The Big House Renovation

I'm starting just one post for the big summer project of getting the house into tip-top shape! Our list of things to do just keeps growing, but it's long overdue. We aren't doing any of the work ourselves except replacing the deck, re-sheath & wrap the garage, and build porch posts.

After discussing paint, we remembered our windows are the original windows (except two) and need either re-glazed or replaced. We're choosing to replace! So I have 3 contractors coming to bid on that project today.

We are also painting the house. We thought about siding the house, but decided to keep the original cedar siding for now.

EDIT 6/22/12--We are not painting the house, we're going to use vinyl siding. So our "to do" list has changed quite a bit.

Here's our list of what has to be done this summer, not necessarily in chronological order...

1. Remove the deck from the house. DONE
2. Pour new footings in the garage. DONE
3. Replace 12 windows. DONE
4. Vinyl Siding DONE
5. Replace a retaining wall under the deck. DONE
6. Rebuild the deck. DONE
7. Cut down the walnut tree. Low Priority, been working on it one limb at a time DIY
8. Build new porch posts. DONE
9. Remove siding & sheathing from garage & re-sheath & wrap in preparation for siding. DONE
10. Replace water heater. DONE
11. Leaf guards for gutters. DONE
12. Stain the deck (in the following year) DONE
13. Build 2nd deck behind garage for Grills

 

Yes I'm really excited now. Our windows leak like mad and one is covered in plastic it's so bad, so having them replaced will not only look better, but save us on utility bills. We did our roof a few years back, and it was worth every cent! We also had them add a bunch of extra venting at the same time, which helped tremendously.

moderator's note: removed unnecessary quoting of previous post

 

Sounds like you'll almost be getting a whole new house! :-D I'd be excited too.
Hubby just painted our house... it makes such a big difference... even if it was the same color as before.
I sure wish we could afford to replace all of our windows... they are the original ones from the late 50s (except maybe a couple of ones that got broken when we were kids).
Good luck!

 

Yeah, these darn windows have caused us nothing but trouble. When we originally bought the house we were trying to get an FHA loan and were denied because the windows were so bad & needed reglazed. Since the house was being sold as-is, we had to start over with a conventional loan. We changed bankers and closed 3 weeks later!

 

Okay, I have my first window bid. $7000 for 12 windows (my living room window is actually 3 windows), triple pane, installed. I have no idea if that is a good/bad bid? Waiting on my other bids yet. I'm in Iowa, so any midwesterners out there know if this is a decent price?

 

I don't know about the Midwest, but that bid in Texas would be jumped on like a duck on a junebug! Its a bit less than what we paid to have 9 windows replaced, and the ones in the living room and guest bedroom are really, really big.
Check the company out on Angie's list. The Better Business Bureau is a complete waste of time. Also, ask for recommendations. They won't tell you anyone that is going to bad-mouth them, but by asking about neatness, timeliness of completion, workmen's attitudes you can learn a lot.
Enjoy your comfortable, almost-new home!

 

We're clear at the bank to proceed now, and at a great rate! Now I'm really getting excited.

Bids are coming in and they are much lower than I expected! I had expected our retaining wall to be a $5000 project, and it's only $2000! I really had no idea, should have fixed it sooner at that price. We're probably not going with the lowest bid on the windows, I just didn't like the salesperson, and he was too pushy, and seemed to underbid the real cost of the job imo. Bid #2 was more, but also included triple pane window but different styles to suit my needs better. And this company has a better reputation and liked by people I know. This means a lot to me at least. Waiting on one more piece of the puzzle (fixing the siding/rotted wood areas) then we can get going on this!

12 Windows: $9200 worse-case scenario if lead present (includes tax)
Paint Exterior: $3500
Siding Fix: still waiting for bids
Retaining Wall: $2000
Walnut Tree Removal: $972 (next winter)
New Deck: TBD later (DIY project) It will be composite.

I'm so glad we're doing this, it's way cheaper than moving to a new house! We'd have to do it all to be able to sell the house, I'd rather enjoy it while I'm living here in the meantime.

 

Looks like good rates. And I don't blame you for going with a company that has a good reputation among acquaintances... even if it costs a little more. I'm excited for you!

 

I always forget to take "before" pics, so I did a few today.

Retaining Wall


Siding in the shape of a window


Rotting Wood


Our old livingroom window complete with living dog statue.

 

Wow I know it's all going to look great when you are all finished. Glad you posted pic's.
We sort of had a simialr situation when we remodeled our kitchen. One place I stopped to look at cabinets hardly gave me the time of day. He acted like I was intruding on his time.
The next place I stopped bent over backwards to help me put it all together. They even did a computer floor plan. Guess who got our business. You sound like you will be really pleased with the job the other company will do for you.
Wouldn't it be fun if you could go on vacation and then come back and whella! It's all done.

 

Plans already changing...

Well I got my new hot water heater this morning, and now I'm waiting for my dumpster to show up so I can put the old deck into it! That will feel good, and we'll have to comb through the house for stuff we've been wanting to get rid of.

My next goal for today is to repaint our house numbers and get them moved to the garage. We removed the shutters off the front of the house last night, we're not keeping them. We've also decided to get rid of the wrought iron porch supports after all. That will probably be a project for next week. Probably going to go with square columns, tinkering with the idea up custom wrought iron, but I don't think that will be in our budget. We've also decided we'll probably do vinyl siding. It comes in 7" singles which should look pretty good on this house. We're choosing a darker blue-green/gray than what we have now. It's called "Everest". After looking around at houses, the seams show up more on the lighter houses in our opinion, so we're going with a darker color than originally planned. Something like this...


Of course the shutters will be gone, and our new big window will be one unit instead of 3 separate windows, with casement windows. It'll look completely different. We are keeping double hung windows for the bedrooms since the porch isn't very deep & we'd have to walk around casement windows. Hoping to finalize the order on that tomorrow, then there will be ~6 week wait.

DH has dreamed up his deck plans. He will rebuild the deck we had with the same dimensions, add a 2nd smaller deck behind the garage, both which will step down to our concrete steps already in place. Between the decks will be some sort of walk/patio area. The retaining wall installer is going to terrace that side of the hill in two levels, that was his idea and I like it.

 

Big project indeed, but you know what you want and I think it will be wonderful! Good luck with it.

 

Update:

I have found a contractor to fix the footings in the garage! This means we can side the house and the garage at the same time. Unfortunately, this also means we have to fix the rotted wood, remove the siding, sheath the walls & wrap the garage to prep it for vinyl siding....in addition to building the deck! Whew. We've already decided our annual August vacation is going to be a working one.

 

This is so exciting! I feel like I am there with you