The Patient
This house has great bones, great neighbors and great light, the three things that are hardest to find. There's a little water damage here and there, she needs a lot of updating, but mostly she suffers from neglect.
I'm not a contractor nor a tradesman. I'm just a mechanically minded guy with an "I think I Can" attitude (yes, I have a 2 year old) and a supportive wife (most of the time). It's a commonly held fact that home remodeling = divorce and as such, I was determined to finish a majority of the work in the 10 weeks before we moved in. The following ToDo list sounds crazy, but dear Reader I just about did it. The demo work was done by an enthusiastic team of friends and family. I did most of the rough carpentry and then sub'ed out the other trades. Wherever possible... I chose the Green alternative.
October 15,2006 - December 31st, 2006
- Install all new plumbing (new copper pipe)
- Install new water heater (hybrid tankless)
- Install all new natural gas lines
- Install all new electrical (California Title 24 compliant)
- Remove original gravity-fed furnace and asbestos covered ducting (remediated)
- Install new furnace and ducting (92 AFUE, 2 stage, variable speed)
- Add insulation in the walls (Icynene foam)
- Refinish hardwood floors (Low VOC urethane)
- Replace 9 of 13 windows (double pane, low-E, argon filled)
- Repair water damage and remodel two bathrooms (Low flow fixtures)
- Demolish finished basement for later remodel (Removed rats nests...)
- Refinish all interior plaster walls (Encapsulate lead paints)
- Paint interior walls (low VOC)
- New carpet in Master Bedroom (Wool loop)
- Install garbage disposal and dishwasher in kitchen (High efficiency)The only thing we didn't change was... the kitchen sink!