FCKGW posted:

"Finally, in May 2011, the permits came through. Julian consulted his spreadsheet of contractors and narrowed it down to three candidates. He went outside to mull over his choices. That’s when a man pulled up on his 10-speed bicycle and started chatting with Julian. His name was Robert. He was in his 50s, wore a short-sleeved plaid shirt, jean cut-offs, a rumpled hat and white running shoes. He was missing a few key teeth and didn’t like wearing socks or, as he later informed us, underwear. Robert didn’t own a car and spent his time collecting stray pieces of metal, wood and other junk he’d find on the street. Yet, despite his alarming appearance, he was charming and knowledgeable. He told Julian that he had a degree in structural engineering, and he proposed sensible ideas, like adding skylights to the attic and relocating the furnace to create space for a two-bedroom basement suite. Hey, he said, I could do it myself. Julian wasn’t so sure. Then Robert mentioned he was cheap—only $35 an hour. The next day, Julian checked Robert’s references, which were neither glowing nor damning. We hired him, figuring we could always replace him if things didn’t go well.

Robert started the next day. The first step was to underpin the basement, which required digging it out from the inside. Julian biked over to check on the progress and discovered that our front porch was gone."

https://torontolife.com/real-estate/parkdale-reno-hell/

Synthbuttrange posted:

FCKGW posted:

"Finally, in May 2011, the permits came through. Julian consulted his spreadsheet of contractors and narrowed it down to three candidates. He went outside to mull over his choices. That’s when a man pulled up on his 10-speed bicycle and started chatting with Julian. His name was Robert. He was in his 50s, wore a short-sleeved plaid shirt, jean cut-offs, a rumpled hat and white running shoes. He was missing a few key teeth and didn’t like wearing socks or, as he later informed us, underwear. Robert didn’t own a car and spent his time collecting stray pieces of metal, wood and other junk he’d find on the street. Yet, despite his alarming appearance, he was charming and knowledgeable. He told Julian that he had a degree in structural engineering, and he proposed sensible ideas, like adding skylights to the attic and relocating the furnace to create space for a two-bedroom basement suite. Hey, he said, I could do it myself. Julian wasn’t so sure. Then Robert mentioned he was cheap—only $35 an hour. The next day, Julian checked Robert’s references, which were neither glowing nor damning. We hired him, figuring we could always replace him if things didn’t go well.

Robert started the next day. The first step was to underpin the basement, which required digging it out from the inside. Julian biked over to check on the progress and discovered that our front porch was gone."

https://torontolife.com/real-estate/parkdale-reno-hell/

Jerry Cotton posted:

therobit posted:

I can't read that and believe someone wrote it seriously.

quote:

Unfortunately, that dream was becoming increasingly unrealistic for a young family without a lot of money. Julian had just finished his PhD in education and was teaching part-time at Humber; I was an editor for the Food Network’s website and preparing to go on maternity leave. Still, we scoured the listings every day, searching for a fixer-upper that we could renovate ourselves to save money. We weren’t particularly handy, but we’d seen all the home reno shows, and it seemed like everyone in the city was doing it. How hard could it be?

...

That night, six hours after Julian had called me at work, we submitted a bid of $480,000 without conditions. To our surprise, the owners refused it outright, evidently realizing they’d under-quoted us. We pushed our offer to our limit of $560,000, and they accepted. I was thrilled. Then the adrenalin wore off, and the gravity of what we’d done sank in. We had just spent more than a half a million dollars on a house I had never seen.

Liquid Communism posted:

It just keeps getting better. First, it was the bed, then I noticed the window on the right rear...

Javid posted:

The "I like to watch" chair on the right facing the bed is a really vital piece of the story here.

Jusupov posted:

I'm the spotlight in the corner

shortspecialbus posted:

I mean I guess if I could basically get paid by clients with limitless funds to do a job well above my skillset after warning them of said skillset limitations, I'd probably do it too.

My memory is a bit hazy on the whole thing, but I guess he did the best with what he had to work with on that project and it's not like he misled them as far as I know.

I still swear there was a second project with him and the same rich couple that went very poorly too - am I misremembering?

Synthbuttrange posted:

Synthbuttrange posted:

Phanatic posted:

Shoulda just cut the joists and lowered the bed.

Suspect Bucket posted:

Hey, what era was the terrible explody one for StabLok panels?

GotLag posted:

Lower beds are harder to get in/out of

spog posted:

I am a bleeding heart full of sympathy, but even I struggle to feel sorry for such utter morons.

quote:

quote:
Unfortunately, that dream was becoming increasingly unrealistic for a young family without a lot of money. Julian had just finished his PhD in education and was teaching part-time at Humber; I was an editor for the Food Network’s website and preparing to go on maternity leave. Still, we scoured the listings every day, searching for a fixer-upper that we could renovate ourselves to save money. We weren’t particularly handy, but we’d seen all the home reno shows, and it seemed like everyone in the city was doing it. How hard could it be?

...

That night, six hours after Julian had called me at work, we submitted a bid of $480,000 without conditions. To our surprise, the owners refused it outright, evidently realizing they’d under-quoted us. We pushed our offer to our limit of $560,000, and they accepted. I was thrilled. Then the adrenalin wore off, and the gravity of what we’d done sank in. We had just spent more than a half a million dollars on a house I had never seen.

wolrah posted:

AFAIK all of them are considered dangerous, with no limit on age.

Queen Combat posted:

Index your belongings with photos and get renter's insurance.

FogHelmut posted:

Nearly unemployed or working extremely low wage jobs and buying a half million dollar house to renovate? That matches up with the home reno shows exactly.

AMISH FRIED PIES posted:

and don't let the insurance company know there's a stab-lok. in fact, don't ever think about it again

Queen Combat posted:

Index your belongings with photos and get renter's insurance.

there wolf posted:

Is it a sunken mattress or is that duvet cover hiding more carpet?

Motronic posted:

The mattress is actually on the floor, it's the rest of the room around it that is sunken.

Suspect Bucket posted:

In the apartment I really like. That's the most affordable. Of course.

there wolf posted:

Like I genuinely feel the Olivebridge cottage couple got a raw deal with their house, took a calculated risk on letting their remodeller step up to full house builder, and successfully got a usable property out of it even if it cost a lot more than they planned.

Ashcans posted:

It's always amazingly frustrating to see rich people waltz through their terrible decisions intact.

quote:

That house had been a flip job, hastily renovated by the previous owner, and we had bought impulsively, anxious to upsize from our 900-square-foot condo.

Megillah Gorilla posted:

When copy/paste architecture goes too far: