Pipes-a-Plenty

19-Dec-09
Today we began the troublesome task of removing the pluming from the house. I will admit that that this was a task that I was not looking forward to due to the fact that in the multiple remodels of the home. Turns out that each owner added to the to the previous owners efforts. In the end the pluming looked similar to the MacArthur Maze.

After the water heater removal experience we determined that it would be best remove all of the plumbing. My reasons were simple.
1. Tangled pipes that were impossible to decipher or service.
2. Improper mixing of pipes (Copper, Steel) which had caused lots of corrosion.
3. It does not support the floor plan.




The pipes in this photo was from the basement alone
The additional wood, well that was what needed to be cleared out to get to the pipes.



The job was laborious but was 80% complete by the end of the day.


Labor time 8hours
MVP Tool: The Pipe Wrench. (the lower Tool)

So what is in your water anyway?

12-Dec-09
The rains have come to the Bay Area and none too soon. We need water in California badly but I must admit that I greet the rains in with mixed emotions. I am rather happy to see the water form in the sky but it will slow work considerably. The roofer is currently had delays of his own and the rains will most likely compound that. I inspected the tarp job that was done last week and it seems to be holding. It slows the leaking down a bit, not stopping it completely, but it should hold until the roofer arrives. At this rate I am guessing early January.

Today’s task was to remove the old hot water heater and the cabinet in the basement. This is in preparation to remove the pipes and reroute the pipes properly. The water heater was in very bad shape and not very safe.




I took a couple of fuzzy shots of the offending items.









A whole lot of pipe going on there. This was only the beginning of the snaked pipe work throughout the basement. (And yes, that is a 'mix' of metals connecting both to and from the water heater.)





After removing the water heater I made the mistake looking down the pipe that connected to the heater from the main line, and what an eyeful I got. I am not an expert but but this can not be good.



What the $#%!$#% it that!






My wife and I guess this that because the house had been left abandoned for almost 2 years the sediment in the pipes has probably collected here. I am removing that pipe and I will do further inspection. I'm hoping that the salvaged pipe that we were able to keep will be suitable for reuse. I will have to see , and likely flush the lines at minimum to make sure that they are suitable for reuse. I definitely do not want to drink that.

Approximate Labor time 3.5hr
MVP Tool of the day: 18" Pipe Wrench. (Tool on the bottom )

The case of the cripple wall. Pt. 2

After the demo was completed. I was able to talk a look and to my surprise there was not as much damage as I thought. The majority of the framing of the in that area was not rotten. The only wood that needed urgent attention was the last joist in the corner. The other wooden joists (uprights) were not rotten.

Our good fortune was due to the fact that my brother an I turned the water off and stopped the dripping before we closed escrow. The California Indian summer in the bay area made for fast drying wood, but there was still some damage left over.

The here is what we did:





Inserted a Sister joists next to the stud in question.














Removed the Rotten Stud.











Replaced the rotten stud with a new pressure treated wood.
( The pressure treated wood is not necessary but I had a piece laying around.)







That was about it. Due to some of the faulty work that was done in the past there is some additional work that has to be done. This will be scheduled for summer of 2010 when the second phase of this project begins. However this did take care of the the water damaged upright. There is however the root of the problem that still remains... the leak that caused the damage.

The case of the cripple wall.

As some may or may not know there where two major concerns with this house, the roof and the wall in the basement. As per the inspectors notes “There is evidence of rot damage to the cripple wall framing along the left rear of the structure." I, as with anyone, found this to be of some concern. Taking heed of the building inspector’s advice to “have a qualified contractor look at it,” I did.

First I felt it would be best that I remove the obstructions to get a better look to see what I was going to be dealing with. That is why the demolition of the house began in the basement. Once we'd finished demo, I had my father’s neighbor Kenny, who happens to be a contractor, come and take a look for me. His words to me were encouraging “I have seen worse, but it is do-able. I can help you if you like but you can do this yourself.” I took that grain of hope and ran with it.



This was the room, and the wall in question at the close of escrow. Not a pretty sight.







With the help of my wife and my trusty nephew Dex, we were able the get demolition to this point.



Still not beautiful but I can see what is going on now.


After taking a closer look. The project didn't seem bad, so I dove in. I ran to the book store to get started.

Poll time: you need to choose

Okay... here is the interactive part of this discussion. You've seen the plans so far... and I have one more to add to the mix. For a recap of the prior two plans you can go scroll down, or click here to re-read the options. The poll will remain open until 29th. **So you get to choose our new home!

Here are the layouts in no particular order

Plan #1: There 2 bedrooms, 1 formal dinning room off the kitchen.

Plan #2: Has a mud-room or entry way, 3 bedrooms, and a tiny dinning/nook off the kitchen.

Plan #3. (click on the image to see it bigger) 2 Bedrooms, 1 formal dining room, and a breakfast nook.

Which design do you like best

**May not be valid in California, and we reserve the right to choose at random whichever plan we decide. But choose anyway, we want your feedback.

Getting your stuff together.

Concerning Gear

If you are like me you probably have some tools. These may be leftovers form various projects in the past. I will also venture a guess that you have some experience with them. I personally have had tools around me for a good portion of my life. Between my father, (Electrician, and Do-it-Yourself-er) and by brother (Stage Hand and Fanatical Do-it-Yourself-er) and various friends and mentors throughout my life it would be safe to say I have been around a tool before.

Here are some tips that where relevant to me:

No matter what is in your garage you are going to make at trip the store.
In my own career in Telecom and my experience building model railroads, I thought I had all I needed... wrong. As work began I discovered that my tool box is designed for a Telecom person NOT a carpenter. So as a result, off to Home Depot.

Right Tool, Right job!
Let me tell you there are some jobs that are going to need a special tool. There are no was way around it. It just happens that I have never found a substitute for a crimping tool. I have ruined a lot of material or chewed up a lot of time by trying to “make it work.”

Evaluate the state of your tools.
Dull knives and raggedy tools are the road to disaster. Be honest with your self about the state of your equipment. If it is dull sharpen it! If it is damaged fix it or replace it. Trust me you will thank your self later. I guarantee that you that the raggedy tool will fail at the least opportune time. Usually 10 minutes after the store closes, on a Sunday, but most often right before you have to finish something because the contractor is arriving in 15.

Don’t be a cheap-skate.
I have fallen prey to this may times. There is a reason that one drill is only $25 and the rest are 80+. The is because you will be buying two of them. It has happened to me before and you will hate yourself, trust me. Quality is worth the the extra few bucks. I have been caught by the bargain bin too many times.

I just broke a Nail!!!

Yep, it was bound to happen, I chipped a nail. Actually, no... to clarify I broke a nail. It unfortunately is not the kind of little break, where a girly-girl would whine "oww... my nail!!" in a high-pitched whine intended for attention and coddling. Unfortunately I split it down the middle lengthwise down to the root, all the way through the quick. It was my left thumb nail. There was no high-pitched whining. But there certainly was lots of cussing, and definitely some shaking out of the hand in an attempt to get it to stop hurting. (Which never helps by the way.)

The unfortunate thing about breaking a nail down through the quick is that you don't realize just how important the nail is in protecting the finger nail bed, until you don't have it. Nor do you quickly forget how it feels when everything you attempt to grip reminds you of the fact that you don't have a nail to protect that very sensitive skin under the nail. Which is particularly bad when you wear rough leather gloves to work in.

I wish I could say that this was the only injury from the work. Thankfully the list of injuries is all minor, with no one missing limbs, instances of sepsis, or gangrene (yet.) Here is a shortlist of injuries to date:

- 3 instances of stepped on nails, only one went into the foot requiring bactine and a bandage
- 1 instance of a nail through the hand, which required a tetanus shot and bandage
- 1 broken nail
- Countless bruises (all mine, I bruise like a peach apparently all over my body)
- Countless smashed digits, both hand and foot. (again... mostly me. I am a klutz as well I guess.)
- 4 separate instances of stuff falling on heads - but no serious punctures, or concussions all requiring just bandages, condolences, and some lumps.
- several separate instances of dust in the eyes.

All of these minor injuries are the result of a very stringent safety environment. My Husband and I repeat to everyone who asks to join in on the work that we want a "injury free weekend." Not only for our sakes, to keep the potential of lost friendships and 'workman's comp' filings down, but also because we need to acknowledge that everyone that has helped out has a day job. It's enough to ask them to come and help out, but it would be foolhardy to think that they'd be willing to sacrifice their paying job because they helped out a friend and are now unable to work because they are concussed and in the hospital.

The other item of note that needs to be mentioned is that there are many people, family and friends alike, who are eager to help. What is the most surprizing is who and how many people have offered their support, and come through with so much effort. It has made this project feel less lonely and much more communial. We've had co-workers, long time friends, cousins, Aunts, fathers (in-law), nephews and even little ones come out and help.

(don't worry the little newphews got clean-up duty on the lawn, no tools for them.)

For all the time and effort that has gone into this first phase of demolition for me to loose a nail... I'm willing to pay that price.

Home Layout

We're presented with a rare opportunity to completely remake the house in the way that we want it due to the renovation. There are a few limitations, 1) we need to stay within the existing footprint of the house, and 2) We need to keep within budget as much as possible.

Some other considerations:

• The house didn't have much in the way of storage to begin with, so we will likely need to make sure that there is ample storage for what we currently have, and some space to grow.
• The bathroom was too narrow at a scant 5'4" in width for mine and my husbands liking. However we can't upscale too much without taking from another room - due to the 1st limitation mentioned.
• The layout of the house when we bought it was 3 bedrooms 2 baths. All of the bedrooms were on the main floor, but the second bathroom was in the basement. We'd like to keep it that way to maximize the potential for a better HELOC rate should we need it.
  
• The kitchen needs to be big 'enough' to accommodate modern amenities and our 'foodie' tastes as we both love to cook and entertain.

So, when you step back and take a look at what should be a pretty easy plan - it sounds easy enough. We'll see. I'm currently on my 2nd 'original' floor plan, and although I'm currently satisfied, I keep getting great influences from the darnedest of places.

Here's plan #1

If you can't make it out too well, we loose one bedroom, in favor for a formal dining room that is adjoined to the kitchen.

There are two bedrooms, one is listed as an office.

The one 'true' bedroom is incredibly narrow at 8'8" wide, just wide enough for one double sized bed, and little else.

The hallway is a straight shot from the front of the house to the back- allowing a flow through the rooms.

There is ample storage, but it primarily in the kitchen.

Pro's: The bathroom doesn't change at all, so savings there.

Cons: the kitchen would require completely new water, gas and electrical lines.



Here is design plan#2

There are 3 'bedrooms' and a slightly larger bath.

I've also taken some space from the front porch to create a mud-room that is approximately 5'x5' which should be just enough for storage of boots and a few coats.

There is still a straight-shot hallway, but the dining room is moved to the end of the house, and although it appears to be cramped, our dining room table has leaves in them that allow it to be approximately 2' shorter than the image to the left shows. Fully extended it would be a squeeze, but with a pass-through from the kitchen it can also double as a buffet.

Pros: with this layout, the kitchen is already on this side of the house. So the gas line and the water won't need to be moved.

Cons: the bathroom layout is a little different, so we would need to move the toilet and bath around. Plus the creation of the mud-room would mean new siding and may not match the rest of the house as a result.

The First Steps

As I have said before when I first began this endeavor I thought it would just be repairing some damage, sprucing up a bit, moving in, and all will be peachy. Well no, not exactly. A very wise woman told me that when you work on a house remember two things:
1. It will cost you twice as much as you think.
2. It will take twice a long as you suspect.

I think she might be right. I am a computer guy by trade so I am not unused to a project getting bigger more costly over time. So I am no stranger to projects running out of control. At this has not been the case thus far but I am very wary of the runaway project.

There are two major concerns that I had originally felt were the most pressing, they were the leak in the kitchen and the subsequent dry rot in the basement below and the roof.

The Kitchen leak.
It looks like it he basement was not in as bad shape that it appeared at first. My brother turning of the water allowed the wood to try. There was also some excellent weather in the area that aided in the effort.

The roof
I was planning to replace it in the first place, therefore it was a known factor and did not worry me to much outside of the cost. I was not, however, planning to get on the roof and work on it myself. Roofs are best left to professionals. Although the roof is not high off the ground and the pitch is manageable, it is just high enough to break limbs and for me to possibly die. I made the executive decision to let someone else take the risk.

After establishing what needed to be addressed most urgently, I was feeling pretty good about the project. I decided to prepare the basement for a general contractor to take a look at the dry rot in the wall directly below the kitchen sink that had been dripping.

The intention of preparing the area is to remove the drywall and strip the walls down to the studs. I did it because when I speak to the contractor I did not want to leave anything to interpretation so I made the area clear so when they came to examine it they could get a good look at the overall problem.

"Renovating is hard work"

... is the one thing that our Realtor told us when we came upon the house. It was intended as a warning, but to be honest, it was more like a challenge.

Now neither I nor my husband are novices at home repair, having swung our fair share of hammers at walls and worked on our parents respective homes. Neither of us are afraid of blood, sweat, or tears.

Actually, the prospect of working on a house has a romantic quality to it, as both our grand parents, and parents are the sort of hard-scrabble folk who had built their own homes... so we should be able to as well. One of the nice things about romance is that you can sometimes forget the bad and see only the good.

The house was...well...what we could see was reasonable, and the foundation and substructures were sound. There was work... no doubt, house and the land had been laying fallow for more than two years.

Now homes, unlike dirt, need constant attention. When not lived in, homes have the tendency to degrade, as there is no one in them keeping them lit, warm and clean. Little things like spiders, mice, birds and rats notice immediately when there is no human occupying a house, and are quick to take up residence. After the animals comes nature, doing its best to reclaim the land. Unfortunately the house wasn't sealed well, and the spiders have evolved and managed to stake their claim... along with the Rats. Thankfully there wasn't any O.K. corral showdown, but we have had our share of angry rebukes from the 'tenants.' The land... well it's been a couple of very dry years, so the one cactus plant has happily flourished whereas the Meyer lemon tree is shriveled and quite thirsty.

Standing back and looking at the house... we knew that there were some things that needed to be done, immediately.

The roof, needs to be replaced. It has 4 layers.

You may be asking yourself... why does 4 layers matter? The "standard" is one layer. Think about it mathematically, (my brother in-law explained it best), Consider that the standard slate shingle weighs approximately .5 lb per shingle. Now a 25 x 40 shaped house is approximately 1000 sq ft for the roof alone. Now .5 lb times 1000 means it probably 500 lbs to cover a house's roof. Multiply that by 4. Remem

ber that roof framing (with 2x4's being the 'standard') have a stress point of maybe around 600-700 lb's. So by this point we've far exceeded that weight.

Plus, once you stand back and look at the roof from a distance, the house actually looks a bit 'squashed' under the weight of the roof.

2. The "cripple" wall on the north east corner. Unfortunately the wall has some severe dry-rot and needs to be replaced.

...and that was it for the "original plan."

By the way, we've since moved on from plan A to B, to C...

The House

As I have mentioned before this house needs some love. On the surface the house looked as if all it needed some cosmetic work. Upon further inspection it needed a whole lot more.

Due to the state of the banking industry in the past year there has been a lot of turbulence in neighborhoods. I would say around mid-2008 the number of foreclosures increased dramatically. On top of the new foreclosures, Oakland does have pockets where homes were sitting empty because they were too pricey for people to buy due to the speculation of the past 5 years. As a result of all of the “flippers” and other speculators, during the "housing bubble" many of these homes were not remotely worth the asking price.

The situation on the streets had been brewing for months, properties in previously undesirable locations and homes selling for near a million dollars sat empty. What does this have to do with my house? Let me tell you.

When you have a whole legion of houses that have been laying empty for extended amounts of time you have some common side affects, vandalism and theft. I have seen this multiple times. If a house sits empty for any extended amount of time, people are going to make use of it whether they are supposed to or not. Things like squatting and looting become prevalent. The best way to say it is people went shopping.





Some one took the garbage disposal.
(I did not know they where sought after items)










Washing my face will be a challenge... no vanity or sink.






I am not sure of the actual culprits. I will not blame it on the neighborhood because that does not seem fair. Some of this could have been done by the previous occupants. I can tell you this though: someone did not behave very nicely.

Of particular of notice to me were the acts of minor of vandalism. As you can see in the above photo the garbage disposal was removed. Someone in their need for a hasty exit, left then the water on. It was not a shooting geyser but rather a gentle but STEADY spring of a bout a .10 of an ounce per minute. This may not seem like very much water but believe me is adds up over time. Imagine every hour you walked into your kitchen and poured a tall coffee (Starbucks size) onto the floor. If one were to do this 24 hours a day it would be about 7 gallons per week (mind you this is my best guess by eyeballing it.) Needless to say the sub floor and the cabinets where ruined. It had also leaked into the basement below and rotted some of the wood in the wall. The basement below had a fair amount of stagnant water in it including one of the light fixtures. At the time of discovery my brother and I turned off the water at the main so it can at least dry out. Needless to say the damage was done.

Also during the time of its listing it was real-estate agents and building inspectors left their mark as well (ripped up carpet and holes punched in drywall.) With all of this it did not seem so bad. Fix a couple of thing s and move right in right? Well yes and no…

About the blog

I write this to entertain, amuse, and inform. My goal is that someone can benefit from the discoveries and experiences that my wife Kira and I are enjoying. It is always nice to be able to avoid missteps, so I offer my mistakes to aid others. I think through collaborative participation we can all have deeper understanding of the world we live in.

I believe that that the true beauty in life in the aggregate of human experience. The more we participate the more there is for others to enjoy. Here is my contribution to that.

So My wife and I bought this house...

My wife and I bought a house. We had been searching for some time. For those of you who are familiar with the SF bay area, you’ll understand me when I say this... it was a long and arduous journey.

We had been searching since 2004 so we have looked at easily more than100 homes. When we began looking at houses it was at the high water mark of the housing madness. When we finally managed to find our house the search ended at bottom of the housing bubble… or at least that is where we believe where we are.

Incidentally, it is misnomer to say that there is no one buying out there, because somebody IS in fact buying houses. Since the “Great Bank Meltdown of 2008” prices have gotten much more reasonable, so homes that were previously unattainable have become reasonable. In addition there is a lot open inventory out there, depending on where you looking to live and what you want to pay?

During our Saga, I remember being outbid at least 8 times and two of those occurrences where in between 2008 and now. During the worst of the bidding wars, my wife would submit offers to homes, sight-unseen, just to make sure that we could get our foot in the door with the sellers.

Even through all of this turbulence with financing and layoffs there were still five and six bids on houses. We had bid on a home and we where outbid (again) and we where just about to give up and but really liked the area. So we did one more half hearted search and my wife found something interesting.

About 6 months ago she found this little place. I am not expert on architectural styles and classifications but my wife calls it a cottage. It was built in 1929, it was about the size we where looking for, and needed some work. After getting the opportunity to visit the house we quickly became very enamored with the place and the best part…. It was CHEAP. As with all things that are cheap there are things there are caveats. Aside from the shady listing agent, funky bank rules, and escrow drama, we did get the house.

This house has been though a lot since 1929 and it really needs some love. We are going to put some time and love into this place and this is our story.

Rat Dung in the rafters.

26-Sep -09
Today we climbed into the rafters to tear down the ceiling in the kitchen and the bedrooms. It was hot day in Oakland today about 80+ degrees. It was even hotter in the gable of the house. By my estimates it was at least 100 degrees if not more. The removal of the ceiling was not that difficult, technically or physically, but the conditions made the job difficult. The Batt style insulation was in relatively bad condition. A good portion of the insulation had been used as rat’s nests and lavatory. Once the air circulation hit the feces and dried urine a very putrid stench began to emanate from it.There was also no catwalk installed, so old planks were used to substitute until I can install one.

In conjunction with removing the ceiling we also started removing the walls in the blue and purple/pink room.

I had the help of Sterling, Leo and Jerrold and my wife Kira.
Approximate labor time 7 hours.

Tile in the old kitchen

24-Oct-09

We extracted the tile in the old kitchen. This operation proceeded much faster than expected. We were able to completely remove all of the tile and material beneath it in about 3 hours. The tile in the add-on section was removed as well. With the spare time where able to begin extracting the tile on the bathroom walls. That was particularly difficult to remove. The plywood that was placed below the tile was installed very well. So getting down to the studs was very labor intensive.

The tile in question.

Note:

Beneath the ceramic tile was a material called Hardiback it was fastened to the sub floor by screws (lots of them.) We used the spade to get the material Hardiback up but the screws remain. Damn.

I had the help of my wife Kira, Leo, cousin Sterling, and brother Jerrold

Estimated labor time 6 hours.

MVP Tool Spade

The front room

Sun 18-Oct-09

Went into the rafters and dismantled all of the electrical wiring on in the front area of the house. The plaster ceiling in the living room was also removed.


There were redwood planks inside of the wall. The redwood planks were used to even out the plaster on the top and the drywall on the bottom. These were also removed. The previous owner used drywall over the plaster in this room. I am not completely sure why. It does however lead to a possible problem concerning finishing.


That fact that there was plaster and drywall on top of each other it has left a 2 inch gap between the hardwood floor and the base plate. I am not sure if the drywall and the baseboard will cover the gap when I am refinishing the room.



In removing the plaster, drywall, and lumber at the front window it revealed the water damage below the center window. The wood is stained but does not look or feel rotted. I will examine more closely at another time. I do believe that the window will have to be removed and reset to insure proper sealing.


In the same area as the window, once we removed all of the finishing, it revealed some gaps in the framing of the structure. This would explain the draftiness of the home. This will also have to be corrected.

Workers

I had the help of my Father and Leo


Labor time 8Hours




MVP Tool: Framing hammer

Screws a plenty

Sat 17-Oct-09
We spent the day removing nails and screws from the wall studs and ceiling joists in the blue room and in the Purple/pink room. These rooms are now completely free of nails and screws. This was aided by the efforts of my dear aunt Elouise. (who is incidentally 70+) We also removed the last of the plaster in front room. The ceiling has not been removed, that will be saved for a later date.
Estimated labor time 6.5 Hours

The thing about removing drywall is the screws or nails are left. The builder before me whom we affectionately refer to as "him" used both. There where plenty to remove.

What frustrated me and pretty much everyone else was the alteration between nail and screw. There was little consistency between the two. The spacing was also inconsistent along the joists and spacers, sometimes being 6" apart, sometimes nails and screws as close as 1" to each other.




My wonderful aunt helping out. She was incredibly diligent in making sure that the walls were clear of any and all nails

MVP Tool of the Day The Dewalt

Invaluable for removing screws in tight spaces, or overhead on the joists. Especially because it weighs approximately 1+ lb, and has an adjustable head and quick release for the bit. Compare this tool to the other hand-held battery powered screwdriver which weighs approximately 5+ lbs (without battery, with batter 8+ lbs) and does not have an adjustable head or quick release for fast changes of the bit.

Storm Day

Tuesday 13-Oct-09

A very hard rain throughout the Bay Area this past couple of days. I went to the house with Leo to board up the broken window in the add-on section of the house. This was also the room that held the fiberglass insulation. We stored it there in the hopes that we might be able to reuse it. Unfortunately, the insulation had gotten wet and smelled really bad! I am leaning toward disposing of all of the insulation due to the horrid stink that it produces.

I inspected the roof and found some minor leakage. Thankfully a majority of the leaking is not under the main section of the house. There are some minor areas, the front left wall (facing the house) that showed signs of leaking. From what I can see the leaks are from the cracks in the siding of the house. I will need to examine this further. However the addition in the rear of the house did leak, and left a 1/4" puddle in the basement against the south-east corner of the floor.

What it does confirm is that the roof over the main section of the house isn't leaking, and that it is only the construction of the addition that was primarily faulty. There is a larger issue here that we will eventually need to deal with.

A window was mistakenly left open in the front room and the floor underneath it was wet. I wiped the water off of the hardwood floor and hoped that is would not be damaged.


Labor Time 1.5 hours

Demolition: Front Room

10-Oct-090

We continued removing the plaster in the front room. We made decent progress with the help of my cousin Sterling. 90% of the drywall and plaster has been removed from the walls. Lath slats were left in place to minimize the mess on the floor. The lathe is easy to remove and can be taken down when the dumpster arrives. The ceiling was left intact.

Labor time 7 hours.