9 years ago last week I bought a house for 37K from an estate sale. It was 1040 SF, 3 bed, 1 bath on .6 acres. It had a full basement.
My fix em up history:
- Inside, it was a wee bit redneck. First thing I did, tear all the 70's paneling off he hallway. I discovered beat up drywall which I promptly put a thick plaster on.
- I cut a hole in the wall connecting the kitchen breakfast nook with my den. That one game my Mom a heart attack because I just went in with a hammer and saw one day at did it lol
- I painted the knotty pine in the living room, walls and ceiling. It is very beachy now I like it.
- I took the linoleum off the walls in the kitchen. yes, on the WALLS. It took hunks out of the wall so the drywall came down, new insulation went up and my crooked drywall was put up. Thick plaster anyone? Check!
- Next, the thing I wish I hadn't done, was put in a tile floor in the kitchen. I should have put in a floating laminate over the linoleum. I loathe my tile floor. I have busted tiles, it is cold, it is hard to clean. I LOATHE it and it was so hard to do and so expensive. I am so sick of repairing it, I could just scream.
- I painted my kitchen cabinets white - huge difference.
- Somewhere in here I refinished the hardwood throughout the house and put stucco on the ceilings.
- Then I hit the bathroom. The faucets leaked and my Dad fixed them. Then I knocked out all of the 60's gold glitter tile, took out the old toilet, took out the old sink which looked like it belonged in a camper and retiled the tub in white, put in new drywall (crooked - insert thick plaster here), put in a new bath cabinet, a new sink top, a new faucet, a new toilet, a new mirror and a new floating floor.
- Outside during all of this, Dad helped me put white siding on the house, replaced gutters, cut off trailer awnings on the windows, replaced the old cruddy windows with new ones and helped me clear land.
- Oh ya, and like the first month I owned it the heat pump burned out. Month 13 of a 12 month warranty. Found out the electrical wasn't updated correctly but the install biz was already out of biz. So new breaker box and heat pump box thingy outside.
- Hmmm what else? Oh ya, a windstorm came and knocked off my roof on my deck. I actually got a check for that which was awesome because it was ugly and I didn't want it anway. Later, Dad helped me build new rails.
- He also helped me build my front porch rails.
Currently I am working on:
- The kitchen. Cabinets, counters, sink, faucet, dishwasher, stove, lots of electrical. Eventually a new floor.
- My bath needs refreshing. When I did it the first time I was broke and couldn't buy nice things for it. So I need a new bath cabinet bad.
- My bedroom is going to lose a wall and gain the hallway area. I'd like to also vault the ceiling but that could be expensive.
And this is what happened today. My Dad would be super happy with it:
Architectural shingle in pewter. I couldn't be happier. It really inspires me to do my landscaping and do it right the first time. All my neighbors commented on it, I just couldn't be happier :)This leaves me with about $15 and some change to finish up the house. The kitchen will just be a few hundred more for trims, the bath shouldn't be too bad. I'll probably spend another 1K in landscaping and do it right the first time. So I'll have 13Kish to devote to the basement. I am hopeful that will be enough since we are going for a bath (which I can tile myself) and the rest will be one large room. I can run the electrical wiring to save money and I will install the laminate myself which will save a ton. That will keep the house right at 70K. And really if it goes up to 80K, it isn't a big deal for an updated cottage on a half acre with almost 2100 SF!
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