we bought a major project house, least to me it is...was made into a 2 family, we are converting back to a one family, it has 11 rooms (including the 2 attic rooms), 2 full baths (though 1 is tiny), and 2 hallways with stairs...1 room is a 10X8 room to be made into a master closet.

House was badly neglected, built in 1880's and needs all new stuff. Has a long drive with an oversized garage plus a basement which i will never enter.

2 finds we are keeping is a chandelier we will clean up and place in the front foyer and a mantel that was stamped on the back from the Boston company that made it back in 1902 or 1908. The front door we are going to restore as good as we can and then see from there what to do.

We removed all the bushes on the foundation of the house so far and took down the 2 tall spruce trees on the side of the house.

Would love to hear honest opinions and any tips from someone who's been there and done it. Thanks

http://groups.msn.com/HGTVmembersphotogallery/homerenovation.msnw?Page=1

Hey again Sapph!

We went through a whole-house remodel about 15 years ago. I don't think it was as "major" as yours appears to be!

You seem to be tackling things in a rather rational manner--which is good. For instance, the re-wiring. Some systems (such as wiring, plumbing) might need to be done at one time.

But one thing I'd suggest after having lived through it. It's a stress on your family, and on everything in life. I'd suggest--to the extent possible--focusing on some of the most important rooms first and keeping as normal a home-life as possible.

We needed "finished" space to retreat to. It's a touch of normalcy in a time of turmoil. We've tried to stick with this in subsequent remodelings, basically doing a room-at-a-time, then celebrating "move-in". I found it very difficult to do several rooms at once.

Not sure how practical this is given the scope of your project....but do remember....you want to come out the other end with your home-life intact!

Good luck; I'm sure we'll be hearing from you again!

Regards,
-k2 in CO

Moderator, Miscellaneous Forum

http://www.bobvila.com/BBS/Miscellaneous

HA!!

whats the definition??? j/k

we actually dont need to worry about livng in this mess...we are still in our current house while we re-model this sucker...we lucked out...but with so many rooms, we are somewhat focusing on the main living space first...

such as...the bathrooms and kitchen need to be fully completed before we can move in, the bedrooms and living room need to be fully completed and the electrical in the whole house will be fully completed.

after those things, we can live there and paint and carpet or dot he floors int he other rooms as we go along, build up funds again....BUT if i can figure it all out before hand i will get most of it done before we move in seeing as i will have a toddler and a newborn to deal with at the same time...

i will post pics as i get them

GREAT! I think it VERY wise to be living elsewhere while doing a major remodel. When we re-did the farmhouse (3 houses ago) we came close to doing just that. We should have. But we got through it, more or less intact.

Of course we did all that work, then ended up selling it 2 years later.





Regards,
-k2 in CO

Moderator, Miscellaneous Forum

http://www.bobvila.com/BBS/Miscellaneous