Home Improvement advice....please. :)

menagerie mama

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So, let's say you might be buying a house (not saying I am) and you might not know much about home improvement such as tiling, plumbing, carpentry, etc. (still not saying it's me) and you think someday (maybe soon) you might need to learn that type of stuff...other than taking classes, what are the absolute BEST home improvement books/DVDs to learn those kinds of things??
Ok, really, my bf and I have been planning on buying a house in the future, and one sort of fell into our lap. Since it's kind of unexpected, as we planned this for like 2 more years from now, we have a VERY tentative "hey, I wonder if we could....." thing KIND OF going on right now. Neither of us knows much, other that what we watch on HGTV CONSTANTLY. To be honest, I think I know more about fixing things than he does. lol...he doesn't have the patience to even read directions...lol...
Now, we have only heard of this house by word of mouth, but we are going to look at it on Saturday. An older lady owns it, and her kids are out of state, so I don't know what condition things are in inside. I hear it's got beautiful natural woodwork, and I guess brand new central air and furnace. Other than that, I don't know. It's my boyfriend's parents' neighbor (another thread topic entirely) and they are really good friends with her. It's possible she will give us a great deal. But I need to put my eagle eye on the place, mentally note all the things that may need fixing, and think whether or not we will be able to do them, or be able to afford to do them.
So, being ambitious and wanting to do as many fix-it-up things as possible as not to break the budget and live a real life version of "Money Pit" is there something you recommend to help me? I ask you all, as always, for all things tried and true. I could search Amazon.com or go to the bookstore myself and start buying willy-nilly, but I would love your opinions so I KNOW it will work!
Thanks!
 

pami

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Are you looking for a book so that you will have knowledge of things to look for when you go look at the house? They have home inspectors that will be able to come out and thoroughly tell you if there are any problems, what they are and approx. cost to fix.

Congratulations if it all goes through
 
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menagerie mama

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Nah, it's more of a..."the kitchen would be so much bigger if we knocked down that wall" or "I think it needs a new tile backsplash" or "a new floor would be great in here"....type of thing....because in this type of situation, my mind is a whirlwind of ideas, and I know my head will be thinking towards what COULD be done with the house, were we to by it....just lacking knowledge.
 

strange_wings

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Generally, when you buy a house and have to get a loan for it you will have to have an inspector check it. Unless you have the money to pay for it outright.

Do you know anyone who's more handy with this sort of stuff? It wouldn't hurt if you did and could get them to come along with you to look at the house.

Some of the big things you need to look out for, plumping, electrical, roof condition, check out the heat/ac vents and ducts. If they're in the floor you need to be sure they haven't had water in them before. If so, that should have been fixed or you'll be paying someone to come out and do that.

Little stuff like flooring you can look up online and get books for. Carpet and linoleum is probably easier to let someone else install, especially if they haul the old off with them. Painting, fixing holes in the walls, etc is all common sense stuff.

Originally Posted by menagerie mama

Nah, it's more of a..."the kitchen would be so much bigger if we knocked down that wall" or "I think it needs a new tile backsplash" or "a new floor would be great in here"....type of thing....
Walls are usually weight bearing... Backsplash depends on what you use, some materials would be easier to let someone else install for you - and again hauling off the old (city doesn't take that sort of stuff here if you leave it by the dumpsters).
 

pami

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Oh I see ...... well I cant really help you there. I have seen a lot of books at Home Depot, but I have never tackled anything that big, that should be really exciting! I know Russian Blue (Kass) her and her husband have tackled many DIY projects, you may want to PM her. Also momofmany (Amy) has done several renovations projects, too, but Im not sure how many they did themself and ones they hired out.
 
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menagerie mama

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

Little stuff like flooring you can look up online and get books for.
Which is what I need advice on...there are a million home improvement books and a billion online links. I could be searching for days. I'd like to know what works for you guys the best. I mean, Bob Vila? Or someone else? Home Improvement for dummies? lol
Again, it won't be big things like foundation issues, etc. that an inspector will look at. I'm looking at the remoling/updating aspect. I know how to do basic painting, spackling, etc....I need beyond that.
 
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menagerie mama

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Originally Posted by Pami

Oh I see ...... well I cant really help you there. I have seen a lot of books at Home Depot, but I have never tackled anything that big, that should be really exciting! I know Russian Blue (Kass) her and her husband have tackled many DIY projects, you may want to PM her. Also momofmany (Amy) has done several renovations projects, too, but Im not sure how many they did themself and ones they hired out.
This is why I ak TCS! You are all so smart!!
 

rubsluts'mommy

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one thing I learned from watching my dad fix up our house (and it's STILL not done... don't get me started... he's funny that way) and listening to him is that there are always hidden things... it may LOOK nice, but there could be stuff going on behind those walls... especially if the house is older. If you get into the haggling part of buying it, get an inspector before you sign anything...

As for load bearing walls... one tip I remember (and this may or may not always hold) from watching This Old House as a kid (I was... and still am... such a dork) is that if a wall is in the exact same spot on all floors (say the one next to the stairs), it's typically a load-bearing wall... not all walls are LB...

If you decide to get it and eventually tear down walls, go to the city (planners, or records, or something along those lines) and ask for the plans... they should have them on file, as long as the house was built after the city became officially a city...

my parents' house was built before the town became incorporated... not to mention that it wasn't considered an actual dwelling... it was not much more than a shack for the goat herders in the mini-valley. My dad had to make HUGE improvements before we could move in... it wasn't habitable in 1974. He made it that way. He's also a Civil Engineer... so he knows his walls and stuff... just wish he would finish the front bathroom...
I love him, really... but his project finishing skills leave a lot to be desired...

Amanda
~off to fight the good fight against a bad fever... and maybe get some sleep this time!!
 

kittymonsters

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As Strange Wings said, walls can be tricky in terms of remodeling. Some are weight bearing. I second the opinion there is NO substitute for a good home inspection and anything with plumbing, roofing or electrical would need to be done by a professional.

For most other improvement things go take some of the free homeowners classes at Home Depot. They have hands on classes on most everything. I have learned how to lay tile, simple plumbing and installing laminate flooring.
Wallpaper, however, forget it!

If you have cable of dish, watch the DIY channel. Also do a internet search for "DIY tile" for example and you will be surprised at the number of hits you get. There are websites outthere dedicated to helping people do it themselves.

that things all work out well and you end up getting the house if you really want it.
 

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Neil and I are big DIY'ers and have tackled jobs many people would not be willing to do.

We get alot of info from watching Wisconsin Public TV shows like Hometime and This Old House and Ask this Old House. We have subscribed to This Old House magazine for years.
Family HandyMan is another magazine you might consider.

Black and Decker has a series of books on electrical, plumbing etc that come in handy.

Over the years we have learned in the various remodel jobs is we buy the best we can afford. I use premium paint and we use very good lumber and have LOTS of good tools.
Its worth it in the long run.
We are lucky to have a nephew who is a licensed plumber for the jobs we cannot tackle.
One of Neil's brothers is a very competent remodeler who has assisted at times.
We will hire an electrician if needed.
Over the years we have developed relationships with other contractor types too which are good for advice.
If you have any questions you know you can ask!!

BTW attend the home and garden shows in the late winter/early spring I think there Milwaukee has a good sized one. You can get some good information that way.
 
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menagerie mama

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Thanks everyone! Yeah there will be no wall papering in our house!!!
 

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As for basic repair stuff, there are two books I recommend. One is "Basic Home Repairs" by Sunset Publishing. Great book, but the bad thing is it's been out of print for a while so you can only find them used. Went for about $15 new.

The other book I recommend is by Popular Mechanics and I forget the name, but it's also along the same vein "basic home repairs", "basic repairs" etc. This one you can check out at Barnes and Noble or Borders before you buy, goes for about $25 new.

As for more design, that depends on what you want to do, and what you have to work with. Also depends on how ambitious you are. If it's something not too far out, you could learn some fundamental design concepts in any home design book (symmetry, use of colors, textures, and geometry for space effects, fung shuei, flow, etc). But if you're planning to do something really out there, then you might want to hire a designer.

There are also home design programs that let you build a 3D model of your home in and paint, modify, etc as you see fit to see what it looks like on a PC.

Regardless of what you do, plan it out beforehand. Even if it's a sketch on a piece of napkin, plan everything out, from tools you need to buy, materials, time, budget. Things will go much smoother and you'll get fewer nasty surprises along the way.
 

mrblanche

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There are several really good books available. If you have a used book store around, you can probably find a number of good books. Someone mentioned books by Popular Mechanics. I'd throw in some very good Reader's Digest books. I have several on my shelves here. Keep in mind we built our own house in Arkansas, so I can tell you the wrong way to do any number of things.
 
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menagerie mama

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Ok, so we went and looked at it, and here's the thing. You'll have to use your big imaginations to picture what I tell you.
Pros: beautiful natural woodwork, a cute little off-set sunroom with French Doors that I can see me sitting in a cozy Papasan chair reading and drinking coffee on a lazy Sunday (although this house may not afford many of those!) hardwood floors or new flooring in most of the rooms, the rooms are very sunny, a gigantic basement that looks promising for finishing, and (my favorite part) a huge walk-in attic that could be converted into THE BOMB master suite. It is plumbed, too, so we could do a bathroom up there. New central air, new furnace. Next door to his parents, we could borrow their snowblower, lawn mower, etc..and if we did an adjoining gate to their yard, we could have family parties in both yards. If we had kids, Grandma's right next door!
Cons: TINY kitchen. I mean mega small. It would have to be gutted and a wall knocked down to even get it functional for two people, let alone us and kids, eventually. The fridge is almost in the middle of the room. BIG negative. No counter space. The wall we would have to knock down has a beautiful built-in China cabinet that would be a shame to destroy. I suppose it could be a half wall with a counter on it, and keep the cabinet.....
TINY back yard. NO grass. The yard is fenced, and has a huge tree which makes it look "foresty" back there, which gives it a very serene feel, but no grass....we have 3 dogs...NOT good. The front yard has grass, although I don't think this city allows fences in the front yard and it would look weird anyway. The yard is mostly bricks and rocks that she put down instead. That would all have to be dug up and some grass put in. Even then, it would be very little grass. that tree has big roots sticking out, and it's hard to grow grass under all that shade. We might have to teach the dogs to go potty on the concrete.
Very little space for a garden....and not a huge amount of sun. I'd have to do a shade plant/flower yard back there.
The driveway poses a problem. One of us would have to get a street permit or else he would have to move the cars all the time.
As cool as the potential is to do the attic bedroom and basement, it will be some time before we can afford it.
Next door to his parents, as much as I love them.....well, I'm sure it could be bad, too.
There are probably more pros and cons but I'm not remembering them all.
All in all, I love the cozy/serene feel that the house/yard gives me. I could totally see myself living there. It's whether or not these projects would be very costly, or hard.
I don't even know yet what she's asking for it, but she's a great friend of his mom's, and she knows our budget and may be willing to give us a heck of a deal..I AM getting ahead of myself, but I tend to overthink things. That's just me.

So, going on your imaginations, what would you say?
 

mrblanche

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In looking through my bookshelf last night, I came across a book I bought many years ago: The New Cottage Home, by Jim Tolpin

Lots of great ideas for a small home.
 

yarra

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Well the house sounds darling!

But I can tell you from being a homeowner and remodler. Hold out for the things you truly want. If having a backyard and a garden are important to you, you need to really think about that. You don't want to resent your home.

NOW with that in mind, you can always take down the tree and plant something else that isn't as shady, but that will up your energy bill and well, you would be taking down what sounds like a beautiful tree. Shade gardes can be absolulty lovley! With some pruning, you might be able to get some sun in a corner of your garden and grow a patch of grass and teach the dogs to go there. You are going to want to pick up the poo whether it's on grass or not. It really starts to stink.

My husband and I totally renovated our last home. Knocked out walls, tore down fixtures and tore up floors. Layed huge spances of tile. Retextured the entire house. Replaced all the outlets and lighting. Among other things. The house was a wreck, forclousure, had been sitting there for over a year. When we got through with it, it looked SOO pretty. (On the inside we never got to the outside) Sold it for a decent profit as far as the tax records were concerend, but when you factored in the money we spent, we only got about 10k back out of the house.

My husband did NOT have an inspection done. NOT a good idea. We had a lot of problems. Fortunatly, my husband has built homes him self, and knows how to do everything.

I would HIGHLY suggest you get an inspection done, as well as a mold inspection. Homes with basements can be real culprits for mold.

There have been some great suggestions for books, so I won't add to the confusion.
How much is she selling for? Have you been pre-qualified yet?

I hear you say that money is going to tight. Are you okay with livingin in a construction zone for a long time then? It can get really agravating.

Good luck!!
 

margecat

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Take some advice from a member who has been constantly doing home improvements for 4 (longggg) years now:

1. Seems easier on TV. (I watch HGTV, too)
2. You usually encounter hidden problems after you start. Allow time, money, and patience for this.
3. Finish one job before starting another. (Trust me here!)
4. Determine how the work will impact daily life. When doing kitchens and baths, you may be without the much-need facilities for a long time. Set up temporary facilities BEFORE you even pick up the hammer. You will be very tired after a day of work--not the time to discover you have no way of cooking dinner.
5. Measure twice, cut once. For example, if cutting trim/moulding, get a small practice piece, do this 1st. Will save money and frustration later.
6. Get the best tools you can afford. Start put organized and prep the work area properly. Take it from an impatient painter (me)--it is worth the time to put plastic down, etc.
7. In my job, I catalog a lot of home improvement books. The Black & Decker series ones seem very good; the Home Depot ones also are quite good. The B&Decker ones have great, clear color photos.
8. It is very easy to get in too much over your head with this stuff. (And into debt!). We are constantly improving the house, and I just about any spare $$$ of mine goes toward this (DH does the work: I pay for the materials, and help him).

Please understand that all of the above is NOT to discourage you--but I just want to give you the benefit of my experience. Take it slow, be patient and precise, and take the time to do everything properly. This should pay off later on, should you re-sell the house. Also be aware that the couple who improves together often fights together! Constant work can cause anger and resentment in relationships. Just be aware of this.

Hope all turns out well for you both!
 

margecat

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Originally Posted by Yarra

Well the house sounds darling!

But I can tell you from being a homeowner and remodler. Hold out for the things you truly want. If having a backyard and a garden are important to you, you need to really think about that. You don't want to resent your home.

NOW with that in mind, you can always take down the tree and plant something else that isn't as shady, but that will up your energy bill and well, you would be taking down what sounds like a beautiful tree. Shade gardes can be absolulty lovley! With some pruning, you might be able to get some sun in a corner of your garden and grow a patch of grass and teach the dogs to go there. You are going to want to pick up the poo whether it's on grass or not. It really starts to stink.

My husband and I totally renovated our last home. Knocked out walls, tore down fixtures and tore up floors. Layed huge spances of tile. Retextured the entire house. Replaced all the outlets and lighting. Among other things. The house was a wreck, forclousure, had been sitting there for over a year. When we got through with it, it looked SOO pretty. (On the inside we never got to the outside) Sold it for a decent profit as far as the tax records were concerend, but when you factored in the money we spent, we only got about 10k back out of the house.

My husband did NOT have an inspection done. NOT a good idea. We had a lot of problems. Fortunatly, my husband has built homes him self, and knows how to do everything.

I would HIGHLY suggest you get an inspection done, as well as a mold inspection. Homes with basements can be real culprits for mold.

There have been some great suggestions for books, so I won't add to the confusion.
How much is she selling for? Have you been pre-qualified yet?

I hear you say that money is going to tight. Are you okay with livingin in a construction zone for a long time then? It can get really agravating.

Good luck!!
I would just like to add something about getting pre-qualified. It is better, IMHO (and many realtors
to get pre-approved for a loan, not pre-qualified. They really look for proof of pre-approval from a lending agency.
 

oscarsmommy

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Originally Posted by menagerie mama

Ok, so we went and looked at it, and here's the thing. You'll have to use your big imaginations to picture what I tell you.
Pros: beautiful natural woodwork, a cute little off-set sunroom with French Doors that I can see me sitting in a cozy Papasan chair reading and drinking coffee on a lazy Sunday (although this house may not afford many of those!) hardwood floors or new flooring in most of the rooms, the rooms are very sunny, a gigantic basement that looks promising for finishing, and (my favorite part) a huge walk-in attic that could be converted into THE BOMB master suite. It is plumbed, too, so we could do a bathroom up there. New central air, new furnace. Next door to his parents, we could borrow their snowblower, lawn mower, etc..and if we did an adjoining gate to their yard, we could have family parties in both yards. If we had kids, Grandma's right next door!
Cons: TINY kitchen. I mean mega small. It would have to be gutted and a wall knocked down to even get it functional for two people, let alone us and kids, eventually. The fridge is almost in the middle of the room. BIG negative. No counter space. The wall we would have to knock down has a beautiful built-in China cabinet that would be a shame to destroy. I suppose it could be a half wall with a counter on it, and keep the cabinet.....
TINY back yard. NO grass. The yard is fenced, and has a huge tree which makes it look "foresty" back there, which gives it a very serene feel, but no grass....we have 3 dogs...NOT good. The front yard has grass, although I don't think this city allows fences in the front yard and it would look weird anyway. The yard is mostly bricks and rocks that she put down instead. That would all have to be dug up and some grass put in. Even then, it would be very little grass. that tree has big roots sticking out, and it's hard to grow grass under all that shade. We might have to teach the dogs to go potty on the concrete.
Very little space for a garden....and not a huge amount of sun. I'd have to do a shade plant/flower yard back there.
The driveway poses a problem. One of us would have to get a street permit or else he would have to move the cars all the time.
As cool as the potential is to do the attic bedroom and basement, it will be some time before we can afford it.
Next door to his parents, as much as I love them.....well, I'm sure it could be bad, too.
There are probably more pros and cons but I'm not remembering them all.
All in all, I love the cozy/serene feel that the house/yard gives me. I could totally see myself living there. It's whether or not these projects would be very costly, or hard.
I don't even know yet what she's asking for it, but she's a great friend of his mom's, and she knows our budget and may be willing to give us a heck of a deal..I AM getting ahead of myself, but I tend to overthink things. That's just me.

So, going on your imaginations, what would you say?
While Travis and I were looking, we saw about 20 houses and out of the ones we had really liked, we sat down, pulled out a notebook and weighed out the pros and cons. This was AFTER we were pre-approved for the loan like someone else said.If you do want to fix things that are just for you to love your home even more, start SLOOOOWLY. We almost almost bought a home we were going to have to make the kitchen MUCH bigger like you are saying about this house. To take out the partition wall and extend the whole kitchen, move some appliances around to make it more functional the for cabinets, flooring and countertops, it was going to be almost $7000 for the lowest end things!!! And that's leaving the sink and dishwasher where it was! Kitchens are the most expensive things to remodel. We were ready to do this, but we found a house we liked with a bigger kitchen and we loved everything else about it and we are moving in on December 1! Our house HAD to have a big backyard, big kitchen and a full basement. If they didn't have those things we didn't even bother. If yuo really want a backyard and the house that you are looking at doesn't have one, that's not something that's easily fixable. My biggest advice is DON'T SETTLE! This is a house you may be living in for 30+ years!

Just remember, if you have the finances to do these things you want done, then GO FOR IT! If not, start small and get things done that aren't so expansive first.


GOOD LUCK!
 

strange_wings

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How does one get pre-approved for a particular loan? DH and I tried to do it that way and lost one house. The one we're getting now came uncontracted on a Monday, we saw it that day - put our bid down the very next morning and by Wednesday the realtor was taking our offer and two other's to the owner. She chose us because she wanted a nice young couple that would take care of the home.
We were pre-qualified before going after this last house.

The first home we went after would have needed work, new flooring, kitchen needed work because it was very odd shaped/small, was all electric. I realize now that it would have been a huge pain - though it had the most amazing back yard with fruit trees, spineless prickly pear cacti (great turtle food), grapes, and a large garden pond that needed a little work. All in a very nice stockade fence. .63 acres..


The house we're getting has nothing wrong on the inside aside from some color choices I don't agree with.... teal carpet, orange brick on the fireplace, dark wood paneling in a room with no windows. The yard isn't nearly as large, but there's a very nice covered patio and large metal building (workshop/garage) with a rear entrance from a paved road. It's fenced, but one side needs to be repaired (realtor is fixing that). Luckily there is enough sun and space for my turtles and a garden.



I agree with what the others have said. If a yard is important to you, and since you have dogs it likely is, wait till you find the home that has the yard you want. Though - finding the perfect yard will be harder then finding the perfect home.

Also, make sure you like the realtor you're going through - if you use one. The one we're using now is a great guy. Very straight forward down to earth and hands on. I'll be surprised if he doesn't go out to help fix the fencing or at least oversee it being fixed.
 
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