Projects/Home Improvement Thread

[tussin]

Wait until the first time a girl flushes a tampon down the toilet and clogs it...

I think it's pretty narrow minded to assume all girls are clean and tidy and this rental thing will be rainbows and unicorns for you. Stuff happens in a house that requires maintenance regardless of how diligent you are with the upkeep.

He's assuming a group of girls will be less hard on the house than a group of guys. That is not an outrageous assumption.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

Never said I expected this to be a piece of cake. Just asked about strategy for putting on a small, floor level deck and replacing windows. I'm not as dumb as some of you wish I were. And as I said, females will have their downside of course, but when it comes to who's harder on a house between girls/guys, I'll take girls all day long.

He's assuming a group of girls will be less hard on the house than a group of guys. That is not an outrageous assumption.

I had female roommates one year in college. On average, yes, guys can wear down a house worse than girls. But my experience didn't follow the norm and it changed my outlook on prospective tenants.

I don't think you're dumb, Koon. I think most of us are just trying to give insight into what you're getting yourself into (owning a rental, but claiming to not know how to fix stuff....).

 

[woolybug25]

I don't think a contractor is a bad thing for bigger jobs if he doesn't have the skills to do it. Drywall, painting, flooring, easy access plumbing, door/window replacement, and finish work should all be done by him. We also don't know the what he paid for the house or the value in the area. I paid 9k for my first house, and 11k for the one I just sold. I see a deck 24" off the ground being a safety issue to others if not done properly. I don't see that as a 'teach yourself to be handy' moment.

I wasn't saying that he should just "wing it". He needs to find somebody to help him learn it. If his goal is to make any money on this house, then he will have to learn it eventually. Bottom line, you cant make money on a rental if you don't do the work. If you are incapable or don't know anyone to teach you, then you shouldn't have a rental. Unless you like constant headaches and losing money.

You've mastered the skill of arguing with me when I agree with you. Your combination of cognitive dissonance and persistence is truly a sight to behold. My point is that, like you, it doesn't appear that Koon has the skills necessary to take this project on. Given the choice of paying-more-than-DIY-and-having-it-done-right or jacking-up-your-house-and-paying-even-more-than-if-you-just-hired-a-guy-in-the-first-place, he should pick the former.

There aren't just two choices. He can get a friend with experience to help him. How in the hell do people like you ever learn anything? Do you just simply hire people whenever there is a task you don't know how to do? I presume that you do just that. But that method would make Koon's little venture a bad idea. If the answer is that he hire any work that he doesn't know how to do, which is a lot, then he should sell the rental. It will be a terrible experience for him and I have seen it happen to a lot of people.

Do you get paid to be a douchenozzle, or does it just come naturally? I, like Koon, have very little skill or experience with DIY projects. My expertise extends no further than building a pinewood derby car or a nice-looking cornhole board. I am, however, well-versed in the world of personal finance and investing.

First of all, anybody that says "douchenozzle" probably wears superhero tshirts as an adult and only breathes out of his mouth.

If you are "well versed in personal finance and investing" then you must know something about managing rental profitability right? How many do you own? Oh yeah... you don't know what you're talking about... again....

Why are you... somebody that doesn't know dik about rentals, fixing stuff or how to roll up your sleeves... trying to give advice on something like this?

 

[koonja]

I had female roommates one year in college. On average, yes, guys can wear down a house worse than girls. But my experience didn't follow the norm and it changed my outlook on prospective tenants.

I don't think your dumb, Koon. I think most of us are just trying to give insight into what you're getting yourself into (owning a rental, but claiming to not know how to fix stuff....).

I don't know much about home improvement, but this one's pretty set as is besides the deck/windows. It was built in 1908, but has been remodeled, new roof, furnace, electrical all from 2012-2013. Remodeled hardwood floors and kitchen, so altough old, they did a good job of modernizing it and doing a lot of the work recently. I'll learn the things as I can, and if I decide to go with a friend building the deck, I'll be there for every minute of it. But a deck is such a random thing that you replace/repair only every 10 years or so, so if I have to go pro and don't get anything out of it, oh well I guess. Windows I think should be done professionally. I actually didn't have any friends comfortable with doing windows. But I'll definitely learn/fix things as they come and as I can, but I don't have the background so will have to do the research.

I bought a 15 month home warranty for ~$400. It covers quite a bit, any appliances, furnace, electric, plumbing, roof, etc... So if something went wrong, I pay $45 to have someone come out, then I pay essentially a 20% co pay to have whatever needs fixing, fixed. I'm going to have to put more money into this in these types of ways because I don't have the background, but even with having to hire/warranty some things, it made sense financially.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

Projects for mi casa:

Finish the garage - flooring, cabinetry, walls, lighting. Shooting for something like this (wife and kids not included):

Finish the basement - This will be contracted as it will require time and energy that I do not possess. Going from cement floors and walls to a totally liveable space complete with theater room, bar/game area, bathroom, and exercise area.

Revamp the landscaping - Previous owners went overboard with their plans and completely failed to maintain what they installed. It's a disaster.

 

[Irish Insanity]

Wooly, I'm all for the do it yourself, make more money, save where you can part. But you can make money if you pay a professional to do everything, as long as the numbers work amnd you know what your doing in the business end

 

[woolybug25]

I don't know much about home improvement, but this one's pretty set as is besides the deck/windows. It was built in 1908, but has been remodeled, new roof, furnace, electrical all from 2012-2013. Remodeled hardwood floors and kitchen, so altough old, they did a good job of modernizing it and doing a lot of the work recently. I'll learn the things as I can, and if I decide to go with a friend building the deck, I'll be there for every minute of it. But a deck is such a random thing that you replace/repair only every 10 years or so, so if I have to go pro and don't get anything out of it, oh well I guess. Windows I think should be done professionally. I actually didn't have any friends comfortable with doing windows. But I'll definitely learn/fix things as they come and as I can, but I don't have the background so will have to do the research.

I bought a 15 month home warranty for ~$400. It covers quite a bit, any appliances, furnace, electric, plumbing, roof, etc... So if something went wrong, I pay $45 to have someone come out, then I pay essentially a 20% co pay to have whatever needs fixing, fixed. I'm going to have to put more money into this in these types of ways because I don't have the background, but even with having to hire/warranty some things, it made sense financially.

Check back in this thread in 12 months. I would be interested in what your ROI is at that point. Not trying to be a dick, but have you done modeling on your ROI? Factored in repairs, vacancy (you still have to do this, regardless if you have a current renter) and maintenance?

You bought a 100+ year old house, with very little home improvement experience, no real estate investment experience and are putting a bunch of girls in it. If that doesn't sound absurd when you read it... then you are in for some surprises.

 

[no.1IrishFan]

Projects for mi casa:

Finish the garage - flooring, cabinetry, walls, lighting. Shooting for something like this (wife and kids not included):

Finish the basement - This will be contracted as it will require time and energy that I do not possess. Going from cement floors and walls to a totally liveable space complete with theater room, bar/game area, bathroom, and exercise area.

Revamp the landscaping - Previous owners went overboard with their plans and completely failed to maintain what they installed. It's a disaster.

Did the floor epoxy on my old house in Florida and it completely changed the look of the garage. I highly recommend using the flake on it, really makes it "pop". Took about a day and a half from floor prep to finish.

 

[woolybug25]

Wooly, I'm all for the do it yourself, make more money, save where you can part. But you can make money if you pay a professional to do everything, as long as the numbers work amnd you know what your doing in the business end

In rentals, I have never found this to be the case. Unless the houses are paid in full and you get premier rental income income. I doubt that is the case for Koon and it isn't the case in most scenarios.

We can disagree on this point, but I am just going on my personal experience and the 100+ combined years of rental property management my immediate family has.

 

[koonja]

Check back in this thread in 12 months. I would be interested in what your ROI is at that point. Not trying to be a dick, but have you done modeling on your ROI? Factored in repairs, vacancy (you still have to do this, regardless if you have a current renter) and maintenance?

You bought a 100+ year old house, with very little home improvement experience, no real estate investment experience and are putting a bunch of girls in it. If that doesn't sound absurd when you read it... then you are in for some surprises.

I'm not trying to get rich off of this one property, so my situation is a little different considering I'm also living there for a couple of years. Basically, the short term investment to me is the fact that I'll be paying about $300 total per month to live there myself, as opposed to about $900 I would otherwise pay to rent in a house right across the street (no ROI in renting). Also, the tax credits are nice, and I added at least a couple of thousand to my return.

Vacancy will never be a problem. I am not trying to compete with the rental management companies that are the pros. I say vacancy won't be a problem, because I advertised/rented it out at a rate that can't be beat for the location. I posted it for a day and had a lot of people interested, including groups asking to out-bid other groups. I could have gotten more than I was asking, but I really liked the group I found and turned down other groups that asked to pay more than I was asking. I exxentially chose to collect $1900 per month in rent for the 3 rooms rather than trying to get ~$2,100 and having to market it any worry about vacancies.

 

[IrishLion]

Depends on what he means when he says this is an "older home." There's no guarantee that the frames are square or structurally sound.

So you square them.

I've been in my house for about two years now. It is a bit older than the property Koon is investing in, and so there was PLENTY of work to be done before we moved in.

I had zero experience with this stuff, and I grew up with a stepdad that was more into hard manual labor in the yard than being a handyman, so I didn't know sh!t about fixing up my house... but luckily my fiance's father is a do-it-yourself ace, and so he helped me out.

We haven't messed with the windows yet, as they are still in decent shape, and the house has no trouble holding heat/cool air. It's on the docket though, and will be a huge pain in the ass whenever the time comes if our front door was any indication.

All of the glass in the house was custom made to fit imperfect framing, and the front door panes were beginning to rattle pretty bad and let air in, so we had to replace it (or else pay a specialist an ass-load of money to fit custom glass). It was more cost-effective and efficient to buy a new door/frame, but my god what a hassle. The old wood framing that was set into the bricks of the house was so uneven and patchwork that we ended up having to take the frame AND bricks out from all three sides. Parts of the frame were anchored two inches into brick, other random pieces of wood were anchored 8 inches. What should have been a one-day job turned into a three-day job because of the age of the house and the imperfect nature of the original frame.

I had a tarp up over my open doorway for the first night lol. Luckily we got the frame in the second day, and just had to finish some custom trim after that.

TL;DR: Old houses are a pain in the ass when it comes to replacing doors/windows, and sometimes "squaring" isn't as easy as it sounds lol. At least, whoever built my house/put in framing was a jackwagon.

 

[woolybug25]

I'm not trying to get rich off of this one property, so my situation is a little different considering I'm also living there for a couple of years. Basically, the short term investment to me is the fact that I'll be paying about $300 total per month to live there myself, as opposed to about $900 I would otherwise pay to rent in a house right across the street (no ROI in renting). Also, the tax credits are nice, and I added at least a couple of thousand to my return.

Vacancy will never be a problem. I am not trying to compete with the rental management companies that are the pros. I say vacancy won't be a problem, because I advertised/rented it out at a rate that can't be beat for the location. I posted it for a day and had a lot of people interested, including groups asking to out-bid other groups. I could have gotten more than I was asking, but I really liked the group I found and turned down other groups that asked to pay more than I was asking. I exxentially chose to collect $1900 per month in rent for the 3 rooms rather than trying to get ~$2,100 and having to market it any worry about vacancies.

I'm actually saddened by your lack of understanding here. If you think vacancy can be mitigated by a good market or renters, you are in for a surprise.

Here's my final thought for you. Go to Biggerpockets.com and start doing some reading. Find a mentor that can give you in person advice. There are a lot of little things can can make your life a living hell with rentals. It's that way with "just dipping your toe in" as it is if you want to make a living doing it.

 

[NDohio]

I've been in my house for about two years now. It is a bit older than the property Koon is investing in, and so there was PLENTY of work to be done before we moved in.

I had zero experience with this stuff, and I grew up with a stepdad that was more into hard manual labor in the yard than being a handyman, so I didn't know sh!t about fixing up my house... but luckily my fiance's father is a do-it-yourself ace, and so he helped me out.

We haven't messed with the windows yet, as they are still in decent shape, and the house has no trouble holding heat/cool air. It's on the docket though, and will be a huge pain in the ass whenever the time comes if our front door was any indication.

All of the glass in the house was custom made to fit imperfect framing, and the front door panes were beginning to rattle pretty bad and let air in, so we had to replace it (or else pay a specialist an ass-load of money to fit custom glass). It was more cost-effective and efficient to buy a new door/frame, but my god what a hassle. The old wood framing that was set into the bricks of the house was so uneven and patchwork that we ended up having to take the frame AND bricks out from all three sides. Parts of the frame were anchored two inches into brick, other random pieces of wood were anchored 8 inches. What should have been a one-day job turned into a three-day job because of the age of the house and the imperfect nature of the original frame.

I had a tarp up over my open doorway for the first night lol. Luckily we got the frame in the second day, and just had to finish some custom trim after that.

TL;DR: Old houses are a pain in the ass when it comes to replacing doors/windows, and sometimes "squaring" isn't as easy as it sounds lol. At least, whoever built my house/put in framing was a jackwagon.

Is a jackwagon related to a douchenozzle?

 

[koonja]

I'm actually saddened by your lack of understanding here. If you think vacancy can be mitigated by a good market or renters, you are in for a surprise.

Here's my final thought for you. Go to Biggerpockets.com and start doing some reading. Find a mentor that can give you in person advice. There are a lot of little things can can make your life a living hell with rentals. It's that way with "just dipping your toe in" as it is if you want to make a living doing it.

Will do. No offense, but I don't think you are aware of the Uptown Minneapolis market next to Lake Calhoun is, and how easy it was for me to fill it. Literally less than a day and I had the pick of the liter in regards to who I elected to have live there. I spent more time in this thread than I did having 3 different groups to choose from, lol.

 

[wizards8507]

Do you just simply hire people whenever there is a task you don't know how to do?

Yup. I work hard and make good money so I can pay people like you to do the shit that I don't feel like doing.

First of all, anybody that says "douchenozzle" probably wears superhero tshirts as an adult and only breathes out of his mouth.

One out of two ain't bad.

No offense, but I don't think you are aware of the Uptown Minneapolis market next to Lake Calhoun is, and how easy it was for me to fill it.

Sorry, but you're wrong. Wooly is an absolute expert when it comes to Uptown Minneapolis real estate, big cat hunting in third-world countries, cleaning a catfish with nothing but a straight razor, keeping your feet dry on a muddy day, alligator wrestling, home brewing, fire-building, and croissant baking.

 

[IrishLion]

Is a jackwagon related to a douchenozzle?

Jackwagon, to me, is a good-intentioned bro that just messed up. Maybe he was ignorant, maybe he was rushed, maybe he was clueless and did what he could. It's almost an affectionate term. Sometimes I'm a jackwagon. Sometimes my friends are jackwagons. Sometimes my coworker is a jackwagon. It's like, "he's a jackwagon, but he's OUR jackwagon."

Douchenozzle, to me, is just the worst type of person.*


*This is not a commentary on anyone on IE that has been referred to as a douchenozzle by other posters. I probably do not share such a harsh sentiment.

 

[woolybug25]

Will do. No offense, but I don't think you are aware of the Uptown Minneapolis market next to Lake Calhoun is, and how easy it was for me to fill it. Literally less than a day and I had the pick of the liter in regards to who I elected to have live there. I spent more time in this thread than I did having 3 different groups to choose from, lol.

I do understand, but even the very best market in the country will still require factoring vacancy. They talk about it plenty on there, but hit me up if you still can't get good info.

Yup. I work hard and make good money so I can pay people like you to do the shit that I don't feel like doing.

Haha... Ok.... You do realize that I am just as educated as you are and make just as much or more than you, right? I haven't been paid for labor since college. I wouldn't help someone like you with home improvement because you have no desire to learn and no skills to repay the efforts. People like you have to pay for stuff like this because of that.

 

[tussin]

Haha... Ok.... You do realize that I am just as educated as you are and make just as much or more than you, right?

Yup. I work hard and make good money so I can pay people like you to do the shit that I don't feel like doing.

Now you guys both need to post your tax returns.

 

[Ndaccountant]

 

[Wild Bill]

Now you guys both need to post your tax returns.

Post your 1040 thread?

 

[wizards8507]

Haha... Ok.... You do realize that I am just as educated as you are and make just as much or more than you, right? I haven't been paid for labor since college. I wouldn't help someone like you with home improvement because you have no desire to learn and no skills to repay the efforts. People like you have to pay for stuff like this because of that.

So sensitive. I wasn't professing financial superiority. People like me (i.e. those with no "handy" skills nor any desire to learn) pay people like you (who enjoy such work) so that we don't have to. I'm fully aware that it's not the optimal financial decision, but neither is ordering scallops at a nice restaurant, and I'm known to do that from time to time too.

 

[koonja]

I'm not saying hiring a contractor is the better decsion, but you also have to factor in the time it takes to research and learn how to, say, build a deck. If it takes me a weekend plus 8 hours worth of research/buying supplies (not to mention the risk of doing it myself), it might not make as much financial sense as you think. But that depends on how much you like it/value your weekend time/enjoy building a deck.

 

[Irish Insanity]

In rentals, I have never found this to be the case. Unless the houses are paid in full and you get premier rental income income. I doubt that is the case for Koon and it isn't the case in most scenarios.

We can disagree on this point, but I am just going on my personal experience and the 100+ combined years of rental property management my immediate family has.

I don't disagree with your approach at all. I personally think it's best. I've flipped a few houses and rehabbed a few others. I have family members who have gained substantial wealth from using contractors to do work, and that was long before the market crashed and houses could be found for cheap. My fiance has been in property management for 15+ years. I have immediate family members who own rentals too. If Koon isn't handy, has no desire to learn these things, doesn't plan on expanding further into the rental market, then I think contracting is good. Mainly for the reason of not having to do it over or pay someone when he fucks it up. Or even worse, someone gets hurt because of his lack of ability and knowledge.

 

[Rack Em]

Post your 1040 thread?

I thought we had a dick measuring thread already?

 

[woolybug25]

So sensitive. I wasn't professing financial superiority

You weren't?

Yup. I work hard and make good money so I can pay people like you to do the shit that I don't feel like doing.

What is that supposed to mean then? Not only is factually incorrect, it's also disrespectful to the hard working people here that do have blue collar jobs. The insinuation that you somehow work harder than them is no better of an accusation. I'll tell you one thing for sure, I would rather be a hard working blue collar man than a blowhard that pushes paper for Disney. At least the former won't freak out when he has some bees in his attic and can feel good about having tangible skills.

People like me (i.e. those with no "handy" skills nor any desire to learn) pay people like you (who enjoy such work) so that we don't have to. I'm fully aware that it's not the optimal financial decision, but neither is ordering scallops at a nice restaurant, and I'm known to do that from time to time too.

That's all fine and dandy, but you don't go to a restaurant with the intent of reaping financial reward. It's a terrible analogy.

 

[ACamp1900]

 

[Irish Insanity]

I know dick measuring involves some sort of measuring device, but I don't see that as home improvement. Can we get that moved to another thread.

 

[koonja]

I'll have an IE welcoming party and Wooly can show off his deck building skills then.

 

[IrishLion]

Make sure you trim your bush so your deck looks bigger.

 

[RDU Irish]

Not to step into the middle of a pissing contest but:

My airflow to the master bedroom sucks rocks. I am looking for ways to re-do the attic ductwork to improve on this. Two trunks off the A/C upstairs and the two master vents are the end of the line for both and by far the longest. Some of them are somewhat compressed so I am sure that adds to the issue. We intend to finish out the attic in the future so re-working the maze of ducts is in the cards down the road anyway.

1) Anyone work with HVAC ducts in the past and attest to difficulty to DIY this? Seems straight forward enough to me but have never done it.

2) Any thoughts on alternative methods to insulated round ducts laying all over. Thinking of running in floor joists or framing and insulating square vents.

I am thinking I can over engineer it and DIY for much more efficient solution. Tinkering with different vents to see what works and taking longer will allow me to see what works best.

As for pissing contest - no one cares as much about my house as me so I tend to not trust contractors to do any more than they have to or can get a way with. I like to know how stuff is supposed to work so an ounce of prevention can save a pound of cure. Then there is the cost benefit of buying substantially higher quality materials and still costing less than someone else doing it for me.

Downside - fifty incomplete projects around the house and any given time.