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I’ve been posting about various aspects of my home ownership “journey” in different sub forums, so I figured I would make my own thread as a diary for myself. I can see the work I’ve done, and make myself a little more comfortable in the space I own. Brief history: After some absolute shitwad of landlords running our lives during the pandemic, my partner and myself spent half a year applying for and finding a home with a USDA Rural Development loan. We live(d) in a tourist and college town that is steadily jacking up living costs and turning everything in to short term rentals. Armed with a microbiology degree for myself and an illustration degree for him, we find ourselves nice and cozy with jobs in food service. Now, they are nice food service jobs -I’m a pastry chef at a high end pâtisserie and he is a food truck manager- but we are still below the poverty line. Thanks to Rural Development, we found a home loan, and after many many many many failed bids and hoops we were able to close at the end of April on a 1200 sq ft. Mid century ranch, 20 minutes away in a rural satellite town. It still wasn’t cheap, but our mortgage is the same as the single bedroom shithole we were renting in the middle of town. The first inkling of something going wrong was the walkthrough, the basement had been dry during the inspection (it was Michigan winter), but we had noticed water pooling in some of the floor cracks. I have my realtor investigate and the sellers come back with “we just mopped”. We take them at their word and close the next morning. Two days and some heavy rainstorms later, we find puddles all over the basement, rip off some foam insulation to find a pinhole in the foundation spilling water in. Not only that but water was seeping up from the bottom of the floor. It also had soaked some carpet they decided to glue directly to the concrete. A mildewy mess. I had a panic attack. A bad one. For a week I cried and barely held it together while my partner and our families helped us move. I would pull over to the side of the road several times during the 20 minute drive and dry heave. What did I do? WHAT THE gently caress DID I DO?! It’s so much money. For 33 years! It’s so much work I’m not prepared for, will we even continue to afford it? What if we lose our jobs? And it’s loving leaking! The reality of homeownership set in and I couldn’t get a grip. Every day I woke up in panic, and every night I was on a crisis help line because I felt trapped and wanted the worst way out. I couldn’t eat, barely slept, and was losing hair. After everything compounding, it was the thing this year that finally had broken my brain. The other shoe dropped when I returned to work the next week. During my usual shift of pastry and dessert making, I had a meltdown. A full on open-to-the-public cry. My manager talked me through it, and a few hours later my boss was sitting me down to encourage me to take medical leave and possibly inpatient care. As of now, I am on indefinite leave. That night we would also discover there was a mouse infestation after I find a bunch of tiny little shits lining the bedroom molding. So I head to Menard’s and buy as many mouse traps as humanly possible and line all of the walls. Meanwhile my partner, Z, and my father go hard. Yanking insulation and mouse nests from the basement, vacuuming the rafters, and sealing holes in the foundation. We found a fun little surprise too! An old dryer vent that was out of use was just completely open to the outside and the front door threshold had a good 1/4” gap. It’s been about a week now since catching a mouse and I’m feeling like we have probably taken care of that. Problem 1: Solved. Well, all of this definitely didn’t help with my anxiety levels, especially as mice are one of my big time phobias. I also found myself worrying about living in one of the more rural and poorer areas, the commute, the mining train that rumbles by a few times per week. But, we keep trucking. I spend my days in the care of my family, and nights working on the house. A few weeks later, we have the only waterproofing company in the area come by to give us an estimate. They suggest basement drains and a sump pump. It’s 16 loving k. Jesus gently caress. We have 4K put away tops. So it’s looking like we are going to have to lawyer up and put that on the backburner. The House:  She’s a 3 bedroom “2” bathroom. The second bathroom is an old miners bathroom in the basement consisting of 2 holes in ground, a showerhead and a sink. The main bedroom fits our queen sized bed alright and the second will work for an office for both of us. The third is 9’x9’ and will probably become Z’s art studio.  Upon entering you are greeted with a makeshift closet off of the fireplace for laundry. The washer portion is broken and a second washer is located in the basement. Basic “apartment building” models. The dryer however...vents in to the basement...we have an HVAC person contracted to properly vent it next week. In the meantime, we’re just humidifying an already wet basement. Hello kitchen!!   The dishwasher is completely broken. The other appliances, while not updated, at the very least are in working condition.  Fireplace condition unknown. Hasn’t been used in 15 years they say. The house was previously occupied by tenants who decided to spray paint an accent wall the worst purple imaginable, and I love purple.  TV located at the only 3 pronged grounded plug in the living room.   The backyard was not raked in what could have been years and now I have 14 bags of yard waste along the side of the house. Today I layed pesticide and grass seed to attempt to patch the areas where wet piles of leaves killed all the grass. My mother helped trim the front cedar bushes which we will burn after it rains this week. Z power washed the front and back decks and we will attempt to paint them sometime probably next month. In a subsequent post I’ll show some photos of the basement, bedrooms, and work we have done but this is plenty long for an OP. My mental state right now is improving and I have an appointment with a community mental health resource on the 20th. Hopefully the more work we put in, the less I will feel like running away. Then someday, I’m hoping this will become my safe haven.
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May 18, 2021 03:14
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Today I managed to plant a few flowers in the front yard and put together my desk in an attempt to get to some gaming as an escape. Turns out the plug that I was going use for my computer was an imposter!! They just put a 3 prong in to the socket without grounding it. The plug also turns off via light switch, so I’m sure it will be fun accidentally turning my computer off every time I leave the room. Looks like a rewire job is due before I can use my desktop. A lot of the trim was falling out because they didn’t use the correct size nail, nor is there a seated nail in the entire house. So our hallways looks like this from seating, re-nailing, and filling. Note the very poorly whitewashed doors.  Every single corner is chewed up from what I think was a wheelchair at some point. A lot of joint compound used, good thing because there was only large buckets of the poo poo available anywhere.  Bonus vomit stain under the radiator that I can’t get to with the carpet washer. 
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May 18, 2021 03:33
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Today was my nephew’s birthday, so I didn’t spend much time at the house. Most of the day was spent in beautiful 80 degree weather playing with the worlds cutest 1 year old. It was very good for my mental health and honestly the happiest I’ve been in months. It made going back home pretty difficult and I had a mild panic attack around 8pm when we were packing up to head out. However, I had a present waiting for me on the doorstep when I got home. This bad boy I ordered last week with a $100 Amazon gift card that we forgot about from 2 years ago. It will be replacing this.  This fan was broken when we moved in, Z managed to fix the motor and it died again 4 days later. Right now the fan vents in to the attic and out the sides of the roof. Depending on how brave we are about going in to the attic, we may want to make an actual vent to the outside or out of the eaves. That may be a project for another time though. Luckily this fan is the same size, so we don’t have to cut any of the ceiling and just replacing the fan seems fairly easy. Tomorrow we are hoping to paint the master closet and pick up paint for all the moldings and trim, the weather looks like it’s going to storm so I’ll monitor the water in the basement now that the downspouts have been extended.
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May 19, 2021 03:22
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Not much done today as far as the house goes but we did spend the morning painting the interior of this closet which was previously a half assed single coat of white over purple and a giant spot of dry water staining in the corner. The toilet on the other side must have overflowed at some point because there is dry staining in the subfloor and cracked tile. We found extra tile in the basement but that’s another project for later in the summer. Now it can house CLOTHES and make our “office” navigable. The rest of the day I spent cleaning the apartment and washing the curtains that are now thumb tacked to the window. I’ll get a permanent rod for those after we paint over the godawful beige.  What will be the office once I clear the boxes and rewire. The electrician said that if we buy some 12/2 and run it in through basement, he will come out and attach it for the entire room for the minimum labor cost. I don’t trust my electrical abilities so I’m probably going to take that offer. I’m a little scared to see what the cost of 170 ft. Of 12/2 goes for right now though. A new stainless steel ductless range hood arrived, so I’m thinking we make a weekend of installing that, the bathroom fan, and a hand-me-down light fixture to replace a VERY outdated one in the dining area. Tomorrow, I need to finish cleaning the apartment and take a little break. I spoke to my old neighbor today who is a therapist and he helped tremendously with my outlook. I also will be going back to work likely next week, so I’m hoping to get all these little projects done before then. After that, I’ll have to take a break and save up money before taking anything else on. So, it looks like I’ll just be painting and unpacking for a while.
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May 20, 2021 04:37
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I very much sympathise with the anxiety of home ownership. Having your own place gets built up as this huge, freeing event, but it's also a massive liability and can feel terrifying. I think you're doing a really good thing by posting it all out like this. The more you accomplish, hopefully the more reassured you will be about your ability to resist future poo poo that happens, as well as having a really cool record of your progress. Your efforts are also going to have a huge transformative effect - they already have - so think of all the value your labour is bringing. Well done! Keep posting!
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May 21, 2021 08:26
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Bookmarking this to catch up on later, but popping in now to say I'm glad to see you back. I know you were nervous about tying up the general home thread, and I got worried you'd gone radio silent. I haven't been actively checking HCH for very long, but can definitely say everyone here is either very experienced and happy to help or looking to learn from your experience.
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May 21, 2021 14:54
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So as far as the water in the basement goes, I’ve contacted a couple lawyers, one cannot represent us due to conflict, the other is a 10k retainer and $200/hr for a consultation. So I think we will just save up for a few years to eat the 16k bill, although I’m sure it will be more like 20k by then. Honestly I’m just loving depressed about how poor we are at this point. Having to live in a very poverty stricken town with nothing to do and a large population of die hard Trumpers sucks. Barely having the money to, at the very least, make my house a comforting space. It’s just all really getting to me, and I’ve gone from anxious to depressed. I feel like I’m a failure of a 30 yr old with a STEM degree. Sorry for the whine post, I also think I just need to find some more people like myself here, but it’s difficult. I have one friend who lives out this way, but we aren’t super close. Thanks to the folks who are reading this thread and rooting for me, it helps to have support, even on a dead gay forum. In home news, working on the bathroom today. Putting in a cabinet on the wall and one of those curved shower curtain rods.    The current state of the bathroom, which I will update after I finish cleaning and installing all of this poo poo today. You can’t really tell in the photo but under that toilet is where the tiles have cracked and the subfloor is sinking from what I’m hoping was an isolated toilet issue. We plan on fixing it before the end of summer, but we won’t have a place to poo poo for a couple of days.  Spot the bluejay on the fence! Our backyard has been full of Corvids today.
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May 21, 2021 19:45
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Small victories today. Our neighbor kindly lent us his lawn mower since we haven’t had the money to buy one and said we couldn use it through the summer.  I replaced the range vent with the newer one, while it’s basically the same model, it’s at least new and stainless, so it looks a bit better.  Replacing this ugly outdated light fixture with a hand me down from my parents but we didn’t have the correct screws so it’s chillin like this until tomorrow.  A nice surprise popped up today that made me pretty happy. We have a whole bunch of Lily of the Valley!   Edit: yes the light fixture is hanging on by more than just electrical wire, we have some plain wire worked to the ceiling holding it up. I’m not insane. Ball Tazeman fucked around with this message at 02:40 on May 23, 2021 |
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May 23, 2021 02:28
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A few small changes made the bathroom way cuter and more cozy. Plus STORAGE  
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May 24, 2021 00:37
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Honestly, it’s amazing what having a couple nice rooms will do. Now that I have a comfortable bathroom and mostly put together bedroom and living room. I feel so much more welcome in the space.
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May 24, 2021 04:08
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The plumber is here and it looks like our old as gently caress dishwasher actually works!!
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May 24, 2021 17:04
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I don’t think I have a job anymore and my boss won’t reply to me. I’m spiraling but hey I finished painting the doors and trim. Before: After:  Tomorrow we rewire the office and hopefully get the washer working. Not feeling stoked on it for obvious reasons.
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May 30, 2021 02:01
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Today: -Caught the chipmunk destroying the garage siding -Finished furnishing the entryway -Set up a live trap for the groundhog (she watched us all day) -fixed the mounting for the light fixture -grounded the bedroom and office -yanked unused cables from the basement -set up the desk space -organized recycling/trashed a bunch of bullshit -pulled out more old insulation and vacuumed rafters - swept the basement Z found a mystery jar of liquid in the rafters behind the insulation!!!! should we drink it? Pictured: new light fixture and new entry stool 
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May 31, 2021 00:00
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I like your house. Fresh paint on the trim made a huge difference!
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May 31, 2021 14:54
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Kaiser Schnitzel posted:I like your house. Fresh paint on the trim made a huge difference! Agreed, the place is coming together nicely. Where are you at on the basement issue? If you were going to install a sump / jackhammer some concrete now would be the time.
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May 31, 2021 15:14
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Yooper posted:Agreed, the place is coming together nicely. We are at “it hasn’t brought the house down yet and we don’t have the funds to do anything about it” stage. We don’t really have the money for a lawyer to push for litigation (I contacted about 3 of them) and waterproofing estimate came out to 16k. I talked to a plumber last week week about DIY sump/draining, and he said that he did his own, but would absolutely never do it again and that it was just a massive project. At this point, we’ll just save what we can and maybe do it next year, hoping the price doesn’t jump too much. Thanks for the encouragement! Now that I have a functioning desktop computer and office, it definitely feels a lot more like a place I can be alone in. It might not feel like my “home” yet. But it’s getting there. Next step is to apply for some WFH positions, since I’m not sure if I’m employed anymore and my boss won’t give me a solid answer about going on the schedule.
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May 31, 2021 16:13
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Still have gotten nowhere with my employer, I’m assuming I’m going to be let go at this point. Spent a lot of the day making the office a usable space since I can hook up the computer now. Before: After:   It feels like I did nothing, but looking at how cluttered everything was before shows the vast improvement that’s been done. Honestly, most of the time was spent on my cable management. This room needs a paint job badly though, as do all of the rooms.
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Jun 1, 2021 01:17
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No big updates. We’ve been taking a little break to unwind and I’ve been sending out job apps like crazy. We did get a nice antique couch from my parents neighbors and I think it’s just absolutely lovely.  That accent wall has got to be repainted soon though. It will be much prettier as a less red toned and desaturated purple
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Jun 2, 2021 18:12
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It's hard to tell from your photos, but make sure your gutters are draining as far from the house as you can get them. If they're only draining a few inches from your house, they are definitely not helping with your wet basement issues. Look at it this way - the house has survived this long with the water, it's certainly not going to fall down anytime soon. Just mitigate any damage it can do (remove that carpet, make sure there's a dehumidifier going). Also, if you haven't run the wire already - 12/2 is overkill for an office. 12/2 would let you run a 20amp circuit, but 14/2 is cheaper and would let you do 15amp. There's no way your computer comes anywhere close to 15amps.
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Jun 3, 2021 02:09
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devicenull posted:It's hard to tell from your photos, but make sure your gutters are draining as far from the house as you can get them. If they're only draining a few inches from your house, they are definitely not helping with your wet basement issues. We have the downspouts extended about 5ft but it looks like it may need to go farther. We also have a dehumidifier going as often as we can empty it. So far it seems to be helping! We actually found some unused 12/2 in the basement that we run so we didn’t even have to spend money on it!
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Jun 3, 2021 03:41
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We are kind of at the point where we have to look at big expense, long term projects now and I honestly don’t know how to prioritize. Things that need to be done Replace kitchen appliances Fix or replace the siding Replace the roof Waterproof the basement Remove and replace the rotting deck I’m just trying to find a way to systemically prioritize and come up with a plan for these expenses, but my mind is just reeling.
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Jun 3, 2021 17:24
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A failing roof will cause everything under it to start having problems, and a failing basement (but from what I understand of your basement, it's just wet, not failing)will make everything above it have problems, so those would be where I'd start. You can also repair/patch your roof if you have an active leak but can't afford to do the whole thing. As long as they keep working, new appliances is totally discretionary and not necessary (and they to can likely be repaired). Rotting deck is also nice to have but not a necessity as long as it isn't going to injure someone, so I'd start looking at the siding after the roof and/or basement.
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Jun 3, 2021 17:49
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Thanks for the suggestions and perspective. I think the roof can be placed a little lower as it’s not failing. It’s just nearing the end of it’s life and looks like it may begin to leak in the next few years. Luckily my partner’s father is roofer. I just can’t decide what should be “patched until later” or completely replaced.
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Jun 3, 2021 17:53
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I think you can safely prioritize 1- figure out the job situation 2- is the roof actively leaking? Can you patch bits to get a few more years before going full out? 3- is the siding repairable even if it's kind of ugly in the meantime? For now, you just need it to keep water out. 4- are the kitchen appliances currently working? Great, give them a good going over to keep them chugging along until you have the money to replace. 5- keep an eye on the basement and make regular observations to start narrowing possible causes down. Make a logbook! 6- is the deck an active safety issue? If no, it's fine. If yes, tear it out yourself and just live with no deck for a while. Nothing has to be done perfectly and forever right now. Just shore things up so that you get some breathing room and have time to do research and plan. Try to do something that made you want to buy a house in the first place, even if it's on a much smaller scale than you dreamed of. Like if you wanted a great garden with raised boxes and mounds of produce but it's too expensive right now, just dig up a flat garden and put some cheap starts in right now. Do like squash or something that will be a lot of payoff for little effort. It will help you get some joy out of what is nothing but anxiety and stress right now.
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Jun 3, 2021 18:01
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Hutla posted:Try to do something that made you want to buy a house in the first place, even if it's on a much smaller scale than you dreamed of. Like if you wanted a great garden with raised boxes and mounds of produce but it's too expensive right now, just dig up a flat garden and put some cheap starts in right now. Do like squash or something that will be a lot of payoff for little effort. It will help you get some joy out of what is nothing but anxiety and stress right now. This is all great advice that I will use. But this part especially. I really want to garden and landscape and to create a beautiful outdoor retreat, but it seems super unobtainable at the moment. I bought some cheap Lowe’s buckets and my friend and mother gave me some starter herbs. I just need to find the energy and honestly dig myself out of enough depression to plant them. I did take some solar powered decorative lights to put around the front porch. The more I live there, the more things I see need to be fixed/were neglected. It’s especially difficult when my family and a lot of friends have some really beautiful updated houses. I’m a little embarrassed by mine.
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Jun 3, 2021 18:16
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Just remember it's a marathon, not a sprint! You don't have to get everything done this minute, and until the supply chain settles out a bit more, something like the deck or replacing functioning appliances can wait. Hutla has the right idea, especially with plants. I did railing planters of herbs, and I feel pretty great about the mint (endless juleps!) but the thyme chose to suicide pretty abruptly. We don't use thyme as much so I haven't bothered buying/growing more. 
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Jun 3, 2021 18:53
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Ball Tazeman posted:The more I live there, the more things I see need to be fixed/were neglected. It’s especially difficult when my family and a lot of friends have some really beautiful updated houses. I’m a little embarrassed by mine. I'm in this same boat right now. The previous owner was ultra frugal and make some really questionable repair decisions. Knowing the right way makes it even more difficult to look at. Once you have a year under your belt the place will feel more like your home and less like a home you bought and are living in. Roof is item #1. I'll put up with a lot of shetchy poo poo, but water entering the building is a hard no. The problem with water damage is once you see it, it's already been rotting the studs, sills, window frames, etc. So you get an extra dose of surprise when you pull back the drywall. Beyond that is the basement, keeping the water from permeating upwards. But I think with some aggressive downspouting you might find a big improvement. Spring and frost out will be trickier, but just installing a sump might be enough. Siding would be the bottom of the list, as long as it isn't falling off it's technically fine.
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Jun 3, 2021 19:04
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Ball Tazeman posted:The more I live there, the more things I see need to be fixed/were neglected. It’s especially difficult when my family and a lot of friends have some really beautiful updated houses. I’m a little embarrassed by mine. You're in your house all the time, with nothing more entertaining. You see flaws far more then anyone else that steps in. Anyone else that comes in is going to be more interested in you then critiquing your house. Also just start poo poo-talking the previous owner (and realize it's their fault, not yours). I'm pretty sure that's the standard coping mechanism here. We're 6 years into owning our house - and it's a radically different place then it was in the beginning. All this stuff takes time, especially now with the hosed up state of supply chains. Your siding looks in ok condition in the few outdoor pictures you have - is there a particular problem with it? Does it just need to be pressure washed? Same with the deck, is it actually rotting away or is it just in need of refinishing? You can rent a sander and go to town on it, and then stain/paint/polyurethane.
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Jun 4, 2021 00:04
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Already there with blaming the previous owners for doing dumb poo poo!! The siding has quite a few places where it’s falling off, they aren’t really pictured because it’s on the back of the garage and a couple other awkward places, but we have some spare stuff in the basement to replace some of it. It looks like they have been repairing it for a while but the corner pieces on the garage are chewed up and coming undone. We have quite a few chipmunk nests in there. The back deck is weathered to hell and has a few boards that are rotten, Since this was previously renters, and an old woman before that, I assume they never shoveled the deck in the winter. We power washed the front and back decks. The front really just needs a paint job and we are thinking of recycling the wood from the ramp to turn back in to stairs. Actually a big thing I wanted to ask about was in the kitchen window.  We have this big picture window above the sink that does not open, but definitely has moisture infiltration.   The eaves extended over it, so I don’t think it’s from the outside, maybe just splashing dishwater for years? What’s the best course of action? Re-seat it and re-caulk? It looks like the wall has separated from the counter top too.
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Jun 4, 2021 01:02
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That looks like two panes of glass, and the build up is between the two panes? If so, that's lost it's seal, and there's not a ton you can do about it. There are some services that claim to be able to clean the inside and re-seal, but YMMV there. It's unlikely you can pull the two panes apart to clean the inside without doing significant damage to the window. If it's just on the surface, I'd start with some vinegar and see if that removes the scale, if so maybe that is just splashing from the sink. I swear by this stuff for glass - you can usually find it at hardware stores or auto parts stores.
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Jun 4, 2021 01:43
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devicenull posted:That looks like two panes of glass, and the build up is between the two panes? Yeah it’s this 
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Jun 4, 2021 01:46
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Just me Looking at the mess of candles and marbles the Previous Owner threw in the fireplace “decorate” it. I’m going to have to clear all the poo poo out if I want to see if the fireplace is even in working condition. Or I could just say gently caress it and make it in to a fake electric fireplace.
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Jun 13, 2021 04:02
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 Saw this neighborhood cat for the first time, I hope they patrol my yard because I’m really hating trapping chipmunks. No major updates since I’ve been back to work. Honestly, just trying to figure out what project I want to work on. I should probably just paint. What color do you paint a hallway? Also I ordered a duck ton of contact paper to make some garage sale furniture match my rooms. I’m sure doing that by myself will go great.
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Jun 15, 2021 02:29
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Ball Tazeman posted:Looking at the mess of candles and marbles the Previous Owner threw in the fireplace “decorate” it. My last house had a fireplace with a damper. We used it with an andiron a few times but found it sucks more heat out of the house than you get from the fire. The next upgrade was a ventless gas log. This was bad. In hindsight I'll never put another ventless NG appliance in a living space. Eventually we settled on a natural gas vented fireplace insert. We debated a wood insert, but I didn't want the headache of dealing with wood and the insurance issues that go with it. The price difference between a ventless fireplace ($300) compared to a vented fireplace ($3500) is pretty huge. I like bright easy to clean hallways. But I have a kid so my opinion is biased in my hallway not looking like a grungy alley.
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Jun 15, 2021 13:49
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Yooper posted:My last house had a fireplace with a damper. We used it with an andiron a few times but found it sucks more heat out of the house than you get from the fire. The next upgrade was a ventless gas log. This was bad. In hindsight I'll never put another ventless NG appliance in a living space. Can I ask what the issue was with the ventless? I really don't have the $3000. Otherwise, I'm just going to shove one of those space heaters with an LED log in there.
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Jun 16, 2021 00:16
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Ball Tazeman posted:Can I ask what the issue was with the ventless? I really don't have the $3000. Otherwise, I'm just going to shove one of those space heaters with an LED log in there. A couple issues, one was the constant background smell of combustion. What would normally go up the flue is now staying in your house. I could barely smell it but it really bothered my wife. Next was the moisture, combustion gives off a lot of moisture. We'd notice moisture build up on our windows. Once the concern was there for air quality we ceased using it.
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Jun 16, 2021 01:59
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I forced myself to sit out on the porch since, for some reason, I have an anxiety aversion to it. It so small and lovely and weathered, I don’t really want to be on it. I was trying to find nice things to think about in order to change that association. So, despite not getting to make garden beds this year, I have some lovely herbs and veggies thriving. The groundhog didn’t get to these ones before we caught it.  Our lilac bush blossomed and it’s full of bees   Honestly I don’t know what to do with this mess. There are some really lovely hyacinths buried in the mess of weeds and grass that I don’t want to kill by clearing it out.  I’m also still getting used to the train right behind our neighborhood. It’s very loud initially and I’m super sensitive to it, but the cars following it are fairly quiet and I kind of enjoy them. It shakes the house and that sometimes scares me.
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Jun 16, 2021 17:21
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We bought a house back in October that had some serious maintenance and update needs. I have anxiety and I tend to "see" problems that other people don't. I suggest trying to frame this to yourself as a positive. Why weren't any of these issues addressed previously? Why were no updates done? Here's why: because none of those people saw, knew about, or cared about any of those issues. Houses and buildings in general need people to live in them and care about them. A vacant unmaintained house is a knockdown in a couple years, just from water and pests. Nobody else gave a poo poo about that place and did half-assed temporary fixes at best. That's where you come in. You and your partner are going to save that house by pure force of will. My wife and I made a categorized, prioritized list in Google Docs of what the house needs or we want. The categories are in descending priority as are the actual work items. 1. Problems that present an immediate risk to life, health, or the integrity of the home. This is where fire hazards, water leaks, exposed electrical wiring, vermin infestations, gas leaks, sewer backups, etc go. When my wife and I moved in there were non-GFCI outlets next to the sinks and the electrical panel was deficient. 5 days after we moved in we had an electrician come in and address a laundry list of issues including replacing the panel. 2. Issues that can pose serious issues for the house if not mitigated, but can be worked around for the immediate time being. Our roof needs to be replaced since it's old, but it's ok for now. The deck was really wobbly, but I installed a diagonal brace and it's ok for the immediate time being. 3. Issues that present major livability concerns. This is things you can technically do without but really affect your quality of life in the meantime. We wanted to use the basement as an office but we couldn't till we ran Ethernet cable This is where a non-essential appliance (like a dishwasher) breaking goes 4. Issues that are actively bothersome. Most of the doors in my house stuck like crazy. The master bedroom carpet is hideous indoor/outdoor grade scratchy poo poo 5. Minor annoyances. Our oven is too small to use a full size baking sheet. We want a new oven. 6. Future upgrades. We want to repaint most of the house We want a nicer shower stall It's ok to do items from lower down! They're usually cheaper and faster and it's really worth it to make the house your own place that works for you. Whenever you see an issue, categorize it and write it down. You won't forget about it and it's much easier to keep from mentally dwelling on something when you can remind yourself "Yes it's an issue but it's written down, we will get to it and it's not an emergency in the meantime". The list is a good place to keep cost and time estimates. The basement takes 16k, we're saving X dollars a month, we can get to it by this time.
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Jun 16, 2021 21:15
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I'd also try making a list of what isn't a problem, stuff that's working fine. You haven't said anything about your plumbing, is that ok? Plumbing makes the house livable- if yours is fine that's a huge deal. Does the water taste good? You aren't getting sewer backups which is great because those are disastrous. Your neighbors sounds like decent people, that's a big deal. Your brains are going to filter out the train sounds in a few weeks if they haven't already. You've got a functioning home surrounded by plants and wildlife. The air [hopefully] smells good outside. Take a seat on your porch steps in the evening and have a cold drink. In my experience the people with big expensive decks never use them, but people with some beat-up lawn chairs in their front yard are out there every evening watching the light filter through the trees.
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Jun 16, 2021 21:29
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Ball Tazeman posted:I’m also still getting used to the train right behind our neighborhood. It’s very loud initially and I’m super sensitive to it, but the cars following it are fairly quiet and I kind of enjoy them. It shakes the house and that sometimes scares me. As someone who lives in a house right next to the railroad: Just try to not worry about it. You'll start tuning it out real fast and the only time it will bother you is when some rear end in a top hat driver lays on the horn at 3AM. My house isn't terribly old but if my janky-rear end early 70's home hasn't fallen over from the trains your house will be fine.
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Jun 17, 2021 16:42
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