Vintage Homes Knoxville

Almost Done

2006-01-22T17:08:00.000-08:00

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted, but I’m nearing the end of my “punch list” on the house. My parents came up this weekend and helped out. My dad repaired the porch railings and repaired a break in the wiring to the water heater.

I did a skim coat on the new greenboard in the tub, touched up the paint wall around wall repairs, and painted the bathroom trim.

Over the past few weeks I’ve replaced doorbell buttons, installed cabinets with Dad, and doe a lot of mudding and sanding, leaving the usual coating of white dust on every surface.

The plumbers are finally done setting the fixtures and making repairs, and the utility company has upgraded the electric from the street.

New Retro Kitchen Floor

2005-11-26T14:46:00.000-08:00

Peter Herman installed this Armstrong flooring in gray and black. The checkerboard pattern is vintage, and the tile pattern is straight out of the 40s and 50s. This stuff lasts forever and the color goes all the way though, unlike sheet vinyl where the printed color can wear out.

The light blue is the new wall color. The darker blue is the original wall color under the backsplash and broom closet (now removed.) The brown is the inside of the wall that sort of broke open (oops) when I was swinging large objects at the broom closet. I’m patching that with drywall. Really.

Can’t wait to see the finished kitchen with the new cabinets!

Post-Thanksgiving Projects

2005-11-26T05:40:00.000-08:00

It’s turned cold, so it’s a good time to work inside. This morning I demolished of the old kitchen base cabinets and the broom closet. I’d debated about the closet, but finally decided to get rid of it because it was built over a heat register and would block the flow of air. Brooms can be hung by hooks on the basement stairs.

Dave and Rick came and worked for awhile on the tool shed while I drove to get materials. We’re replacing the joists and flooring in the tool shed and making some wall repairs. Tomorrow it should be warm enough for them to finish painting.

I installed luan plywood over the subfloor in the kitchen toady as well. Tomorrow Peter Herman will come and instal Armstrong composition tile in a checkerboard pattern.

In the Home Stretch

2005-11-20T17:27:00.000-08:00

This weekend was fairly productive. I worked half a day Saturday and all day Sunday uninterrupted. I got all the shoe moldings cut and nailed (except for one wall I noticed tonight.)

I replaced two cheap light fixtures with nicer, period ones. The sconce in the hallway replaced an old surface mounted pull-chain fixture, so now I’ll need to figure out a way to put it on a wall switch. I can either rewire the three-way on the ceiling fixture so the back switch works the sconce, or I can run a new wire from the ceiling fixture to the sconce so they’re both run from the same three-way switches. The other fixture was a coach lamp for the side entrance to the study.

Dave painted the storm windows today — all of them. We rolled out plastic sheeting and leaned them against the fences in the back. After they were dry and reassembled Ricky out them inside by each window, to make it easier to instal them later.

I started patching the washer and dryer holes in the kitchen floor, and decided to chip off all the old blue and white tile in the kitchen. I’d originally planned to just fill in the broken spots and tile over, but many of the old tiles were loose. Now I’m down to the subfloor and a tarred layer of old linoleum.

Beautifully Restored Floors

2005-11-07T15:34:00.000-08:00

Peter Herman, an American from Romania, did the work. He does hardwood and tile, and can be reached at 865-966-8225.

Here he is with his assistant who is vacuuming with a backpack rig. They’ve just finished the sanding and edging, and are just about ready to put on the first coat of polyurethane. Peter’s repairs look great. He took out some deep gouges in two bedrooms and a stain in the living room.

Exterior Painting and Restoration

2005-11-05T04:39:00.000-08:00

We’re seven weeks into this project and about halfway done. Things are coming along nicely except for plumbing delays.

Dave and Ricky have been painting the exterior and restoring the windows this week. The new color is a dusty blue that looks great against the orange maple trees in the front yard. The hardboard siding still needs replacing along the side behind the air conditioner and along the back where it’s still unpainted.

Dave used a heat gun on the window and door frames in the front, taking them down to smooth wood before painting. The rest of the window frames required resurfacing with exterior grade wood putty — the yellowish color on the door frame in the photo. It took longer than we planned, but the results were worth it.

Progress Report

2005-10-30T15:05:00.000-08:00

This week Dave and Ricky continued working on the exterior. The porch roof got reshingled because of the damage we discovered. Most of the trim is painted, the porch roof is primed, and the siding is scraped. There’s still some siding to be replaced in the back and on the side.

I’m not happy with the plumber, who has been here twice only to tear things apart. The last time, I paid him and he promptly dissapeared. But first of course, he had to make useless the one operable plumbing fixture in the house — the toilet. Now the painters are having to wash their bruches out using the hose as it gets colder, and they have to go to the bathroom at a fast food place on their lunch break. At least I hope that’s what they’re doing…

Yesterday I trimmed some huge dead limbs off the tree in the backyard, cut out the scraggly shrubs along the porch and shed, and trimmed the lawn. Tomorrow is Halloween and the leaves are coming down. I finally got the new light fixtures up in the kitchen, hallway, and entry. The eave lights have gotten put on the first circuit with some of the interior lights, so that needs to be fixed when the electricians come back to finish things up.

Steel doors removed

2005-10-22T12:10:00.000-07:00

I finished the last major change to the exterior today. The ugly old steel doors are gone! The metal security doors are not original to the house, are not necessary in this Leave-it-to-Beaver neighborhood, and hurt the curb appeal of the home. I borrowed Dave's angle grinder and ground the heads off the aluminum rivet heads (see photo.) Working from the bottom up, I ground off the heads, pried the heavy door and frame of with a large J bar, and rocked the rivets out of the wood framing and trim with vise grip pliers.

Inside the house, I installed the new, stylishly modern cabinet pulls and knobs to the existing kitchen wall cabinets and cupboards, the linen closet, as well as the bathroom cabinets. They look great, and should pull together the new and existing kitchen cabinets.

I installed new outlet and switch covers inside, and also spring doorstops to protect the paint and crystal doorknobs.

Gulleywasher

2005-10-21T12:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, on the way home from teaching in the suburbs, the sky opened up in a Biblical-style flood.When I got to the project house Dave and Ricky were there standing under the porch as rain ran through the porch roof. Yikes.

They’d set out to repair the porch roof where I’d nearly put my floor through it climbing around up there. They tore off the old shingles, sawed down the center of the porch roof decking dead center above each joist. Then they dropped in a new piece of plywood, nailed it in place, and went shopping for shingles. Not the order I would have done things in, but there you go. Come to think of it, something like this happened the last time Dave re-roofed a house for me.

Oh yeah, and the plumber sawed the sewer stack in half without telling Ricky and Dave. One of the guys used the toilet and flushed a bunch of water into the basement. So there was water on the porch as well as in the basement, but — thankfully — not inside on my oak wood floors.

They’d gotten back after the rain started, and had climbed up and tarped the roof. I wasn’t too worried since the leak was over a concrete porch. Besides, as my late great Uncle once said, “Ain’t never seen nothin’ get wet what wouldn’t dry again.”

Today we bought enough shingles to re-roof the entire porch. I ran errands, cleaned up, and made lists.

Exterior Prep

2005-10-20T12:08:00.000-07:00

Dave and Ricky started on the exterior paint prep today. They got all the storm windows off, filled cracks with caulk and holes with all-purpose spackling. I went to the lumber yard with the guys to get some hardboard siding and plywood to repair the porch roof. Dave also heat gunned some rough paint from the window trim, and it makes a huge difference.

You can also see the new electric box, meter, and mast. After the inspector signs off, KUB will run new lines out to the street and anchor them to the new eyebolt visible above the mast.

Interior Painting done

2005-10-19T12:05:00.000-07:00

Faruck and Murad finished painting today. Dave should be ready to start repairs and paint prep on the exterior tomorrow. We’re replacing some damaged masonite siding on the house, and some tapered poplar siding on the detached garage. There’s some screw holes from the old awnings to be filled with exterior spackling, then we should be ready to paint.

A fresh coat of paint in designer colors will really upgrade the curb appeal of this cottage home.

Cabinets Ordered

2005-10-18T12:04:00.000-07:00

Tonight I went to Home Depot and ordered new base cabinets to coordinate with the existing flat-front white cabinetry. I hadn’t budgeted for new cabinets, but they will definitely work well with the style of the house. They’re made by Premier and feature white “beaded recessed panel cottage doors” according to the website. The drawers are hardwood with dovetailed joints, and the standard 24” depth will support the new dark gray countertop. They will look great with the new checkerboard linoleum tile floor.

Faruk and Murad are nearly done with the painting, and it looks great. I will miss having two guys working every day — they got a lot done in just two weeks. Dave came by to size up the exterior repairs and painting. I showed him the damaged tile in the bath and he said he could finish it for me. It turns out he’s used a grinder and masonry blade to cut through the tile grout on a similar job.

I cleaned and painted the floor registers and returns today, and they look great. I’ll need to take them out again before the sanding crew comes in, and vacuum the ductwork when they are done.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

2005-10-17T12:02:00.000-07:00

I’m on my fall break from teaching, and I spent the morning sawing away at the grout around the damaged bathroom wall tiles. I used a grout saw and looked like I was planning to break out of Sing Sing in about twenty years. Finally I broke down and bought one of those dentist drill-type hobby tools. I now know why they are called “hobby” tools. Not much faster.

I cut the new countertop to fit but realized the new to is five inched deeper than the old one. So now I’m looking at lots more money than I’d planned in the kitchen. We’re now replacing the sink, countertop, and the cabinets. On my last project I got ready-to-assemble cabinets that drove me up the wall. This time I’m going to step up from that.

The best thing that happened was that the Akmedov brothers are back painting. I enjoy our stilted conversations and their enthusiasm for work. It’s hard to find. They’ll be coming back just for afternoons, finishing the interior painting in the study, kitchen, and perhaps the bathroom if I can finish the walls in there.

First Room Painted

2005-10-04T18:01:00.000-07:00

Faruk and Murad have finished painting one bedroom, including texture painting the ceiling, trim, six-over-six windows, and doors. Here’s a photo of the guys showing off their work. Pretty good for beginners, I thought. These two brothers just immigrated from Usbeckistan with their family. They're doing a great job.

Also, we got good news from Tom Thomas, our heat and air guy. He checked the fuses, looked at the thermostat, looked the Trane air unit over, as well as the heat unit. He pulled out a nasty filter and declared the patient cured. “We’ll come back to thoroughly clean the coils and she’ll be purring like a kitten.”

It's Alive!!

2005-09-29T17:11:00.000-07:00

It doesn't seem like such a big deal to get the power, gas, and water turned on until you buy a foreclosed house with all the utilities shut off. It's a total crapshoot. Will everything work fine, or will sparks fly, the kitchen explode, and the basement flood? It keeps things interesting. This week I rubbed my lucky rabbit's foot and called the Knoxville Utility Board to get utilities turned on and the house brought back to life.

When KUB came out earlier this week, they couldn't turn the electricity on because a pull-out disconnect was missing. The gas meter was so old that gas started leaking when the valve was turned and they had to replace the entire regulator on the outside of the house. When water was turned on, the kitchen floor flooded!

But one by one the problems got fixed. Aaron Allen of Allen Electric brought out an old disconnect from a salvaged electrical box. KUB actually replaced the regulator without being called. And today Ike the plumber came by to look the project over and get the water turned on. It turns out there were shutoffs left open to the washer filler hoses. The previous owners had run hoses from a crawl space under the house up into the kitchen.

ike found a few new problems: The washer may not drain if we put it in the basement, there is a drip from under the toilet, and the water heater needs replacing. But after restoring a condemned house, these little issues are nothing.

LIFE! DO YOU HEAR ME? GIVE MY CREATION... LIFE!

Demolition and Paint Prep

2005-09-18T18:18:00.000-07:00

The past two days I’ve been getting rid of all the bad stuff and getting ready for the restoration work. Today the dust flew as I demolished walls in the bathroom, removed the old stove, and knocked down the rotting window awnings.

I also repaired wall damage in three rooms and lots of small settling cracks throughout the house. I got the cracks scraped out in a “V” so the joint compound would hold, then gave it two coats. The shelves, windows, and trim were all caulked. Ready for painting next.

Karen helped me finalize the paint choices. The kitchen and bath will be a teal called “Swan Sea,” the interior will be a warm tan called “Ground Ginger,” and the exterior will be a mushroom color called “River Bank.” All trim will be a creamy white.

I also met the next door neighbor, who told me about the previous owners. More on this later.

A New Old House!

2005-09-16T15:04:00.000-07:00

Finally, after months of not posting here, I have a new old house. It’s at great 3-bedroom cottage at 5317 Jacksboro Pike here in Knoxville, Tennessee. It’s on a flat double lot on a corner next to Central High School. It has a great Fountain City neighborhood — I listened to the marching band practicing at 2:00 today while I was making a very long to-do list.

The list includes complete repainting, repairs, plumbing and electrical upgrades, sanding and refinishing the hardwood floors, new flooring and carpet in the study, landscaping, as well as new lighting and plumbing fixtures.

The coolest things about this 1940s home are the original touches that will be retained in the remodel. Custom 1940s cabinets with a real pie safe and lots of pantry cabinets tucked into the corners. There are arched doorways, a fireplace, a fenced backyard, and original bath fixtures with classic black and white wall and floor tile. There’s even a working vintage wall phone in the kitchen!

Tomorrow we start the work. I’ll take pictures!

Patriotic Lighting

2005-07-02T12:03:00.000-07:00

I replaced three lights at our house this morning with the quintessential mid-century style fixture: a “Colonial” coach light. Here’s a before and after shot. The other two fixtures I replaced are at the back entry where we walk from our “Colonial” driveway across the “Colonial” deck. They look great when we’re sipping flagons of grog in our powdered wigs.

I hacksawed off six mounting bolts multiple times, only to discover the shorter bolts in a poly bag. Whatever. My lights are hung. They are well-hung, In fact.

But I’d give a couple of the original colonies for grounded romex throughout the house. The old cloth-covered stuff even looks aluminum to me. Yikes! Check out this blog-ish rewiring article. This guy knows his stuff. I know I’ll send him all my high-end wiring questions. If I ever do any.

Lighting trivia: Anybody know why those threaded tubes that are used in lamps and other lights are called “nipples,” while the nipple-shaped brass thingies are called “finials?”

Another Idea

2005-06-28T14:17:00.000-07:00

I discovered The Bungalow is going in a county tax sale soon. I’m hoping instead to have it placed in the Homemaker’s Program so I can start working on it sooner and have clear title to sell it. Here’s my email to my city councilman. If at first you don’t succeed…

Bob:

A derelict house is falling down, is an attractive nuisance to children, and needs an intervention. The County plans to list the house and lot at 473 Chickamauga in tax sale #16, which I believe is a bad thing. The way that title is conveyed prevents the new owner from improving the property for a year, and may prevent it from ever being sold. There is a way to restore the house without any city funds and get it on the market for owner occupants, but it requires your help.

A brief background on the house: This early 20th century two-story bungalow was bought in the 1990s by the Macklins: a husband, wife, and son. The father died and his one-third interest was conveyed to the wife and son. Then, according to the family, the mother died without a will. The son, Willard Macklin, remains the owner according to city records. The other 50% interest passed to seven brothers and sisters. The taxes are three years behind. The house has been empty and abandoned for over a year, and was condemned in March. The family has done little or nothing to maintain it. The windows are broken out, the doors are open, the roof is open to rain, vagrants have lived there in the past, and trash and junk litter the house and porch. I negotiated a contract to buy the house with Willard Macklin, planning to fully restore it. The price would pay off the debts and leave him with a small sum. Three of his siblings are willing to Quit Claim their share to him in order to sell. The remaining three refuse, apparently due to ill will within the family. After many attempts by me to make an offer to the remaining three brothers, they have refused and so I cannot get clear title to the property.

A brief background on me: I am a faculty member at Pellissippi State Technical Community College, and last year my wife Karen and I began a business called Vintage Homes Knoxville. We restore and remodel blighted older homes, improving the neighborhood and selling at market value. Last year we bought a condemned house at 207 E. Oak Hill in a private cask sale. It was in very bad shape, but by the end of the summer it was like new again and sold. We passed all city inspections, installing new electrical, plumbing, heat and air, appliances, fixtures, and roofing. We restored and remodeled existing wood siding, walls, mantlepieces, wood framed windows and wood floors. We rebuilt the back part of the house that was below code, jacked the foundation, replaced damaged timbers, replaced rotting roof decks, and repainted the entire house, inside and out. It is now one of the nicest houses on the street, whereas it was one of the worst. We’d like to do the same for the house at 473 Chickamauga.

Here’s the solution I propose: Take the house out of the tax sale. I think if you’ll look at the results of the city sales you’ll find that selling in this way slows or in some cases stops improvement of the neighborhood. There is no financial motivation to do the level of improvements needed to raise surrounding property values and attract homeowners who will maintain it well. Then place it in the Homemakers’ Program with the city. This program uses Imminent Domain to convey clear title to a new owner who is required by the deed to improve the structure within a limited amount of time. If the house is placed in this program I will bid on the house, submit plans, and follow though on them as my past record shows.

I appreciate your support in this. This will, I believe, achieve the best result for the house, the neighborhood, the city and the county. Please allow this house to be fully restored to it’s original beauty and value.

Sincerely,

Todd Duren
Chief Manager
Vintage Homes Knoxvile, LLC

“Old houses mended,
Cost less than new before they’re ended.”
—Colley Cibber, 1671–1757

I’m Beginning to See the Light

2005-06-26T16:49:00.000-07:00

It’s Sunday, and since I can’t do anything about the investment property, I thought I’d catch up on the home chores. Our new lights from Rejuvenation got here a few days ago, and I’m installing one of them in the dining room today.

Our house has two-lead cloth wiring (vintage 1942) so I wrapped the frayed insulation in tape before screwing the wire nuts down tight. I swapped out the long nipple for a sorter one, and after very little fuss I’m done — reproduction Art Deco lighting!

We’re installing the small chandelier over the stairs, so I took in down and Karen moved it to the basement until the electricians come and rewire things. We’ll be installing a couple of matching sconces over the mantlepiece too.

Still Determined

2005-06-24T16:03:00.000-07:00

How do you talk sense to someone who won’t listen? Today I talked to the brother who did a half-assed job roofing the house. He started on one side and quit before he covered the roof! I offered to buy out his interest in the house. This guy tells me “the house is not for sale.” I poitely point out that:

I have a contract for 64% of the house.
The house is condemned and about to be demolished.
It would cost him a lot to get it up to code.

He says he’s “talked to” the other members of the family. (The others tell me they don’t speak to him.) He says he will get a construction permit on the house and “take care of” the problem. I’ve seem his remodeling. He is dreaming.

I’ve had a contract on this house for three weeks, but I’m not much closer to getting quit claim deeds from the seven heirs in order to have clear title to the property. The problem is that the mother died without a will so her half of the house went to her kids by law. The other half still belongs to one brother, with whom I have a contract. I have the OK from four of the heirs but I need three more. Two I’ve not spoken to, and one of them has hung up on me. Lovely people. Really.

My contract is with the brother who has 64% interest. The other heirs, each with 14% interest, can’t agree on what to do with the property. They have allowed it to be condemned, meaning they can’t even live in it themselves without over $50,000 in work. If I can’t buy it, pay off the three years of back taxes, restore and remodel the place (passing five or more city inspections), the place is doomed. It will be placed on a demolition list, bulldozed, hauled off, and the costs added to the tax bill.
I'm frustrated, but still determined...

Poke Sallet

2005-06-16T11:57:00.000-07:00

The negotiations for the Bungalow continue. It looks like Mr. Hang-up is digging in his heels. What’s the going price for 1/14th interest in a condemned house? More on this as it develops.

Karen cooked the poke sallet that I cut at the Bungalow, and it tasted great! A real soul food delicacy. Here’s a recipe.

Five Good, One Bad

2005-06-14T17:22:00.000-07:00

Several things happened today inching us closer to buying and restoring the bungalow:

I got final edits from the titles company on the quit claim deed.
I found out the neighbor across the street in a nearly identical house got hers appraised for $190k. This is very good news.
I cut more weeds and shrubs.
I found some poke weed, a backwoods delicacy. Recipes and food reviews tomorrow.
I talked to one of the brothers who will sign a quit claim with two siblings on Thursday.
I talked to another brother who yelled at me and hung up. Twice.

O.K., so it wasn’t all good news, but five out of six isn’t that bad, right? I’m crossing my fingers that the other siblings can talk some sense into Mr. Hangup. Otherwise the city will demolish the place, then put a lien on the lot for the demolition cost on top of three years of back taxes and two lot-cleaning bills. Then there would be even more money they owed before the property could be sold, and there wouldn’t be much left to sell.

Clearing and Cutting

2005-06-13T11:13:00.000-07:00

Today I went at the yard, clearing away brush the size of small trees, and uncovering and overgrown stump in the front yard. A Macklin family member drove by and asked who I was, and a city inspector did the same. The inspector was about to send a crew out to cut the yard and put another lien on the property. After a chat he said he would give me a 5-day extension. I guess it’s a good thing I drove over this morning. I put the brush in the front in two large piles for city crews to collect.

I don’t own the house yet, but this kind of lot work is good to have out of the way by closing so I can bring in roofers and other contractors immediately after closing and not be in their way. It’s also a good way for me to keep busy. I’m really antsy at this point in the process because I’m ready to get started. There’s so much to be done!

There’s an old minivan parked in the back with the windows down and/or bashed in. It may belong to the folks across the back alley. I’ll have to ask around and see whose it is. The city can also cite owners for non-operational vehicles on the lot. I guess worst-case scenario I can haul it off for scrap, but I don’t want some disgruntled gearhead torching the house ‘cause I pissed him off!

Browbeating You into Buying a House

2005-06-09T19:47:00.000-07:00

I waited until I was 35 to buy my first house, missing out on several years of building equity. My wife bought her first house before we met, when she was 24. Her wise parents said, “Hey, you’ve got a job and good credit. Why not buy?” She sold it before we married and made $5k. Can I spot a smart babe, or what?

Buying a house was the best financial decision I ever made. After owning two homes and a couple of investment properties, I’m a Televangelist for Home Ownership. Yes, Brothers and Sisters, you can walk without the aid of a lease! Say to your landlord, “Devil come out!” Believe in the American Dream my friends, and as God is my witness, you will never have to rent again! (Can I have an Amen ?)

Here’s why you (yes, you) should buy a house and send me a donation for a Home Equity Prayer Cloth:

It’s cheaper! In many markets (like here in Knoxville), starter homes, especially older homes, can be bought for a mortgage payment as low as local rents. A three bedroom house can be bought in older parts of Knoxville for $100k. Use this rent vs. buy calculator to check for yourself. Amazing but true.

Build your own equity instead of your landlord’s. Home equity — the part of your house you’ve paid for — is the most valuable asset most Americans will own. The only thing standing between you and your own castle is a decent credit score and a little leg work. A year from now you could own property and be a genuine capitalist. Crushing the poor under your boot heel is optional.

Fix up your own place and get your money back out when you sell. For years I fixed up the rentals I lived in. All were worth more when I moved out than when I moved in. Why? Because I was unwilling to commit. And yet the rule of thumb is that if you stay in a place for two years you can break even. Meaning you lived there for free.

Keep more money at tax time. Did you know that mortgage interest — that’s most of your payment every month — is tax deductible? After you live in the house for two years, your profit is also tax deductible. Ch-ching!

Starter houses help you get more house later. Can’t afford a mansion? Get a two bedroom for now. Chances are you’re renting less space anyway. Shop well, cute the place up, and you’ll have a tidy sum — $5k to 15k — to invest in your next place. And so on, and so on…

The down payment may be less than you think. First-time home buyer programs can get you into a house for a very small down payment. FHA loans require only 3% down. Other programs may require even less. Warning! Avoid yard signs that promise 100% financing. They usually are at sky-high rates.

Incredibly low interest rates. When I was in college in the 80s mortgage rates were so high I thought I might never be able to buy a home. But today I just heard about Greenspan saying “Among the biggest surprises of the past year has been the pronounced decline in long-term interest rate.” In some places mortgage rates are lower than the rate of home value appreciation. This is good. And if you have credit card debt under control, your rate will be Really Really Low. As in, “My Grandaddy paid that kind of interest!” low. Buy soon and tell your grandkids about it.

Lincoln Park Neighborhood

2005-06-07T11:23:00.000-07:00

I’m shopping for a title company to close the sale on 473 Chickamauga, and I thought I’d write a bit about the neighborhood.

North Knoxville is a revitalized and growing historic community located along Broadway north of downtown. Restaurants and shopping are available in the neighborhood, as well as in Fountain City, downtown, and at Knoxville Center Mall just east along I-640. Residents are minutes from Volunteer Landing along the riverfront, the newly-restored Tennessee Theater downtown, Boomsday fireworks on the banks of the Tennessee, and live music on Market Square during Sundown in the City.

Lincoln Park is the northern half of Oakwood-Lincoln Park, built in the early 20th Century as a streetcar suburb of Knoxville. The neighborhood is bounded by Sharp’s Ridge to the north, Atlantic Avenue to the south, Broadway to the East, and Central to the West. It has an active neighborhood association.

Here’s a description of Lincoln Park from a century ago:

“The other addition owned by this [Edgewood Land and Improvement] Company is situated in the north section of the city, on the Fountain City car line, and contains in all about 200 acres. This addition is finely situated, commanding a splendid view of many miles of the beautiful vale in which it lies. On the northern boundary of this tract the rugged sides of Roseberry [Sharps] Ridge present a wall several hundred feet in height. On the northeast, sixteen miles away, the bold blue outlines of House mountain are seen against the sky. On the southeast the Great Smoky mountains lie in silent grandeur. The Knoxville, Cumberland Gap & Louisville Railroad passes through this addition. Many choice residences have already been built upon the principal thoroughfare, Chicamauga Avenue. Lots in this addition range in prices from $250 to $500 each, and are sold on terms to suit purchasers.”

—Handbook of Knoxville, 1892

Atlantic Avenue allows access to I-275 just a few blocks away for downtown and campus access, and Broadway intersects I-640 a few blocks north for access to West Knoxville. Christenberry Elementary and Fulton High Schools are nearby. Both have been remodeled and revitalized in the past few years. Sharp’s Ridge Park overlooks the neighborhood from the north, offering clear views of the area, and Edgewood Park just across Broadway has a playground, bandstand, and a public library.

Tarping the Roof

2005-06-06T17:13:00.000-07:00

Super Dave and I covered the open parts of the plank roof decking with plastic tarps today. Just after dinner time we got a huge thunderstorm, so the timing was perfect. The amount of water that’s come into the living room has buckled the oak floors pretty badly. We maybe be able to dry it out and salvage some of the floor, otherwise we’ll consider other options.

We also looked at ways to enlarge the kitchen, put in a laundry room, and enlarge a downstairs bedroom. There are three or four windows with missing muntins that will need to be repaired or replaced. Only one of them is critical — one of the two wood casement windows on either side of the fireplace. I’ll have to read up on window construction. The window style is really nice, with six panes in the upper sash and one in the bottom. The top three panes are square, while the bottom three are rectangular.

Comping a House

2005-06-04T19:49:00.000-07:00

A “comp” is a comparable house in size, condition, and location that is used to judge value by banks and lending institutions. If you are rehabbing houses, understanding comps is very important. Whether you are rehabbing in Beverly Hills or Skid Row, you need to know what your fixer-upper will comp for when it is fixed up. You don’t want to rehab a mansion in Skid Row, but you can turn a shack into a mansion in Beverly Hills.

You can get basic comps from Yahoo by knowing the address of the house in question. Of course, if the house has been a dump for awhile then you don’t want to comp that house. Instead you want to comp a nice house nearby in good shape that’s similar in size, age, and style. A search on our house’s address shows the highest comp at $100k. Hmm. I think I can do better, especially since we sold our own home for $117k in the same neighborhood six months ago, and it was much smaller. But if it won’t comp for over $100k I can’t sell it for that, right? Well no. But then again…

In an older neighborhood with mixed values like Lincoln Park, you want to go beyond online comps. That’s because over time some houses have been well-kept and nicely improved and remodeled, while others look like the Clampetts moved in and keep their ducks in the “ceement pond” in the back. Guess which one is worth more? And online comps can’t take that into account. So I took a walk around. There are a couple of houses already for sale nearby that are on double lots, are two stories, (like our house) and are nicely fixed up on the outside. They are 468 and 409 Chickamauga. The last one is listed in the MLS and has flyers out front with details and a price of $129,900. Cool! This is good news.

We’ve Got a Contract!

2005-06-03T09:14:00.000-07:00

Finally! I have a contract for the coolest old bungalow ever! It’s The Temptress—a large four bedroom two bath with a fireplace and large front porch on a double lot. Now if we can close the deal I can get a roof on the thing and start making plans.

I visited the owner family and talked to the brother that owns over half interest. We settled on a price and signed a contract for a cash sale. We’ll need to locate down six heirs and have them sign quit claim deeds, but they all live in town. The house needs a roof badly and lots of work, but Wonder Dave agrees with me that it’s savable. We’ll probably demo all the plaster since it’s badly damaged, but save the woodwork and exterior wood siding. The foundation and structure are in good shape. Any Knoxvillians out there in the market for a large historic home in an up-and coming neighborhood for way under $200k?

I’ll be on pins and needles the next few weeks until I have clear title, but once that happens I can get some real work done, hopefully before it gets too hot.

Heaven Will Have Great Lighting

2005-06-02T18:15:00.000-07:00

Karen and I just bit the bullet and bought some great lights from Rejuvenation, the best light supply catalog out there. These guys and girls will give you accurate period reproductions in a variety of styles for your home. And their discussion of architecture, dates, and influences really make sense. If you haven’t looked at their catalog, you owe it to yourself. In our last house we were watching the budget because of the neighborhood, so we had to go Home Depot on the lights. They looked OK. These will will look great.

What did we buy? The Lotus Isle Art Deco chandelier and Lafayette wall sconces in chrome and bronze with gold shades. This is a tad more on the modern side for our WWII era stone and siding cottage, but it’s not totally off-base to find Deco fixtures in other style homes. Also, the fasces motif is actually Classical, and is found on lots of mid-century public buildings. These will look great with our mix of modernist furniture.

I’ve already called our electricians to wire the sconces. While they’re at it we’ll get a couple of outdoor receptacles for the back deck and add a junction box over the stairs. The builder made an upstairs hall light shine on the top half of the stairs, but it’s just not enough to light it all very well. So, we’ll move the old mini chandelier to the stairs on a longer chain.

Meanwhile, Wonder Dave is done with all the scraping and re-glazing of our windows and is about to start the painting.

Savage Garden

2005-06-01T10:23:00.000-07:00

Chloe and I took a bike ride yesterday down the street to Savage Garden, an amazing 1920s walled garden here in Knoxville with stone bridges, benches, walkways and pools. Built by industrialist W.J. Savage and owned by Bill Dohm and Patty Cooper, the garden is on the Nation Register. It's also on the Dogwood Trail here in Fountain City.

Savage Garden is attached to a house, and all the structures have a rustic Craftsman style with some Asian influences. The place is really magical, and my 3-year old daughter Chloe loves it. There are giant azaleas, and these funky holly-like blue-berried shrubs. Two stone towers and a pagoda originally housed tanks and machinery for the streams and pools. Three smaller stone pagodas were recreated by Asian and Mexican sculptors from historic photographs. This article on the garden gives a good overview. Scroll to the last article on the page.

I met a couple of guys with a local construction company who are working on some Japanese pagoda-inspired wood arbors. These things were recreated from photographs twelve years ago. The guys are using small cutting wheels on a power tool to open up cracks and splits in the wood, and to remove any decay. Once they are down to sound wood, they apply a 2-part liquid epoxy using a brush. This penetrates and hardens the wood. Then a 2-part epoxy putty is applied to bulge out slightly from the surface. After it sets and dries it can be sanded, drilled, and painted like wood. This is a great solution for homeowners who don't want to replace wood on their home.

The Last Nail: Any Vital Signs?

2005-05-31T06:45:00.000-07:00

Curtis left a comment that he'd found my blog through a link from the "late" Last Nail. Funniest damned blog I've read in a while. I hope the guy get's his Chicagoland fixer-upper ready for Cribs,and donates his Museum of Unnatural History to Chicago's Field Museum,where it should get its own wing. So is The Last Nail alive or dead? The last posting is dated over a month ago, but I'm not ready to fill in the grave just yet. This blog is Too Funny to Die.

Now that I'm back at the Mac, I've figured out how to make a links list over in sidebar. Scroll left and down to see links to my latest fave rehab blogs and other web resources.

I hope all you folks that worked on your house over Memorial Day instead of getting drunk and barbequeing stuff are recovering back at your jobs. Sometimes you gotta go to work to get some rest, right?

It's been a fun few days doing the wedding thing. I had dirty martinis at the local country club, ate catered food and chatted up some very cool people. Life's tough. Pictures were taken. Vows were spoken. Tuxes were wrinkled. Congrats and God bless, Becky and Tom. And don't take Mai Tais
from strangers!

One More Fix

2005-05-25T06:24:00.000-07:00

Karen is finally done teaching for the summer, and Chloe is out of day care, so my break is almost over too. Karen's friend Becky is getting married this weekend. We'll have house guests, parties, and other Stuff That Will Prevent Blogging. This is my last fix fix before the dry spell begins.

Yesterday I went back out in search of a project house. I've lost two so far and looked at dozens more, so I'm really ready to get started. I talked to yet another brother of the owner of the Temptress. This guy named (no kidding) Junior looked over the deed with me and agreed that his other brother Willard was the owner. (It's confusing) He took my number, told me some stories, and told me to call again.

I drove by some other cheap houses, mostly on the East Side in Park Ridge and Morningside. Most have foundation problems, have been stripped of original features, or have serious water damage. There was one though that knocked me out. I've included a pic so you can see it and comment. It's sort of Craftsman bungalow, but not exactly. For one thing there are no brackets on the eaves. It's brick, with a wraparound porch. The living room and parlor have a typical Craftsman bookcase divider with tapered columns. The most unusual feature is a brick fireplace set in a corner and turned on an angle.

I normally don't gush over un-purchased houses in this blog. I try to keep it on the "downlow." But somebody out there with taste and vision needs to buy this joint and fix it up. It is such a deal. The problem with much East Knox property is the location and people's stereotypes about it. This is in an African American neighborhood on a street that leads to a housing project. But as in most redeveloping neighborhoods, with a little vision and work you can get a great house for a little money and help improve the area. Let's all join hands and sing, "We are the world, we love good woodwork.."

Oh yeah, and I saw a couple of other cool houses. One is a bungalow on Jefferson (sold) that is being restored with great paint colors. Check the way cool windows and door in that big dormer. The other is a cute little Victorian (not for sale) on East Glenwood that is crying out to be rescued. "please rip this fake brick paper off, strip me and paint me, Baby!"

Super Dad

2005-05-23T13:35:00.000-07:00

What's that coming down the riverfront carrying a pink beach bag and holding hands with a toddler? Able to leap into the backseat of a Honda Element in a single bound. Patient enough to explain for the third time this morning why we have to take a nap, faster than a potty emergency and stronger than the will of a three-year-old... it's Super Dad!

Today I took the day off from house hunting to take Chloe out for some fun. We went to the apartment we're renting to meet the new tenant and finish the cleaning. Then we drove down to Volunteer Landing to play in the water and enjoy the warm weather. The landing is this great public park strung along the banks of the Tennessee River here in Knoxville.

I ran into Stacy Allen, a fellow parent out with her toddler. While the kids ran though the water jets I talked to Stacy about her home in Park Ridge. Park Ridge is a redeveloping neighborhood in East Knoxville where historic homes are being restored and bought up around a new city park as well as a YMCA.

Stacy and her husband have a nice big place they bought across from some friends a year and a half ago. It was a dump when they bought it from some "absentee landlords" in New York. Knox Heritage helped them finance the house and the restoration work in one mortgage loan. They got a great historic home for way less than they could have paid about anywhere else, and a recent appraisal shows an value increase of $30,000!

I love talking to Knoxville's historic neighborhood pioneers--the ones who brave the inconveniences and concerned looks of friends to invest in Knoxville's great inner neighborhoods like Old North Knox, Fourth and Gill, and Park Ridge.

Breaking Up is Hard to Do

2005-05-19T11:28:00.000-07:00

I just heard from Ron, the realtor selling HUD properties, that they've cancelled our contract. This new relationship between rehabber and house is over before it's begun. Apparently the title company has found multiple liens that prevent the house from being sold. The previous owner was probaby up to his eyeballs in debt, and may have taken out a second and even a third mortgage on the property. A neighbor told me about investigating some noise outside several year ago and seeing the guy throwing things out the window and giving passing cars the finger. Anyway, I guess my investigations with the city mean nothing to HUD. They may get these liens lifted eventually, but I'll probably be working on another house.

The Temptress beckons!

Public Service

2005-05-19T11:25:00.000-07:00

I went to City Hall yesterday to research the two houses I'm considering. In just over an hour I visited three different offices, accessed four documents, and had my best conversation yet with a city official.

I had picked up a list of the building code violations that need fixing on each property and figured out what liens there are and how to get them paid off. Then I was directed to the Bob Wetzel, Director of Public Service.

Unlike some city employees I've dealt with, Mr. Wetzel was upbeat and direct, explaining that it was unlikely the city would forgive the lot clearing liens on the house at 419 Chicamauga, which was what I expected.

Next I explained that I'm interested in buying and rehabbing another larger house, one with holes in the roof and in very poor condition. Bob perked up and asked if it was a big bungalow. I told him it was, then he stepped out to get his son who works down the hallway. His son, he explained, had recently kept the house from being demolished by the city. We had a nice chat about the house, then they told me about a city program for preserving property and putting it back into the hands of responsible owners. At the end of out chat he thanked me for "investing in the inner city." How cool is that?

Title Trouble and the Temptress

2005-05-17T18:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday while I was uploading photos to the blog I got a call from Ron, the realtor for HUD. It seems there's title trouble with the house I'm buying that could take a while to clear up. Apparently there was a lien placed against the house after it was in foreclosure. Since the city condemned it and it has been empty 4-5 years according to the neighbors, it may be a lot clearing lien from the city. Bottom line: I can bail on this if I want to, before Monday. I can break up without having to make excuses.

That's really a temptation because I've been flirting with another house on the same street. You know the scene: you're in a safe relationship, but someone more glamourous--and more dangereous--comes along. I've driven by her a lot and wondered about her. I'll admit it--I've even had fantasies. Fantasies that involve french doors and a fireplace. I know I shouldn't think about it, especially since my nice safe relationship just can't give me those things. A few weeks ago I noticed it had been condemned by the city. A big, high-style craftsman bungalow. Exactly my type. Hmm. The first house is small and so easy. But the second house is big and stylish and lots more work. Everything from the roof to the basement needs work. I have located one of the owners, who said he was going to let the city knock it down. Sounds like a "motivated seller" to me. Dave looked at the second house today and agrees with me that it's doable. Did I mention that I have a messiah complex for old houses?

So which way should I go: the safe relationship or the stylish temptress?

Worth a Thousand Words

2005-05-15T19:40:00.000-07:00

Here it is, thanks to my old college buddy Ken Mastri a web designer, digital noodler and blogger who could update his page more often if he weren't helping his idiot friends all the time. Anyway, thanks Ken for helping me figure out which photo hosting service to use.

This is last years' project at 207 E. Oak Hill here in Knoxville, TN. In June it was condemned with rain coming in, no toilet, disconnected from the power grid, and an eyesore on the block. By the time we took this photo in September we were 90% done. We still had to add pickets to the porch rails, guttering, and a few other items. Nine months later the couple that bought it are just back from their honeymoon and enjoying the house and the neighborhood.

Starter Houses

2005-05-13T11:55:00.000-07:00

We all have to start somewhere, and that's what starter houses are all about. Starter houses are small, inexpensive houses that are priced low enough to allow affordable mortgage payments for a renter. In some markets starter homes are priced so high that many middle class folks can't afford them. Knoxville is blessed with low housing costs and high quality of life. With cute older houses in Lincoln Park selling under $100k, almost anyone who has a steady job and decent credit can get a starter house. In fact, the price per square foot for older starter homes can be as low as $65, while a new "drywall-and-vinyl siding" house in a new development will run $95-100. Older homes have more charm, are closer to downtown, better built, and are much more affordable generally.

I waited until I was 35 to buy my first house. I bought it when I was single and lived in it until I was married and had my first child. Karen and I just sold that house and got enough out of it to have almost a third of our next house paid for before we moved in. This house is larger and in a nicer neighborhood. We could not have this house without our "starter house," because we could not afford the payments if we had to finance the typical 80-90% of the price. With interest rates climbing, it is the time for young professionals to get out of renting and into a good starter home.

When you find your "dream home" in a few years, you will have enough equity in your starter house to have the downpayment and closing costs for the next house. In fact, you could use an interest-only home equity line of credit to finance reasonable downpayment and closing costs if you find the dream home before you are able to sell the stater. You can pay off the equity loan when you sell to take advantage of the low interest and easy terms to "upgrade" your home.

Closing Date

2005-05-12T10:54:00.000-07:00

I talked with the HUD real estate agent today, and it looks like I can close on the house in a week. In the meantime I'm updating the yard sign, ordering business cards, and trying to figure out how to put photos on this site so you can see the old project and the new house. I've put the photos up on Shutterfly, but I'm not sure if I can link directly to the albums or not. I've also put together a budget spreadsheet so I can track costs more easily than last year.

So if things go well I could be working on the house before the end of the month, which would be great.

Window Restoration

2005-05-11T06:43:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning to the sound of birds!After living in a house with painted-shut windows for five years, sleeping with the windows open is a new luxury. Since our "new" home is two stories, the cooling effect is great. We open a window or two on the ground floor, and then one in our bedroom. The "chimney effect" pulls the cool air up and the warm air out.

One of the challenges with wooden windows is maintenance. At some point in their lives many older wood windows have been painted shut, and often they stay that way. If you use central heat and air year round that might be OK, but in mild climates like Knoxville's you can save on your utilities and enjoy a little nature if you switch off the thermostat and unstick those windows.

Unsticking painted-shut windows takes time, but can be done by most homeowners with patience and muscle. Start by removing the storm windows. Get a pizza cutter, small pry bar, hammer, and block of wood and work your way around the bottom sash of the window. Be careful not to dig into the wood with the pry bar, and use the hammer and block to loosen the edges of the window. You may have to lift the bottom window frame by the top edge since most handle hardware is not sturdy enough for any real yanking.

Once you get the sash loose, rub a dry bar of soap in the wood tracks for lubrication. Clean the windows and storm, then leave the storm window raised to allow that springtime air to circulate. If your windows have that "snaggle-toothed" look, you can re-glaze them with window glazing putty, glaziers' points, and a putty knife. Dave the Wonder Guy is scraping and re-glazing our windows today. By the time he's done the exterior will really make the house look like new.

Our Little Dollhouse

2005-05-09T09:56:00.000-07:00

After a couple of weeks of waiting, I've got a contract on a summer fixer-upper. It's a simple post-WWII two bedroom with hardwood, original glass doorknobs, and a deck in the back. The house is on a good street and the neighbors are well-kept. It will make a great first house or downsize house for anyone looking for value and convenience to downtown, the UT campus, and routes west. It will sell for under $100,000 when we are done.

The house is a foreclosure from HUD—a good source for fixer-uppers. I see it as house recycling. When an owner can't make mortgage payments they're generally not making repairs either. In this situation the house can actually fall in value because of a serious lack of maintenance. That's where a rehabber can step in and help. An owner occupant buyer is faced with a lot of expensive repairs they typically cannot finance. My restored and remodeled homes offer historic charm and updated systems, kitchens, and baths. I find that our projects are a win-win for the buyer and the neighborhood.

I'm ready to get started on this house, but I haven't heard yet when we can close. One of the drawbacks of buying from HUD is dealing with a faceless bureaucracy. Hopefully it will be soon so I can get started. There's plenty to do on this house. The plumbing, HVAC, and electric systems will need to be replaced, standing water in the backyard and basement will need to be drained, and the kitchen and bath will be remodeled.

Horse Trading

2005-04-22T17:12:00.000-07:00

I tied up a lot of loose ends today, getting financing going, bidding on a property, and trading for a house painting job. My banker called at the office and we got the ball rolling on another home equity line of credit. She had a couple of questions so I'll call her back Monday. We could close by then if we're lucky.

I was sitting in traffic when I got a call from Dave, my handyman and general contractor. We've worked a deal where he'll paint my house in exchange for a used Montero of ours. His old Dodge truck is literally falling apart, and he needs some wheels. Karen and I were planning to get our house painted anyway, so this worked out pretty well. I drove the truck to where he's working, he drove me back, and I debriefed him on the way: "The blinkers don't work, the mirror is broken, it burns a little oil..." whatever. Dave's taking his life in his hands in the deathtrap he's driving, so this is a big improvement.

Next I am driving the dog over to our vet, talking on the cell to the HUD Realtor to bid on the property I've looked over. During the past week I found out is condemned, which means it will be more difficult to remodel. The house has to meet new housing codes, which are detailed and hard to research. Getting city inspectors to explain requirements is also impossible. They tell you when you pass or fail, but they won't give you advice in advance. The delays can be frustrating. Last year the buyers were ready to close, but the city inspector made us raise the heavy oak railings six inches to meet new house codes in addition to complaining about a skeleton lock on the front door and making us install gutters. Anyway, I placed the bid, found out the details of what HUD requires from my bank, and left a voice mail for the banker.

Bottom line: If I get my letter by Monday, then I'll know by Tuesday if I got the house. If so, then it's off to the races with another house.

Rusty Pickups, Monster Trucks, and the Good Guys

2005-04-16T08:36:00.000-07:00

The word "good" is highly underrated. It is, in fact, almost embarrassing to be called "good" these days. But in a rehab project where you spend time with these people and you want to know the work will be done right, a rehabber needs competent contractors he/she can trust. This morning I drove over to a house I'm thinking of buying and met with some of the Good Guys. Allen Electric's employees are friendly, professional, easygoing, and reliable. They crawl into tight, dark, dirty spaces, deal with Knoxville city inspectors, pull wire, hang fixtures, and even label breakers (a rarity in my experience). These guys are Nice Guys. It's a family-owned business where you talk to the owner when you call. I'd recommend them for anything from rewiring a house to installing a dimmer switch in your dining room.

Dave, the general contractor I was meting with this morning, has truck trouble. He's a Rusty Pickup Guy. These guys get by with an F-150 that looks like it came over on the Mayflower, use cheap tools, and do a lot of hard-assed work. They often get paid in cash to avoid credit, tax, and child support problems. They're hard to reach because they're phones get disconnected when they don't have enough work. The best ones will pull your project out of the ditch and keep you under budget, but the worst ones will steal from you, threaten you, or get drunk on the job. I know—both have happened to me.

On the other end of the spectrum there are the Monster Truck Guys. These guys have the latest tools, cell phones, and tools. They make nice on the phone, show up and do the work, but they are often two or three times as expensive as the rusty pickup guys. My last plumber was one of these. He charged me over double what my Rusty Pickup Guy had bid. His material bill alone was way out of line. I can't make money with these guys. In fact, if I could get guys like Allen Electric and Dave, I couldn't rehab at all. Not more than once, anyway.

You Win Some, You Lose Some

2005-04-10T18:48:00.000-07:00

Damn! I lost the house that I wanted at 135 E. Emerald. It's a ca. 1920 bungalow with a general store in the basement. My idea was to add two beds and a bath downstairs and rework the basement facade to look nicer from the street. I had this whole trellis and porch swing thing in mind. Oh well. My offer was too low and I had not arranged my financing yet. Since it was a foreclosure, the bank took the higher cash offer. You win some, you lose some.

Yesterday I looked at a killer Victorian in Fourth and Gill but it's priced out of my league. Somebody who wants to live in it should get it though. It's a 4 bed / 2.5 bath that only needs a little work. There was a wet bar and hot tub in the back, and it's priced at $140K—the same as the house we just bought in Fountain City. Wow!

The next place I looked at is a good prospect. It's a cute post WWII "doll house" that needs a lot of TLC, as the realtors like to say. It needs some wall patching and a complete update of cabinets and fixtures, but has original 1948 glass doorknobs and the cast iron built-in tub is in good shape. There's one of those cute telephone shelves built into the hallway wall—I always loved those. It looks like I could do most of the work myself and still have it ready to show by the end of the summer. I'm holding onto the details for now and getting a project estimate together to make a bid in a few weeks. At the moment it's not open for investors.

Cha-Ching! Bids are in

2005-04-05T17:04:00.000-07:00

I've been crunching numbers for rehabbing this bungalow for a couple of days. I got estimates from the plumber, electrician, heat and air guy, and a general contractor for everything else but the floors and painting. Those numbers I guessed at. The whole picture is looking pretty good right now, so I'm going to call the realtor and make an offer tomorrow.

This whole thing will cost more than the house we did last summer, but it's in better condition. I'm planning to add rooms in a basement in addition to replacing the roof and all systems, which makes a pretty high bill. It's going to cost way more than I make in a year to get this house fixed up, but we should be able to borrow the dough and get the work done this summer. I also have a fall-back position: If costs go over budget I can bail on redoing the basement and sell without that, which would also work.

Now I've got to figure out where I'm going to get the money. Yikes.

Rehabbing in my Head

2005-04-03T07:48:00.000-07:00

I've found a property with potential, and I'm getting together information to make a bid. I don't want to give away too much specific information at this point, but I've checked tax records, talked to the neighbors, looked up comps for the finished project, inspected the place, sketched up a floor plan change, and had contractors look it over to submit their estimates.

Hopefully I can get the contractors to get me figures by Monday since I want to make a bid by Tuesday at the latest. I don't want to have the place bought out from under me, but I want to have solid numbers before I jump into buying. The goal of course is to determine if I can purchase, rehab to the quality level I want, then list and sell it at a profit. There are lots of pieces in that pie, so I'm going back over last year's figures to make sure I don't miss anything. I also have to check maximum values in the area so I will know if the finished property will "comp." If not, then a bank won't lend enough on the place and it will be hard to sell.

This particular house looks like an exciting project because we can keep the original Arts and Crafts style and make some dramatic changes that will add value for new buyers. I try to think like a typical buyer: young first homeowners who are old house fans. I'm getting juiced about this place—I even sketched out a floor plan last night. If I can figure out how to post photos off-site I'll add a link later.

Yesterday was my wife Karen's birthday, and I gave her the gift that any red-blooded young American woman wants—a clean garage. I came home from work early and since she was working late I cleaned out the garage and put a gift bag with a balloon tied to it in the clean garage. I also got her opening night tickets to a play, a funny card, and William Shatner's amazing new album Has Been. If you haven't heard this rich and varied spoken word album with music from Ben Folds, Joe Jackson, Henry Rollins, Adrian Belew, Aimee Mann, and Brad Paisley you need to check it out. It could be my favorite album from 2004.

Blogging Can Be Beautiful

2005-04-02T09:18:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to write a bit about how great my blog's design is. I didn't do it myself—it's a template design I used straight from Blogger called called Scribe, by Todd Dominey. Todd's a "new media" designer in Atlanta. Check out his work and hire him for something. The guy has a great command of sophisticated web design, managing to satisfy this middle-aged designer's yen for fine typography, more or less. One day I'll be able to post blog entries complete with curly quotes, ligatures, and small caps. Then I'll be happy and unemployed...

Here are some typographic points lost in web design:

Curly Quotes, which are typically substituted with vertical hash marks correctly used only for inches.
Ligatures, which are nifty little morphed sets of letters like "fi" that appear in fine typography but are often ignored in signs, term papers, and web pages.
Small Caps. These vestiges of Victorian typography have come back in a big way thanks to desktop publishing, which made small caps available first in a fake form and then in true typographic small caps.

Sniffing out the Houses

2005-03-31T22:49:00.000-08:00

I've been looking at potential project houses the past couple of days, and I've really seen some dogs. Today I walked on floors so wavy a 3-legged stool wouldn't sit on it. Yesterday I looked at a place without a straight doorway in it. There had been a renter in there for eighteen years who's just moved out and the place was a pig sty. Really scary. I've got my eye on a place now that might have potential but it looks like it will cost more to fix up than I can get out of it in this neighborhood. I can't get comps that are high enough. Houses in Oakwood and Lincoln Park are topping out under $100K, and I don't think that's enough to do this place up right. I've driven by some empty and distressed-looking places and I'm trying to track down the owners. No luck on that so far, but it takes time. Finding the right place is key. I just have to be patient I guess.

Doing the Legwork

2005-03-29T19:42:00.000-08:00

I've been looking for the right house for my next rehab project. There are lots of possibilities I've found from several sources, but nothing yet that looks like it has the right combination of elements to be what I'm looking for. Just tonight a realtor called be back about a neat little bungalow I'd driven by a year or more ago. It was back on the market but sold fast. Damn. I do have an appointment to see a house that's not on the market. It's a little rough, and the older woman who owns it is fixing it up to rent. If we can agree on a price it could be a good project. Keep your fingers crossed!

Spring is in the Air

2005-03-23T20:20:00.000-08:00

And a young man's fancy turns to...rehabbing houses! Yep, the grass is starting to green up and I'm keeping my eyes open for a good deal on a home that needs some TLC. Last year I did my first house to sell and it was a sucess. I took a century-old house from condemnation to ready-to-move-in condition in a summer. We demolished and rebuilt bathrooms in the rear, replaced the roof, an installed all-new plumbing, electric, heat, and air. You should have seen the poplar floors after they were refinished. This year I hope to do another house and keep a journal on this new blog I just created. Readers interetsted in older houses and real estate should find it interesting. I'll try to share some tips and my experiences. I'm posting my journal from last summer and hoping to find comments from other old house fans.

A Sign in the Yard

2004-08-12T21:08:00.000-07:00

A week has passed and I've been busy with some other stuff. I did manage to get the front yard all manicured though, including mulching the flower beds, cutting the grass, getting up the last of the weeds, sowing grass seed in the bare spots, and raking up all the litter. We have a metal realtor-style sign in the front now with the flyers in a plastic tube. We've paid for a MLS listing with an online company but have not yet heard from a Realtor to get our information.

The hardwood flooring crew has been working this week, and they have done a great job with the repairs and refinishing. They ended up doing quite a few more repairs than we thought because they kept finding more damage. The crew of three will put in three and a half days sanding, repairing, and refinishing with one coat of sealer and two coats of polyurethane.
Dave's crew has disappeared for the past three days. I finally got a call today and was told they would be back on the job tomorrow morning. We still have a lot of work to do before the open house in two weeks, including placing fixtures, mudding and painting the bath and kitchen, getting vinyl on the floors, cleaning up the back yard, and a long list of small chores.

Update:This was my last post before we sold the house, so I didn't get to write about the details. By this time I'd started my full-time teaching job, and I was unable to much work or be onsite during the day. I ended up hiring people to lay vinyl flooring in the kitchen and bath, and to install guttering after first trying it myself then hiring an unreliable handyman who really botched the job. The bright spot was the Realtor who my wife suggested. He worked out a great deal to list the house for a flat fee with no frills or commission, then photographed it, measured it, and tweaked my sales copy improving it noticeably. A young couple ended up making a good offer after losing two other older houses they'd wanted. The final stages of inspection were a pain, with the city guy being extremely unhelpful, even busting me for having a skeleton key in the original front door lock. Codes don't allow for doors to require a key to exit the structure. Nevermind that that's they way most of these original locks were designed. But in the end it got sold and everyone was happy: me, the new owners, the neighbors, and even, begrudgingly, the city insptector. My wife Karen finally dealt with the inspector, and her charming approach helped a lot. I was ready to inspect the guy's ass with my foot.

Now That's Curb Appeal, Baby!

2004-07-30T21:06:00.000-07:00

The exterior is 90% complete now, and we finally have a good exterior shot for flyers. I painted the terra cotta accent color on the 2nd story window frame, door, sidelite panels, and shutters. Dave has finished most of the mudding on the interior and plans to blow the knock-down texture on the walls next week. He did a sample on the living room with the ginger paint over it and it looks great. Dan-o, Brett and Cody are finishing up here and there—closets, fascia board painting, framing around the attic trap door, etc. Dave and I also got a hump out of the porch floor by jacking and removing some wood spacers placed there years ago by the previous owner's grandfather.

We finally have good plumbers on the job site, and they are doing a great job. They were under the house all day tying up the supply and waste lines. They also pointed out problems with the previous work: the washer box should not flow past the tub since it might fill it every time the washer pumped out. Also, the 3" vent stack is a 1994 code item. By the end of the day they were almost ready for an inspection on Monday.

How Many Plumbers Does it Take to Pull a Permit?

2004-07-28T21:05:00.000-07:00

It's been a crazy few days with the plumbers. Here's the short version. Plumber #1 was unlicensed and had not pulled a permit on Friday. I was never told this. I demand that he produce a permit immediately to continue the job. Plumber #1 calls his partner, who calls his boss, who calls me and says he will check on the permit and visit the job site Monday. The guy does not show up. Meanwhile I call plumber #2 who is recommended to me as licensed. He looks over the job which is mostly finished anyway. He says he can do it and will get a permit as soon as I cancel the permit from Plumber #1. I drive downtown and do so. The permit people with the city can't find a license for plumber #2, so I call him. It turns out he does not have a license either, though he insists that he can get a permit through his boss. (where have I heard this before?) Early the next morning plumber #1 calls and again implies that he will make things difficult if I don't use him. He says I can't just cancell his permit. I tell him that I already have (YESSS!) and he tells me that plumber #2 “won't touch” the project. By this time I'm an old hand at firing and rehiring, so when I can't get an answer on the phone from plumber #2, I pull out the phone book and call until I find an actual licensed plumber who can do the work. This is impacting my mental health a bit at this point, and my schedule. We need to be drywalling the bathrooms but we can't until we get inspections and approvals on our electric and plumbing.

On the positive side Dave's crew continues to burn through the task list on time and under budget. They've painted most of the the exterior, drywalled the entire original interior, cleaned up the house, and reglazed all broken windows and doors. The paint colors look great, we're getting compliments from the neighbors, and if we can get some honest plumbers we'll be ahead of the game. Oh yeah—we also found a fender for Cody's '71 Mustang through my neighbor Wayne. So far Wayne has pulled a stump, hauled off a tree, lent us a power sprayer, and proved to be the fastest auto parts connection in East Tennessee. Yee-ha Wayne!

The electrical inspector came back out and approved the electrical rough-in now that that permit situation has been straightened out, and he was very impressed with the work on the exterior.

Survivor's Guilt: A few weeks after writing this I heard that the plumber I fired was dead. Dead. He'd had an anurism or something and was gone. He had kids and a mortgage and I know he needed the money. I felt terrible, but what else could I have done? He couldn't get a plumbing permit pulled and I didn't want to get my project shutdown. And it's not like I saved money by firing him. I ended up paying way more to get a licensed plumber to fix his mistakes. I just wish he'd been straight with me and said he was unlicensed.

Landscaping with Chloe

2004-07-24T21:04:00.000-07:00

My daughter Chloe and I spent the day on the flower beds. I turned the soil with a round-nosed shovel, breaking up the large clods. Next I raked the soil flat again with a garden rake, planting rows of irises, day lilies, and daffodils in the order of blooming season. This way something will be in bloom from early spring until mid-summer. I found the daffodil bulbs buried in the old beds. Separating and replanting bulbs should helps them multiply and flower.

Permit Trouble

2004-07-23T21:03:00.000-07:00

We got a visit from the city electrical inspector today. Fun! I'm working on the porch when a white car with the city seal on the side pulls up and idles while the guy inside gets out a clipboard. I walk over to the car to say hello, and he introduces himself as the city Electric inspector, asking me who my contractor is. I tell him. Turns out said contractor had not puled a permit and the framing instructor had reported we were doing electrical work. This is not good. The inspector is very polite though and says the electrician probably got busy and hadn't gotten the paperwork back yet. He lets me know that he'll give the electric guy a call and let it slide this time. I thank him and ask, all innocent, what's a worst case scenario in a situation like that. "Stop work order" he says. "I write 'em all the time." the window on the crown vic slides up and the guy motors off to the next construction site.

I was a little worried, so I got on the cell. I called the plumber to ask about the plumbing permit that he said was being faxed in a few days earlier. They didn't have a permit yet. I was not happy. After several disturbing conversations I discovered that a) we do not have a permit, and b) the plumber in unlicensed. This is not good. It could easily result in a “stop work” order that will delay the project and keep other contractors from being paid. Apparently the plumber was doing this project on the side through his partner's boss' license. This guy was supposed to pull the permit as a favor to these two guys, but apparently did not. He now says he mailed in the permit application yesterday. By the end of all these stories I don't know who to believe and I'm yelling. " I don't need to talk to your boss! I contracted with you, and you need to get a permit in my hand by tomorrow or Ill get someone else!"

Now where in the hell am I going to find a contractor who'll finish this job?

A Twenty Minute Paint Job

2004-07-22T21:02:00.000-07:00

Today we worked mostly on the exterior, making repairs to the siding, priming and painting. We rented a sprayer and Dave sprayed the entire exterior in about 20 minutes. The rest of just stood and watched, then tried to catch up with him. By the end of the day the house was a lovely shade of blue. The neighbors are impressed and are interested in painting their own house.

More Exterior Tinkering

2004-07-21T21:01:00.000-07:00

Brett and Dan-o continued repairing exterior woodwork. They're replacing damaged shiplap siding with new poplar lumber. Dave is sheet rocking the ceilings and mudding the walls as he has time during the day. The last step will be the texturing of the ceiling and walls. More prep work to the porch area.

Framing Inspection Passed

2004-07-20T21:00:00.000-07:00

We got the porch primed today, and it looks great. Brett and Dan-o sheet rocked the ceilings and repaired woodwork. The inspector came by this morning and signed off on the framing. The plumbers are nearly done with the rough-in, and the HVAC crew completed the heating installation and the ductwork. After the painting is done they'll come instal the air conditioning unit. A really productive day.

More Prep, HVAC Work

2004-07-19T20:59:00.000-07:00

O.K., so we weren't done with the paint prep. Today a new guy named Will scraped and heat gunned the front porch columns while Cody rolled on primer and Dave finished wood repairs around the house. I cleaned up the job site and picked up the last of the lumber for framing the storage room in the back. Brett and Dan-o sheet rocked the ceilings and Geg and Pete, our HVAC guys arrived. They cut ceiling holes for the registers, ran copper lines, and got black in the attic from the coal dust.

Trimming Out the Exterior

2004-07-16T20:57:00.000-07:00

Surface prep is done and we are ready for painting. There are still some spots where wood trim is being repaired or installed, but we can still start rolling on primer Monday. We are replacing the vertical corner molding where is was damaged by insects and moisture, ripping down 2 x 4s to create the odd-sized edge pieces, and a local lumber yard had the oversized quarter round for the corner of the house, giving it a finished look. Dave and Cody will work through the weekend installing the Hardiplank siding onto the addition. Hardiplank is a dense hardboard impregnated with cement that is more dimensionally stable and rot-resistant than wood. Dave is also planning to bring in a couple more painters Monday. The plumber will do his rough-in this weekend, installing fixtures after the flooring is done. The heat and air guy is also supposed to finish his ductwork early next week, though he missed his appointment today. There's still brush and leaves in the street an along both sides of the house and on the front porch, plus we'll need to construct a huge curtain of plastic sheeting so we can use a paint sprayer after we roll on the primer.

Finished Roof—BOOYA!

2004-07-15T20:56:00.000-07:00

The roof is finished and it looks like a million bucks. Now the guys are scraping the peeling wood siding to prep for priming and then paint. Dave installed the pull-down attic steps today, enlarging the hole he cut in the hall ceiling, framing the opening with 1 x 6s, and nailing in the door/stairway assembly. I spent the afternoon working on the brick foundation. Yesterday I repointed the brick with a mortar bag, and today I replaced the loose bricks with mortar and a trowel. The electricians came by to finish the rough-in. The electrical inspection will be tomorrow. The plumber will hopefully do his rough-in this weekend so we can get a framing inspection ASAP. Dave told me he has to finish a week early, and decided to bring in two more people to make up for the lost time. I'm still concerned about getting work done on time, since we only have two weeks for the drywall, scraping, and painting. Only two weeks for all of this!

Full Contact Shopping

2004-07-08T20:54:00.000-07:00

Again I spent most of my time running errands. My butt has molded itself to the seat of the Montero. I got a window and studs at Knox Rail Salvage, odds and ends at Home Depot, and rented a cement mixer for Paul and Jeff since some old guy ran over theirs last night. Apparently a heavy steel cement mixer is no match for an octogenarian in a Crown Victoria. Dan-o and Brett got more roofing done: the entire left side is shingled now. Dave and Cody decked the block foundation and by late afternoon were ready to raise the first wall. We worked late and got the outer walls built and nailed in place. We're a day behind schedule but things are moving steadily. I picked up pizza for Dave's crew and we got the walls up pretty fast, especially since we could use my brother's power nailer—a formidable weapon capable of shooting a large nail deep into and stud or through a sheet of OSB board and out the other side! I had Cody dodging nails like some kinda ninja construction guy.

I wish things were moving a little faster—if only I could spend an entire day working on site. Tomorrow Karen and I are going to her brother's wedding, so I'll just pick up some materials, write checks, and leave.

Starting to Frame Baths

2004-07-07T20:53:00.000-07:00

Dave and Cody had to hand nail the pressure treated two-inch thick lumber to the concrete blocks, which took them most of the day. They got the joists hung by the end of the day. Roofing continued. Paul and Jeff finished the first chimney and set up their scaffolding for the second.

Brick, Block, and Shingles

2004-07-06T20:52:00.000-07:00

Paul and Jeff got most of the first chimney rebuilt today, and Dave built the block foundation for the bathroom add-on. It got hot but at least didn't rain. Brett and Dan-o sweltered up on the roof doing tear-off all day on the right side. They got it felted by the end of the day. Tomorrow we break out the nail gun and start framing.

Rebuilding the Chimneys and Another Storm

2004-07-05T20:49:00.000-07:00

Paul and Jeff the brick masons worked on the left chimney today. Brick by brick they cleaned off the mortar, which was the texture of sandy damp plaster, stacking the brick on heavy planks on the scaffolding to reuse. The low-life who took a check from me for the masonry work originally has broken yet another commitment, this one to bring me back the money I gave him for materials. With every belligerant and threatening conversation he confirms my new policy for contractors: no money until I'm sure of some results.

Over the weekend I met with a couple of Mexican stucco workers named Paulo and Santos who have agreed to repoint the brick on the foundation. Now the only problem is getting materials: the concrete supplier was closed yesterday and can't be reached this morning by their switchboard. Dave is overdue to set blocks for the addition, and I spent all day yesterday at Home Depot making a huge final order for paint and other materials.

For any of you folks in the Knoxville area, I'll give you some advice: go to the East Home Depot contractor's desk and ask for Dan. I had a lousy experience at the customer service desk when I first tried to open a credit account, and now Dan is the only person I deal with, along with department people he recommends like Mary in paint and Al in appliances. Most big box stores have no concept of service, but Dan is the golden exception to this. Whether you're spending several thousand or are just fixing a leaky pipe, Dan is your guy.

Anyway, I was tied up picking up materials when a huge storn blew in about 5:30, blowing down tree limbs and causing flash flooding and power outages. By the time I got back to the jobsite at 6:00 I found the tarp tent partly off the addition, and water running into the crawl space we spent four days digging. That may delay things further, and will cerainly make things wet for Dave and Cody.

First Inspection

2004-07-02T20:48:00.000-07:00

All the hours of digging paid off this morning when our building inspector signed off on the crawl space and footers for the bathrooms we are rebuilding. The space was dug down to red clay all around to provide good support, and 18" clearance below the floor for access to plumbing and electric. Dave and Robert used a construction level on a tripod to check for flatness of the rear of the house where it had been jacked, and to measure stakes that will be used to pour concrete to the proper depth. Dave continued jacking and replacing bad wood in the kitchen floor. He and Cody poured 20-25 bags of concrete that will cure overnight so block can be set on them tomorrow. Dan-o, Robert, and a new guy worked on the roof all day, finishing the front of the house and the porch roof as well. By the end of the day we had a great new roof visible from the street, and an addition in the back that will be ready for framing next week. We cracked a few cold ones at the end of the day to celebrate being back on schedule.

Visible Progress on the Roof

2004-07-01T20:46:00.000-07:00

Dave hired Robert to help with roofing and other things. Having an extra man on site made things move faster, as did replacing the worn out roofing pry bar. The entire front face of the main roof was torn off today and most of it got shingled. It's looking good from the street as long as you don't look down at the chaos on the ground: mounds of black shingle pieces killing the grass that will have to be picked up a wheelbarrow at a time. It looks like I'll need to reseed the lawn anyway though. Dave has replaced almost all the bad wood along the back of the house, and his son Cody has finished digging out the stump remains and getting the footers ready for inspection before the concrete is poured.

Good Weather for Ducks, Not Roofers

2004-06-30T20:45:00.000-07:00

More materials from Home Depot: concrete blocks, concrete mix, and other odd items. We spent more unplanned time on the crawl space and tree stump. I ran errands all morning and part of the afternoon while Dave and Randy worked on jacking the house and removing bad wood under the kitchen. It rained hard in the afternoon with the roof open and the crawl space uncovered—dammit! Dave and his crew were scrambling to finish felting the roof and I had to get them a tarp so we didn't damage the front bedroom with water. Fortunately the ceiling held in spite of an inch of rain before we could tarp it, and a shop vac got the water out of the footers. That may put us another day behind waiting for the clay to dry enough to pass inspection before we can pour concrete. After it rained Dan-o, Dave, and Cody hung sheet rock, but only got two sheets up. Then Wayne and Mike came back with the roll-back and finally managed to get the stump out from under the corner of the foundation. Again my next door neighbor saves the day!

A Century of Shingles

2004-06-29T20:44:00.000-07:00

Dan-o and Cody worked on the front gable of the roof and got the tear-off and felting done. The front yard is disappearing under layers of crumbling shingles. It looks like it's never had shingles removed at all. The bottom layer is so brittle it's hard to get the off with the pry bar.

I picked up Kevin this morning for another day of digging. He was ready and eager to work. Kevin is ex-military and pretty gung-ho, but also a good negotiator. He bargained for a bit more money in the Montero while we looked for second man. We didn't find Iran at the shelter, but we got another guy, this one named Randy. They got along real well and we got a lot done.

The entire back of the house is on jack supports and blocks, and they dug around the tree stump so we could pull it with Wayne's tow truck. Unfortunately the tow truck tore up the back yard and broke a cable. A few days later he did get it out.

Tote That Barge, Lift That Bale

2004-06-28T20:42:00.000-07:00

Dan-o, Cory, and Dave, redecked the porch roof and nailed in new rafter tailings (I think that's what they're called) and we got a load of drywall materials from Home Depot.

The city building inspector made his first visit and told us we had to dig out a stump that was against the foundation, among other things. He and Dave discussed details of framing and foundation that I could only nod and pretend to understand.

I decided to hire some day laborers to get the digging under the new bath addition back on schedule. I drove by a couple of homeless shelters downtown and found two guys who were eager to work: Kevin and Iran (yes he told me this is his name). I turned down another guy who I'd overheard having an apoplexy over being tested for alcohol, and a fourth guy begged off because I needed him all day and he had something else to do. I paid them cash by the hour and asked Dave to keep an eye on them while I was away from the jobsite. Kevin and Iran stayed at it for 5 hours and did a great job, completing the crawl space.

Yard Work

2004-06-27T20:41:00.000-07:00

Mowed the grass and treated the weeds. Met with contractor who will cut up the 4x20' oak tree trunk so the city truck can remove it. He will bring a large chainsaw to do the cutting tomorrow.

Digging Under the New Baths

2004-06-26T20:40:00.000-07:00

More digging under the bathroom rebuild. We have to dig out to 18" and there was only 8" clearance before. The bathroom was practically built on the ground. That helps explain the rotten floor joists.

Jacking up the Kitchen Wall

2004-06-25T20:39:00.000-07:00

It rained all day so we couldn't do any roofing. Instead we cut out the damaged floor in the kitchen, removed the exterior siding, and Caleb figured out a way to jack up the house so we could replace the rotten sole plate, joists, and studs. Basically he nailed two 2x6s together and lag screwed them to the outside of the studs, overlapping them at the corner so they could have a jack put underneath. Inside Cody and Greg removed loose plaster in the front bedroom and master bed ceiling. We stripped wallpaper in the kitchen and hauled out the cabinets. The electricians continued pulling wire and roughing in, and got the temporary pole set and inspected. The utility company will move the wire from the panel box to the temporary pole next week. THat will give us electricity on-site so we can use corded power tools and listen to music on the boom box.

Power Pole and a Pup Tent

2004-06-24T20:37:00.000-07:00

We had a full day of work and some real progress. I got to the house by 8 a.m. and continued demolishing the bathroom. The electricians arrived an hour later, bringing a temporary electric pole. Dave and Dan-o got another load of lumber and shingles from Lowe's and arrived later that morning. After lunch my brother Caleb arrived to help out. That's a total of seven people on site today—a record so far. Dave and Dan-o opened up the roof where there was a hole above the master bedroom. They took out all the bad wood, including decking, rafters, joists, and a wall stud. Using just a chainsaw and a hammer, they got the first new wood on the house and felted over that. It was a huge relief to not have to worry about the rain ruining the wood floors anymore.

We opened the exterior wall below the hole to replace the stud, covering the hole with a tarp until the siding can be replaced. The electricians started roughing in the wires from the attic and cutting holes for switches. Dave enlarged the attic access hole so the electricians could get up and down more easily. With my brother Caleb's arrival we started doing some serious damage to the bathroom addition, which has to be completely rebuilt. We got all the floor decking out, uncovering a very shallow crawl space and a larger hole that had been dug out later. Caleb drained the water heater in the kitchen and got that out. I built a tent over the crawl space to keep predicted rain from filling the crawl space. Tomorrow we'll start on the roof section over the kitchen and finish demo work so that framing can begin.

Dave is On the Job

2004-06-23T20:36:00.000-07:00

First paid work! Dave brought his crew in today and got started. We discussed the scheule and list of tasks, he picked up materials and off-loaded them into the living room. They also covered one of the holes in the roof and cut an access hole to the attic in the hallway. We'll put a trapdoor there later, since the house was built without one. We got the kitchen cabinets out and it looks like we can salvage them. I finished the demo work on the bathroom and salvaged the tub/shower.

Demolition Man

2004-06-17T20:35:00.000-07:00

Today I demolished the mud room. Nasty work with a chainsaw and hammer. I salvaged some of the poplar siding to repair rotted spots on the main house. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get the fiberglas tub/shower out. Oh, and I finally got a message from the mason saying he would deliver the brick Saturday.

A Big Shiny Red Dumpster

2004-06-16T20:34:00.000-07:00

The first tangible thing that turns an abandoned house into a jobsite: a roll-off. Mine arrived today. A roll-off is one of those dumpsters the size of a locomotive used for major rehab and construction projects. This one is shiny and red and looks like someone took the wheels off a Tonka truck and biggie sized it in the backyard. I chainsawed up the interior floor and wall of the mudroom to get some good scrap in the roll-off. Tomorrow the whole thing comes down. Demolition is a great way to get out your frustrations. I also met with our attourney to sign the papers creating the company. I looked like a homeless guy in the offices of this firm he works for. Incredible views out every window, antique chairs in the waiting room, and custon imprinted napkins with your coffee. Anyway, in a couple of weeks we'll be Vintage Homes Knoxville, LLC. Woo-hoo!

A Banner Day: Take My Money—Please!

2004-06-14T20:32:00.000-07:00

After a weekend in the mountains and my 40th birthday party, I closed on the house today, hung a banner on the porch, pulled a building permit, and bought some items for the bathroom that I found on sale. Still no word from the brick mason. The lesson here: never give money for anything sight unseen. Next time I'll buy any materials myself and pay the contractor only when the work is done. Tonight Dave, the contractor who's in charge of the roofing, framing, drywall, and painting called. He's finishing a couple of other small jobs, then he'll be available. Julian the electrician should be back from his vacation in the next few days and hopefully ready to work. I'll need to get him to set a tremporary electric pole behind the house so we can have power for tools. Dave also suggested another mason, and he's coming by tomorrow to quote the job.

A Little Historic Research

2004-06-10T20:31:00.000-07:00

I went downtown to the Historic Society and the McClung Collection yesterday and looked up the house in the city directory. I found lots of interesting information, including the streetcar schedule for 1911, and the fact that Oakwood was built by a Knoxville manufacturer of mantelpieces, which might explain the four unique mantels in the house.

A Beautiful Dump

2004-06-09T20:29:00.000-07:00

This summer I plan to save a house. I've wanted to restore a vintage home for quite awhile, and this will be my first project. The house I've found is 99 years old and has been condemned. It is in Oakwood, a neighborhood just north of Knoxville, Tennessee. I'm keeping a Web journal to let people know how things are going, and to encourage others to save houses in their neighborhoods.

The house I'm planning to restore is just three blocks from my home, and will be a century old next year. It's been condemned by the city, but I'm planning to restore it and sell it to a family in it that will enjoy it and take care of it. It's a great house, with solid craftsmanship and a huge front porch, but it needs a lot of work. There are two holes in the roof and no plumbing fixtures in the bathroom—and that's just for starters.

The closing is set for Monday, and Dave Cunningham, the general contractor who'll be in charge of much of the work, is shooting for Tuesday morning to get started. Julian the electrician will be out of town until the following Friday, so I'm hoping to get the masons done with the chimney and foundation work by then. I've had some trouble with the masons though. I wrote them a check for brick which hasn't been delivered. I'm kind of pissed about this, but after a couple of angry phone calls I'm waiting it out. In the meantime the electrician is on vacation, a huge tree is in the front yard, and we close on Monday. Welcome to my world! I've been cutting trees from around the foundation and cleaning the place up. I need to set up a materials account at Home Depot, order a roll-off dumpster, and find out about pulling permits. There are a lot of details involved in saving this house, but it looks like it's going to happen.