Has anybody here ever bought a dilapidated house, LIVED IN IT, and /diy/'d it? I want to hear your story. The obvious stuff I've heard is:1. Make sure the roof is good2. Make sure there wasn't a fire3. Make sure there's no water damageI think if the house has had none of the above, it's a good purchase. right?I've also heard that you'll likely go on to spending 100k+ getting it to look good again, but vinyl flooring and a few buckets of paint can't be that much, can it?
>>2869211>>2869211>>2869211I have bought and flipped 7 houses, done a good amount of the remodel myself (mostly everything but finish work like painting) so I could potentially give my thoughts as long as the lived in it stipulation isnt make or break.
>>2869216did you live in the house while flipping it? I have to imagine that is a challenge for a bunch of reasons and I'm sure you know exactly what I mean.
Im currently doing itIve done almost no work though lol and its been a few yearsI have zero regrets and im 1000x happier than i was renting but im seriously quite poor now and everything costs way more than you think it will
Another one for your list OP - make sure the foundation isn't fucked. Definitely another one of those "it has good bones" things that could stick you with a huge expense and an unsellable heap.
>>2869211I haven't but I work in a field that is VERY closely related to trades and repairing damaged building materials. Most people don't buy houses to wholly renovate because its a years long project if you're truly doing diy. The vast majority of people just won't be able to maintain that motivation to work on shit in evenings and weekends while working their day job, definitely not if they have a manual labor job. Classic cases of the cobbler's kids having no shoes. I've seen a few people attempt it but ran into the above; motivation quickly dying because you're constantly patching and living in what equates to a dilapidated shack if its anything like the pic you posted. But if they do have steady motivation, it just takes a very long time and costs more than you think. Most diy-ers aren't roofers, painters, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, and every other tradesman you can think of and do everything well. If the roof is good thats a big one because of the level of danger involved with steep or very high roofs, plus doing it all on your own is a several-day job even for a tiny roof. Water and fire damages can be repaired. Generally speaking, full demolition to next good structural piece, then repair from there. You major issue is doing it right and adhering to code. You don't need to bring it up to code if you're DIYing, but its generally a good idea to if you ever needed to pull a permit for anything and the 2023IBC code book is generally a good standard for building. Sky's the limit on spending, but building materials are super pricey fast. Like $10 per square foot for good flooring, but if you cheap out and put some shitty vinyl down you can save a few bucks. Do you really want to spend all that time, money, and energy to have crummy materials?
>>2869211people do that all the time here in Latvia. everything is dilapidated.1950s soviet shithole on the outside with crumbling concrete and rotting boardshigh quality modern European interior with every mod available, triple glazed windows, hardwood floors, heating and expensive kitchen
>>2869211I'd worry more about the foundation than the roof. Roof is easier to fix.
>>2869211yes?what story? you just close all the doors and fix up one room at a time focusing on the important shit.I got rid of oil heat and changed it to gas. I hear with wood mostly. when we first moved in I pulled the fridge back and there was a box of unopened meat poison with holes chewed into it and dead mice.I just piled shit up outside and did dump runs or burnt it.when I remodeled the kitchen there was a big bulge in the drywall. I had to try to level the walls a little cause it was bad. I cut back into it to see what it was and someone before me just drywalled over a pantry.just this empty shelf inlay.I found glass weed pipes they I smoke out of today.it is in the rural south.I'm still fixing it up but it's mostly aesthetics now.house sank before I had beams inserted. stopped the sink but it was extremely noticeable in my bedroom. built my wife a cubby with shelves and shit to hide the sink.what kind of stories are you looking for?
>>2869423autocorrect slaughtered me. you get the general gist .unopened rat poison.I heat with wood.etc.ripped out 2 big 3 panel glass doors from the 60s that had 0 insulation and replaced them with a window and a sliding door. insulated the attic for better heating and cooling.fortunate the way the house is built. everything is in a central 2ftx10ft 2 story wall and goes everywhere from there.I had a pinhole leak that I put a bucket under for 2 months till I could find it. the copper literally wasted away not even at a joint. idk wtf was poured down that drain.cut it out and replaced it with PVC.
>>2869211I've done this exact thing. I bought my first home 10 years ago. Built in 1954.Estate sale. You'd be sick at the price. I spent several years playing musical rooms. Pick your battles. Its just me and my dog. If you have a family, that's a different story. I did everything myself. The military discount at Lowes helped a lot. When you pull the floor up down to earth, you have to have a plan for getting outside. And this is mostly weekend work. And while you're down to dirt, might as well re-wire the entire house. That means getting up in the attic crawlspace, but the only entry is above the toilet and it's a tiny cut out that you can't climb through, so you cut open the ceiling and build your own 4'x4' entry. You better make sure you're not cutting through any load bearing beams! All the while, you learn what tools you need. A good collapsible ladder is your friend. And a full face 3M dust mask. I could go on and on about this. You're in for a ride. But the pride you'll have for doing it yourself is immeasurable. As long as you know what the hell you're doing. It's a journey. And when you get to the bathroom, you might end up taking a shower in a Rubbermaid container with a hose connected to your washing machine hot/cold outlets. Plan that shit out. Pic Related is me discovering that I had a rotten floor joist from a water leak in the kitchen from the ancient hot water heater they had. I had to work around keeping my only sink. Moved the fridge into the other front section of the house and used a hot plate/ microwave to cook. Replaced/sistered the bad joists. The whole middle of the house was sunken in. Ended up re-wiring the whole kitchen at this point. Dedicated circuits to all that needed. And pulled a new service and subpanel.
>>2869249>Most diy-ers aren't roofers, painters, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, and every other tradesman you can think of and do everything well.Not OP, I've done a bit of roofing and a decent amount of painting. Fuck roofing, that's the first thing I'm worrying about if I ever were to buy a house. Painting really is no problem and it's a great learning experience, although I find that 99% of people are way too autistic about painting. It's easy enough though that I was able to do it for my uncle with 0 experience on his rental properties, out of every home project painting is probably the easiest one (or at least has the lowest skill requirement.)It's actually been so easy that I was thinking about how I could make money doing it.
>>2870116I do everything but roofs.it's a new world man. you can't make your entire life doing nothing but one trade anymore.my neighbor who is 80 did nothing but trim his entire life. never touched anything else.he doesn't understand why I can't just make 200k a year changing light fixtures.
>>2869414Ngl I love commieblocks and I would gladly live in one but in normal country (aka not in Russia)
ya brother and never again in my life i was 20 and dumb and didnt get a proper inspection later on i find out the foundation is fucked and the house is not good and do all these half ass repairs to it and now its unlivable type shit and yeah so dont buy hastily
My first house was built in the 30s and had periodic updates before I bought it. I still had to rip up the entire kitchen and bathroom. I was able to nearly double my investment in a few years and did a majority of the work myself.>>2870095This picture gives me flashbacks
>>2870174Speaking of flashbacks. I almost forgot about the damage I uncovered from what was obviously a fucking fire burning at some point. Also, I said 1954, that was the house next door, this one was 1947.This was when I started remodeling the bathroom. Two walls removed and expanded for a walk in tile shower. (which I hate thinking about, fuck tile work if you're not a pro)They had a liquid gas heater right under there at some point. I can't imagine what the fuck happened. How they didn't burn the whole house down. My house has nearly quadrupled in value since I purchased it. But I have a gem and live next to family. 1.3 acres in county with low taxes. Have woods and a creek. And amazing neighbors. It was a blessing to get this place.
>>2869211Had a cousin do this. He did it half at a time. One half was in okay shape, so he moved in there and dealt with the kitchen/plumbing issues and had basically one bedroom while he fixed up the other half. Once he had the other half all done he moved into that side and then went at the first side. Now this guy was a cabinet maker/carpenter, and had his own sawmill, the old fashioned kind that was a building and used a 3' blade that was run by a canvas belt driven by the drum on a 630 John Deere. He was also an alcohol so it took him twice as long as it should have, but it was nice once he finished it. Talking 1980's in rural Kentucky here.
>>2869211I bought a dilapitated house built in the 60's and am living in it right now. Painted the roof and walls, replaced old kitchen cabinets, and am currently planning on replacing the old wood heater with an air heat pump when possible.
>>2869414I wonder what will happen when apartments become unsafe to live in, can they be fixed or concrete and brick will eventually give up?Do people lose their home? Do they have a claim to the land?
I'm the dipshit with the mouse stories and shit.the most important part of all of this was researching the structure and doing your own finding inspection and not trusting someone else.if you failed at repairing a project house because the skeleton was bad, you fucked up step one which is don't buy property with a condemned structure unless part of the contract is destruction and removal.the house has to be in decent overall repair skeletally.the house I bought was a nowhere hillbilly party house. I found out from the county it had beams inserted before I bought it.I found the foundation was sinking and almost walked away. permits were pulled to sink beams and I found concrete patches in the basement to signify it was correct.who the fuck is buying a house repairing it and then finding out it's condemned because of the foundation or roof?
my house was jacked too completion before I ever found it and if he wasn't, I would of never bought him due to the cost of jacking him off......up.
oh I got done with more
>>2869211vinyl floor and paint will be 1000$ easy. on the lower end.
>>2871220Well, if it’s built well, that’s gonna take a long time. Unlike cardboard, concrete and bricks don’t simply rot. (That is, if you did it well and don’t let moisture get to the rebar. Then it’s gonna rot)My knowledge of commieblocks is rather limited but I’d guess there’s two options:It’s totally primitive and ridiculously overbuilt, so it’ll last forever. Or, it’s planned and built on ideology and vodka, so it’s a miracle that they’re still standing. Any commie-anons know which it generally is?
>>2869211My cheat code is borrowing my parents 28' camper trailer over the winter when they aren't using it. Buy the bando, live on property in the camper. Only takes a day to dig a trench and get proper code compliant sewage and electrical hookup. Next job is either building (or razing and rebuilding) the garage/workshop. Then gut the fucker down to the studs. Can usually have any plumbing and electrical issues worked out and a few rooms usable (minimum bedroom and bath) before spring rolls around and they want the camper back.I feel like your 100k cost is high. Last one I did (currently living in) was an 1800 sqft single level that had a fire. Bought it for $125k, spent about 6 months and $80k to completely gut it down to the studs. New windows, electrical load center (was a '50s style with exterior load center, moved it inside), all new plumbing, new appliances (kitchen, water heater, furnace, everything), vacuumed out the old ceiling insulation and blew in cellulose. There is nothing you can see or touch inside the house that wasn't replaced. And while I don't go 'luxury' on anything, I don't buy bottom of the barrel stuff either. Did all the work myself except for the drywall (for $6k a crew came in and knocked out the whole house, with ceiling texture, in a week) and the carpet (bought it from one of those 'free install' places, they came in to the completely empty house and knocked out all 1800 sq ft in like 3 hours).
>>2871904And to add to that since they apparently chopped the length limit...Only regrets:1) This was a '50s era farmhouse with tiny bathrooms. Should have kicked the walls out on both of them another 6" or so just to make it less cramped. Tired of knocking my knee on the TP holder when I stand up and not having a good place for a towel bar.2) I didn't run the numbers on the existing HVAC setup (none of which was replaced). The evap coil is the wrong size (too large) for the ducting setup, and it ices up in the summer. Still usable, but enough of a pain that I'm about to replace it now that winter is here. Major pain in the ass that would have been much easier if I'd done it before finishing out and re-piping the mechanical room.
