It took much longer than we ever could have imagined, but we had utilities, foundation piers installed, new roof, new garage door and the exterior was painted, we were ready to start on the interior. The interior was a good new / bad news situation. The good news, crown molding throughout the house, uncompleted custom cabinetry in the kitchen, bath and den, 12 x 12 floor tile in 3/4 of the house, and an uncompleted utility room. The bad news included, the bath with one entire wall would need to be gutted, wall paper several layers thick needed to be removed from most of the house, a lot of sheet rock repair was required also.

We started with the bath. The wall between the master bedroom and bath had extensive wood rot and need to be replaced. Since we would start from scratch we decided to leave out the door to the master bedroom, and create another closet out of the alcove in the master. The renovation was pretty straight forward other than replacing the wall. We tiled the batch surround, added a new vanity with solid surface sink. The tub and toilet where left but we upgraded the faucets and shutoffs.

There wasn’t anything out of ordinary for the bedrooms other than sheet rock repairs. It was a simple matter of repair and paint and carpet.

The living and dining area renovation weren’t difficult either. There was a lot of sheet rock damage but nothing out of the ordinary.

The kitchen was a lot of work. all of the cabinet doors need to be replaced. Fortunately we were able to reuse the raised panes and with new rails ans stile. It save a lot of time in the lay out and construction. The previous owner had started a new section of cabinet but they were far from complete. They were constructed with cabinet grade pine and raised panel rail and style doors. The profile was a little different than the original cabinets but by painting all of the cabinets and replacing the laminate counter top and tile back splash they looked like a good match. We made some modifications to the layout of the new cabinets. We extended the counter top out about 5 feet to make a bar area. The cabinet was very functional with a large amount of cabinet and drawer space along with a large counter area. We were very happy with the final results.

The utility was the last interior room we did. This was another room the previous owner had started but failed to finish. There was a lot of sheet rock work to do. We put a new1/4 skin over the entire ceiling and completed and patched the rest of the walls. We added a new water cut off and drain for the washer, and added an exterior vent for the dryer. There were some very nice corner cabinets above the washer and dryer area which we reused, and a long shelf with coat rack on another wall. All we had to do was repaint them. The only minor problem in the room was finding a door to fit the hot water heater. Orignally it had a plywood door when it was in the garage. It wasn’t a standard size door. I ended up cutting down a 24 inch hollow core door and re built the interior support.

With the interior 90 plus percent done we would start on the workshop. We were beginning to see a light at the end of the renovation tunnel.

Once the place was cleaned up we thought the worst was over. Wrong again! Getting the utilities on turned out to be a major hurdle. We would wait until the end of the renovation to have the gas turned on. Fortunately, we didn’t have any problems when we did, however we were not as lucky with the electricity. Since the house had been without electric service for more than 2 years the electric company informed us that we would have to get a city permit and have the electrical system inspected. It turned out the previous owner had been running extension cords to neighbors and the elementary school adjoining the back yard for several years. It took about 10 days but we finally got electricity.

It even got worse when it came to getting water reconnected. Not only had the city removed the meter, they had also dug up the water main across the street and disconnected the line from the water main completely. It turned out the previous owner had attempted to bypass the meter by connecting a straight line between the cut off and the line to the house. Guess how that worked out. It seemed a bit extreme, but the City had to do something. In the end, not only did I pay for the water being disconnected, via a lien on the tax rolls ($950.00 with interest and penalties), I also had to hire an independent contractor to dig up the water main and re-install the line and install a new meter

I checked first with the yellow pages to find a plumbing contractor. There was one big ad from a company that advertises a lot on TV here in Tulsa. I called them first. They sent out an estimator the next day. He wouldn’t give me an estimate on the spot, although he gave an elaborate explanation of everything that needed to be done. He would call back 3 days later with an estimate for 3200.00. I decided to get another estimate. The next place I called was actually a recommendation from another plumbing company that specialized in industrial plumbing. When Carri mentioned the estimate we got they immediately started laughing and told her who the estimate was from. It appears they have some kind of reputation. The company they recommended gave me another estimate of $650.00. Now 650 seems like a lot of money to get water turned on, but it sure beats 3200. When they arrived to do they work it turned out that they didn’t do 1/2 of the things the first TV plumbing company said needed to be done. They simply dug up the main, reconnected the line, and had it inspected before they filled in the hole. “Seeing Red” as in plumbing truck now has new meaning to me.

While waiting for utilities we worked on the things we could. First we called out a Garage door company to replace the torsion springs. The door actually looked pretty nice, but there was a problem. The previous owner had built this himself out of oriented strand board with a layer of siding and 3/4″ plywood bracing. Even though it looked nice, it was far heavier than the original springs would bear. The overhead door company said they could re-size the springs, although they doubted the integrity of the door itself. They recommended I replace it. It turned out that they could install a for just a little over twice what the new springs would cost. Their estimate was even lower than installing a door myself buying from Lowes or Home Depot, so I had them do it.

In the meantime we replaced the roof and painted the exterior. A lot of work but no real big surprises here. We would leave the workshop till the very last but at least the front was no longer the eyesore that it had been for so long.

Front before during and after

Once we had right to enter the property, we thought we could get started. WRONG! On first inspection we noticed about a dozen or so syringes and other suspicious finds. We called the police. An officer arrived and went through the house removing dozens of used syringes, and various stashes of what he believed to be illicit narcotics. He was interested in looking through the workshop in the back but there were still 3 dogs fenced in the back yard. We were to call him back if we found other suspicious activity in the back building.

At this point I decided the best thing for me to do was to hire a company to remove everything in the house to storage and have the previous owner pay for the clean up and storage, or sell the contents at auction to pay for it. Great idea, but due to the enormity of the trash, the danger of being stuck by a contaminated needle, it would have simply cost much more than I could ever get for the property. The cost of the eviction, and the delay in gaining access to the property was already costing us more than we had counted on so we went another route. We made arrangements with family members of the previous owner for them to remove his personal property. The agreement was that they would pick up the dogs immediately, and remove everything from the house within a week. We would allow them to use the workshop in the back as storage for 30 days. In return they would pay for a 30 cubic yard dumpster and clean up the trash. They were not to just take the things of value and leave the trash. The previous owner, himself, was not to return to the property personally. It seemed like a fair agreement. That wasn’t how it turned out though.

It would take another month for the the Dad and brother of the previous owner to move out everything they wanted to get. The first day, they brought a U-Haul and took the most valuable thing from the house. At the end of the long first day the father told me that they had everything out of the house they wanted except for stuff in the garage. They would come back the next day and finish the garage and then over the next few weeks clean out the workshop. It was more than a week before I heard from them again. Over the next few weeks they made several trips back to the house to pick up the motorcycles and power tools left in the garage and shop. They made no attempt to pick up any more of the trash. To add insult to this situation, about 3 weeks into this ordeal, the house was broken into and some of the things left behind were taken along with many of my tools and supplies. I called the dad to let him know of the break in and let him know the police were investigating. That was the last I heard from any of the family, although the previous owners escapades would continue to haunt this renovation.

The dumpster was filled to the brim the first 2 days of the clean up and it hardly looked like we had made a dent in the mountain for garbage. After we had the dumpster picked up, we began to fill my little 4 x 8 trailer. Over the next several months we would fill that trailer 21 times and take it to the dump. Some of this was construction debris, but for the most part it was trash left in and around the house. During the first week of clean up we discovered the city Nuisance Abatement office was in the process of filing a claim against the previous owner. I contacted the city inspector and told them I was now the owner and would clean up the mess. Since ownership had changed hands, he said he would have to start over with the notices so I would have a little more time to comply. It was close but we got everything cleaned before the final inspection.

It had been more than 2 months since we got deed to the property and we still hadn’t started on the renovation. The legal and clean up cost were also a surprise. Initially we intend to have the property back on the market within 3-4 months. After getting to the point where we could actually begin to plan out the renovation. From what we could determine, we would need to replace the carpeting in the 3 bedrooms, gut and redo the bath, install 7 foundation piers, replace the roof, repair driveway, finish updating the HVAC that had been removed for some reason, rework the kitchen cabinets, and paint the entire house inside and out along with the exterior of the workshop. This was a lot more than we expected, but there were other surprises awaiting us also.

Can’t really tell how bad it is from this photo but the bath will need to be redone

This was the only sign on the exterior of foundation problems. It will take 7 piers to correct

Over the last year or so, we’ve heard countless horror stories of families losing their homes in foreclosure due to unscrupulous lending practices, losing jobs to the poor economy, or catastrophic illness causing financial hardship. This is NOT one of those stories.

The confirmation hearing was set for 3 weeks after the auction. During this time it became apparent that someone was still living in the house. On several drive by’s we noticed cars, motorcycles, and a flatbed trailer come and gone. On one occasion, we noticed a faint light shining through the front window. At this point we weren’t too worried, we assumed the previous owners were in the process of moving out. We did some more research and discovered the owners had divorced within the previous 2 years so we assumed the wife and kids had custody of the house. We began to worry that we would be part of one of those stories where a single mom and her 3 kids were kicked to the street. Once again this is NOT one of those stories, however it is equally as sad.

The confirmation hearing went without a hitch on Tuesday morning. Wednesday afternoon, I went to the Sheriffs Office to pick up the deed just as I did the year before. It turned out that they had made some procedural changes, and I would have to wait a couple of days. We decided to wait until we had the deed before we attempted to enter the property, but we kept a very close watch on the property in the mean time.

I finally got the deed recorded that Thursday and immediately went to the property. I had written up a letter introducing myself and partner to the current resident. I explained that we now owned the property and would be happy to assist them in the transition. The letter requested that whoever was living there call us to let us know how we could help. While placing the letter in the door, a neighbor happened to be leaving her house. I went over and introduce myself and handed her a business card. She informed me that a single man lived in the house. She let me know how unhappy her family was with the previous owner. It would take me another couple of weeks to find out the scope of the neighbors complaints.

On Sunday I received a call from the previous owner. He gave me a hard luck story, which I knew to be untrue, and asked for a few weeks to move out. I told him that I would give him a week, as long as he kept me informed on his progress. Over the next few days it became apparent he was making no attempt to move out so I began to research the eviction process. I decided I would need the assistance of an attorney. I’ll skip the details on the eviction process, but hiring an attorney was definitely the way to go. I had an judgment several weeks later and finally had access to the property. Entering the property for the first time was a complete shock. I leave it with that said and just show a few picks. The picts really don’t give a clue to the enormity of the trash and filth but it is a start.

It’s been almost a year since I completed my last home renovation. Overall I’ve been very happy with the results. It was a lot of work, but I learned a lot and in the end I’ll be able to sell the property for much more than I’ve put into it. It is time to do another. However, this time I decide to bring in some help. My girlfriend, Carri, and I formed a company CDK Pproperties to continue with renovating foreclusres.

The process for finding a property went just about the same as the last. The Sheriff’s sales are posted a month in advance so there is plenty of time to research a property. Once I had a copy of the list, I could do drive by inspections for the next 4 weeks of sales in an afternoon. Once prospective properties were identified, I would look at the recent comparable sales come up with a figure I would bid up to. From that point, it was just a matter of waiting. Waiting for the weekly auction, and then the for the buying opportunity. One big change this go around involved using cell phones to participate in the auction. The Tulsa auctions allow proxies to bid, so it is possible to sit at home or in the office and follow each auction on an assistants cell phone. I could hear everything and give instructions if necessary, but mainly I just listened. This method worked fine, but I happened to attend the auction for the property I ended up with.

Out of the hundreds of listing over a 10 to 12 week period, a mere dozen or so looked promising. Out of those few, about half of them were recalled the morning of the auction. The few that I was able to bid on went far past my bidding target, usually by the mortgage company. However, during one auction a property I had overlooked came up NO/Bid No/Sale, which meant it would come back up again in six weeks or so. I would be ready when it did.

I went the the No Bid property immediately after the action. It looked very promising. It was a 3 bedroom, 2 car garage, brick house in a nice neighborhood in East Tulsa. It was definitely the worst house on the block but it had potential. I could easily see that it needed a new roof, new driveway, paint and massive clean up, but the structure appeared to be in good shape, with the added bonus of a large two story barn shaped out building. I took a few pictures and went back to my office to gather more information.

A property that no one would bid on should have raised some major red flags, but the more data I gathered the better and better it looked. On paper it looked like the deal of the century. The foreclosure appraisal was $75,000, with an opening bid of $50,000. A comparable sale just 4 doors down recently sold for $92,000 and another a half block away was on the market for $102,000. My preliminary cost analysis for what it would take to renovate seemed a bit high but I believed I could do well with this project if I could get it near 52K.

The bidding was uneventful. The mortgage company opened at 50k, I countered with 50,100 and got the property. No one else bid. At this point I would normally leave but there happened to be another property later in the auction that I would have bid on if I was unsuccessful on the first. It was an equally promising opportunity. It was a nice small house in an older but trendy neighborhood. Only one person bid on it and got it for 47k. It is my guess that they would have continued to bid if I had countered so no telling what it would have gone for, but I may have let a very nice prospect slip away from me. I will never know.

Any way, We had our next property barring the chance that the current owner would get his account up to date or some other unforeseen complication

Another fixer upper, but all-in-all a nice starter home for some young couple

Looking past the rubbish I saw great potential for a very nice shop.

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The garage was beginning to fill up with way too much stuff. Both cars would still fit, but the growing clutter around the place made it harder and harder to get in and out of the vehicles. It was time to do something about it. A backyard storage shed was just the solution to help relieve the clutter. About 25 years ago or so I built a backyard barn from a kit bought at a local lumber yard, so I checked back with them. For a fee they would provide the plans and pull the materials list from their stock. That would have been the quickest and easiest way to go (other than having a pre-built shed delivered), however the fees seemed a little steep to me. I decided to custom build to my own specifications. As always, cost is the primary factor with any of my DIY or home projects; however, the best balance between cost and quality is the ultimate goal. One of the first ways I came up with to cut cost was to reduce the size from the standard 8′ x 10′ down to 8′ x 8′, which would allow me to minimize waste in standard building materials.

Foundation: Just from the little experience I have had with portable outbuildings, the floor and foundation seem to be the weak link. The floor of the first shed I built was simply 5 pressure treated 4 x 4 skids, in direct contact with the ground, laid parallel with 3/4 inch plywood attached on top with deck screws. Over time the skids sank unevenly into the ground which made for an uneven floor. The parts of the shed that eventually came close to ground contact also led to some premature wood rot. I decide to use the same style of floor but beef it up a bit and also set some concrete blocks as a foundation. I had some old blocks stored in the backyard so I decided to use what I had.

The location where I decide to place the shed wasn’t quite level. I tamped down the ground around the highest ground and placed cap blocks on the surface. I buried concrete block level with the cap blocks in the lowest areas. All of the skid will have some sort of concrete under them. I realize this isn’t much of a foundation but if the shed ever does sink (which I fully expect it will), I will be able to shim the skids back to level fairly easily and keep the foundation above ground contact.

I still used 4 x 4 skids but I joined 2×4’s into the skids with half lap joints, glue and deck screws. Once I had the foundation built and set onto the concrete blocks, it was an easy task to shim and level. Before attaching the deck with deck screws, I covered the skids with 30lb roofing felt. I needed the felt for the roof anyway so this would have been left over from the roll.

Roof Trusses: Most of the construction of this shed took place in the garage. Since it is the middle of winter, the garage was definitely the place to work. Once I had the floor installed and had the exact measurements of the floor, I went back to the garage to work. I knew I wanted the knee walls to be 4 foot tall or under. This way I would be able to maximize the use of the 4×8 sheets of siding I planned on using (I sheet cut in half for the sides and 2 sheets a piece for the front and back). I laid out the bottom half of the front facade on the garage floor with 2×4’s cut to length. With the help of my girlfriend, we laid out the profile of the roof trusses with 2×4’s. Originally I had planned on designing the trusses so that they could be sheathed with only 3 sheets of wafer board and to also minimize the number of shingles required. Although it would have been possible, I wasn’t happy with the height or shape of the roof. Carri convinced me alter the roof profile to maximize for interior ceiling height and space. It was a good call. Most of the backyard barns I have looked at use simple 45 degree angles. We decide to go with 20 degrees on the bottom, 30 degees on both hip joints and 10 degrees on the ridges. These simple adjustments led to much more head space while still keeping the look and feel of a barn roof. The top of the roof is relatively flat with the steep sides, which provided a great deal more space in the interior with only a slight increase in the amount of sheathing and shingles. It worked out very well.

Frame: I built the 2 side knee walls in the garage and nailed them to the foundation, squared them true and began to install the trusses. Even though I had pre-cut all the truss pieces the same, the slight variations in each piece or the variations in putting them together caused a few problems. Not all trusses were exactly alike. I was able to correct for the differences in span of the trusses by separating with a 2×4 wedged between both sides or pulling the two ends together with ratcheting nylon straps. Once the widths where corrected, the ridges didn’t line up exactly, but the sheathing and shingles would cover any imperfections. It’s not exactly perfect, but then it’s only a shed. Next time I will either build a jig or build each truss on top of each other to ensure exact duplicates.

Once the trusses where installed and squared as true as I could get them I custom cut and fit each piece of the front and back walls. I didn’t have any written plan so I improvised as I went.

Once the frame was complete, I re-adjusted for square with the nylon straps and began to install the siding and sheathing. Once the sheathing was installed I removed all the straps and braces. I cut the side and roof panels to the exact dimensions but the front, I tacked on full sheets of siding and cut off the excess to shape with a reciprocating saw. It all went together quite quickly and easily.

Doors: Another weak point of backyard barns I’ve noticed are the doors. Many are simply constructed of siding with some trim tacked onto the surface. I decide to build a sturdier door, yet still keep the cost down. I used standard 2×4s jointed with some of the same type of joinery I used in the foundation, simple half lapped joints with rabbeted inside perimeters to accept the siding panels. The joints were glued and screwed, and the panels were glued and nailed. This made for a substantial door.

Trim:

Once the shell was complete, I shingled the roof and trimmed the front and sides and door with cedar fencing ripped to width. The fencing worked very well for the trim. It’s a little thinner than standard 1×4 trim but the cost savings was substantial. It looked good and I know it will last much longer than the pine trim many of the barns I looked at used.

Finishing Touches: I had hoped to use scrap hinges and deadbolts to mount and complete the doors. Unfortunately, the typical household door hingesI had around were to narrow to use. Even though the doors where relatively small, they were still quite heavy (approximately 12 lbs/piece). I came across a local company that manufactures hinges for the fencing industry. I used two pair of heavy duty wood gate hinges from Tulsa’s Ameristar Fence Company. The quality of these hinges where outstanding. The doors hang true and operate easily with absolutely zero perceptible play. I’ve been told that these hinges will perform like this for their life. They look nice also.

I still need to paint and add a few more pieces of cedar trim to skirt the perimeter, but for the most part the shed is complete. I’ve added pegboard, hooks, shelves, and a small work bench. I also hung a couple of braces between the trusses. This allows me a great deal of storage space that other wise would have been wasted. I’m using this space to store my trailer’s side rails, but I still have room to store more flat stock. I’ll add more shelves and hooks as needed.

It’s just a shed, but it has been a lot of fun to build. A made a few mistakes, but I like to think of them as alternative design choices. The backyard barn looks good, it’s very functional and I did it myself.

Too Much Stuff - Delbert McClinton

(ARA) – The economy may be in the doldrums, but that doesn’t mean your decor has to be there too. It’s possible to turn dark, dreary and dated decor into light, lively and “now” on just a shoestring budget.

What’s the secret to sprucing up on a shoestring? Lighten up – literally.

Upgrading your home’s lighting can impart a whole new atmosphere, and you don’t need to spend big bucks on pricey new fixtures to do it. Simple, budget-friendly changes can make a big difference in how your home looks and feels, and how much you enjoy living there.

The experts at the American Lighting Association (ALA) offer a few tips for creating a big impact on a small budget.

First, consider the first impression guests (or potential buyers) have of your home. Once you’ve upgraded the outside, take a look at the first parts of the house guests see – often the entryway or dining room on modern floor plans. Next, install dimmers throughout the house, even in rooms where you might not normally think of using them, like the kitchen and bath, suggests Joe Rey-Barreau, an education consultant for the ALA and an associate professor at the University of Kentucky’s School of Interior Design.

An upgrade that’s well within the skills of most do-it-yourselfers, installing a dimmer can completely change the character and quality of a space. For example, dimmers in a bathroom enable you to use the facilities in the middle of the night without the jarring impact of turning on bright, overhead lighting. In a master bedroom, they can create a soothing or even romantic mood.

In other rooms, take a look at your table lamps, advise both Rey-Barreau and Jeff Dross, senior product manager for Kichler Lighting in Cleveland. “One way to make an impact on a small budget is by changing outdated lampshades with newer trend-forward versions that incorporate fashion-friendly colors, fabrics or patterns,” Dross says. “Many companies sell stand-alone shades at budget-friendly prices.”

Consider how you use table lamps as well, Rey-Barreau says. “How many do you use in a room? What types? Table lamps can create a more diverse quality of light, and adding a few accent lamps in a room can really change the quality of a space,” he adds.

Simple upgrades in kitchens and baths can also deliver big impact and enhance your home’s value on a shoestring budget, the experts agree.

Modern kitchens often hide lighting under cabinets or in the ceiling through recessed lighting. In baths and kitchens, consider replacing fixtures with dated finishes with more contemporary choices. Many manufacturers now make light fixtures in finishes that complement some of the more popular choices for plumbing fixtures, Rey-Barreau points out.

Finally, when you’re lighting a room, keep in mind that you need to use more than one light and more than one kind of light. A balance of overhead lights (on dimmers), floor lamps and/or table lamps will produce the most aesthetically pleasing, livable atmosphere.

To learn more about how to use lighting to enhance your home’s decor, livability and salability, or to find an ALA showroom near you, visit www. AmericanLightingAssoc.com, or call (800) BRIGHT IDEAS (800-274-4484).

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Once the place was nearing completion it was time to think about how to sell the place. After sitting down and figuring the total cost of the renovation and recent comparable sales in the are, I had a good idea on how much I would net on the sale. I soon discovered that that short term capital gains on the sale would eat into my profits significantly. It occurred to me that that I would be far better off selling the place I was currently living in. Basically, if you have lived in you main residence for at least 2 of five years, you are able to sell the property and exclude the gains up to $250,000. Of course their is much more to it than that but I definitely qualified for the exclusion. I decided to sell my existing home and move into the one just renovated.

I could start a whole new blog on my experiences with real estate agents, showing homes, home offers, staging home decor, closings and such but I will save it for a different time. I’ll keep it short and just say that it took me right at 3 months to close the deal, but considering the housing mortgage crisis we were in at the time, I did quite well. I sold for less than I had planned and there were a few minor setbacks but overall I’m satisfied with the outcome.

One drawback was that once I closed on the sale, I had to close the line of credit. One of the stipulations on the contract was that I had to live in the property as a primary residence. It is possible that I could have got a release on that term of the loan, but I decided to close it out. It would have been nice to keep the loan active and draw on it as soon as I found a new project , but instead I’ll start over scratch. I’ll most likely incorporate before I start the next.

I’m in the new place full time now. I’ll spend the next 2 years upgrading and finishing the home decor and such. I’ll have a much better idea of what to expect next time. I’m looking forward to the next project, but I’ll take a break for a bit.