1901 Farmhouse renovation

[rockcity]

For anyone that follows me on FG and IG, you already know I've been working on a massive renovation of an old farmhouse from 1901.

I figured I'd go ahead and document the rebuild here, all in one place. It was a fun but exhausting ordeal for Bri and I as we performed a majority of the work ourselves with our already limited spare time.

Here goes. We had been talking about doing a flip for some time and came across this house and kind of bought it on impulse. We did the numbers on it and they worked. So, after looking at it, we were under contract the next day. It was a foreclosure owned by HUD. That being said, it was sold "as-is", mold, lead, asbestos, snakes, leaking underground oil tanks, etc. we purchased in June of 2016 and have been slowly working on it since.

Here are a few very early photos:

There used to be an old nasty pump house where the tractor sits. The house had public waster service so the pump house was no longer in service. All of that was demolished.

Here are a few of the inside.
Lots of wood rot from roof leaks and crappy window installation without flashing or sealing.

Foyer. There were doors between every room. And, lots of space not used very efficiently. It had 10'-6" ceilings through most of the home and 8'-6" ceilings in an addition that I think dates back to the '50s.

Very dated kitchen. Lots of filth and the entire floor was rotten under 3 layers of lenolium. I actually fell through the floor that day in the kitchen.

This was an entrance to the old master bedroom from the formal living room. There was also another door going to the hallway and another going to an adjacent bedroom. The doors were nice and solid wood doors and the plan was to keep as many of them as possible. Some were damaged and we didn't keep those but most original doors were to be kept.

You can see the filth and mold on the walls and ceiling. There was really nice old crown moulding we wanted to keep. It was more colonial than we wanted but it would be a nice subtle touch of the original house even though we were going to enhance the simple trim with some craftsman flair.



The lot was about 1.5 acres that remained from the hundreds of acre farm it used to serve. Fortunately the house was situated to the left of the lot and the right half was wooded. It was perfectly laid out to be subdivided into two 3/4 acre lots. So, after the county environmental health checked out both proposed lots for new septic, the surveyor was all set to subdivide and file with the register of deeds. So now I have a vacant lot to build another house on later.



The plan for renovation:
New metal roof
Remove some walls and rearrange the rooms a little so they are more user friendly
Create a master suite
Build a deck
Fix all wood rot
Update HVAC
New electrical
New plumbing
New septic
New updated kitchen


We weren't exactly sure the layout when we bought it but it already had a pretty good layout from the start and we just needed to clean up the layout and open it up more to appeal to today's buyers.

 

[rockcity]

More pictures of the interior...

Fireplace that we ended up keeping after some modifications.

Dining room. The wall and floor were rotten. Window was just held in place with the vinyl siding.

Another shot of the kitchen. The exterior wall was rotten along with the floor. Someone drove a nail through the plumbing and it slowly leaked for years rotting the framing. Couple that with leaking windows and its disaster for that exterior wall.

Laundry room paneling. It's actually really nice wood. Tongue and groove. I really wanted to keep it and paint it but I had to remove a lot of it for plumbing and framing repair.

Nasty master bath. Ceiling height was about 6'-6". No shower, tub only. The plan was to do a 100% demo and turn this into a closet with vaulted ceiling.

3 doors within 2' of each other were problematic. And, they were just 6' tall and like 18" wide. Demo! That's not user friendly!

 

[Fabrik8]

So the backstory is confusing. You're still planning on flipping this, or no....?

I dig the gingerbread trim on the porch.

 

[trailhugger]

So the backstory is confusing. You're still planning on flipping this, or no....?

I've asked him that many times over the past year or so. Pretty sure it's still for sale, though.

 

[powerstrokin04]

The plan for renovation:
New metal roof
Remove some walls and rearrange the rooms a little so they are more user friendly
Create a master suite
Build a deck
Fix all wood rot
Update HVAC
New electrical
New plumbing
New septic
New updated kitchen

Subscribed!
These are the exact renovations, I mean to a tee, that we are doing (wanting to do) to our old 1902 house. It's definitely a big undertaking since we are living In the house.






Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[rockcity]

Sorry. We bought it last year and have been renovating it since. It's nearly complete now and will be on the market soon.


Over the next week or so I'll update the thread with progress pics. So it's basically a build thread from the last year compressed into a couple weeks.


Oh, and if anyone doesn't want to read the thread, you can watch it on DIY Network later this month.

The extended timeline was partially due to timing for filming, etc.

 

[powerstrokin04]

[emoji38]


Sorry. We bought it last year and have been renovating it since. It's nearly complete now and will be on the market soon.


Over the next week or so I'll update the thread with progress pics. So it's basically a build thread from the last year compressed into a couple weeks.


Oh, and if anyone doesn't want to read the thread, you can watch it on DIY Network later this month.

The extended timeline was partially due to timing for filming, etc.

What show is it on diy? I'd like to catch it.

 

[ramjo]

I'm guessing it's gonna air under "The Vanilla Ice Project"........ Can't wait to see it myself!

 

[Croatan_Kid]

Been catching it on Facebook and I dig it. I even thought about driving by it one day to check it out!

 

[ord.sgt.26NC]

where abouts this located?

 

[rockcity]

What show is it on diy? I'd like to catch it.

The show is "First Time Flippers"

Been doing construction for some time now but this is our first residential flip.

Even the girls got a little camera time.

 

[rockcity]

where abouts this located?

It's in Greenville/Grimesland area

 

[rockcity]

Guest bath and laundry room had some rotten floors. This was tedious work. Had to remove the rotten floor, floor joists, and wall between the laundry and bathroom. Instead of reworking the cast plumbing it had to be demolished and replaced as it was rusted out on the inside from sitting for years unused. The triple 2x8 band joist around about half of the house had to be replaced as well.

This is the remnants of the fireplace and wall between the former master and the formal living room. The old master bath you can see at the far left, which was demolished as well as the 3 doors within like 2' of each other. Fireplace foundation was removed and the girder extended all the way across the foundation. Bricks from old fireplace were meticulously kept in decent shape and are to be repurposed for a front sidewalk. New floor joists were installed where the fireplace foundation was as the existing joists were too short to reach the new extended girder.

The pic was taken from the former master bedroom. After looking at the joists, they were demolished and replaced with properly sized joists. Existing ones were rough cut 2x6 spaced about 20" OC and were rotten. I replaced with 2x10 spaced at 16" OC. This room was to be converted into a master bath and the tile floor and shower needed proper joists to keep them from flexing and moving and cracking for years to come.

New floor joists for the former master going in. The south half of the house had settled some 3" since 1901. It was most obvious in the old master. So, to "correct" the out of level floor, the joists were individually leveled and coped to the girder. The doorway was on the high side of the room so it worked out well where the new joists and floor were now level, there was no odd step at the doorway, and the room was now solid. I guess the only way someone would know the house is not level but the floor is would be to measure the floor to ceiling height t all 4 corners of the room as the south side is about 3" shorter. It's not noticeable but should make for some interesting figment of the crown moulding.

 

[jcramsey]

Even the girls got a little camera time.

I hope it was of them ripping through the front yard in the mini smoke buggy

 

[ord.sgt.26NC]

It's in Greenville/Grimesland area

Eastern Pines Water Corp? We have been helping them out with their water line repairs.

 

[rockcity]

Eastern Pines Water Corp? We have been helping them out with their water line repairs.

Yep. On Tucker Rd. Can't miss it.

 

[rodney eppes]

Sorry. We bought it last year and have been renovating it since. It's nearly complete now and will be on the market soon.


Over the next week or so I'll update the thread with progress pics. So it's basically a build thread from the last year compressed into a couple weeks.


Oh, and if anyone doesn't want to read the thread, you can watch it on DIY Network later this month.

The extended timeline was partially due to timing for filming, etc.

My Grandparents house, which my parents bought, & raised me there, had several rooms lined with that same Pine paneling. Majority of the house wood, was cut & planed, on the property.

 

[rockcity]

I talked the wife into helping with demo of some old roof curbs before starting on the new roof.

Obvious leaking and water damage. No crickets installed on the curbs means the water just sits against the curb on a low slope roof. Not good. It was an old curb for a furnace or something like that. It wasn't used anymore so we just removed it and a couple others.

I talked the wife into crawling into the attic space to seal off the curb in the ceiling/old flat roof. A low slope roof was added years ago to get away from the flat roof on the addition. The joist was rotten so I added a sister joist to it and treated it with some wood rot epoxy stuff I've used in the past. I used a treated 2x8, well, because it was an extra left over from the deck.

I also added some nailers for the new roof sheathing I had to replace.

 

[justjeepin86]

The show is "First Time Flippers"

Funny, every time I see those type shows I think, damn, if these dumb assess can make money flipping a house, I should be able to! Lol

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Tapatalk

 

[rockcity]

Picture was taken inside the hall bath looking into the laundry room where the joists were replaced. The wall between bathroom and laundry room was moved into the laundry about 20" to make more space in bathroom instead of having unutilized space in the laundry room. You can see where the joists are close together as the one in the middle is just under the new wall location. After the wall was removed the laundry room was still 10' x 9' so it was plenty big.

When demolishing the plumbing from the laundry, I couldn't find where the drain pipe from the sink and washing machine actually dumped into any plumbing. So, it appears for who knows how long, the laundry sink and clothes washing machine just dumped under the house. It was really wet there as it was a low spot. The rotten floor in the laundry room was cladded with treated 3/4" plywood right over top of the rotten subfloor and joists. Ugh!

This was the nightmare I found on the kitchen exterior wall. Everything was rotten and soaked even though the water had been turned off for 2 years! Multiple nails had been driven into the copper plumbing causing leaks. This band joist and a portion of the girder to the left of the pic had to be replaced.

After some careful demolition in the living room, we revealed the hidden original 116 year old brick fireplace. The plan was to keep this and add some brick from the other fireplace that was demolished to enhance the beauty and get rid of the old 60s dated brick. A new mantle would need to be made but not sure yet.

 

[rockcity]

Funny, every time I see those type shows I think, damn, if these dumb assess can make money flipping a house, I should be able to! Lol

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Tapatalk

I thought the same thing! I thought right.

Granted we did a lot of the work ourselves, but realistically before realtor fees, we should have over a $60k profit. plus we will own the 3/4 acre wooded lot next door free and clear valued at $30k.

I'd say it worked out just fine.



Realistically, a majority of the show is scripted around our project. It's reality TV but not really.
Producers didn't like me very much because I'm too meticulous and structured with work and made damn sure everything was right and ready. While it's great for construction, it makes for crappy TV.

 

[rockcity]

My Grandparents house, which my parents bought, & raised me there, had several rooms lined with that same Pine paneling. Majority of the house wood, was cut & planed, on the property.

We actually kept some of the pine that was installed behind the wall cabinets that we kept in the laundry room. After priming with shellac primer, some paint and the pine actually looks pretty nice. I really wish I was able to keep it. When removing it I actually kept all of it but most of it busted up when removing it. Someone used wood floor cleats when installing it so it was difficult salvaging it.

 

[Croatan_Kid]

My uncle just got done with a big remodel on an old flat top Cherry Point house. He retired and is moving back down here from Hickory. Anyway...the original German siding on those houses was actually redwood and he saved a bunch of it and stripped it to put on the exterior wall of the house, but inside the screened in porch. It looks phenomenal! I love when you can save an old piece of a house during a remodel and use it somewhere else as a focal point/accent piece!

 

[rockcity]

My uncle just got done with a big remodel on an old flat top Cherry Point house. He retired and is moving back down here from Hickory. Anyway...the original German siding on those houses was actually redwood and he saved a bunch of it and stripped it to put on the exterior wall of the house, but inside the screened in porch. It looks phenomenal! I love when you can save an old piece of a house during a remodel and use it somewhere else as a focal point/accent piece!

That's awesome.

Stay tuned. We utilized a lot of refurbished items on the house. Well, not a lot, but some. Most of what we removed was rotten so there wasn't much to repurpose.

The front porch was some kind of untreated wood with about a 1/2" thick layer of paint on the top. Heavy as hell wood ( likely lead paint... ). The bottom side is really cool looking. We haven't reutilized it anywhere but did keep it. Same with many of the old rough sawn studs we removed. I'll use them for something even if it's not on this house. I now have a decent table saw and access to a planer. So I may start honing my wood working skills into something random with all the old wood.


I did find some old terra-cotta drain pipe in the back yard during septic install. I've pulled it to the side and will work well for some wine bottle holders somewhere.

 

[rockcity]

Standing at the front door, you can see we pretty much demolished all the existing walls in the common spaces. The wall between the living room to the left and the dining room is load bearing as is the wall between dining room and old kitchen all the way to the back left. So, we had to figure on LVLs since we wanted to create an open floor plan. We weren't sure what to do with the kitchen. I wanted to go all out and move it to the center of the house and overlook the dining room and living room. Bri wanted to keep it simple and keep the original location of the kitchen and the small, cramped eat-in space that was barely big enough for 2 people. We finally realized all new plumbing was needed as well as wiring, so the plumbing costs was zero to move the kitchen. So, we decided to move the kitchen to the center of the house and utilize the hallway from front to back of the house as part of the kitchen to make it more useful and efficient. Moving the kitchen created a more usable dining room space and enlarged the living room by 6' or so. We decided to do a bar top on the central kitchen cabinet to make up for the loss of the eat in kitchen space. This bar top would serve well for quick meals like breakfast and would serve as additional seating during entertaining.

Stay tuned to see how it works out!