs to see how much is actually involved, or get a home inspection to help you decide which items need addressing now.
Try www.ashi.com for a good inspector in your area, they are a professional organization which I belong to.
The next thing is to realize that none of this is done in a day,or two, I don't care which shows everyone watches...those are not real time jobs.
Your bath will be out for at least a couple of days if you are changing fixtures. And demo of the walls for the electrical will take weeks to bring back to finish. There are plenty of folks who will be by to tell you, get ready for a lot of work and long days.
Not to discourage you, I just think you should have a good realization of the projects ahead. Go one at a time so you don't get overwhelmed.
You can do it, and we will be here to help...the whole way.


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## inspectorD (Mar 21, 2008)

Don't keep us in suspense, where we able to help? How are you making out? Just wondering....


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## handyguys (Mar 24, 2008)

What they said ^^^ I would also recommend a home inspection with the goal of helping your prioritize the to do list. 

Generally speaking you want to work from the outside in. You want the house to be weather tight before you start on interior stuff. First things I would address (Not in a specific order, nesecarily)
-Foundation
-Roof
-Windows
-siding
-grading to keep water away

Then
-Plumbing
-Electrical
-Insulation
-Drywall
-Floors
-Finish elec and plumbing (Outlets, switches, fixtures)

Its easier and cheaper and better quality to do each of those things to an entire house than one room at a time. The down side is you are in a major remodel and the house will not be livable during much of the work.


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## jump2top08 (Apr 1, 2008)

handyguys said:


> What they said ^^^ I would also recommend a home inspection with the goal of helping your prioritize the to do list.
> 
> Generally speaking you want to work from the outside in. You want the house to be weather tight before you start on interior stuff. First things I would address (Not in a specific order, nesecarily)
> -Foundation
> ...



Thanks, your post here is very useful to me at this point. Will be doing a lot of repairs at my grandpa's home next week.


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## Cheapliquid (Apr 1, 2008)

if ur not living in it and am able to take things apart really, once u've done the outside, u take down the walls, and do the rewiring and then the new walls and carpets etc, to make it a little easier.


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## sgfelder (Jan 19, 2010)

LeMetsker said:


> Hello,
> 
> Since this question will be about various topics, I thought I would post it in this board...instead of posting in more than one forum.
> 
> ...


not being able to see the real shape of the house prehaps i can help with a little info. first and foremost is the home worth saving?  sometimes we have to just walk away and take our loss. one good place to get honest advice is the county, code and regulations depts.  if you are on course to fix it up then do what most rehaber do, start on the exterior, it just makes sense, if the roof leaks guess what you now have a ceiling to fix etc.  the electrical, that is a pretty big problem, you got to stay in code, or big problems can arise.  sometimes i go out and find a electrician that is slow on work and get a bid on doing a makeover on the electrical, and remember, a lot of the running wire etc you can do, work with the electrical contractor.
the same with the plumbing, most of the plumbing is just replacing the old stuff.  
that floor needs to be leveled, you need a pro for that, shop around. then redo the floors, and this is the time for redoing floors.  you can get real good deals of flooring, but do it now, most box stores are slow this time of year.
Don't forget to check with your local county state offices on home improvements, there are a lot of federal grants out there that may help you, esp if your dad a senior or on disability.
remember the box stores, lowes etc, can show you a lot about fixing things up, use them. the money you save there can go a long ways on buying items for the upgrade.  and another resource is habitat of humanity. using them means that they will stay around longer for the rest of us.
greg


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