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| My husband and I are considering restoring the house that is on our family farm here in Texas. The house was built by my great great grandfather, probably around 1875, although we are not sure of the exact date. I'm also not sure of the exact style of the house, but it is one story and probably no more than 1,200 square feet with two bedrooms, a living room, and a bathroom. The kitchen was clearly added on later. The house has fallen into disrepair over the years, but it still has many original features including the original mouldings, colored glass, original doors, etc.
The house needs everything - the foundation needs to be leveled, it needs to be painted inside and out, and it needs new wiring, new plumbing, insulation, and many many more things. Our initial goal is to make it livable, so that we could stay there on the weekends. Our long term goal is to add on to it and make it a part time retirement home for when we retire in 25 years. We are very handy and are planning to do a lot of the work ourselves. So, where do we start? Our initial thought was to get estimates on the foundation repair and get a pest/termite inspection to see what kind of issues we have. Any other ideas or advice? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| That's great that you want to save a house that belonged to your great-great grandfather--that will give you extra incentive to treat it with special care! Sounds like you're already thinking about some important things. How's the roof? If there are roof problems and water drainage issues that don't get attention, you'll risk any other progress you might make. Also, get some old house books from the library or buy a couple. They'll get you thinking about the 'order of operations,' and you'll be able to assess a lot of what's there in greater detail. |
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- Posted by jcin_los_angeles (My Page) on Wed, Mar 12, 08 at 0:33
| Congratulations! A wonderful project. As Kim said, the first order of business is usually to make sure the roof is ok, to prevent any more damage from leaking water. Then all the big ticket items: termites/rot problems, foundation, plumbing, wiring, heating, fixing windows. Anything that could damage or make holes in the walls or ceilings. The floor refinishing, wood stripping (if necessary) painting and decorating come last. |
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- Posted by kashka_kat (My Page) on Wed, Mar 12, 08 at 9:38
| Have you done a methodical inch by inch inspection of it? If you can find a good house inspector who specializes and is knowledgeable about old houses, it would be well worth the $200-300 it might cost - the key word is "good," though. By talking to them before making the appointment you might be able to get an idea of their expertise and enthusiasm (or ask around). They can... or should be able to... give you some ball park numbers about all repairs & suggest a work plan ... basically answer the question you ask here plus educate you about the inner workings of your house & explain any quirky weird things you may have noticed (old houses generally have at least a few of those). Have fun! YOure lucky to have it, that feeling of connection with your family's history is a wonderful thing, becoming more rare these days as the family farms are sold off. |
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