[WGH]

Read Part 1 - here

Would You Buy This House?

I needed to move, after 34 years renting the same place my time was up, the landlady's evil daughter gave me 30 days to get out. I wasn't looking for a fixer upper but for fun I plugged $65,000 - $165,000 into the TARMLS property search and this sad looking house appeared. Usually houses in the lower price range are in the worst parts of town but this one was located in one of the best parts of Tucson. In a flash I was out the door for a look and to check out the neighborhood. Called my realtor and had a walk through by noon and made an offer. The realtor called back at noon the next day and told me I bought a house. Life is easy when you have cash (I put money into savings for 30 years because rent was only $350/month).

The story goes that the house was listed the previous month but pulled quickly because buyers were so horrified at the condition, tall weeds surrounded the house and the living room shag carpet was unrecognizable because of all the cat hair.













I cleaned every weekend for a month and moved in. Living the life of Reilly, 1950's style. The shower doors with the swan design were a classic and were hard to get rid of. The tub needed a little scrubbing.


Demo Begins

After 2 months of planning I moved into a borrowed 35' motor home parked in the driveway.

The first step was to remove cabinets, support the ceiling and remove the center bearing wall.


Three days later we had something to work with.


The roof and ceiling is now supported by a 4x12 beam.



Putting It All Back Together

The exterior walls and textured ceiling was skinned with 1/4" drywall, bathroom wall had 1/2" of course.


After 3 months I moved back in. Wood floor is down and painting is done.


4 months after demo started I have the beginnings of a kitchen.



Finishing Up

There is still work to be done, back doors to be made, interior doors painted, new casing, office shelves, but the place works just fine and I'm in no hurry to finish up.



I made all the cabinet doors from a flitch white oak, all the panels are made from wide boards (no glue lines) from one tree.




I went with a walk-in shower instead of a tub since I can't remember the last time I took a bath and it's my house and I can do what I want.


Wayne

[TomS]

Very impressive job Wayne 

HGTV needs to feature your transformation, for a small fee of course

[Bob2]

Great job on the work you have put in. You must be single...

[Odal3]

Very Nice! 

[Guy 13]

Very nice, nice job.
You are a PRO ! 
That's one place I would like to live.
Any luck seeing picture(s) of the bedroom?

Guy 13

[WGH]

Any luck seeing picture(s) of the bedroom?

Never took photos of the bedroom. I would have to take down all the Playboy centerfolds (just kidding).
Yup, still single.
A girlfriend from a few years ago has a bathtub under a mesquite tree, somehow we both fit in it. My new trees are growing fast and the back wall is high enough so I could do the same.

[wlvca]

You did a beautiful job with your home.  Especially like your kitchen cabinets and bathroom.

I don't post here often but I was very impressed with the transformation you made to that house.

Hope you enjoy it.

[dflee]

Really Great job Wayne. Are you still running the swamp cooler or have you switched out to heat pump.
The bathroom tile looks like it has a small arch or is that the angle. Cabs are excellent and I wish you
the best in your new (old) digs. If all the changes came out of your mind, I know what profession you
should be in. The visionary on this is awesome (pigs ear to silk purse way).

Don

[macrojack]

From the outside your house looks tiny. After the makeover, the interior looks quite spacious. That's the design aspect that most impresses me. The cabinets and doors all look like what you find in the most expensive homes, which is, of course, what they are. All in all, a major triumph.
Are there plans for solar panels? I'm also curious about what you've done about HVAC, water heating, electrical upgrades, etc.

I'm sure you are very proud, as you should be, but I imagine you get the most satisfaction from knowing your retirement home is in place. Congratulations.

Just don't go falling in love with a woman who thinks it's too small. Keep your guard up.

[Carl V]

Nice very NICE
The size, gas wall heater,
Interior amenities & lay out looks
like what I grew up in.  Fixed up like you
did I'd like to be back there.

I see the Indian blanket over the Flat screen... so how does the room sound.

A couple of questions.
What are you gonna do for heat?
Did you go with a heat pump?
Do you see Baseboards & crown Molding in your future?

What does the interior shot of your lovely front door look like?

One of your 'before room' shots shows older French doors did you retain them?
where do they exist...back room/office?

[ACHiPo]

From the outside your house looks tiny. After the makeover, the interior looks quite spacious. That's the design aspect that most impresses me. The cabinets and doors all look like what you find in the most expensive homes, which is, of course, what they are. All in all, a major triumph.
Are there plans for solar panels? I'm also curious about what you've done about HVAC, water heating, electrical upgrades, etc.

I agree with all the superlatives--great job!  I had a similar reaction to Macrojack--it reminds me of Dr. Who's Tardis:  a tiny police box on the outside and huge on the inside.  The first pics of the house make it look about 20' x 20', but it's obviously bigger than that.  I'm thinking lenses/perspective is at play?

[C17FXR]

Very nice job with the refurb, I always love looking at before and after shots.

I have one question, is that one of those new high efficiency split top toilets in the bathroom shot?

Love the looks of the bathroom though, it's similar to the make over I have planned for my bathroom.

Great job.

[mresseguie]

Man. Geez. Sigh.  It's looking fantastic. It'll look even better once you've finished it.

How do you like being an owner instead of a tenant?

I own a rental home (1960) in which I see tons of potential to make it 'my' home. Unfortunately, my wife hates the house. It's a single floor, 1570 sq ft, 3 bdrms, 2 baths, carport, 1/2 acre fenced/tree shaded, really safe neighborhood.

[Rocket]

Hi,

Did you do the work all by yourself or did you have trades help you?  Have you been able to do anything outside to the yard.  The inside looks fantastic, especially, your hifi system.

Cheers Rod

[WGH]

That's a lot of questions.

I hired a general contractor to get the big stuff done, Matt Baer kept everybody in line and on schedule, 3 months from demolition to move-in is unheard of but we did it. If anyone needs an excellent contractor in Southern Arizona Matt's your guy, he will tell you he is not the cheapest but he is the best. http://baerworks.com/ I did the cabinet doors, panels and trim, chipped out floor tile, laid the wood floor, and painted.

I love being a home owner. I own my wood shop too but for years I couldn't afford to buy another building and because I was paying only $350/month rent I was in fat city. The NY Times has a rent vs. buy calculator and I broke even after 34 years so no regrets. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/upshot/buy-rent-calculator.html

The other reasons for not buying a house earlier was that home prices skyrocketed and I knew we were in a bubble and no way would I get into an adjustable mortgage. I bought my shop in 1981 and interest rates were 15% so I knew the low rates might not stay low forever. And self-employed people have an impossible time getting loans these days, I tried but the amount of money I could borrow would barely buy a dog house.

Back in May 2008, Planet Money in collaboration with This American Life broadcast The Giant Pool of Money which explained the housing crisis so well that the only smart thing to do was to hunker down, not make any un-necessary purchases like a new house because we had years and years of depression along with zero housing starts ahead of us. These 5 shows are still relevant today and should be required listening if anyone wants to survive adulthood into old age.

The Giant Pool of Money
2nd Follow up 10/3/2008 Another Frightening Show About the Economy
3rd Follow up 2/27/2009 Bad Bank
4th Follow up 6/5/2009 The Watchmen
5th Follow up 9/25/2009 Return To The Giant Pool of Money

The bathroom photo is a pano made from 6 photos stiched together so it's distorted. The bathroom is the standard 9'x5'. The toilet is a basic low flow that came with the house, one of the few items I kept.

I have a Tempstar 14 SEER gas pack on the roof which is a combination heater and A/C unit. It is very quiet and electric bills in the summer stay below $100, winter electric is $40 so solar panels would not be cost effective.

The french doors are in my office, they need to be replaced and is one of the items on my list.

The front door inside photo was added to my first post, here is a copy.


The house is 750 sq. ft. so by today standards it is small but entire family's grew up in houses this size, 2 bedroom, 1 bath, bunk beds, and everybody learned to get along. Another advantage to a small house is the kids moved out at 18, not like today.

The overall design was fully realized in my head before demo started. I worked out a few details along the way but everything was ready and waiting for the contractors so there were no delays. When the plumber had a question I had the actual parts in hand. All the electrical wiring (except a few outlets in the block wall), all plumbing from the meter, all gas from the meter, all drains and vents are 100% new so this is a new house in an old shell.

Wayne

[Phil A]

Wonderful job!

[WGH]

The most used item in my kitchen is the chopping block. I grew up before Trader Joe's, pre-washed baby greens, and food courts in grocery stores. The only ready-to-eat dinner was TV dinners, when I was growing up Palatine, IL had one of the first McDonalds so I learned to cook by necessity and I'm good at it if I do say so myself.

And I like a big work space. The chopping block has a white oak base with 40" x 25-1/2" hard maple top. The legs are 4" square because the caster plate is almost that big. Total height is 36-1/2", the same as the granite top. The drawer guides are Blum Tandembox, same as the kitchen drawers.
The wheels are 3" nylon antimicrobial from Alco, about $72 for 4.
http://www.alcosales.com/pc_product_detail.asp?key=78B7D2E6E2F34D4CB735CAE0AB26FF38







Wayne





 

[Carl V]

The house is 750 sq. ft. so by today standards it is small but entire family's grew up in houses this size, 2 bedroom, 1 bath, bunk beds, and everybody learned to get along. Another advantage to a small house is the kids moved out at 18, not like today.


Had to laugh at that....so true.
Our 1st house just that...we moved up 1962
to a 3bedroom, two bath two car garage 1000sq ft.
We thought we were living the good life...and we were.


Enjoy your new digs.

[Rocket]

Hi Wayne,

If I remember correctly you were the person that built your HT2TL cabinets and sent them to Jim for finishing?  You've done a great job on your renovation.  Oh Btw Australia is headed for a housing bubble as well.  The prices for houses in Australia are crazy and so difficult for young people to purchase anything close to a city.

Anyway, thank you for sharing your renovation with us.

Cheers Rod

[WGH]

Hi Wayne,

If I remember correctly you were the person that built your HT2TL cabinets and sent them to Jim for finishing?

Thanks Rod, actually the opposite, Jim built and veneered the speakers and I did the finishing. I supplied Jim with the bookmatched 1/8" thick mesquite veneer I made. Mesquite looks best with a tung oil finish, which Jim doesn't do so I did the finishing in my shop. Click on the link to see how the veneer was made:
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=100672.msg1015847#msg1015847