Gutting the Bathroom

Even though we were not sure exactly what we wanted, we knew the bathroom had to go. The toilet didn't flush, the lights were dim, the medicine cabinet was filthy and the tiles were white, brown, pink and tan. Three trips to Home Depot and $3,500 later we had the new fixtures, a skylight, tile, grout, subfloor, sheetrock, glue, nails and screws. We hoped it was everything we needed, until we ran into trouble with pluming and electric which has to be done before we install anything .

The toilet ended up sitting on the front walk for a few days and the porch became a dumping ground for the debris.

Our dog, Pitoune, immediately noticed the space left over, thinking to herself, "hey, wasn't there a bathtub here yesterday? And check out that floor! Tiny ugly pebbles glued to plywood and a complete bitch to remove (click on this or any picture to enlarge for a clearer view). An hour with a sledge hammer and and an ice scraper and it was gone.

In the end, we left nothing but the bare bones so we could begin replacing the plumbing and rewiring the electrical lines. Now that the demolition is almost done, we can focus on re-building. This will be the first new room in the house that will not include the smell of anything old. Believe it or not, we have grand visions for this space. The ability to use an indoor bathroom again tops the list.

First things First

After replacing the rotting lalley columns (those are the posts that actually hold up the center of the house) we focused on heating the place. We suspected the old furnace was wasting a fortune in fuel because it never stopped running, and it made some real scary noises too. We expected to pay $4,000-5,000 for a new one but ended up getting this baby for $7,250. Our plumber friend, Mark hit the roof when he heard the price. If he says we overpaid, then we REALLY over paid, because Mark isn't a "cheap" plumber. Another friend, Eileen, wouldn't even tell us what she paid for the same system stating simply, "you paid too much." Seems every one sees dollar signs when they see a new homeowner coming, even someone we thought we could trust. Our consolation is that we have a brand new furnace, that with proper maintenance should last us 25 years.

Let the Shopping Begin

Shortly after the close on April 16, the appliances we had ordered from Sears arrived. The refrigerator, stove and microwave hood came first. We hauled them home in the pick up and brought them in.


That was a cool $2,500 but we are not done! We had decided to keep the existing dishwasher until we tried to use it. Shit! Ante up again! Paul found a $830 dishwasher on sale at Sears for $600 and ordered it.


We needed to remove the glass sliding doors to get the enormous refrigerator in the house. Nothing about this place is easy. Here's Lee, glad to have the new refrigerator through the patio doors - finally! The new refrigerator has an ice maker and water despenser, but we don't even have it in the same room as the water hook up that's not there either.

Oozing dough out of every pore, and not the cookie kind...

It's the beginning of a great adventure, our dream home, with all its trappings and travails, splinters and muscle aches. We are boldly going where many have gone before, into the abyss known as do-it-yourself home renovation. Wish us luck! Pictures going up soon...

Real Deal about the Pool Revealed

A week before the close, Lee visited the house to speak with the seller about some of the property he might have trouble disposing . What he found was startling. The owner was not there, but the pool had been opened and drained. The liner was very wrinkled and appeared ruined.
The sides had begun to pull away from the walls of the pool and cracks were developing in the liner below. We all met with the realtor that Saturday to assess the damage. We hired a pool professional to advise us, he stated that the liner was ruined and had been for some time. It would cost about $5,000 to replace the liner. The vermiculite bottom would have to be inspected and could potentially cost another $6,000. When we approached the owner, we were told to take it or leave it. They obviously had never intended on disclosing the fact that the pool was ruined and planned on taking us for all we had.

"Besides," we were told, " there are two more offers lined up behind yours who will take it as is." Amazing how all the real estate buyers in Dutchess County are fighting over this house in such a bad economy where no real estate is moving. We suspect this was another lie to pressure us and we fell for it.
Not just out of stupidity, but we had already invested plenty in legal fees, title search, inspections, pool guys and purchased new appliances for the house... not to mention a $5,000 membership to Direct Buy for future renovations. We were in deep already, lets swim in it. We were livid. They (the seller's daughter was behind all of this) purposely hid this information. NEVER act in good faith, because those who want money will stop at nothing to pocket YOURS.

Pool Inpsection

Lee was really excited about having a built in pool, Paul was a little skeptical of all the maintenance. Also, how do you inspect a pool in February? That's what the sellers were counting on! Its covered with snow and ice on top of that. But the water was at a good level, just below the skimmer. Good faith... We knew what it was, but did they?

We later learned that you should hold money back in escrow as a part of the contract process when dealing with a pool purchase. There is lots to consider, the pump, filter, waterlines, the liner, the vermiculite bottom, all things we learned when we bought this particular house.

The main thing we learned is to ask questions... lots of them. We did ask the realtor about the condition of the pool. She said it was only installed in 2001, seven summers of enjoyment. That's good. Then we asked the owner directly. He said it was six years old (oh well, whats one year) and he maintained it himself.

On top of that it had a pool room and an out door bathroom/shower right on the patio attached to the house! Whats better than that? It was looking more and more like a party house with its pool, big patio and huge stone barbeque pit. It was easy to anticipate a joyous summer. Whats that? No CO on the outdoor bath? Or the den addition? That would delay things.

The Systems Inspection

We had a great inspector, we really felt he was looking out for us. No great surprises, but a few flags. It was obvious we needed a new boiler to heat the house. The owner agreed to upgrade the electric service. Both the plumbing and electrical systems were pretty Jerry-rigged.

The old man selling us the house had built it himself, and though we were impressed with his handy work, there were some obvious shortcuts, and most of the stuff was just plain old.

Okay, we would have to invest some money in the heating and plumbing. $5,000 and it would all be fine, right?