So question for the group. Our first major issue popped up in our house with original piping breaking off (100 year old house). We were already planning it but hoping to hold out a few more years. We had pretty much all saved away and planned but having to cover some through a HELOC. It has started so quickly (contractor had a cancellation which let a hole in the schedule be ours if we wanted it). Given it is our only bathroom we are snatching it up. No permits have been pulled and he is leaving it up to us. We don’t plan to sell for over 5 years and really don’t want an inspector going through the whole house as we are sure they will require things like electrical be done and don’t want to have the costs mount up in a hurry. We know there is risk moving forward with no permits, but could we explain away with COVID when we sell? Could delay our project by two months or so which would be miserable. But don’t want it to fuck us on the back end.
Essentially a new bathroom (not moving any plumbing). But replacing cast iron plumbing with newer plumbing, new tub, new sink. Which then exposes the kitchen as they have to open up a wall there.
I personally would not pull a permit for that. Pipes leaked, had to get them fixed. Also if you were to pull a permit they are not inspecting your entire house, it would just be for the facet of the project you would be completing. Not sure on the electrical that you would be worried about but if you’re gutting it, replacing switches and outlets would be easy to do. Also sounds like it’s a fairly quick job if you are not moving any pipes or anything. Biggest concern would be within your jurisdiction if they come snooping around. I don’t know where you live or if you’d need to be concerned about that sort of thing. Just make sure they dispose of your sink, tub and pipe, don’t want that laying in your front yard.
FWIW i filed a home insurance claim and got a completely new bathroom out of a busted pipe that was 60+ years old.
Well should go back to insurance. We initially thought it was a corroded pipe and told us to pound sand and wouldn’t cover anything.
The permit & inspection process is there to protect you, the homeowner. In my area, an inspector cannot force upgrades outside the scope of the current, contracted work. Permits can also be gotten online here, which makes the process easier, though not necessarily faster. If your contractor is reasonable, he/she should have no problem getting permits. If they are hesitant, I'd want to know why.
We had our gas fireplace converted to a wood with a gas starter today. Currently sitting outside the house waiting for the gas company to tell us why the house now smells like gas. Fun times
It helped that we went through the home warranty, which then went through a company that specialized in insurance claims. I think we got really lucky.
Yikes, good luck with that. Hopefully a quick and easy loose connection. We had neighbors move into their newly built home in May. They got a washer and gas dryer installed by Home Depot shortly after moving in. A few days later the wife's sister stopped by and asked why their house smelled like natural gas. The dryer wasn't hooked up properly. They were like oh no wonder none of us feel well. Both the husband and wife had covid in January and neither could smell yet so they had no idea.
In college myself, my two roommates and our girlfriends were asleep and my dog woke me up at about 3am. I let him outside and he ran to the back fence and wouldn’t come closer to the house. During a snow storm. One of my roommates came out of his room asking what we were doing. He then mentioned that one of the smoke detectors was chirping so he took the batteries out. Turns out it was a CO2 detector. Called the fire department and they came in fully masked up and the one with the CO2 detector said we’d have all been dead by the morning if we hadn’t woken up. Jack was a very good boy.
Both of Weird Al’s parents died in their sleep from carbon monoxide poisoning. Make sure you have them on every floor folks!!
as I was sitting in the car outside the house and my family was out getting ice cream, I kept thinking about the possibilities of a small kaboom that affected only my house
What all does this entail and ball park cost wise? Moving into my new house Friday and living room and master bedroom have gas fireplaces that I would like to convert back to wood. They should. Friend just had a water line fitting come loose in his master and flooded it pretty good. During the inspection from insurance company they found that the shower pan was leaking too so they're covering that as well.
It was $350 to convert. It was going to take another $1000 to seal some cracks, but I may avoid that if they have to demo it all to find the leak! #lifehack
I can’t recall if I mentioned but we are getting a new furnace. We had the routine fall check up and he said it was showing some corrosion but should last another year. Then he recommended checking our CO2 detectors to ensure they were in working order. Maybe it was just a great sales tactic but F-that. Not worth it.
Also, check your smoke detectors. I think they generally have a 10 year life span. I came home to beeping this week and thought it was a smoke detector, so I replaced the battery. Beeping continued, and it was from the CO detector in front hall telling me end of life. Checked the smoke detector and it was no longer working since 16 years old. Everything has been replaced.
Fireplace folks came back and tightened some connections and we're good. Could only get one of my older hot water heaters to fire up, but I'll call it a win. Also acquired a neat carbon monoxide and gas detector combo that I've placed in a hall bathroom right between the rooms of my two offspring because I would like them to survive this stupid house.
Sex. In every room. The excitement wears off quickly so if you do not knock it out now, it could be years before it is done.
One thing I did on this house that has been helpful was to go through the inspection and my own list of projects and put everything in one place to keep on top of things and to prioritize. I use the trello app.
Just had to completely redo my septic system. New tank, field lines, the works. Now I’m left with a completely destroyed yard. Home ownership sucks.
Who’s the poster that had an outdoor brick fireplace. Pretty sure it was a Braves fan but I could be wrong. I thought I save the pic but can’t find it. Looking to do an outdoor kitchen area and put a pizza oven or fireplace in a corner of our patio. you can ignore. It was Baseballman86 and I used the new photo search in iOS 15. So nice.
Where do you live? Only ask because I was able to get sod cheap when I ordered it in the off-season. Not sure if that’s possible where you are though.
Just went through the landscaping overhaul. The bid spread for the same job was incredible. I'd get a bunch of quotes
No idea what you’re getting at. We have frozen ground here 3-4 months of the year, so no it wasn’t delivered then.
Yeah it sucks, but that’s why I was asking. So here obviously it’s off season for the sod dudes. If it’s not snowing, they’ll line you up for cheap as soon as their fields are ready. Way cheaper than I thought, but with two large dogs and a swamp in our yard when everything is thawing out, I would have paid triple.
that makes sense. In Texas and Florida, in certain areas, you are able to plant sod virtually year round. Obv grass shouldn't be planted then for most however, as you self-identified.