Kashka kat (love the name!) - Our house was built sometime in the 1920s. We did have a highly recommended old house inspector, though he was our 2nd choice (1st choice wasn't available), but he's not telling us to get new siding, just pointed out areas that need to be replaced. Sadly, it's not wood siding, though it's possible there is wood under it. I can't remember what it is, but not the original, not vinyl and not aluminum. Some kind of composite that was "all the rage" back when? Whatever it is, it's supposed to be old enough to be past it's lifespan. The walls on the inside of the house are extremely cold to the touch, so that plus the rotting parts on the bottom made us think we needed new. But if we could just do as you and bill have suggested (energy audit, etc), then paint, it's a very sad and ugly green right now.... hmmm... I just had a thought. I wonder how dirty it is? We bought from the family of an elderly woman. I wonder what color it is when it's washed? Maybe we'll find out this summer!

This summer I'm taking the cabinet doors outside and sanding them smooth so I can paint them. Everything is this summer. Maybe that's the whole problem in a nutshell!

Thanks tryinbrian. I think you and the others are right. The siding isn't the problem, the insulation is. I hadn't realized before that they didn't go together.

Blackcats, Two easy things that help with insulation are the foam sheets that you can put under switchplates of plugs on the outer walls of your home and under your exterior doorplates. Then I'd also get some spring bronze weatherstripping for the windows. It's fairly inexpensive and easy to install. If you can't find it at your local old fashioned hardware store, you can get it online at kilianhardware.com (no, I'm not employed by them - I've just used yards of the stuff and it works really well). Also, consider laying down more insulation in your attic. Heat rises and with more insulation, the heat will stay on the top floor and not escape through the roof - roof escaping is the biggest area of heat loss in a home.

When you do get going on decorating, I'd do one room at a time. That way you will be able to achieve completion and you'll be able to pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

Alot of times, people put metal or whatever siding up so they didn't have to paint. If you have a small spot that needs to be repaired, look underneath and see what shape your wood is in. You may find it alot cheaper to remove the siding and restore the wood. Just be sure whether or not what needs replacing is asbestos or not. If it is, you'll need to follow removal requirements for it.

Take it a step at a time. You'll get the place shaped up. Just do it in steps so that you can honestly finish things. Good luck.

Did you check the attic to make sure that it is insulated? That is the biggest heat loss area. Can you fix up one room? Not perfectly, but enough to have a cheery place to sit. All of us have lists of things that need to be done. Personally, I just think of the reasons we picked our house and proceed with the items on the list as we have the money. So far we spent $500 to redo the bathroom and I love it. Another $500 and the kitchen looks very pretty; not perfect but soooo much nicer. I stripped the gloppy painted molding in the sitting room and stained it, spent $80.00 to replace the long-gone picture molding and painted the room. Now it is a charming room. I still need furniture. I want to take my time picking things out. I found a settee on CL for $85 plus another $100 for fabric to recover it. It looks great in there.

I guess what I am saying is that labor is free, don't do things too quickly because you may change your mind about what you want to do, and paint is cheap. Keep your eye on the prize: your house is your best chance of creating investment income. Sweat equity is a good thing.
Diane

We bought our 1912 era home with peeling paint (outside) and a full -on 1970's update. Gold everywhere. Carpets, sink, ovens, wallpaper. We didn't know how we were going to pay the heating bills. (The heating bills were as much as our old mortgage.)

It's 20 years later and we're still working on it. New roof, well, electrical, plumbing, kitchen and a bathroom later, we still have the same wallpaper in our living room and dining room. We're putting in a new bathroom upstairs now but we've gone without a second bathroom for almost 4 years.

Hang in there. It's all been worth the wait for us. We save and spend and throw all of our disposable income back at the house. It just takes time, patience and most of all, a vision of what it will look like in time.

I agree that the insulated vinyl siding is not the way to go. There is a company locally that sells it (with free hurricane resistant windows) and gives a free 4 wheeler with every purchase. That alone should tell you it is not what is seems...I have to leave the room each time the commercial comes on tv.

Get the energy audit (with blower door testing), and see where your house is leaking.
air leakage sealing will help to lower heating and cooling costs, is very cost effective and diy. (most of the time)

if you install heat system, make sure that the company knows that you may one day add a/c. it can make a difference in the size of the ducts, so don't forget!

do your air sealing, then insulate. you want to stop attic and outdoor air from entering your home. Creating an air barrier is the first step. once this is done..then add insulation in attic.

you may have to juggle trades people when the time comes,
ideally all hvac work and any work in the attic would be done before insulation. unless you install batt insulation,
that is easier to work around because you can see the ceiling joists and have less of a chance of mis-step.

you are in a good place to learn about making your home affordable to live in..and don't feel bad..most people hate their homes from time to time.
but your are in a location you like, have the house, and now all you have to do is make it comfortable and affordable.

and btw..instead of sanding cabinet doors use a stripper.
(no not that kind! but it might be fun!) wood strippers go on with a paintbrush and paint strips off easily.

I think you are going to be haunting your local building material store soon!

you would be amazed at what you can do.
best of luck.

Thank you for the additional suggestions. I think I will focus on sealing and insulation first. The attic is insulated, but not well enough. I am remembering now that we had been discussing it in the fall before the holidays, but then we found out family was going to be staying with us for a bit and the focus became painting the guest rooms/etc.

Hm ... $80 for molding? I could probably manage that for my sewing room. I can't remember the last time I spent money on myself LOL Maybe finishing that room (I painted it in November) will be my nice place, like you say. There's also an old kitchen cabinet in the basement that I can clean and paint to use in there. And I think that is one of the few rooms where I can just do very little without worrying about it cascading into a huge, expensive problem. Every other room has huge needs. Hmmm. Or maybe, even better, I can start pulling up the old vinyl floor tiles. Then I'll have *something to do* and I'll feel like I'm making progress without having to spend any money.

That's it! I need a project so I can feel like progress hasn't stalled. Even if the wood floor under those tiles is shot, I can just throw the area rugs back down when I'm done. I'll keep myself occupied (probably for awhile!) and I won't spend money! And the insulation of course so we can be somewhat comfortable without $400 gas bills!!

"and btw..instead of sanding cabinet doors use a stripper.
(no not that kind! but it might be fun!) wood strippers go on with a paintbrush and paint strips off easily."

LOL - sadly, it's not paint I'm pulling off. It's about 25 years worth of grease. The methods I was using when we moved in worked, but may have ruined the doors somewhat. I think I tried everything, honestly. Sanding is my last resort. If I can get them to last another 5 years minimum I'll be happy.

"I think you are going to be haunting your local building material store soon!"
We already know the layout of the local True Value ;)

THANK YOU everyone for the helpful suggestions, encouragement, and for showing me we didn't HAVE to get new siding to fix our temp levels! I knew I was coming (complaining) to the right people!

As everyone has already said, insulation and sealing leaks would be a good first step. I think there is a tax credit for 2009, you can check at IRS.gov.
Rather than setting the thermostat at 68/62 try a little lower, especially when you’re not home. An electric blanket can keep you pretty warm for not much $.

Don’t charge anything unless it’s an emergency. Don’t purchase anything unless you really need it. It’s already been said but well worth repeating. It’s hard to get out of debt when you are adding more to it.

With projects, start small, do one thing at a time, research at the library and on the net. Multiple projects can be overwhelming. Start small and build confidence. Ask advice from people before starting projects you are unsure of.

I see you purchased your fan on Craigslist. It’s a good source of used materials too. Yes even gently used front load washers. Tools, wire, insulation, paint, heating oil left over from gas conversions, you name it, and it’s on there eventually. Usually for a good price or sometimes even free.

Ways to save money:
Bring your lunch to work.
Make coffee at home.
Eat out less.
Cancel your cable TV.
If you have a cell phone cancel your land line.

Good luck!

It's good to remember where you started.......Aug 5 ......."closed on our ugly house!"

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/oldhouse/msg0823522914862.html?8

Here is a link that might be useful: dutchmans barn?? July 15

blackcats - i don't know where you are geographically, but if you haven't already, you should check to see if there is a local freecycle/freeshare group (http://www.freecycle.org/ is the national group - freeshare is a local nyc area group). It can be a great source for things that people can no longer use that they would like to give away. One other thought - if you have pull down attic stairs, check into an insulated cover for the stairs (we have one similar to this but less complicated - http://hardwareaisle.thisoldhouse.com/2008/08/insulation-for.html) - after we finished insulating our attic, it made a huge difference! Good luck and hang in there - your sewing room sounds like a great project!

My first house was way worse than yours - it had radiator hoses for plumbing and the basement flooded whenever it rained. It was 'The Goat Lady's House' and there were rumors that she used to butcher goats inside. I did dishes in the bathtub for 6 months.

Remember to be grateful.

I brought up bringing down the heat a little more with dh and he had the 'not budging' look. He says he's too skinny. But maybe I can get him to drop another degree or 2 at night when we are sleeping. I'm too hot under the down comforter myself. As for the rest, we've been doing those awhile now. The only thing I can see to cut is the DSL and the cell - both of which we need for work. At least his work pays for his cell. I've been reading the moving saving forum for good tips lately.

abnorm! Thank you so much for the reminder! I went and read through both of those threads. Boy I was excited then! I'm going to bookmark for when I get in these slumps.

I completely forgot about freecycle! I think there is a very active one in Chicago, thanks!

Goats?! Oh my! Is it bad that sometimes I read other people's horror stories and DO feel grateful? Because I do...

blackcats,

I looked back at your pictures. You may be antsy for a project but reconsider taking up the floor tile. You were happy to get rid of the ugly vinyl and the tiles do have charm. The wood floors would be nice but the main concern would be removing the black "gunk" adhesive from the wood. Now you can at least walk on it and keep it clean. Maybe post over in the flooring forum and see what they know about getting that up before you get started. We knew some people that pulled up old vinyl and though they tried to get that black tarry stuff up, they had to hire a pro to sand it off. Yes, they were beautiful when they were done, but you don't have the resources to hire it out right now if it doesn't come off and then you have to live with it.

It's a bad time of year, getting cabin fever because you spend more time inside and typically there is a letdown after the holidays. When you are cooped up then you notice all the things that bug you and you want it all done NOW! It will be okay. Patience. If possible, rearrange some furniture or even move some between rooms. Hang some quilts or patterned throws for some color on the walls. (Might even help with insulating if you put them on outside walls.)

From your posts you seem resourceful and not afraid of hard work, so it will all come out in the end. Slow and steady wins the race. Hang in there!

Jill

Thanks abnorm for posting the link to the house. I remember it now! Golddust, I laughed at your post. My gosh, this house looks like a veritable mansion compared to some I've tied into. A couple of houses ago I bought one at sheriff's sale and the first thing we did was put washpans on the floor in the kitchen, because when it rained, you needed an umbrella in there. Also found a hutch of petrified rabbits in an upstairs bedroom, where the previous owners skipped town and never even took the time to let them free. They'd put paneling over windows in the laundry room, and even paneled over the archway entrance to two rooms upstairs. I was almost afraid to open them up for what I'd find. No old fixer upper is fixed up immediately. And we never had the option to live somewhere else that time, so we camped out in there and tackled one thing at a time. By the time I sold it, it was a very precious little country cottage farmhouse and I almost hated to leave. At that time we weren't exactly made out of money, either. Like another poster said, sweat equity....we did absolutely every renovation ourselves, save the wet plastering in two of the upstairs rooms. You sound young, and on the job training is something you'll never regret down the road. Just take it slow and sure, and check out each thing you do, and do without or make do until you can do it right. Each month/year you'll be happier you are there, and you will have put your heart into it, and appreciate it all the more.

We live in a huge old brick 1820s house and that heat bill wouldn't even make me flinch. LOL. By all means, check your attic insulation and if it isn't adequate, it's the cheapest thing you can do to cut your heat bill. Now, I'm going to ask you what kind of furnace you have in there, and what fuel you use. If it's an old one, it's probably very inefficient and a fuel hog. Go check it out and tell us......will you? If this is the case, and the heat bills really need pared down, consider replacing it with a high efficiency unit as your first major purchase. You may be able to retain your present ducts (I have a feeling you still have those big round ones like they used for coal heat). New ducting can be put in down the road if need be. And if you are burning oil or using electric you may save even more if you can convert it to gas. I just sold an investment house and that's the first thing I did. Had a high efficiency modern gas unit put in. Not only did I feel a lot safer, but it cut the fuel bill waaaaaaaaaaay down.

Oh, you're in the Chicago area. In addition to freecycle, here are some other resources:

Jan's Antiques - all items salvage. 225 N. Racine
Salvage One - all items salvage. 1840 W. Hubbard
Habitat for Humanity shop called ReStore - 180 W. Joe Orr Road, Chicago Heights

Murco.net - home demolition auctions. Onsite auctions of house parts from homes that are scheduled to be demolished. We've bought great light fixtures, old brick pavers and door hardware this way.

Another hint - if you have an attic and there is a poorly fitting door at the bottom of the attic stairs, hang an old blanket inside the door - cold air won't fall and then seep into your house from around the door frame.

I agree with calliope don't forget to check the efficiency of your boiler/furnace. Check the venting, filters, etc. too. Improper venting can cause any gas appliance to be less efficient. Ask your gas and electric company about an energy audit, they might even do it for free or get you in touch with some one. Our new boiler was one of our first big purchases. The old one wasn't very old but very undersized and couldn't keep up in the coldest temps then died during our second winter in the house. Once we put in the new one, sized correctly, our gas usage dropped significantly. I forget how much. We buy our gas at a fixed price/year from the guy who owns the gas well connected directly to our house. But we still like to keep our usage in check.

Another thing you can do is if your house is large, you could close off doors and vents to unused rooms. Less house means less to heat.

About getting grease off, sanding probably won't work. It'll gum up the sand paper in very short order. (ask me how I know that, LOL). The two best ways I found to cut the grease for kitchen/food safe surfaces was to use dawn dish liquid and a little water, smear it on and wait for a few minutes. Then take a scrub pad and put some elbow grease into it. Clean it up with water and repeat. The other method was to use citrus solvent (food safe) and scrub. I got the food safe citrus solvent at the real milk paint company. A little scrubbing every day for several days should clean up the grease. If you take of the finish doing this that's ok as long as the cabinets are solid wood, refinishing won't be a problem once the grease is gone.

Good luck, aren't old houses fun, :)

The first year we moved into our house we had frozen pipes which burst in the kitchen and anything put in the outside wall cabinets froze. It was a good thing my FIL was good with plumbing, LOL, because we were young with no money. He rerouted the pipes so they didn't go along the outside wall and wrapped them with heated insulation. We still need to put a heater under the kitchen sink when the temps drop below 10. This should FINALLY be fixed a this summer after 13 years.

Here is a link that might be useful: citrus solvent

It sounds like what you've got is the cement board siding which yes ... now don't freak... probably has strands of asbestos in it but its not the friable fluffy type that they used to wrap hot water pipes in. As long as its left in place its perfectly safe and even if removed not as dangerous as the other stuff though youd still need to take precautions.

Actually Ive come around to appreciating this type of siding and to my eye if its repaired and painted nicely (dark rich vintage colors I think look really sharp) it can have an old fashioned kind of charm to it thats more appealing than the usual blah beige vinyl siding - another thing about vinyl or aluminum is you lose the architectural detail, in some cases they chop off brackets and window sills and stuff, and the windows don't contrast and stand out against the siding as nicely.

Another reason to give the old siding a chance - cement board is actually one of the best types of siding there is because it doesn't expand and contract it holds a paint job like FOREVER -its still produced (minus the asbestos & looking more like wood) and really is the superior product if you were to re-side your house. I've seen people around here paint their asbestos siding in kind of a faux texture to play up the cedar shingle look - have fun with it! Just think, in 20 years there's going to be all these beige vinyl houses looking hopelessly out of date - while you can just go ahead and repaint.

Spoke with DH last night about the energy audit and instead of new siding, fixing and painting what was there. He's willing to go along with that! Yay!

Jill - the tile I want to take up is in a different room. The room is very small, even by old house standards. There are actually a couple of spots where the tile is already missing (like all our tiles LOL) so I could work on that black gunk before doing anything more to see how it goes.

I think back on a couple of houses we bid on and think that the fates were definitely watching out for us. One large empty bungalow had an upstairs pipe burst and no one knew for something like a month. It was a disaster. We tossed around ideas on how we could manage it, but that one we knew we couldn't really handle. Another one is just a couple blocks away, needs more work then this one. I'm glad we didn't get that one, but those leaded/stained glass windows and the knowledge of some GREAT things inside pulls at my heart at least weekly. When we bought this house we knew it was livable and something we could handle slowly. But yes, the cabin fever is setting in. It doesn't help that the forced inactivity I had to endure most of the year is finally nearing it's end, and I'm not a patient person to begin with! I'm very much looking forward to the sweat equity.

Yes, our furnace is an old one ... something like 15 years if I remember correctly, though it is gas, and we have the sheet metal ducts. Honestly, I wish we had the radiators, but oh well. Soon (this summer?) we are going to have to decide whether to spend the money to replace it while it's not an emergency, or risk it going out in the middle of winter. We did get it inspected a couple weeks ago though, and it was fine, so maybe it can wait longer? I don't know how to determine this one.

I LOVE Murco. That's where we got the bathroom fixtures. Liz is really great to work with. I haven't been to the other places, though really want to check out habitat. The biggest frustration with that is not having a truck or knowing anyone with a truck.

I will look into the citrus stuff and look forward to painting our cement board siding!

Blackcats, beware the solstice!!!! We are three weeks out from the darkest point of the year. ANYTHING would get you down. I'd say, put your worries about the house on a safe shelf where you can get back to them in sunnier days (ok, except for the insulation stuff you plan to do right away). I really struggle to get through this part of winter, every year I swear it will be different, and every year is the same. Caffiene is my friend. Sunny windows too, and vitamin D drops. Do what you have to to get through these dark days, and know that it's not all the poor house's fault.

Well, fifteen is not ancient for a furnace if it has been properly maintained. At least it's not one of those conversion burner monsters. If it's checked out OK on an inspection, if it were mine, I'd not address it as an emergency. Most furnaces can be repaired and not completely replaced if need be. The older ones were more straight-forward as far as circuitry and the worst case scenario would be heat exchanger. You should be able to find a BTU rating on it. Both intake and output. Do the numbers to find out if this unit is sized properly for your house's cubic footage. Was this house made into a duplex at one time from a single home? The upstairs kitchen makes me ask.

I actually think your house has an interesting silhouette, especially the dormer type bedrooms. I think I'd overdose on the paneling, and I just know it would be the first thing I'd want to shed. LOL.

lucy, I think you're being harsh. You don't know anything about the OP, the decisions s/he made, where s/he came from or is now. You have to walk a mile in someone's shoes before you can understand where they're coming from.

blackcats, being in a cold, poorly insulated, dingy house that needs tons of work you can't immediately afford is enough to try anyone's state of mind. I don't know what to tell you except to hang in there till spring. Things will look a lot more upbeat then. Meanwhile I think you'll get a lot of good advice on this forum.

Vitamin D drops? Hm. I too struggle with this quarter. You know, I used to take fish oil, it's supposed to help with a lot of things. I need to get back to that.

I don't think it was a duplex, more of an in-law arrangement. I'll check the numbers of the furnace and maybe we can wait a couple more years. The paneling I am dying to paint!!!

Egganddart - THANK YOU

blackcats,

I'm probably coming from my own experience of wanting to do something and sometimes jumping in before I know if there is water at the bottom of the pool. :-)

Your house has good potential. When the paneling is painting it will brighten things up. Paint is cheap therapy!

What direction, decorating-wise do you see yourself going with the house? Just curious.

Jill

Blackcats, I just wanted to say that I like your house. My sister has that same siding and indeed a paint job will last for years and years! I know I've chimed in before but I forgot to say that your house is equal to many homes I've lived in. I have a nicer house now but we've lived here for a long time and have lot's of sweat equity. There is still much to be done.

I think if you can afford the paint, that is the cheapest way to make anything better. I agree with calliope - the paneling has got to go - either by removing it or painting it now and removing it later - the brown walls are depressing.

I was thinking you could start a scrapbook/folder/envelope with cut-up magazine photos of rooms that inspire you so you know what your vision for the house is. I know magazines are expensive but if you put out the word that you are collecting home decorating magazines, I'll bet people would love to get rid of their old ones.

Times are tough. Know you aren't the only one with no extra money. Our daughter's husband lost his CEO job a year ago because the business sold - just after our daughter was in a car accident. They went through all their savings, which lasted about 9 months and then got cut off unemployment three weeks before Xmas. Food was a big issue. Our family decided to do Xmas only for their 5 kids (combined family) and just provide the dinner for our extended families.

Today, we learned that he got a new job - hopefully in time to save their (modest) car from the repo man. Less money but they will never take anything for granted again. They went from making a 6 figure salary to practically homeless. Our prayers have been answered and our stress level is dropping.

Blackcats, email me if you want with your snail mail and I will send you a pile of home dec mags from 2007 and 2008 prob. 18" high. Only problem is I've ripped out the pages of rooms that I like. Still, we might not have the same taste...

My husband would be so grateful.

Ugh, another chunk of money at the vet, for the *other* cat now. Pet emergencies are fun :P

Well, we actually can afford to paint. Because Chicago has paint recycling. We went in October and got a bunch of mostly full gallons of paint that people had left there. We bought 6 gallons of primer and painting supplies with a sale and coupon at a big box. But, because that is how we got our paint (along with some $5 oops gallons), I don't really have a color scheme anymore! It's whatever we can mix up, which is kinda fun actually.

Other then that, plans are to, obviously, paint the paneling, and all walls eventually. I'd like to replace all the trim and doors with something more substantial, fix the windows up ... LOL none of this is decorating actually. Most of my plans are that way. I have TONS of magazine pages ripped out and in file folders. Home magazines are a passion of mine. I watch for $10 per year subscriptions. The things I love are all soooo different. The house will most likely eventually be crazy. Bright colors in one area, blue/grey neutrals in another, etc. The only thing I don't like is beige/tan... that family of neutrals. Not to fond of brown either, though it's not bad in small doses with pink or blue.

So glad to hear the daughter's family is getting back on track! It's a scary time for sure. One of the factors of buying this house was that we wouldn't default on the mortgage if DH loses his job. It would be really hard, but we shouldn't go bankrupt if that happens. While no job is guaranteed, mine seems to be pretty safe, but his is more economy sensitive. The stupid thing is, this is the 3rd time I've had to relearn the cc lesson. First late teens/early twenties, got into financial trouble because of a relationship and me being gullible. I got myself out of about the same amount of debt as I'm in now, but I didn't have the responsibility of a mortgage at the time. And the second time was around when I got divorced and hadn't quite gotten the hang of living alone yet. Actually, I don't think I'd quite gotten down to 0 when this relationship really solidified. I guess relationship = bad money management for me. But I'm learning and teaching DH along the way!

Well, kitty looks like he's going to be fine, so I need to get to work!

Blackcats, I can sympathize! My husband insisted on buying our house over my strong objections and all my worst fears have become fond memories. It is much worse.
The PO fancied herself a decorator and cleverly concealed many defects. Her husband considered himself handy and mickey moused/botched repairs. One year later we are still being unpleasantly surprised.
There was no insulation in this 3000sf behemoth. We close off 8 rooms and heat 7 including the connecting halls. It has 3 heating systems; 1 oil-fired boiler, (10 rooms), 1 cornstove (the basement, kit & DR), and a woodburning fireplace insert (7 rooms). The cornstove in the basement warms the kit and DR by virtue of working over time to help dry the basement as the sump pump can do only so much. Of course, draining the wash machine and the sump pump through open clay pipe does not help. Periodically I dump a catch pail but at least DH fixed the leaky pipes so that freed up a couple pails. We are limited to 1 shower per week so as not to overload the septic system. Digging through snow to dig through frozen ground to pump out the tank in a snowstorm last year was not fun, though not as bad as cleaning out the basement after it backed up into the house. That was something we wanted to fix, but finances dictated otherwise.
We put some insulation in the attic, but need more. Snow comes in through the doors so I stuff feed bags in the cracks and push rugs up against them. The whole house leaked, air, snow, rain, wind. The leaky roof was discovered after I woke up to a stream in my bedroom. PO had decoratively painted a wide dark blue band around the ceiling perimeter to conceal water damage. I guess they thought 4 layers of shingles would be enough. New roof trumped new doors, electric and septic, so still using feed bags, rugs and more weather stripping.
When we looked at the house, it was not apparent that only two BR were heated, the other 3 are not, nor is the rec room upstairs or the library/den. Also, we did not move furniture (a lot!) to locate the lack of electrical outlets so heaters or electric blankets are not an option. The plugs that are present do not accept polarized plugs and anyway, the circuit is so overloaded I can't vacuum after dark because vacuum+light=tripped breaker. So vacuum during daylight or in the dark.
In all my 29 (ahem) years, I have never seen such an ugly washroom as this one. It looks like a 1960's remodel gone horribly wrong. The lighting was so bad, I could not make out what color the tub, sink and toilet are. Someone at the factory must have mixed the pink and green to come up with a new color. I bet the PO got a great deal on them. Which is good because they then used their savings to buy faux marble counters with gold streaks(they even had leftover for the backsplash). In the end, everything but the new el cheapo medicine cabinet matched the dirt colored linoleum floor and the least attractive color of avocado green paint for the vanity and linen closet. But Mr Un-Handy had to go and retile the tub wall which has leaked (into the DR)and now the floorboards are rotten. So now the washroom must be completely gutted. I found a claw tub for $80 on CL and it won't need to be refinished. I think I'll ask all my son's fellow boyscouts to help us get it up 2 flights of stairs.
PO remodeled the kitchen, wallpapered the walls, painted the counters, wallpapered the tile backsplash, painted the 100yo oak trim, put in a smaller oven (probably because the circuit was overloaded), wallpapered, spray painted all the knobs, pulls, hinges, faceplates etc, added a watercloset(in the kitchen!?), and wallpapered.
Every room needs a paint job. PO had a fixation with flat green paint or wallpaper from the 60's to match.
And as if there was not enough clay in the soil, she dumped used kitty litter in all the flower beds. For years...
It was disgusting.
Finally, most of the 14 acres that came with the house we are forbidden by the USDA to use. From what I have pieced together PO had 12 farm loans/mortgages and could not pay. So they traded the land rights to the USDA wildlife conservation program to pay off the debt. The land cannot be farmed or grazed by livestock, nor can the maple trees be tapped. Major considerations to us as horse owners.
On the plus side, there are no termites.
Hang in there, Blackcats, you are not alone!

fleethart, I have spent thousands of dollars on countless nearly invisible details in my house: french drain, roof repairs and maintenance, gutter maintenance, foundation maintenance (extensive repointing), and I will be doing stuff like this endlessly. I have over 40 original windows and I plan to take out every one, strip, repaint, restain interior, reglaze, spring bronze weatherstriping: you get the picture. I hope to enjoy living in this house for many decades, but sometimes I wonder if a future owner would ever appreciate the "invisible" things we've done, without cutting corners, to make the house sound, tight, and long-lasting. After reading your post, I feel so much better. I bet your house is really cool, but if the po had put in even pinky grease (forget elbow), your list of problems would be so much shorter. I hope I actually get my stuff done, and I hope that after they carry me out in a pine box, my kids sell the house to someone like you.

Slateberry,
I know this house has good bones, but it could be worth a small fortune if it had been cared for. Its sad because it was the family home for 98 years, built by the great-great grandparents of the PO. My mother loves it. She says the house has a wonderful spirit and it needs TLC.
The builders really were craftsmen. Fortunately, PO left the DR buffet, pass throughs, dumbwaiter and laundry chutes alone. Wish they had left the kitchen cabinets with the same stain, its really pretty. The 15 light pocket doors are neat, but I worry `about the kids breaking the original glass. Don't know what they did with the original light fixture. The pimpled white glass fixture they put in is an eyesore.`If I could stand to stay here, the list of restorations is long and expensive. The house on the lake I wanted is back on the market, and my husband may be laid off soon. Either way, we need to sell. I can't wait 46 years for the land to be released. 7k per year is too much to pay in taxes just to look but not touch.
It would be wonderful to see others' old houses and what they have done.

I hear you fleethart. There is another house on our block that we really wanted to buy. Didn't get it, but the people who did have told me about the problems they've encountered that there is no way we could have afforded to address. It is good they got the house and we didn't. I think you're smart to move on; we would have done the same.

I am near hating my house, too. We have a Civil War house. When we bought the house it had been divided into apartments, covered in paneling, had a mile of PVC pipes, undersized mobile home fixtures in the the bathrooms. We had no idea what we were buying. It's been replumbing, rewiring, redoing every single wall. All that paneling was covering soft plaster full of holes. Right now, there is no plaster in 3 rooms, as our last tenant moved (she was elderly so we waited years until she decided to move.)and we are able, at last, to have our grand old home to ourselves.

This morning I woke up discouraged by all the money and work and endless tasks that lay ahead, and I stumbled on this forum. So I am thinking, "At least I am not the only one!"

It's helped me to stop and think what a grand old girl she is, needing a little "reconstructive surgery," but still a grand old lady. I also got some good tips on windows and more on the threads. I'll be visiting again.

black_mountain - the bad walls behind paneling is exactly why we are painting ours instead of ripping it out like I wanted to. It was another wise member of this board who advised that! Luckily our paneling, while ugly, is in good enough shape to leave for awhile. Any project we consider now starts like this - what if it's a complete disaster? What can we do if ... xyz. Usually it means we don't start it LOL Like ... oh I can't even remember the exact thing now, but it was in the bathroom, where it's possible the walls behind the shower are ruined. I said, well, if x then y and then z and before you know it we have to gut the whole bathroom and then we don't have any shower, so lets not yet. And we didn't ;)

I think just being able to say that I hate my house, and to have all this discussion and feedback has helped immensely. Even though it's not my dream house I'm remembering why we chose it. I'm sure the next one will be a fixer too. I have a tendency to say - oh, how great that house would be with a little love!

Also in the spirit of remember what I love ... my neighbors (except for the barking dogs) are great. Lending us tools, happy to give advice. They grew up here. There's a snow blower on each side of us and one of them often will take care of the alley or the front sidewalks across all 3 of our houses. DH and one of them were out this morning. I went out this afternoon and shoveled the fronts, and one of them did the alley and fronts again with the snow blower later. It's been snowing since last night!

Hi Blackcats,
I understand your frustration completely. I bought a lemon of a house back this past July. The PO did a really genius job of covering up major defects, which of course, the inspector didn't find. Some things he couldn't. But, the same grips: need all new wiring, and plumbing, and the list goes on.

My BF that lives with me got laid off, and I just lost my job. We are devestated at the thought of losing this house since we already put so much money into it. The first week we moved in, our water heater crapped out. Then our second story bathroom leaked so bad because of pin hole pipes in the copper, we had to rip out the ceiling: 4 layers of ceiling the PO's put up over the years. Then we discovered through high levels of carbon monoxide gathering in our kitchen that the furnace below was venting into the chimney that collapsed. The town almost condemned this house and made us move out. $4,000 later, I had to pay to get both chimney's relined. Our well water is so acid that it leaches the copper from the pipes into our water. My hair (I have blond highlights) is blue. I literally have to get a chemical stripping treatment every month from my hairdresser because of how bad the water is. We can't afford an acid neutralizer tank at this time, so we drink bottled water, and wipe all our dishes down (after washing them in the copper water) to get the residue off. It's depressing. The stories go on and on.

The only advice I can tell you is what others have reiterated here. Try to do little things that don't cost much just to keep you going. I stripped wallpaper in 2 huge rooms over the course of 3 months (6 layers), replastered the crumbling horsehair plaster underneath, and now the painted rooms look beautiful. It's only 2 rooms, but it gave us a little bit of hope to see "something" done.

I have no insulation in my house either. We put up plastic on all the windows, put up some heavy drapes on some, and tonight I just got finished putting up bubble wrap on our leaky doors. Our oil bill is through the roof, but we are trying everything we can to save money.

We keep the heat at 62 during the day and put it down to 60 at night. We close off many of the rooms we don't use. All these little things do help.

Some days I just sit here and cry and get mad at the financial mess I'm in and how I may loose my house and all my savings within the next month. I'm 37 and have never owned a house before. I've been saving since I was 14 to buy a house! And in this economy, I'd lose tens of thousand of dollars if I sold it now. It may come to that. But, I just pray that I get a job soon, that my BF gets a job, and we don't have to have our house foreclosed upon.

So, you are not alone. I do alot of praying, and alot of staying busy when I'm not searching for a job. And like everyone here says, painting is very cheap therapy, I highly recommend it.

I think we are all brave souls for buying old houses to try and save them, make them shine again, and give them a new life. It is a noble cause. So, at least give yourself a pat on the back for taking on such a feat. Not everyone can do this. At least you can say you are trying.

clover8, you rock! I _really_ hope you get to keep your house. But you know, I realize this is a very serious subject, so I'm not joking, and I hope it never comes to this for you, but if I found myself in your shoes and the bank threatening to foreclose, I'd be tempted to say, go ahead and take it, I'll re-purchase it at auction for less than I owe on it now! OK, I know there are many reasons that wouldn't actually work, but these banks--honestly they're better off making a deal with someone like you than taking the house. Of course, the people with the power to make such decisions don't exist in most banking institutions, but it would be cool, and better for the market, if they did. My previous landlord bought a house from neighbors who were about to be foreclosed on and then rented it back to them at a rate they could afford. Some would say they were taking advantage of them, but they were all consenting adults and seemed happy with the deal. Watching the relationship between them (they were next door neighbors, constantly chatting over the fence and having tea together in the garden), I think they genuinely just wanted to keep the people as neighbors, not profit off their misfortune. But I digress...

And Blackcat, feel free to email me.
I can help you know where and how to seal your house
once the audit is done. I've done hundreds of energy
audits and tested my house with the blower door dozens of times! That is how I learned what works and what doesn't!

I can keep my house warm most of the time...but with
18 degrees forcasted, I am already cold just thinking
about it!

Geeze I live in the south! The freak snow we had before
christmas did a number on me! This was the most snow here in over 20 years!

you can do this, I also started on a shoestring budget.
and quickly learned that caulking was the best, long lasting and affordable start.

best of luck!

It is helpful to hear how others cope with their old house. People who have never lived in one just do not know what they are missing. Besides the trials and tribulations, they have a certain dignity and grace. Sort of a classic car, or an aged wine. Complex, unique, yet irregular. Their stories are almost as fascinating as the buildings themselves.
Good neighbors definitely make a difference. Having people around you who are friendly and kind makes the effort doubly rewarding. Knowledgeable ones are nice, too! If you can keep your house, enjoy your neighbors, and do what you can to make it a home.
A note about painting counters, as mentioned in an earlier post: It may be fine temporarily, but it is not durable. It bubbles and peels when damp and it is susceptible to nicks and scratches. I can't say how easy it is to repaint since PO did not leave any for touch-ups. PM for photos, if you want.
Keep warm!

Great thread, and my heart goes out to those (like Blackcats and clover8) who can see that there's much work ahead of them in a poor fiscal climate.

Like others, I just want to let you know that things do get better, but it does take time. I've been in my old (built in 1895) house for 8 years, and there's still a ways to go, but over time it's been looking better and feeling more comfortable. We've had to redo all the plumbing, most of the wiring (we still have some knob and tube that should be replaced), stripped 100 years of wallpaper, taken up rugs that were glued onto the floor, replaced the furnance, roof, waterheater, repointed the brickwork, redid the kitchen, bathroom, and added a bathroom on the main floor, so no wonder we're tired and have no money! However, it has been worth it - the place still isn't there yet, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! The house used to be a boarding house in the 1950's, and still had 3 kitchenettes that we converted into a laundry room, storage room, and walk-in closet.

For the kitchen, we painted the cupboards and countertops as a temporary fix-up before the major reno. We originally thought we'd do the kitchen a few years after we bought the place, so what we thought was a 3-year fix had to last 6 years (so we did have an issue with the countertop paint after a few years, but we knew there was going to be changed eventually).

One thing we found is that some of the more modest changes we thought we would make wound up being more major, as we had to figure out if it was worth making a temporary fix or whether it would be better to wait a while and do the job right. It really depends on what you want and how long you plan on living there. Another thing we found is that, while working on the infrastructure is critical, it's also important to do the small cosmetic things (such as painting) as they're more visible signs of change.

I'm not sure if you're ever visited the website below, but this is a site I like to visit periodically for inspiration.

Here is a link that might be useful: Craig and Yvonne's Victorian House

Blackcats, I looked your pictures and i think you have a darling house.Looks to me its got a lot of dark paneling. I personally would paint it all white,take the awnings off to let the sunshine in and warm it up a bit. I to live in Illinois, and it does get very cold. I have a 1860's poormans victorian bought 13 years ago, All orginal wood work, but every room needs to be redone. We did reside a few years ago at the tune of $24,000 just got the paid off. See what and where you can use paint at. My kitchen cabinets were dingy and made in the 60's but i painted them all and antiqued them. They still look great. Im just thrilled to have a home to come home to.

the first winter in a new house is, I'm told, very much like a winter spent pregnant - you can't seem to thaw out, nothing works, and you can't DO anything about most of what's wrong.

...and I'd even been through it before, but I was still shocked when the storm clouds rolled in, and I found myself envying my friend's blank little townhouse (elegantly appointed and painted, but it's like dressing up a refrigerator box) even though his mortgage is twice mine, and his HOA has control over what plants he can put in the window boxes he must maintain...

and that, my catly friend, is depressed.

silk next to the skin is the best insulating layer you can get (I found some cheap 80's silk shirts at the thrift store, much less bulky than a second sweat shirt) and if you can't paint - you can sand, and spackle, and take notes...

and remember, it's only a dozen weeks until spring.

whoever built my home i just want to choke . The hose needs a flip badly . I cant afford to do that n to me the house is making me depressed. my hubby loves his home as he had it a year before I moved in now going on 3 yrs here in this house and its killing me ...he wont move and to me its just not functional. I'm sorry just had to vent. its a good thing u cant hear me screaming over this. Thanks

Sounds like your problem might be more with your mate than with your house. The good news is that relationships respond to marital counseling better than houses do. Good luck.

Start a new thread, but maybe the place for it is the Organizing the Home forum. Or here, or look at some old threads here, we've all been there, done that. Old houses are hard to live in. Sometimes it's a matter of picking the right project out of the lifetime to-do list.

KarinL

This is a very interesting thread.

I totally understand buying into the neighborhood that you love. Location, location, location really is important.

I'd love to hear an update, and hear how things are going with the original poster.

i know how u feel :( i did a house swap from a beautiful home only to find my nee house is INFESTED with earwigs,ants and carpet beetles. i try everything to get rid of them but im at the end of caring. im 20 and i really wanted to start my family life here in a lovely neighbourhood but the house jas just been a let down, damp, drafty, the council wont install new windows, we have no working mains fire alarms which they should have fitted by law and i just feel like giving up and moving out. this was supposed to be a nee start after losing my mum in law to be
but its a constantly nightmare for me. im trying my absolute hrdest to sort this place out but its impossible on my own. i cant even afford to decorate bdcause im too busy fixing things the council refuse to fix when then should. help :-(

We bought our house in 1981, exactly 30 years ago. The house was built in 1957. We are the second owners. The first was a family who were filthy. When we first moved in, all we did was clean-clean-clean. Took months to scrub the grease out of the kitchen. The so-called landscaping was so overgrown, it took all summer and 30 truck loads of bus trimmings to the dump. The house wiring "went" and we spent $10,000 getting it re-wired. We remodeled the kitchen twice, upstairs bathroom once, using professional contractors. We've never had money for new furniture. We have just been fixing things as they broke. I think everyone hates their house , unless you buy new or build new. Our most recent repair was ironic. When we bought the house, we had an inspector look at it. He noted the oil burner was high-efficiency (in 1981) and was recently replaced. so those "filthy" people did something good. Well, you know how the price of oil has gone. Gasoline was around $1 a gallon whjen we bought our house. We used about a thousand gallons of heating oil each winter. Around 2006 it statred really getting hard to keep our oil tank filled, so we bit the bullet and put in a natural gas heating system. Ouch! That cost nearly $20,000. We raised two kids and both worked hard all our lives, but we needed to take out a $20,000 home equity loan to pay it off. When you are going into retirement (fixed income land) it's hard to think about taking on new debt just to keep your house warm, but we did it. Hopefully we'll get that loan paid off before one of us dies. That's the way life is. I love my house. This has been an interesting thread.

All of this has been interesting to read and to help me put things in perspective.

I also, have had many moments where I have hated my 95 year old Craftsman home. I purchased it about 1-1/2 years ago but was not able to actually move into it for several months, as the person who lived in it prior for 30 years had let it fall into quite a state of neglect. Even when we finally moved in - I had no running water in my kitchen for many weeks.

I, having been working in the field of architecture for the same amount of time, saw beyond it's sad state to the good bones it has. Did all the right things; got my inspections, had the advice of good people including my old bosses on board to help with renovations. Even my main contractor was a friend from that job (I'm actually in administration in that field but have learned quite a bit about design and building practices second hand from being around them for so long).

However, even with all that knowledge behind me, and even with paying a very good price for the home, I found myself spending more than twice I expected on renovations and I'm still nowhere near done. There were times were I would come home and literally cry myself to sleep in a panic of how I was ever going to pay for everything which needed to be repaired that we didn't anticipate; things that were hidden from the inspection like the near re-enactment of the bathtub scene from "The Money Pit" where it comes crashing through the floor through the ceiling below (mine, had we not had to take down the kitchen ceiling, and discovered the tub was being held in place by "tinker toys" more or less, certainly would have fell through at some point if we had filled it with water).

I've spent $22,000 on new electrical and lighting and other miscellaneous repairs after the fact. $10,000 on plumbing. $15,000 for 27 new windows. I don't even know what my kitchen cost me because you have to figure in some of the costs above into it; so what? $40,000? (the kitchen was a disaster area and it had to be completely gutted). I had a jungle of weeds and ivy, cracked concrete and crap as a garden and the City was mandating I remove it (I have a TCO on the house and much of what I am doing I literally have to do to clear the TCO), landscaping cost me over $12,000 (I did put in a new paver patio, glad I did). My chimney/fireplace needs repairs - it's unsafe, that's costing $6000. I need regrading of my side yard and drainage underground - $5200. About to paint the house, another $5200 (house is stucco). New gutters $2200, Added central a/c $8000 (did get a rebate back on that). Oh and contractor payments $20,000.

There's more, another $40,000 that have added up of miscellaneous stuff; emergency repairs, things necessary for the home, etc. I still don't have furniture for my guest bedroom. The interior needs painting badly. My main bathroom is falling apart - every day another tile comes off the wall. The attic needs better insulation. I have no backsplash in the kitchen yet. I have unfinished carpentry items around the house. My floors need refinishing. I 5 doors which need replacement. Water issues in the basement (contractor is pretty sure the new gutters will take care of it for the most part). I need window treatments everywhere (currently have very cheap stuff up but at least it's something). There's other furniture I need here and there. My closets could use systems in them - they were built with minimal shelving. On and on and on.

And yet when people see and walk into my home, they are mesmerized. The LOVE it. Compliment me on how far it's come since I purchased it. Love it's uniqueness (well I do too - it seems to be a cross between a Craftsman and Victorian and it's made from terra cotta brick which is unusual in my area). But when I look at it, I'm depressed. It still looks dismal. All I see are all the repairs still to be done and the fact that my money isn't holding up (although since my mortgage wasn't huge to begin with, I just did a re-finance already, and took hopefully enough out to do nearly everything left to finish up - other than the bathroom, which I'll have about half of what I need).

I just feel like at 52 years old, I'll be dead before I see this house done. And it isn't like I have kids to leave it to either. It truly does feel like a money pit to me. My partner and I have like no money to enjoy ourselves (he had been out of work for over 2 years, and JUST finally went back to work). I'm the one who owns the house, so every penny goes back into the house now.

The only good thing, is that I have a very stable job and I feel that I can keep looking forward to increased salary over time, so hopefully I'll be able to keep up with the repairs. But oh my, like everyone else, it feels so daunting and overwhelming most of the time. I thought about bailing out several times and taking the (huge) loss - I still do - but I love the house too much to throw in the towel yet. Probably not ever. It's a curse, and a blessing. We're happy here, very happy.

I'm not around much anymore, my life has changed in HUGE ways. We no longer live in that old house, or even in the midwest. We rent a house in Las Vegas built in the last 20 years (boring) and I was looking through old house pictures here feeling sad and saw this thread. Wow. What a blast from the past! I'll update as requested, but I'll start by saying some of the decisions we've made I feel somewhat embarrassed by but we did what we needed to do for our family.

This summary might be a little out of order but ... It started with finding out there were actual holes in the roof (yeah, THAT wasn't in the inspection, but the roof had been recommended to be replaced). My oh so very wonderful parents lent us the money (12k). Then we had a baby. Then DH lost his job and we decided it was best to take the chance to pursue something he'd been wanting to do for years, here in Las Vegas. So, despite getting really close to fixing that money situation, due to all of the above and some major taxes on the property, we're back where we started with debt. The part I'm embarrassed about? Our house is up for short sale now. No idea if it will go through or end up in foreclosure.

Things we did: added that insulation in the attic using a gov refund and a utility credit =) Made a HUGE difference. Painted a lot. Pulled up the nasty carpet in the living and dining room while I was pregnant. I had so much fun with that project. That one was posted about here. The floor was BEAUTIFUL when it was refinished.

We remodeled the kitchen (also posted about here I think). Another decision many would disagree with. I couldn't deal with the ick factor anymore, or the fact that my newborn would be dealing with all that ick (also the influence for ripping up the carpet). Even after trying everything possible on those cabinets... days later the grease would start surfacing out of the wood. soooo gross. We already had in the garage beautiful cherry cabs that someone else had been pulling out, butcher block from Ikea, & got a great deal on a new vinyl floor. DH did a lot of the work with his friends (I was way too pregnant to help out), a new fridge from the Sears Outlet (we brought that with us), and the cabs came with a dishwasher! We demo'd the closet from the adjoining room that jutted into the kitchen giving it much more space and better traffic flow. We never finished the kitchen 100% :( Everything was done except put up the trim (bought at Habitat for Humanity) and finish painting. I MISS that kitchen sooo much! Oh, we also ended up rewiring half of the house when we found out that it all ran through the ceiling fixture in the kitchen and the cloth insulation disintegrated when touched.

Our "great" neighbors turned out strange. The one with the dogs turned out way better than the other. The other... the man was passive aggressive. DH spent a lot of time outside right at the start of spring pulling up weeds (our neighbors were very proud home owners and we ... didn't usually keep up). He accidentally left a few of them on the curb and the neighbor put them in a plastic bag and hung them on our fence. Just 1 example. His mother ... gossipy busybody. We don't miss them.

We love our new neighborhood, but I miss the old architecture. We learned that we are better renters than owners, unless we have $ for someone to do things like lawn maintenance. We'll see what the years bring us. Good luck with all your old houses. I can't tell you how much I miss all that planning and doing.

Hey Black, nice to hear "the rest of the story". Wish you all the best in Vegas. You started some great threads on this forum and we'll miss you! heck, you don't really have to go.

By the way, you might want to check out the buying and selling a home forum. There's a lot of stuff about short sales there. I wouldn't be embarassed: you put a ton of money and sweat equity into that house--clearly, you added value. But in a falling market, it can be hard to add more than is being lost. It's so crazy. Our 'zestimate' (whatever that's worth) dropped 100k the year after we bought our house. If we had been forced to move for employment, we'd be in the same boat as you.

Blackcats- In this economy, your story is all too common. I'm so glad you found a way to be with your family and Congrats on the little one!

Maybe in the next few years, you'll find another old house that suits your needs a little better and isn't so expensive to fix up. I wouldn't want to try all that with a baby or young child at home...so maybe when the kid(s) are all in school.

Best of luck and Happy New Year! :)

Ugly house--ha! Mine was built in 1937 and had sat mostly vacant for the last twenty years at least. Had no interior walls downstairs, the kitchen completely ripped out, and bare cement floors downstairs.

Golddust says, " it had radiator hoses for plumbing and the basement flooded whenever it rained. It was 'The Goat Lady's House' and there were rumors that she used to butcher goats inside. I did dishes in the bathtub for 6 months"; mine had running water upstairs but not down and electricity downstairs but not up. Someone tried to change it into two apartments sometime in the past, but they only got as far as closing off and tearing down the stairs, so we climbed the rickety outsides stairs--in the middle of winter--every time we had to go to the bathroom. And I washed dishes in the bathroom sink. Ours was built by the local moonshiner and has a (sealed off) basement where he was rumored to have his still. Further rumor says he sealed the kid who ran moonshine for him inside the basement when the "revenuers" were closing in on him, so we aren't in any hurry to open it up :)

Think about all the great stories this will make later. Take LOTS of pics, and keep a journal. What's heartbreaking now may well be hilarious in a few years.

In the meantime, paint what you can, even if it's just trim in the rooms you spend the most time in. Close off the rooms you don't need and don't spend money heating them. I cut my electric bill in half when I started unplugging my hot water heater. I just plug it in about 10-15 minutes before I need a lot of hot water, and my electric bill (no gas here) runs about $70 a month.

And buy some flowers, light candles at dinner, and celebrate your new and soon-to-be-wonderful home :)