Best resource for understanding the nuts and bolts of a house

Best resource for understanding the nuts and bolts of a house

Orlando, FL · Member since 2011 · 176 posts · 23 votes

I remember when I was younger, I had the chance to look at an exercise guide that showed pictures of all the muscles each exercise hit. It really helped me more concretely understand how the muscular system functioned  at a deeper level. I could understand the meaning of targeting the traps versus the lats instead of just "hitting the back."

When it comes to real estate right now, I lack that x-ray vision.

I understand that if an agent tells me a house needs major plumbing system repairs, it's going to be expensive. Same for electrical or HVAC. Conversely I understand that a room with exposed outlets and chipped paint won't cost that much. 

But anything in the middle, I just don't know how to compute, because I have a poor sense of costs of things like wall or floor repair, how to assess hidden damage etc. Here's a room I would be lost on:

http://news.images.itv.com/image/file/373594/image...

What resources could you guys recommend for someone like me, who doesn't have a sense of how to spot hidden damages, and make a rough assessment of repair costs? Ideally a picture heavy reference would be best, although I'm open to anything.

Thanks

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Investor, Entrepreneur, Educator · Springfield, MO · Member since 2009 · 21k+ posts · 12k+ votes
11y

And here,

http://www.huduser.org/publications/PDF/FAIRHOUSING/fairfull.pdf

See this reply in the discussion

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  • Orlando, FL · Member since 2011 · 176 posts · 23 votes
    11y

    Right after posting this thread I went on Amazon and found a couple promising looking guides:

    http://www.amazon.com/How-Your-House-Works-Underst...

    http://www.amazon.com/Visual-Handbook-Building-Rem...

    http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Photo-Guide-Home-Re...

  • Investor, Entrepreneur, Educator · Springfield, MO · Member since 2009 · 21k+ posts · 12k+ votes
    11y

    And here,

    http://www.huduser.org/publications/PDF/FAIRHOUSING/fairfull.pdf

  • Contractor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2008 · 978 posts · 985 votes
    11y

    Best book in the business, though largely ignored by most.

    http://www.amazon.com/2012-International-Residential-Family-Dwellings/dp/1609830423/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414761203&sr=8-1&keywords=irc+2012

  • Roy N.Pro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Fredericton, New Brunswick · Member since 2013 · 7k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    11y

    I agree with Aaron ... here is a fixed version of his link to the 2012 IRC

    and here is a link to the 2015 IRC

    My main beef with the IRC and most codes derived from it, is they are light on energy efficient standards and design specs.  For those you need to look at something like the Passivhaus Handbook.

  • Contractor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2008 · 978 posts · 985 votes
    11y

    Thanks for the link correction. 

    I agree that the IRC is light on energy efficiency... but code is shocking lenient on some things in some parts of the world (Check out the Ga. minimum requirements for foundations, for example)... but that's the point of code - to give a baseline for what is minimally acceptable.

  • Professional · Tucson, AZ · Member since 2011 · 51 posts · 17 votes
    11y

    HI Gary,

    I like to browse online at various "expert" forum sites...

    http://www.contractortalk.com/

    http://www.nachi.org/forum/

    this following one isn't really experts...

    http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/remodel/

    and of course our own biggerpockets.com forum

    I also google topics that I need help and pick out the results with value. For instance you show a fire damaged room and I googled "rewiring after fire damage" and came up with a few decent pages that gave detailed information of what to expect and look for in a renovation of fire damaged home.

    I've often toyed with the idea of taking a Home Inspection course to gain insight on what to look for before I purchase a fix/flip. 

    good luck Gary!

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