Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT Factory 59
- Thread starter bdbecker
- Start date
Workspaces between 485 and 705 squarefeet.
Welcome to the Factory 59 build thread!
If you are coming over from my previous build thread (The **** Shack), it’s good to see you over here! For anyone who is new, welcome! Initially (and mildly annoying to me) it will likely be a while before we get into any shop projects. The house we purchased needs a lot of work – both inside and out – so the first part of this thread will likely be focused on those improvements.
(Some of this will be a little repetitive if you’ve followed along with the other thread)
How did all this start? Wife and I have lived in our current house for nearly 11 years. When we were first on the market to purchase, we initially were looking at what many consider a standard starter home – 3 beds, 2 baths. The market was pretty hot at the time, and the prices on those houses seemed somewhat inflated. For just a little more money, we realized we could skip the starter house and just buy something that we could grow into instead. When we toured our current home, it had pretty much everything we wanted, including a 24x24 detached garage in the back that I could use as my home shop.
For the last 5 or so years, we’ve been casually discussing adding on to the back of the house to create a large living room space, along with remodeling the kitchen. Now that the kids are getting a little older and finances have gotten better, those casual discussions have shifted to actual planning. Several months ago, while Wife and I were sipping coffee and discussing the reality of doing the addition and remodel, she brought up a very good point. Even if we added on, our house would always be a compromise on what we really wanted and wondered if that money would be better spent on buying a different house. While there is a lot of space in our current house, it is broken up across four levels and often feels a bit compartmentalized. Some people prefer this kind of layout, but we have come to realize it is not for us.
We then started discussing what it was we wanted. We love our current location and our neighborhood. Easy access to anywhere in the metro, but still very quiet. During the evenings, you can count more people walking or riding their bikes by our house than you will see cars driving through. The kids’ school is a short walk away, which saves us from having to drive them. There is also a large park nearby which we visit often. The neighborhood was developed decades ago, so there is no worry about a new apartment complex or strip mall popping up around the corner. Leaving our neighborhood was out of the question.
As far as what we were looking for in a house, we knew we wanted a single level house with mid-century styling, with at least four bedrooms and two baths, and enough space that I could have a dedicated shop area. Because our neighborhood was developed during the 50’s and 60’s, there are plenty of mid-century houses around, but the vast majority of them are split-levels like we currently have. There are a dozen or two single level homes scattered around the neighborhood, but even fewer within easy walking distance of the school. We’d set a near impossible bar for ourselves given those constraints. There are roughly ~18k potential house options in our current school district, and we’d effectively narrowed our options down to maybe a handful. That doesn’t even take into consideration whether we could even afford to buy one when/if one came on the market.
About two weeks ago (early April), we were all winding down for the day after celebrating my son’s 5th birthday when I get a text from Wife across the living room. There was an open house scheduled for the next day. It was a 1959 brick ranch, five beds, three baths, and checked all the boxes on our need’s list, and nearly all the boxes on our want’s list. No house is going to be exactly what you want, but this one is probably 90% (or more) of the way there. Because it needs a bunch of work, the price was within what we could afford. During the open house, I tried to find a reason not to like the place but failed. While there isn’t really a good spot on the lot to build a shop, there is corner of the basement that Wife suggested could be my shop and is more square footage than I currently have. The attached two car garage is extra deep, so there is also room for my automotive and metal working tools to live there, and still be able to park both cars inside. We ran the numbers, submitted an offer, and a few days later it was accepted. Holy smokes… we’re moving!
I think it took a few days for the reality to set it. Thankfully we don’t have to go far – driveway to driveway is only 1136’ away. If it wasn’t uphill, I’d be tempted to just push my tool chests and table saw down the sidewalk instead of trying to load them on a trailer. Because of the amount of work that needs to be done in the new place, we’re planning on carrying double mortgages for a couple of months. While not ideal, I don’t want to move our kids into a construction site. I’d rather just have the main living spaces cleaned up, repainted, and ready for them to move it. The task list for our current house is much simpler and shorter. Basically, we just freshen up some paint and install some new flooring in the basement.
That brings us up to the current state… the last week has been spent packing boxes, signing paperwork, getting quotes for roof repair/replacement, and trying to keep up with everything else we’d normally have to be doing. It’s going to be a lot of work, but when I get to enjoy my morning coffee sitting next to a crackling fire on that first crisp fall day, I’ll know it will have been worth it.
Without further ado, here are a few pictures of the new place.
Basement shop area (aka the future “Factory 59”)…
Attached garage…
Main living room (the original hardwood floors appear to be in really good condition)…
Kitchen (cabinets will eventually be replaced, but are usable for now)…
Second living room view to backyard (no hardwood under this area, it was an addition)…
My future home office/guest room (yes the wood is staying, I absolutely love it)…
More pictures to follow. This thread will likely be quiet for awhile until we get possession in June.
If you are coming over from my previous build thread (The **** Shack), it’s good to see you over here! For anyone who is new, welcome! Initially (and mildly annoying to me) it will likely be a while before we get into any shop projects. The house we purchased needs a lot of work – both inside and out – so the first part of this thread will likely be focused on those improvements.
(Some of this will be a little repetitive if you’ve followed along with the other thread)
How did all this start? Wife and I have lived in our current house for nearly 11 years. When we were first on the market to purchase, we initially were looking at what many consider a standard starter home – 3 beds, 2 baths. The market was pretty hot at the time, and the prices on those houses seemed somewhat inflated. For just a little more money, we realized we could skip the starter house and just buy something that we could grow into instead. When we toured our current home, it had pretty much everything we wanted, including a 24x24 detached garage in the back that I could use as my home shop.
For the last 5 or so years, we’ve been casually discussing adding on to the back of the house to create a large living room space, along with remodeling the kitchen. Now that the kids are getting a little older and finances have gotten better, those casual discussions have shifted to actual planning. Several months ago, while Wife and I were sipping coffee and discussing the reality of doing the addition and remodel, she brought up a very good point. Even if we added on, our house would always be a compromise on what we really wanted and wondered if that money would be better spent on buying a different house. While there is a lot of space in our current house, it is broken up across four levels and often feels a bit compartmentalized. Some people prefer this kind of layout, but we have come to realize it is not for us.
We then started discussing what it was we wanted. We love our current location and our neighborhood. Easy access to anywhere in the metro, but still very quiet. During the evenings, you can count more people walking or riding their bikes by our house than you will see cars driving through. The kids’ school is a short walk away, which saves us from having to drive them. There is also a large park nearby which we visit often. The neighborhood was developed decades ago, so there is no worry about a new apartment complex or strip mall popping up around the corner. Leaving our neighborhood was out of the question.
As far as what we were looking for in a house, we knew we wanted a single level house with mid-century styling, with at least four bedrooms and two baths, and enough space that I could have a dedicated shop area. Because our neighborhood was developed during the 50’s and 60’s, there are plenty of mid-century houses around, but the vast majority of them are split-levels like we currently have. There are a dozen or two single level homes scattered around the neighborhood, but even fewer within easy walking distance of the school. We’d set a near impossible bar for ourselves given those constraints. There are roughly ~18k potential house options in our current school district, and we’d effectively narrowed our options down to maybe a handful. That doesn’t even take into consideration whether we could even afford to buy one when/if one came on the market.
About two weeks ago (early April), we were all winding down for the day after celebrating my son’s 5th birthday when I get a text from Wife across the living room. There was an open house scheduled for the next day. It was a 1959 brick ranch, five beds, three baths, and checked all the boxes on our need’s list, and nearly all the boxes on our want’s list. No house is going to be exactly what you want, but this one is probably 90% (or more) of the way there. Because it needs a bunch of work, the price was within what we could afford. During the open house, I tried to find a reason not to like the place but failed. While there isn’t really a good spot on the lot to build a shop, there is corner of the basement that Wife suggested could be my shop and is more square footage than I currently have. The attached two car garage is extra deep, so there is also room for my automotive and metal working tools to live there, and still be able to park both cars inside. We ran the numbers, submitted an offer, and a few days later it was accepted. Holy smokes… we’re moving!
I think it took a few days for the reality to set it. Thankfully we don’t have to go far – driveway to driveway is only 1136’ away. If it wasn’t uphill, I’d be tempted to just push my tool chests and table saw down the sidewalk instead of trying to load them on a trailer. Because of the amount of work that needs to be done in the new place, we’re planning on carrying double mortgages for a couple of months. While not ideal, I don’t want to move our kids into a construction site. I’d rather just have the main living spaces cleaned up, repainted, and ready for them to move it. The task list for our current house is much simpler and shorter. Basically, we just freshen up some paint and install some new flooring in the basement.
That brings us up to the current state… the last week has been spent packing boxes, signing paperwork, getting quotes for roof repair/replacement, and trying to keep up with everything else we’d normally have to be doing. It’s going to be a lot of work, but when I get to enjoy my morning coffee sitting next to a crackling fire on that first crisp fall day, I’ll know it will have been worth it.
Without further ado, here are a few pictures of the new place.
Basement shop area (aka the future “Factory 59”)…
Attached garage…
Main living room (the original hardwood floors appear to be in really good condition)…
Kitchen (cabinets will eventually be replaced, but are usable for now)…
Second living room view to backyard (no hardwood under this area, it was an addition)…
My future home office/guest room (yes the wood is staying, I absolutely love it)…
More pictures to follow. This thread will likely be quiet for awhile until we get possession in June.
Last edited:
Shiftless
Well-known member
You’re not gonna be making moonshine are you?
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captain14
Well-known member
Now you know what to serve in The consultation room at Factory 59.
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Sub'd! 
RivennHewn
Well-known member
Dang! I was hoping for a new conspiracy 🫣
Jayman17
Well-known member
Congrats and I will be following along too. 
68400BIRD
Well-known member
Looking forward to following along on this one. We have a 1958 Rambler so pretty close to what you are going to be working with.
Shiftless
Well-known member
Me too.
I learned to drive on a ‘59 Chevy sedan.
68400BIRD
Well-known member
Rambler as in style of house not car. LOL
Whoever did the install did not skimp on the glue either... thankfully it's old and dry enough that the panels should come off fairly easy. I was messing around with them when the inspector was walking through. Cleaning off the residue will be a different story.
No joke... and we're having the roof, soffit, and gutters replaced right away.
Full disclosure, none of this would be possible if it weren't for the generosity of Wife's grandfather. It's a bit complicated how it all worked out, but he left her a fair bit of money when he passed. We haven't touched it, just letting it grow in an investment account. Since the market is a bit unpredictable these days, our financial advisor fully supported us taking some of it out and putting it into this property.
The other thing we have going for us is that our current house has increased in value by over 60% since we bought it. Even if we don't get full asking price on our house when we sell, we should still be able to put back most of the money we are pulling out of the account.
Finally, once Smasher starts kindergarten this fall, we will no longer have to pay for preschool each month. Essentially, once all the dust settles this summer, even though our mortgage payment will be a little higher than what we are paying now, our monthly budget will actually have more breathing room than today.
On our current house, not much. Besides touching up some paint in a few rooms, the two biggest projects will be repainting the kitchen cabinets and installing new floor in the basement. Originally, there was carpet in the basement. Before we had the patio replaced in back, we had a couple of minor flooding incidents during heavy rain and had to remove it. I've held off on doing anything about it because I had my office remodel project in mind and figured I'd just tackle it then. If we were staying, I was planning on doing LVT, but for the sake of time and money, I'll just install a neutral colored carpet tile instead.
On the new house, lots of cleaning, wall paper removal, painting, and carpet removal to start. Because I had so much going on with work last year, I carried over more vacation than I usually do. I plan on taking a week off once we get possession of the house so I can just crank the tunes and make a big dent on the project list. Cleaning up the landscaping, burying gutter downspouts, and regrading around the house will be the other big projects once we get moved in.
Things are moving along well...
We locked in a roofing contractor. Quotes were right where I expected - no big savings to be found, but no surprises either. We're going to have the entire roof re-decked since the original sheeting was only 3/8" ply. The sagging hip rafters will also be repaired, and the ones that are not sagging will be reinforced before they get a chance to fail. New soffit and gutters as well. Should look pretty spiffy once completed.
The appraiser came back with the numbers we needed to see, so no hiccups to slow down the mortgage process. Compared to the comps, we're paying ~10% less for the place. Granted, that savings will be put back into improvements, but it's nice to know we aren't overpaying.
Our insurance agent found us a heck of a deal with a different provider - equivalent coverage and the same deductible we currently have, but for a few hundred less per year than we are paying on our current house. I was pretty happy to see that. We were expecting to see an increase with the new house, so that'll just make things easier each month.
Interestingly enough, we just received a notification that the escrow payments on our current house will be increasing by nearly $200/mo. due to increased taxes/assessed value. This narrows the gap even more between the two houses and I take it as a sign that we are heading down the right path.
We locked in a roofing contractor. Quotes were right where I expected - no big savings to be found, but no surprises either. We're going to have the entire roof re-decked since the original sheeting was only 3/8" ply. The sagging hip rafters will also be repaired, and the ones that are not sagging will be reinforced before they get a chance to fail. New soffit and gutters as well. Should look pretty spiffy once completed.
The appraiser came back with the numbers we needed to see, so no hiccups to slow down the mortgage process. Compared to the comps, we're paying ~10% less for the place. Granted, that savings will be put back into improvements, but it's nice to know we aren't overpaying.
Our insurance agent found us a heck of a deal with a different provider - equivalent coverage and the same deductible we currently have, but for a few hundred less per year than we are paying on our current house. I was pretty happy to see that. We were expecting to see an increase with the new house, so that'll just make things easier each month.
Interestingly enough, we just received a notification that the escrow payments on our current house will be increasing by nearly $200/mo. due to increased taxes/assessed value. This narrows the gap even more between the two houses and I take it as a sign that we are heading down the right path.
Closing in 6 days... it's starting to feel real now...
We had to push the roof replacement back a few weeks. We were originally on the calendar to have it done next week, but the soffit and fascia material got delayed. It was supposed to show up late last week, but didn't. The contractor is hoping it will show up this week, but didn't want to gamble on it and asked if we could push a few weeks. I told him that I understand these things happen and that it was no problem. We're now on the schedule for early July.
The radon test in the basement came back a bit high, so I've got a contractor lined up to put in a mitigation system as well. The owner of the company who quoted the system seems like a straight shooter (he also drives a 2019 Ford Flex, his is a black SEL w/Sport package). Besides his good taste in cars, what I really appreciated is that he quoted a multi-phase implementation. He's pretty confident that he can get the level down with a single point system, but said we may need an additional point or two added if that doesn't work. He quoted the job as such - install the single point and retest. If needed, install the second point and retest, and then install the third point and retest. All three phases and costs are quoted, so there will be no surprises down the road. How many contractors out there would have been tempted to push a two or three point system from the start? I am planning on running my own tests during that time just to confirm his results... while I like the guy, I'm still a cynic.
Oddly enough, we've already had some interest in the current house despite not having it on the market yet. Once word got around that we are moving, I've had a couple of neighbors ask about the house and our timeline because they've got family and friends who are looking to get into the area. I'm not going to hold my breath, but maybe we'll get lucky and be able to work out a private sale sooner than later.
We had to push the roof replacement back a few weeks. We were originally on the calendar to have it done next week, but the soffit and fascia material got delayed. It was supposed to show up late last week, but didn't. The contractor is hoping it will show up this week, but didn't want to gamble on it and asked if we could push a few weeks. I told him that I understand these things happen and that it was no problem. We're now on the schedule for early July.
The radon test in the basement came back a bit high, so I've got a contractor lined up to put in a mitigation system as well. The owner of the company who quoted the system seems like a straight shooter (he also drives a 2019 Ford Flex, his is a black SEL w/Sport package). Besides his good taste in cars, what I really appreciated is that he quoted a multi-phase implementation. He's pretty confident that he can get the level down with a single point system, but said we may need an additional point or two added if that doesn't work. He quoted the job as such - install the single point and retest. If needed, install the second point and retest, and then install the third point and retest. All three phases and costs are quoted, so there will be no surprises down the road. How many contractors out there would have been tempted to push a two or three point system from the start? I am planning on running my own tests during that time just to confirm his results... while I like the guy, I'm still a cynic.
Oddly enough, we've already had some interest in the current house despite not having it on the market yet. Once word got around that we are moving, I've had a couple of neighbors ask about the house and our timeline because they've got family and friends who are looking to get into the area. I'm not going to hold my breath, but maybe we'll get lucky and be able to work out a private sale sooner than later.
Getting close!
PA has a problem with radon as well. My home has a single pump system.
That would be very convenient (and save money!) if you could sell private party. The housing market has low inventory, so I'm not surprised that people are finding you before the listing.
PA has a problem with radon as well. My home has a single pump system.
That would be very convenient (and save money!) if you could sell private party. The housing market has low inventory, so I'm not surprised that people are finding you before the listing.
Well, it’s ours now… we took possession last Monday. As much as we wanted to start digging into projects, we also had a vacation planned for Wednesday through Sunday to visit the in-laws at their lake cabin in Minnesota. This was scheduled and the VRBO next door was booked back in January, not exactly the best timing, but then again, we didn’t know we’d be moving either. We did order pizza and sat around on the floor on that Monday night to enjoy our first meal in the new place.
While we were away, my Mom and Grandma (who is 89!) volunteered to get started on painting. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all the help we’ve received from family the last couple of months. They knocked out both kids’ rooms, along with the den/second living room. Sis’s bedroom and the back living room don’t have hardwood floors and the carpet needs to be removed. We’re trying to get new flooring (likely LVP) knocked out before we move in, so having those rooms painted is a huge help.
We pretty much finished up Smasher’s room last night. The only things left to do are to replace the cork tiles on the wall above the desk, put in a new (not rattling) ceiling fan, and remove some of the old stickers from the cabinets. Speaking of the cabinets, Smasher absolutely loves them. As you can see, he’s already moved over some of his toys, carefully arranging and rearranging things until they are just to his liking. To the left of the chair, the lower cabinet has pull-out drawers. That’s where he’s decided to keep his ‘weapons’. One drawer for light sabers and swords, one drawer for Nerf guns, one drawer for his superhero masks, and so on. All neatly arranged in a manner that even John Wick would approve of. As we hoped, the original wood floors in that room are in fantastic shape. I hope this is the case throughout the rest of the house. Here’s a before/after:
Wife started working on removing the wallpaper from our bedroom but got pissed off at the lack of progress, so I told her to start working on painting her office instead. I don’t mind tedious tasks like that... toss in the earbuds, turn on a podcast, and lose myself in the work.
On a sad note, we had to say goodbye to our little Benny. He’d been battling congestive heart failure for the last few months and took a turn for the worst on Tuesday afternoon. We made the decision to schedule an appointment with the vet on Wednesday, but he didn’t make it through the night, passing away few hours later. He was laying in his favorite spot on the deck with Wife by his side. While we aren’t exactly sure of his age, he had to have been at least 16 or 17 years old. Wife adopted him 15 years ago from a shelter when he was fully grown. He’d been abused by his previous owner and was super scared of men when I met him 14 years ago – running to hide whenever I’d come over to visit. When Wife and I moved in together a year later, he tolerated me but would keep his distance. It took me a good six months of earning his trust before I could even touch him. Within a year or so after that he transformed into a normal, happy, chill little dog. While I’m going to miss him, I know he’s in a better place now. I’m sure his big sister (my dog Norma Jean who passed a few years ago) was there to greet him on the other side of the rainbow bridge. Those two were the best of unlikely friends – a 12lb Lhasa Apso and a 140lb Newfoundland/Labrador mix – and two of the best dogs anyone could ever hope for.
Rest in peace Boo Boo...
While we were away, my Mom and Grandma (who is 89!) volunteered to get started on painting. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all the help we’ve received from family the last couple of months. They knocked out both kids’ rooms, along with the den/second living room. Sis’s bedroom and the back living room don’t have hardwood floors and the carpet needs to be removed. We’re trying to get new flooring (likely LVP) knocked out before we move in, so having those rooms painted is a huge help.
We pretty much finished up Smasher’s room last night. The only things left to do are to replace the cork tiles on the wall above the desk, put in a new (not rattling) ceiling fan, and remove some of the old stickers from the cabinets. Speaking of the cabinets, Smasher absolutely loves them. As you can see, he’s already moved over some of his toys, carefully arranging and rearranging things until they are just to his liking. To the left of the chair, the lower cabinet has pull-out drawers. That’s where he’s decided to keep his ‘weapons’. One drawer for light sabers and swords, one drawer for Nerf guns, one drawer for his superhero masks, and so on. All neatly arranged in a manner that even John Wick would approve of. As we hoped, the original wood floors in that room are in fantastic shape. I hope this is the case throughout the rest of the house. Here’s a before/after:
Wife started working on removing the wallpaper from our bedroom but got pissed off at the lack of progress, so I told her to start working on painting her office instead. I don’t mind tedious tasks like that... toss in the earbuds, turn on a podcast, and lose myself in the work.
On a sad note, we had to say goodbye to our little Benny. He’d been battling congestive heart failure for the last few months and took a turn for the worst on Tuesday afternoon. We made the decision to schedule an appointment with the vet on Wednesday, but he didn’t make it through the night, passing away few hours later. He was laying in his favorite spot on the deck with Wife by his side. While we aren’t exactly sure of his age, he had to have been at least 16 or 17 years old. Wife adopted him 15 years ago from a shelter when he was fully grown. He’d been abused by his previous owner and was super scared of men when I met him 14 years ago – running to hide whenever I’d come over to visit. When Wife and I moved in together a year later, he tolerated me but would keep his distance. It took me a good six months of earning his trust before I could even touch him. Within a year or so after that he transformed into a normal, happy, chill little dog. While I’m going to miss him, I know he’s in a better place now. I’m sure his big sister (my dog Norma Jean who passed a few years ago) was there to greet him on the other side of the rainbow bridge. Those two were the best of unlikely friends – a 12lb Lhasa Apso and a 140lb Newfoundland/Labrador mix – and two of the best dogs anyone could ever hope for.
Rest in peace Boo Boo...
Atlascycle
Well-known member
So Sorry to hear about Benny,
Jason
Jason
Thank you for the kind words. It’s never easy losing a pet, especially one that has been a part of your life for such a long time. I do take comfort in the fact that he was doing well up until his last few hours – eating, drinking, able to walk without issue, still engaged in every life... he had a darn good run.
We dug into the wallpaper in the main bedroom last night. Wife dropped off Smasher at the house while she and Sis went to run some errands. He was eager to help, so I put him to work. I was scraping paper on the walls while he was picking up trash and pulling off the bottom border. It was a glimpse into the future… we were just chatting away about anything and everything while we worked together, just the way my Dad and I do to this day.
Once Wife and Sis were home, we had a quick bite of dinner and got back at it. It ended up being a family project. Sis did some serious damage (in a good way) in the bathroom, removing both the upper and lower borders, and nearly all the paper off one of the walls. The gloss paint that was under the paper (and possibly the repeated steam/heat cycles of the shower) in the bathroom made it much easier to remove than in the main space. Wife and Smasher worked on removing the brown base layer to expose the yellow painted wall in the main area while I removed the top layer with a razor blade. While it doesn’t look like much, I am very happy with how much we got done. A lot of time was spent trying to sort out the best method, but now that we have the process figured out, I think we’ll have the rest of this wall knocked out tonight. The other three walls should go much faster because of all the windows and closets.
After trying pretty much every method featured on YouTube (steam, heat gun, scoring and soaking with a wall paper removal spray, soaking the paper with water and a sponge, and so on…), the most efficient solution (at least for the wallpaper in this room) seems to be scraping off the top layer with a razor blade, soaking the exposed base layer with a mixture of water and fabric softener, letting it sit for 10 minutes or so to let the glue soften, and then scraping that off with a flexible putty knife to reveal the lovely yellow painted drywall underneath. It is tedious work though. I’m only able to remove a 1” wide by ~4” long strip of the top layer at a time with the razor blade. Once that is done, the rest of the process is pretty quick. As I mentioned, Sis figured out that getting a corner started in the bathroom using a putty knife and carefully pulling on the paper seems to work well for those walls – circumventing the razor and soaking process all together. I imagine the paper in the hallway may require a different approach.
Despite being tedious, working together as a family made it fun. We played music, cracked jokes with each other, and just generally had a good time. I think it was just the distraction we all needed.
We dug into the wallpaper in the main bedroom last night. Wife dropped off Smasher at the house while she and Sis went to run some errands. He was eager to help, so I put him to work. I was scraping paper on the walls while he was picking up trash and pulling off the bottom border. It was a glimpse into the future… we were just chatting away about anything and everything while we worked together, just the way my Dad and I do to this day.
Once Wife and Sis were home, we had a quick bite of dinner and got back at it. It ended up being a family project. Sis did some serious damage (in a good way) in the bathroom, removing both the upper and lower borders, and nearly all the paper off one of the walls. The gloss paint that was under the paper (and possibly the repeated steam/heat cycles of the shower) in the bathroom made it much easier to remove than in the main space. Wife and Smasher worked on removing the brown base layer to expose the yellow painted wall in the main area while I removed the top layer with a razor blade. While it doesn’t look like much, I am very happy with how much we got done. A lot of time was spent trying to sort out the best method, but now that we have the process figured out, I think we’ll have the rest of this wall knocked out tonight. The other three walls should go much faster because of all the windows and closets.
After trying pretty much every method featured on YouTube (steam, heat gun, scoring and soaking with a wall paper removal spray, soaking the paper with water and a sponge, and so on…), the most efficient solution (at least for the wallpaper in this room) seems to be scraping off the top layer with a razor blade, soaking the exposed base layer with a mixture of water and fabric softener, letting it sit for 10 minutes or so to let the glue soften, and then scraping that off with a flexible putty knife to reveal the lovely yellow painted drywall underneath. It is tedious work though. I’m only able to remove a 1” wide by ~4” long strip of the top layer at a time with the razor blade. Once that is done, the rest of the process is pretty quick. As I mentioned, Sis figured out that getting a corner started in the bathroom using a putty knife and carefully pulling on the paper seems to work well for those walls – circumventing the razor and soaking process all together. I imagine the paper in the hallway may require a different approach.
Despite being tedious, working together as a family made it fun. We played music, cracked jokes with each other, and just generally had a good time. I think it was just the distraction we all needed.
Thankfully it's only our bedroom and bathroom, the hallway, front entry, and another bathroom to deal with. Still a lot of work, but it could have been a heck of a lot worse. I actually like the wallpaper by the front entry, but haven't been able to convince Wife that we should keep it yet. One thing that does worry me a bit is that I can see the edge of a second layer of old, 1960's wall paper peaking through by a door jamb at the end of the hallway. That might get interesting.
Finallygotit
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I once had to deal with removing wallpaper from a bathroom ceiling in an old house with 10' ceilings. WHO DOES THAT?!?!?!
Ford52PU
Well-known member
So sorry for the loss of your buddy.
My parents wallpapered the ceilings in our house and 5-7 years. Dad was really good wallpapering and did it on the side for family and friends. I did not inherit his talents.
My parents wallpapered the ceilings in our house and 5-7 years. Dad was really good wallpapering and did it on the side for family and friends. I did not inherit his talents.
Weekend update... except for a few spots that need minor drywall repair, the main bedroom is ready for paint. I’m glad we started on the wall that we did because it ended up being the toughest one in the room. By the time I’d worked my around to the last wall, the top layer was peeling off in large chunks and required considerably less scraping with the razor blade. Smasher has been designated the foreman of the house project. That kid is tenacious! When it was dinner time on Saturday, he shoveled in a couple of bites of dinner and went back to work before anyone else had even finished eating. He also kept asking us about how much longer before we’d be finished with whatever section of wall we happened to be working on at the moment. More than once, Wife and I would look at each other and ask “Who is in charge here?”
Another important milestone is that we finally found flooring to replace the worn-out carpet in the second living room and Sis’s bedroom. This area was an addition to the original house and does not have hardwood floors underneath. We would like to get this installed before fully moving in and we knew we had to get it figured out now if there was any chance of it happening on time. Several rounds of shuttling floor sample panels back and forth between flooring stores and the house, we finally settled on a LVP option that will coordinate with the existing trim while complimenting the existing floors. While we would like to put in actual hardwood to match the original floors, the cost of doing so is just not in the budget. It sounds like the lead time on the floor is only a few days from the manufacturer in Minnesota.
I asked my friend/neighbor if he knew anyone who installed LVP flooring. He does a lot of tile subcontractor work for a company that builds high-end custom homes and has done some beautiful tile work in our current house. If anyone knows a good floor guy, it’s him. As luck would have it, not only does he know someone, but they also help each other out quite a bit. Even better, it sounds like both are going to be finishing up on a job this week and will have time in their schedules to work on our house.
The next three weeks are going to be a whirlwind. I’m meeting with a company this week to install a sump pump pit (don’t currently have water issues, but we don’t want water issues either). My MIL is coming to town this week to help with painting. We’re going to have her work on the bedroom and Wife’s office. Once that is done, we can pull the carpet from those rooms. Next week the new roof gets installed. I’ve got next week off work to get the living and dining room painted and the carpet removed. The week after the radon mitigation system goes in. Somewhere in that window the LVP flooring will be installed. Fingers crossed, we’ll have the new house fully prepped within a month of taking possession, or it could all go sideways. I guess there's only one way to find out...
Another important milestone is that we finally found flooring to replace the worn-out carpet in the second living room and Sis’s bedroom. This area was an addition to the original house and does not have hardwood floors underneath. We would like to get this installed before fully moving in and we knew we had to get it figured out now if there was any chance of it happening on time. Several rounds of shuttling floor sample panels back and forth between flooring stores and the house, we finally settled on a LVP option that will coordinate with the existing trim while complimenting the existing floors. While we would like to put in actual hardwood to match the original floors, the cost of doing so is just not in the budget. It sounds like the lead time on the floor is only a few days from the manufacturer in Minnesota.
I asked my friend/neighbor if he knew anyone who installed LVP flooring. He does a lot of tile subcontractor work for a company that builds high-end custom homes and has done some beautiful tile work in our current house. If anyone knows a good floor guy, it’s him. As luck would have it, not only does he know someone, but they also help each other out quite a bit. Even better, it sounds like both are going to be finishing up on a job this week and will have time in their schedules to work on our house.
The next three weeks are going to be a whirlwind. I’m meeting with a company this week to install a sump pump pit (don’t currently have water issues, but we don’t want water issues either). My MIL is coming to town this week to help with painting. We’re going to have her work on the bedroom and Wife’s office. Once that is done, we can pull the carpet from those rooms. Next week the new roof gets installed. I’ve got next week off work to get the living and dining room painted and the carpet removed. The week after the radon mitigation system goes in. Somewhere in that window the LVP flooring will be installed. Fingers crossed, we’ll have the new house fully prepped within a month of taking possession, or it could all go sideways. I guess there's only one way to find out...
It sounds like your life is nuts right now. It also sounds like you have a lot of good help and support, including your new foreman. I will soon be putting LVP over a concrete slab, so can I ask what made you choose the one you picked and what features you looked for?
Sounds like you're setting Smasher up well for a future career option as a construction site cat herder I mean Superintendent! Great to hear the progress is going well and things are lining up!
While you've got a chance before it gets filled up....my biggest regret on this garage is not coating the floor with something before moving in...even just some type of clear to reduce the dusting. You've got a lot going on and the garage is probably less critical...but no time like now to try and do it if you've ever wanted to do that.
While you've got a chance before it gets filled up....my biggest regret on this garage is not coating the floor with something before moving in...even just some type of clear to reduce the dusting. You've got a lot going on and the garage is probably less critical...but no time like now to try and do it if you've ever wanted to do that.
If you're thinking about coating the garage floor, now is a good time while temperatures are up.
That being said..
What does the concrete look like? We installed Epoxy Coat over my parents 1950's garage slab. The coating didn't hold up great and they have areas significantly lifting and cracking off in sheets after 5+ years. The slab had typical oil stains, etc that we cleaned as recommended and pressure washed. We were very thorough on the cleanup and install, so disappointed with the results.
Maybe VCT tile would be a better idea for an old slab?
That being said..
What does the concrete look like? We installed Epoxy Coat over my parents 1950's garage slab. The coating didn't hold up great and they have areas significantly lifting and cracking off in sheets after 5+ years. The slab had typical oil stains, etc that we cleaned as recommended and pressure washed. We were very thorough on the cleanup and install, so disappointed with the results.
Maybe VCT tile would be a better idea for an old slab?
steves_001
Well-known member
House is coming along nice! Wallpaper should be outlawed! Sometimes I think it would be easier to rip the sheetrock out and just replace it.
Good luck with all the renovations!
Sorry to hear about your little pup.
Good luck with all the renovations!
Sorry to hear about your little pup.
The three main things to look for are wear layer (the clear layer of material over top of the image layer), overall plank thickness, and core material. The higher quality flooring will have a thicker wear layer and be thicker overall which results in a more durable floor. Core material is somewhat dependent on your use case. Wood Polymer Composite (WPC) and Stone Polymer Composite (SPC) are the common options you'll run into, and both have their pros and cons. Everything else is subject to your personal taste. We ended up going with COREtec Originals Classics series in Marsh Oak.
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It has a 20 mil wear layer, is 8mm thick, and has a SPC core. Essentially it's a light/medium commercial grade product. Between the kids and dogs, we didn't want to take any chances.
What is funny is that he sometimes sounds/acts like a grown man instead of a 5yo boy. We'll be looking at something and he'll fold his arms, think about his response for a second, and say something like "Yeah, that's a problem... we'd better get that fixed right away..." I can't help but smile.
I'm still trying to figure out what is going on with the garage floor. The house was added onto at some point, but the concrete where the old part of the house is looks newer than the concrete where the new part of the house is.
I'm assuming a repair of some sort was made along the way. I could see doing some sort of epoxy/solid color coating in this area someday, but it would be very low on the priority list right now. This area will house our vehicles, my automotive tool boxes, and my welders. Wife will have my head on a stick if anything else gets stored here long term. We plan on building a garden shed to house all of the yard equipment.
The basement workshop floor is in good shape. I do plan on researching my options before I setup shop. I'm still working on how I want the space to look, so I'm not exactly sure what I will do quite yet.
Your are probably the third or fourth person who suggested that. But the work is done now and we couldn't be happier with the results!
We'll eventually pick out some accent colors, but figured a fresh coat of white paint would be a good starting point throughout the house.
We are pushing to try and get moved this weekend, well, at least start sleeping at the new house. We'll see how this week goes, but we are getting really close. While I didn't get all the stuff I hoped for done last week, I made a big dent on the project list. With the exception of one day, I put in 10-14 hours each day into house projects during my "vacation". Probably the first time I've ever looked forward to going back to work after some time off. During that time, I managed to twist my right knee, tweak my left shoulder, and stepped on a nail with my left foot yesterday afternoon. At this point, I'm just waiting for something to happen to my right arm to round out the quadfecta.
The source of the nail...
The roof repair and replacement started yesterday. I am very glad we decided to pull up all the decking and resheet the roof because they've found a few additional issues with the structure that we were unaware of. Nothing major, but it'll be nice to know that everything is fixed and reinforced.
steves_001
Well-known member
Looking really good! Keep up the great work!
The Marsh Oak flooring looks like a good product. Younger me was some sort of ******** traditionalist who felt that flooring had to be solid hardwood or death. Older me is right now looking at hardwood I installed 13 years ago. It's beat up and needs to be refinished. Most days I am also beat up and need to be refinished, so I'm appreciating the modern materials that hold up so much better.