Almost nothing will be left (?)

10 years ago

Last summer,I moved into a house I have owned for several years.

The inspection had shown a couple significant condition issues, but generally a lot of people would move into the house as-is and that would have been it.
I knew that the bathrooms needed a complete overhaul, and that the air conditioning system was at the end of its life. The deck was rotting and so were a number of door sills.

After living in the house for a while I realized that the heating aspect of the HVAC also didn't function well. I started putting a bathroom in the basement in anticipation of gutting the existing bathrooms essentially at the same time.

During the winter a leak developed and there was a slow but continual drip into the basement. Because of the design of the HVAC and plumbing the drip in this location could have been:
1) the roof drain (this leaked in two torrential rains over the past couple years when the system was overwhelmed)

2) The roof around the vent stack (this leaked once or twice when an ice dam formed on the roof)

3) a leak in either bathroom.

Again, because of the design of things, the leak was getting water into the heating ducts, the cold air return duct (primarily) --and various electrical cables that are run through the cold air return.

During the exploration to find the source of the leak, I found that several cold air returns had been disconnected during the various kitchen and bath remodelings. I also found that a heat duct was in the way of the recessed medicine cabinet so they just cut a hole in the duct and shoved the cabinet into the duct.

So:
The HVAC system is going to be completely reworked with a staged, zoned system.

The electrical is underserviced in that 50 year old way and since most of the cables for the kitchen and baths run with the waterlines and drains it should be moved anyway (Plus they run inside a cold air return).

The plumbing problem was a pinhole in a supply line for one of the bathrooms. Visible through a small exploratory hole in the ceiling. Accessible for repair (since there was so much other stuff in the way), only by making a hole through one of the bathroom floors (a full wet-bed of mortar and mesh)

So, a new furnace, a new AC unit, new ductwork. Completely new electrical for the bathrooms and kitchen. Both bathrooms starting back at the joists and studs.

So, because all of the plumbing for the bathrooms and kitchens is going to be new, the plumber says "You might as well change the stack, because it will be the only thing left between the basement and roof and it will be the weak link.

I feel like I bought an expensive shell.

Comments (8)

outsideplaying_gw
10 years ago
Well, your name says it all - ineffable. I know you must feel overwhelmed right now. I would!
romy718
10 years ago
It does sound overwhelming & alot of work in one year. We've pretty much completely rebuilt our house, but, over the last 15 years. The house was only 5 years old when we bought it, but the windows had to be replaced within a couple of years. Our HVAC system never performed well & was replaced We had to replace all our cast iron waste pipes. At least we never had the experience of one collapsing & spilling waste, as many of our neighbors did.
Our deck had to be taken out because of drainage issues (some of the underground drainage pipes were never connected) that resulted in water in our basement. It 's frustrating to have to spend money to rebuild because a house wasn't built well to begin with.
We probably should have moved. Except for the roof and the master bath, we've rebuilt this house so we're staying put.
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violetwest
10 years ago
ha! (with complete sympathy). you need one of those TV guys -- you know, "Rescue my Renovation" or "Holmes on Homes."
Annie Deighnaugh
10 years ago
Ow! But it's gotta be done. Just think how much peace of mind you'll have when it's done.
ineffablespace
Original Author
10 years ago
The main problem is that everything is going to have to be done together. The (possibly naÃÂ¯ve) plan was to put a full bathroom where none existed in the basement and renovate both bathrooms in sequential order trying to maintain bathroom #1 in partly operational condition while #2 was being done, and then move onto #1. Then put the kitchen appliances in the basement and have a working temporary kitchen while the kitchen was gutted. Then move on to the other rooms.

With the stack replacement and with the ducting issues, both bathrooms and part of the kitchen will all have to have demolition at the same time. The stack runs behind the "wrong" bathroom and through part of the kitchen.

The new ductwork will have to be run through at least one room that wasn't on the agenda until a few years from now, so at the very best there will be holes and exposed ductwork in rooms that were supposed to look okay as is for a few years.
mtnrdredux_gw
10 years ago
I feel for you. The dreaded "site conditions". I never want to hear that phrase again.

In my experience, if you buy a house that is older, expect the innards to be totally blanked up, at least by today's code. Expect that all the work done was by amateurs getting it done in a weekend over copious amounts of beer. (never mind that it was probably done by contractors much like we all hire today, whose own work will be roundly ridiculed years hence, when the next generation undoes all of OUR remodel.)

And expect every little problem to spiral out of control, in "if you give a mouse a cookie" style.

I know I am a fool for still hating new construction.

I don't know if you anthropomorphize (sp) your house, but it is so lucky to have found you.
Annie Deighnaugh
10 years ago
Look at it as an opportunity to really experience history....after all people lived without indoor plumbing for centuries...you'll only have to do without for a short time.
;)

Great opportunity to get to know your neighbors...
ineffablespace
Original Author
10 years ago
Actually I am hoping not, because this is what the preemptive bathroom in the basement is for.

We did live without a bathtub or shower for two short periods of time, utilizing the gym nearby, and managed without a toilet for a day or two because the complex we lived in had a public restroom, during a bathroom renovation in a previous residence.