I want to restore an old house in Nova Scotia to live and hopefully raise a family in (i.e. not to sell). I am going to provide some information, can those with knowledge and experience give their thoughts?
(possible) Cons:
I have literally no relevant practical skills and would have to hire others to do this work
this will be my first house
(possible) Pros:
although I couldn’t lay flooring if you held a gun to my head, I am able to identify good people and direct a project
I work from home and make a decent (won’t go into specifics but over $60000/yr) living with no dependents (well, canine) and no debt/large financial obligations
I currently pay $1775/month rent to live in Montreal, a city I love, but a mortgage on a Nova Scotia property, with land, would be less than half of this amount
I have the patience and will to do this properly, even if it takes a lot of time
Thoughts? Is there any level of decay you wouldn’t touch even if the building were free (for example: would anything make you touch this, which you cans ee from the pics used to be a beautiful, grand building: http://www.realtor.ca/propertyDetails.aspx?propertyId=11735224&PidKey=-940356416 - please click on ‘More’ under the main photo to see an old image of this building in its heyday as well as current photos of the interior). Also, this building is extensively water damaged and has mold issues. (yay!) The heating and plumbing don’t exist. No, they are not badly damaged, they literally don’t exist.
I think it depends on how much tolerance you have for living in a place that’s being worked on (if that’s your plan) and how you will deal with not having a kitchen for a while, and other similar inconveniences.
I do think it’s a bigger challenge for someone who knows very, very little about construction. Imagine getting the call: “We were working on your bathroom and found that the Jimpson valve is completely stuck. We can try to repair it, but we may need to replace it with a Krager hood. If we don’t start the work today, we won’t be able to start installing the drywall until next week, meaning the whole project will be pushed back… The Krager will cost an extra $2 grand.” Are you pretty confident you’ll make the right decision, and that the Jimpson valve really is shot?
Thank you for your reply - I thought the lack of them indicated a clear “YES!” to my question.
In answer to your question, no, in no way could I confidently make a decision in that scenario. I had been counting on doing a LOT of research into hiring. So what does anyone do with no knowledge of construction? Is this just something people with no knowledge don’t do? Because goddamnit, I LOVE old houses, and I have the financial resources, time and patience to do this. I do not have the practical knowledge. (living in an unfinished house isn’t a huge issue for me - I have been a student within the last decade and don’t have kids so…it’s just me and the dogs, as long as there’s a roof and some warmth, I can make the rest work).
I appreciate your thoughts. Tolerance for construction issues - not really a big deal. Knowledge of contruction - pretty much none.
If you still want to update the house but aren’t entirely sure of doing any of the work yourself make sure you do some online research about what to do when hiring your contractors. These are things like making sure you get enough quotes (usually three), make sure you contract is pretty ironclad, and understanding what a contractor is and what he does.
To be a total homer for myself and my company I tackle a lot of these issues with my daily blog. That’s page two which has the really relevant stuff for you but I do have more stuff on the newer posts. Also if you’re doing some major high cost housework please look in to actually using us as part of your remodel.
If you need any advice or questions or anything PM me or post in here anytime!
THANK YOU for blog link, am going there now. Also thanks for not saying “what the fuck are you thinking, idiot, just buy a condo and shut the hell up.” I hate condos and I don’t want one.
I’m almost as inexperienced as you are, but I’d suggest watching a few episodes of Holmes on Homes or something like that. It might give you an idea of what issues are relatively simple to fix and which ones are going to be a humongous pain in the ass. Since you’re looking at old houses there might be asbestos remediation, having to replace knob and tube wiring, replace chunks of the structure because of dry rot, etc.
Like I said I’m the one writing it and there’s plenty more where that came from if you have any specific questions. Either through here or even if you wanna go to our facebook page here and ask a question that way it’d be awesome cuz we could get some facebook traffic that way
Do you know anyone in that area? If you’re by yourself in a new place, settling upon reliable contractors may be especially challenging.
You may need some design help as well. The hotel and the bank building would need reworking to use the whole building as a residence. And the first of the houses may present some space-planning issues; it’s 4000 square feet, it has three rooms desribed as dens, and yet the bedrooms generally sound kind of tiny.
The water damage to the hotel would be a deal-breaker for me. You could end up having to gut much more of the interior than you initially plan for.
Think about resale. The more asbestos you get rid of now when you can control the cost, the less you will have to live with, and the less to remove when somebody else is hiring the contractor.
This is a red flag. I’m a designer and supervise a lot of renovations/remodels. What you propose is doable but you need to do a LOT of research because a thousand things can and will go wrong. It’s just the nature of renovation. If you are a perfectionist this will drive you mad. I’ve done this for years and unexpected things still crop up on almost every job.
If you are lining up the subs yourself be prepared to spend a lot of time managing their schedules and craftsmanship. This is the hardest part of the job.
Don’t watch HGTV. In my experience it is not realistic.
I absolutely agree. If you are not skillful or very much knowledgeable about home renovation then you should at least exert an effort to consult or ask the assistance of an expert. This will somehow save you money and time. If you are worried about keeping everything in perfect order then supervise the project from the smallest detail.
And this begins and ends with your contract. Make sure that you put down everything you need on it both the Scope of work and the Schedule. If you know what your pro is doing at every step then it’s easier to get the perfect renovation out of it
How much cash do you have? I would count on spending about $100 per square foot. You are not crazy to do this, but renovating is extremely stressful financially and emotionally unless you have an abundance of cash on hand. I think if financially you can swing it nothing will be more satisfying than building your dream home. Just make sure you love the plan before you start, because paying twice blows. And get a serious inspection before you begin. If you can find an old beauty that is plumb square and level and has not been renovated before, you will have far fewer headaches down the road.
What you need is to have found and married me 4 years ago. The thought of being handed an ancient 3-storey house and being given the command: “Gut it, update it, and make me happy” positively fills my soul with delight. In fact for $40,000 I might be able to persuade my gal (who beat you to me) to sell our run-down suburban hovel and move to Nova Scotia.
As long as you’re willing to rip out walls & ceilings mold & water damage aren’t necessarily a problem. Mold you can fix with a borax/water solution, but if structural beams are rotting that’s probably a notch above most DIY capabilities. Your real challenge is going to be finding a contractor you can trust can sub out all the little jobs to conscientious workers and get them done right. I don’t know how much of time your job takes up, but you can save a bundle just by doing the demolition yourself and by learning to hang drywall. It’s not that hard.
