# First home, killer price and a lifetime to complete it



## krm944 (Jan 18, 2009)

I am in the military and two years I went on deployment leaving my wife and newborn son in the large city of San Diego with family on the other side of America. 

She hit the net and searched for homes in the very small NY town I grew up in and where my folks and family still reside. Like most military families with one income, we were price oriented and soon found a home 3 miles from mom and dad, across the road from the school and a small store. $35k (no not a typo) later we had a home close to family. 

The home was built in 1860, was two bedrooms down stairs and an upstairs with slanted ceilings. The home was livable, with ugly carpet, wall paper and like any 35k home needed some upgrades to coincide with a young 30s couples' taste. It served its previous elderly owner very well.

I was away the summer of 2006 when my wife did the closing and her brother helped with the beginning renovations. We started burning the candle at both ends. He ripped down the upstairs plaster and lats while simultaneously tearing a downstairs wall down to increase living space. 

It seems the house was actually built in three sections. The main (middle) section has a dirt floor basement with an oil furnace and is where all the plumbing is located. The front two bedrooms on the first floor are over a crawlspace. The rear part of the house was previously used as a wood shed, and has a crawl space beneath it.

In our long term plan, the middle section will become a large foyer and the current bathroom will double in size. The existing kitchen will be moved to the back of the house where the old wood shed was with cathedral ceilings.

The summer of 2007 found me on another deployment and the opportunity for my wife and now toddler to occupy the home. We hired a contractor (high school friend of mine) to insulate/sheetrock the upstairs. He was able to pick up where my BIL (brother in law) left off. He sistered some new 2x6s against the existing 2x4 rafters and put in some new R30 insulation. The exterior walls also got 6 inch studs and new insulation. We planned on making the upstairs into a master bedroom and had new vinyl window installed. Before the sheetrock was installed, they completely covered the walls and ceiling with 7/16 OSB. This covered up any imperfections in the walls/ceilings and made attaching the sheetrock really simple!! Over a holiday break, I laid some OSB as a subfloor (screwed and glued) to cure any squeaks. My wife spent her off time primering and painting the upstairs and we are complete except carpeting.

Our focus has now shifted to the other end of the candle that is burning, the new kitchen or the old wood shed. Again the walls have had 2x6s sistered against the studs, and rafters and insulation installed. We further fed our OSB fetish and the walls and ceiling got a layer of OSB. We found the OSB tightens up the old house and hides any of the imperfections. The new kitchen is ready for sheetrock.

We are not currently occupying the NY house as military work is located in VA. I am very jealous of those that have projects in reach! I am searching for some of the before photos and will resize and post the afters!

Kyle


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## krm944 (Jan 18, 2009)

Some photos of the upstairs Master Bedroom after sheetrock. The window is new and the ceiling was raised from its previous position. When you climb the stairs there is a small room directly in front of you. This will be our son's room. It has a very odd shape to it and has the slanted ceiling. When you turn and walk towards the Master Bedroom, we plan on having a small office or play room there.

Kyle


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## krm944 (Jan 18, 2009)

This will be an office or playroom for our son. This picture was taken from the top of the stairs.


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## krm944 (Jan 18, 2009)

My least favorite part of this house is the stairs. If anyone has a solution, or way to make these stairs more attractive, Im all ears! A couple shots from the top down and the landing. There is a door in the living room that closes the upstairs off from the rest of the house.


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## krm944 (Jan 18, 2009)

The other end of the burning candle so to speak is the old wood shed and new kitchen. Our contractor installed two windows for us. The window in the first pic will be the new kitchen window where our sink will go.

My last trip back in July afforded me the chance to get 98% of the OSB up. The walls and ceiling are completely covered and waiting on sheetrock. No need to mark the studs as screws anchor the sheetrock really well into the OSB. This extra layer really helps with insulating and keeps the Northern NY wind out!


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## krm944 (Jan 18, 2009)

It is essential that we keep the wood stove and I have two ideas for it. The stainless steel chimney will get framed around and it will remain exposed to match future stainless kitchen appliances. 

Idea one keeps the stove where it is and we make a mud room/foyer with settee. A great place to come in from the cold and remove boots etc.

The other idea is to move the stove 180 degress and into the future kitchen. I love the warmth of a woodstove as I have morning coffee when its 30 below zero outside!

The last picture shows where our future arch will be. All of the studs are will come out and a beam placed along the top and an arch framed in. The two floors are on different levels and the new kitchen will have existing plywood floor removed, plumbing roughed in, heating ducts installed and possibly the crawlspace worked on. The furnace is in the basement but I hope to relocate it to the back of the house in a mechanical room of sorts.


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## sequimrehab (Jan 19, 2009)

Looks like your making great progress, keep us posted.


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## krm944 (Jan 19, 2009)

Thanks. This weekend I will be making a quick trip to the house and will be working on the plumbing to the sump pump. At some point in time a drain was installed (the old falky tile material pipe, not iron or pvc) and I am having a fit getting anything to connect to it.

Basically it is already in the floor and I have a 3 hp Sewage pump that has a stand off like a washing machine about 3 ft high so It doesnt back up, and at the PVC old pipe union, I cant get anything to hold in place. I used some rubber flex coupling and to get it tight enough so it wont leak, it will just crumple the old pipe.

I had a huge prob finding a hose with a diameter larger than 1 1/2 sump discharge hose. I am looking at fire hoses, and industrial type stuff right now.

Kyle


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## glennjanie (Jan 19, 2009)

Welcome Kyle:
Fernco makes a rubber adapter boot that will fit clay tile and PVC pipe. I would run the line from the sump pump in PVC pipe, making a direct connection (no hose or flex line). A sewage pump needs a direct (glued or screwed) connection.
Your work looks good, keep it up! We will try to help with any questions you may have along the way.
Glenn


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## handyguys (Jan 19, 2009)

Any way to replace the clay pipe? Might be worth it in the long run.

Keep up the good work and thanks for your service!


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## krm944 (Jan 19, 2009)

Glenn,

I have one of those rubber couplers. The problem I have is when I tighten the hose clamp down, the tile crumbles. It worked for a while but now I have no-joy! I would like to replace it but it is under a newly poured concrete slab that the Previous Owner poured to get the hot water heater up off the dirt and sometimes damp floor.

In the long term the electric hot water will be pulled and replaced with a more efficient on demand unit in the future "mechanical room" (see post in HVAC about moving furnace)

I think I have found a solution for my Sewage Pump. I am fortunate enough to have a Northern Hydraulics Store here in Virginia Beach and while rummaging the aisles, I found a 2 inch rigid suction hose for a mud sucker or de-watering pump. This will be large enough to handle the volume this pump puts out, its threaded at one end and can be mated to the pump, its 25 ft long and I can run that inside the existing tile. The tile empties on the edge of my property to a tiny stream.....run off from some springs and channels between the flat rock my house was built near.

I will try and get some more pics while I am there this weekend.

Kyle


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## krm944 (Aug 15, 2009)

Back from another trip to places far, far away, I got the chance to spend a couple weeks in the house. The house is located in NY and my work is located in Virginia Beach. Working in the house is rather relaxing for me.

This trip I focused on three things-
1- My basement was flooded which required a new jet pump and tank, and some work on the sump basin and sump pump. I still have some masonry work to finish when I get the chance.

2. There is a bedroom in the Northwest corner of the house. We used it as the master bedroom when we lived there as the upstairs was under renovations. The wind penetrated the walls with ease. Demo revealed my suspicions, that there was no insulation at all in that room. 

3. The old "wood shed"/new kitchen got new floor joists 2x10s 16 inch OC running a span of 8 ft. The overall length of the room is 12 ft and the adjacent 4ft span is offset from the 8ft section. Insulation and subfloor followed and should I decide to go with tile, I have a great base to work with.

Jobs 1 and 3 required framing and insulation. On my way to NY I bought a framing nailer at Harbor Freight. It was on sale for 69 dollars and was a life saver!

Will re-size some pics and show some progress


Kyle


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## krm944 (Aug 15, 2009)

Pics of the Basement and sump pump and new water pump. The sump pump is a 3/4 hp sewage pump that can pump about 6000 gallons per hour. It will also pass a 2 inch solid. I had to dig the sump hole deeper, add a 55 gallon drum as a sump basin and route a 2 inch discharge hose. 

I raked the dirt out on the floor and will add Quickcrete on my next trip and grade it so any water runs to the sump basin.


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## krm944 (Aug 15, 2009)

The Front Room (downstairs Master BR) had no insulation. Exterior walls got new 2x6 studs, R 19 insulation and then were covered with OSB board. I know its overkill, but all of my exterior walls get OSB over new insulation. NY winters can be be really windy and this really helps. It also makes it super easy when installing drywall!


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## krm944 (Aug 15, 2009)

The old wood shed and new kitchen went much quicker than planned. I spent a few hours laying new 2x10 floor joists 16 OC. I found the old floor was 12' 2x6s 24 OC. It was really spongy. After putting in the joists and subfloor, I framed the gable end of the house. I will keep the attic access and build a custom window/door of sorts. The metalbestos chimney will get buffed and match the stainless appliances when this room becomes a kitchen.


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## krm944 (Aug 15, 2009)

If youre careful, here is what $35k can get you in NY!!


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## craneop150 (Aug 19, 2009)

looks good ,good luck,and thanks for your service


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## tmhremodel (Aug 20, 2009)

yes you may want to consider replacing the clay pipe... you are already doing alot.... keep us posted this is great stuff I do it every day...=>


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