Wednesday, July 20, 2011
House For Sale
For anyone actually reading this blog; my house is for sale and an open house is this weekend from 1 - 4 PM. If you want more information send me an email at christopher.fisher@gmail.com
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Settled In / Sort Of
Since my last update, I have actually moved in and been living here for almost two weeks. There have not been any major changes since my last post have made some progress in a few areas:
1. Refrigerator: In an effort to save money, I'm trying to cook more meals at home which required a fridge. After realizing how much new fridges cost, I found a nice used model for sale that works just fine and has an ice maker to boot. However, in my search for a fridge I realized just how small appliances were back in the 1950's and this unit (which is pretty small) just barely fits in the space. I'm not sure what kind of options I will have going forward for a larger fridge or will I have to redo the kitchen cabinetry. Picture of the fridge below.
2. Electrical: This falls into the category of necessary evil upgrades on 50+ year old home... My electrician was great and made some key updates including grounding multiple outlets, installing new outlets in key areas, and running CAT-5E for ATT Uverse. The big benefit for me is being able to put some of my electrical equipment in the right places in the house. In the living room I will hide all of my AV gear in this built in cabinet and have no visible cables at all. I will have a similar setup in my master bedroom.
Setup Now
Where Everything But TV Will Go
Below are a few pictures of how the house looks right now:
Family Room (Need To Do Flooring / Any Suggestions?)
Master Bedroom (Platform Frame For Bed To Come)
Backyard (Rye Grass Is Growing Like Wildfire)
More updates to come...
1. Refrigerator: In an effort to save money, I'm trying to cook more meals at home which required a fridge. After realizing how much new fridges cost, I found a nice used model for sale that works just fine and has an ice maker to boot. However, in my search for a fridge I realized just how small appliances were back in the 1950's and this unit (which is pretty small) just barely fits in the space. I'm not sure what kind of options I will have going forward for a larger fridge or will I have to redo the kitchen cabinetry. Picture of the fridge below.
 |
| From 100NCD60 |
2. Electrical: This falls into the category of necessary evil upgrades on 50+ year old home... My electrician was great and made some key updates including grounding multiple outlets, installing new outlets in key areas, and running CAT-5E for ATT Uverse. The big benefit for me is being able to put some of my electrical equipment in the right places in the house. In the living room I will hide all of my AV gear in this built in cabinet and have no visible cables at all. I will have a similar setup in my master bedroom.
Setup Now
 |
| From 100NCD60 |
Where Everything But TV Will Go
 |
| From 100NCD60 |
Below are a few pictures of how the house looks right now:
 |
| From 100NCD60 |
Family Room (Need To Do Flooring / Any Suggestions?)
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| From 100NCD60 |
Master Bedroom (Platform Frame For Bed To Come)
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| From 100NCD60 |
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| From 100NCD60 |
Backyard (Rye Grass Is Growing Like Wildfire)
More updates to come...
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Floors and Fences
Two of the big projects I needed to complete prior to moving in were to refinish the hardwood floors (big mess) and fix the old falling down fence (dog). As of Monday, January 4th both projects are done and I'm happy with the results. Below are some pictures of the finished product.
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| From 100NCD60 |
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| From 100NCD60 |
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| From 100NCD60 |
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| From 100NCD60 |
Friday, January 1, 2010
2010 Update
It's a new year and time for the first of what will be many posts in 2010.
Prior to closing on the house I knew there was an issue with the sewer line for the kitchen which was going to require repair. Old cast iron plumbing tends to deteriorate over 50+ years and if not repaired can cause some foundation shifting which would be very bad... Replacing the sewer line requires digging under the foundation and a pretty big trench to lay the new pipe. Due to some unexpected surprise it was a little more expensive and took longer than I had hoped but the company did a great job. Pictures of the work in progress are below:
One of the other projects planned was the flooring which I did not plan to mess with until living there for a few months. However, after talking to several people I was informed that refinishing hardwood floors makes a huge mess and I should do it before moving in. Here are a few pictures of the work in progress:
Removing the cork floors in the family room
Sanded floors in the formal living with a few stain options
Sanded floors in the master bedroom
Finally, a couple of weeks ago my Godfather, Craig, was nice enough to help me get some rye grass started in the backyard and it is coming in nicely. Give it a couple more weeks and I should have nice lush green backyard in the middle of winter.
Prior to closing on the house I knew there was an issue with the sewer line for the kitchen which was going to require repair. Old cast iron plumbing tends to deteriorate over 50+ years and if not repaired can cause some foundation shifting which would be very bad... Replacing the sewer line requires digging under the foundation and a pretty big trench to lay the new pipe. Due to some unexpected surprise it was a little more expensive and took longer than I had hoped but the company did a great job. Pictures of the work in progress are below:
 |
| From 100NCD60 |
 |
| From 100NCD60 |
One of the other projects planned was the flooring which I did not plan to mess with until living there for a few months. However, after talking to several people I was informed that refinishing hardwood floors makes a huge mess and I should do it before moving in. Here are a few pictures of the work in progress:
 |
| From 100NCD60 |
Removing the cork floors in the family room
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| From 100NCD60 |
Sanded floors in the formal living with a few stain options
 |
| From 100NCD60 |
Sanded floors in the master bedroom
Finally, a couple of weeks ago my Godfather, Craig, was nice enough to help me get some rye grass started in the backyard and it is coming in nicely. Give it a couple more weeks and I should have nice lush green backyard in the middle of winter.
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| From 100NCD60 |
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Roof, AT&T, & Floors
It's been a few days since my last update but several big projects have been completed and more are on the way.
First, the last two days a crew from State Contractors LLC was at the house stripping the old roof and putting a brand new roof on with 30 year shingles. I had no idea how many different colors of shingles there are to choose from and ended up going with a color called "Weathered Wood" which I think looks okay. It's a neutral color and should work well if I end up doing a different color on the exterior of the house. I also ended up doing the radiant barrier which is the silver material that replaces the black felt between the plywood decking and new shingles. It's supposed to save about 15% of my energy bill so hopefully it will pay for itself in 4-5 years. The crew from State Contractors did a heck of a job in two days, were professional, left my entire yard spotless, and I would highly recommend their work. Pictures below of the new roof in progress:
Second, I had AT&T out to install their Uverse system which includes internet, television, and phone. It was this vs cable in my neighborhood and AT&T was significantly cheaper so I decided to give them a shot. The tech came out and everything was going fine until we realized where I wanted to install the tv, internet, and phones there was either no outlet nearby or the existing outlet was not working. We did get the system setup, albeit it not in an ideal location and I'm running a long cable to where my tv will be. In the mean time, I'm enjoying AT&T Uverse on this fantastic 13 inch LCD TV.
Finally, a few hours were spent today removing all the old carpet that was covering up original cork and hardwood floors. Prior to buying the house, I had only seen small pieces of the flooring looking under corners of the carpet. I was anxious to see the condition of the flooring and how much it was still in usable condition. For the most part, I was pleasantly surprised and pictures are below:
Family Room: The cork floor in here will be replaced, the tack strips for the carpet ripped decent size holes in the cork in various places. However, the floor is certainly in fine shape and livable for the time being. I like this picture a lot since it shows off the great cove lighting at dusk.
Formal Living Room & Guest Bedroom: I was amazed at how great the hardwood floors looked after nearly 60 years. A little elbow grease on Sunday and a quick wipe down with some Murphy's Oil Soap and these floors should be gleaming.
Master Bedroom: As you can see I removed the twin bed frames that used to be in the master and left the great built in along the brick wall. The hardwood floors in this room will need some work, they've got lots of grime and the wood under the original bed frames was not stained. In addition, I'm not sure what to do with original built in cabinets. That will is the logical place to put a bed and am playing with the idea of building a king size platform frame into the built-in. Any thoughts?
The last big item on the agenda is replacing the fence so Buddy, my dog, does not get out of the backyard and end up who knows where. I have selected a contractor and the fence should be done by Christmas and will move in before the new year. I will end up doing a basic cedar fence and will probably paint it to match the house. Eventually landscaping will probably cover the whole thing up but painting it, should give the fence / house a cohesive feel I was looking for.
Finally, I wanted to share a picture of the original blueprints for the house. For those of you reading this blog and following my progress, hopefully this gives you a decent idea of how the house is laid out and a visual of how things look as someone walks through.
First, the last two days a crew from State Contractors LLC was at the house stripping the old roof and putting a brand new roof on with 30 year shingles. I had no idea how many different colors of shingles there are to choose from and ended up going with a color called "Weathered Wood" which I think looks okay. It's a neutral color and should work well if I end up doing a different color on the exterior of the house. I also ended up doing the radiant barrier which is the silver material that replaces the black felt between the plywood decking and new shingles. It's supposed to save about 15% of my energy bill so hopefully it will pay for itself in 4-5 years. The crew from State Contractors did a heck of a job in two days, were professional, left my entire yard spotless, and I would highly recommend their work. Pictures below of the new roof in progress:
 |
| From 2009-12-19 |
 |
| From 2009-12-19 |
Second, I had AT&T out to install their Uverse system which includes internet, television, and phone. It was this vs cable in my neighborhood and AT&T was significantly cheaper so I decided to give them a shot. The tech came out and everything was going fine until we realized where I wanted to install the tv, internet, and phones there was either no outlet nearby or the existing outlet was not working. We did get the system setup, albeit it not in an ideal location and I'm running a long cable to where my tv will be. In the mean time, I'm enjoying AT&T Uverse on this fantastic 13 inch LCD TV.
 |
| From 2009-12-19 |
Finally, a few hours were spent today removing all the old carpet that was covering up original cork and hardwood floors. Prior to buying the house, I had only seen small pieces of the flooring looking under corners of the carpet. I was anxious to see the condition of the flooring and how much it was still in usable condition. For the most part, I was pleasantly surprised and pictures are below:
 |
| From 2009-12-19 |
Family Room: The cork floor in here will be replaced, the tack strips for the carpet ripped decent size holes in the cork in various places. However, the floor is certainly in fine shape and livable for the time being. I like this picture a lot since it shows off the great cove lighting at dusk.
 |
| From 2009-12-19 |
 |
| From 2009-12-19 |
Formal Living Room & Guest Bedroom: I was amazed at how great the hardwood floors looked after nearly 60 years. A little elbow grease on Sunday and a quick wipe down with some Murphy's Oil Soap and these floors should be gleaming.
 |
| From 2009-12-19 |
Master Bedroom: As you can see I removed the twin bed frames that used to be in the master and left the great built in along the brick wall. The hardwood floors in this room will need some work, they've got lots of grime and the wood under the original bed frames was not stained. In addition, I'm not sure what to do with original built in cabinets. That will is the logical place to put a bed and am playing with the idea of building a king size platform frame into the built-in. Any thoughts?
The last big item on the agenda is replacing the fence so Buddy, my dog, does not get out of the backyard and end up who knows where. I have selected a contractor and the fence should be done by Christmas and will move in before the new year. I will end up doing a basic cedar fence and will probably paint it to match the house. Eventually landscaping will probably cover the whole thing up but painting it, should give the fence / house a cohesive feel I was looking for.
Finally, I wanted to share a picture of the original blueprints for the house. For those of you reading this blog and following my progress, hopefully this gives you a decent idea of how the house is laid out and a visual of how things look as someone walks through.
 |
| From 2009-12-19 |
Monday, December 14, 2009
Fridge, Fence, & Roof
I didn't get over to the house today but did spend a lot of time working on lots of minor issues that have to be addressed before actually moving into the house, hopefully right before or right after Christmas. However, prior to moving in I need to make decisions pretty quickly on three items:
1. Fridge: I posted on my blog yesterday about my three options and got two divergent opinions. Several people really liked the retro fridge from Big Chill and other said don't spend that money on a fridge until you know the long term plans for the kitchen. This morning I was fortunate to recieve an offer of a free fridge from someone was looking to downsize. Free was the right price so I will use this until my plans for the kitchen are finalized.
FYI, I'm bringing some architects / designers to look at the house over the next couple of weeks to help formulate a plan for the house including the kitchen. I still see one of these in my future.
2. Fence: The fence in the backyard of this house has seen much better days and looks like a stiff breeze could knock it down in some places. Since I've got a rather active dog it has to be replaced before I move in. I've gotten bids from a few different fence companies so far and have been shocked at the cost for a basic cedar fence using 1x6 planks. I'd like to give the fence some type of modern look since so much of the house looks directly into the backyard. However, I'm having trouble coming up with cost effective ideas to make a fence look modern... There are some ideas on the website below but I'm terrified to ask a fence contractor, how much would it cost to do something like one of these fences?
http://www.eichlerforsale.com/eichler_fence
The other option is to do a basic cedar fence and cover it up with some nice modern landscaping down the road, which I'm probably leaning towards at this point.
3. Roof - The house has an old roof which will be replaced in the next week or so. I had a conversation with my contractor about doing a radiant barrier between the plywood decking and new shingles that typically will reduce your energy bill by about 15%. Based on anticipated electrical bills in Houston, the break even point should be about 4-5 years. I plan on staying in the house at least that long and probably should do it. However, the thought of spending $2100 on a some silver roofing material versus something else like some landscaping, refinished hardwood floors, interior paint, etc. is not particularly exciting. My mind says pay the money for the radiant barrier but my heart says, spend it on something you will see and appreciate on a daily basis. So what should it be mind or heart?
1. Fridge: I posted on my blog yesterday about my three options and got two divergent opinions. Several people really liked the retro fridge from Big Chill and other said don't spend that money on a fridge until you know the long term plans for the kitchen. This morning I was fortunate to recieve an offer of a free fridge from someone was looking to downsize. Free was the right price so I will use this until my plans for the kitchen are finalized.
FYI, I'm bringing some architects / designers to look at the house over the next couple of weeks to help formulate a plan for the house including the kitchen. I still see one of these in my future.
 |
| From |
2. Fence: The fence in the backyard of this house has seen much better days and looks like a stiff breeze could knock it down in some places. Since I've got a rather active dog it has to be replaced before I move in. I've gotten bids from a few different fence companies so far and have been shocked at the cost for a basic cedar fence using 1x6 planks. I'd like to give the fence some type of modern look since so much of the house looks directly into the backyard. However, I'm having trouble coming up with cost effective ideas to make a fence look modern... There are some ideas on the website below but I'm terrified to ask a fence contractor, how much would it cost to do something like one of these fences?
http://www.eichlerforsale.com/eichler_fence
The other option is to do a basic cedar fence and cover it up with some nice modern landscaping down the road, which I'm probably leaning towards at this point.
3. Roof - The house has an old roof which will be replaced in the next week or so. I had a conversation with my contractor about doing a radiant barrier between the plywood decking and new shingles that typically will reduce your energy bill by about 15%. Based on anticipated electrical bills in Houston, the break even point should be about 4-5 years. I plan on staying in the house at least that long and probably should do it. However, the thought of spending $2100 on a some silver roofing material versus something else like some landscaping, refinished hardwood floors, interior paint, etc. is not particularly exciting. My mind says pay the money for the radiant barrier but my heart says, spend it on something you will see and appreciate on a daily basis. So what should it be mind or heart?
Sunday, December 13, 2009
First Weekend
I spent most of this weekend traveling back and forth between my current place and my new house. As I quickly found out there are a lot of things that need to happen in the next couple of weeks before I officially move in. Many hours were spent on my cell getting utilities setup, soliciting bids for landscaping services, fence repair, alarm monitoring, and the list goes on and on.
I did get a nice surprise from my Godfather, Craig, who came by with some rye seed and a spreader to hopefully get a nice lush green backyard started. The house has lots of glass overlooking the backyard and anything to get the yard looking in great shape is a plus. Below are some pictures of the yard on Saturday. In a week or so it there should be a big difference.
As I've put together my to do list of items that have to be completed before moving in, I realized there is one big purchase to be made. The house currently has no refrigerator and need to buy something before moving in full time. Over time the kitchen will receive some updates which will probably include, refaced cabinets, new pulls, and a different counter top. All of these items are not original to the house and I'm hoping to get pictures shortly of what was in originally in the kitchen.
For reference here is what the kitchen and the remaining appliances look like right now:
With these pictures in mind, I'm not sure what to do about the immediate need for a refrigerator but at this point, I see three main options:
1. Buy a cheap used fridge on craigslist that will get me buy until I make long term plans for the kitchen. I hate to spend any significant amount of money on a short term fix like this.
2. Look for a deal on a stainless steel fridge that would be a long term solution. The stainless steel would match the stove nicely (which is original and will stay) and is not a bad match the oven, microwave, and dishwasher. I'm not sure if this other appliances are original and am checking with the former owner. The downside for the stainless steel, is that it's just like 98% of the other refrigerators you see in new construction. Part of the reason I liked this house is it's different, unique, and has some style to it... Not sure if a brand new stainless steel fridge is the right way to go.
3. The budget buster is to do something like this...
I've had my eye on these for months and love everything about them, great vintage look, cool color options, except the price tag... They do come in 8 different colors so I would not be locked into orange. Other possibilities are white or a cherry red. Doing a fridge like this would give some immediate visual interest, great retro styling, and a talking point in the kitchen. However, do I invest this kind of money in a fridge not knowing what the future plans are for the kitchen?
Any thoughts or comments?
I did get a nice surprise from my Godfather, Craig, who came by with some rye seed and a spreader to hopefully get a nice lush green backyard started. The house has lots of glass overlooking the backyard and anything to get the yard looking in great shape is a plus. Below are some pictures of the yard on Saturday. In a week or so it there should be a big difference.
 |
| From 2009-12-13 |
 |
| From 2009-12-13 |
As I've put together my to do list of items that have to be completed before moving in, I realized there is one big purchase to be made. The house currently has no refrigerator and need to buy something before moving in full time. Over time the kitchen will receive some updates which will probably include, refaced cabinets, new pulls, and a different counter top. All of these items are not original to the house and I'm hoping to get pictures shortly of what was in originally in the kitchen.
For reference here is what the kitchen and the remaining appliances look like right now:
 |
| From 2009-12-13 |
 |
| From 2009-12-13 |
 |
| From 2009-12-13 |
With these pictures in mind, I'm not sure what to do about the immediate need for a refrigerator but at this point, I see three main options:
1. Buy a cheap used fridge on craigslist that will get me buy until I make long term plans for the kitchen. I hate to spend any significant amount of money on a short term fix like this.
2. Look for a deal on a stainless steel fridge that would be a long term solution. The stainless steel would match the stove nicely (which is original and will stay) and is not a bad match the oven, microwave, and dishwasher. I'm not sure if this other appliances are original and am checking with the former owner. The downside for the stainless steel, is that it's just like 98% of the other refrigerators you see in new construction. Part of the reason I liked this house is it's different, unique, and has some style to it... Not sure if a brand new stainless steel fridge is the right way to go.
3. The budget buster is to do something like this...
|
| From Desktop |
I've had my eye on these for months and love everything about them, great vintage look, cool color options, except the price tag... They do come in 8 different colors so I would not be locked into orange. Other possibilities are white or a cherry red. Doing a fridge like this would give some immediate visual interest, great retro styling, and a talking point in the kitchen. However, do I invest this kind of money in a fridge not knowing what the future plans are for the kitchen?
Any thoughts or comments?
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