All Forum Posts by: Christpher Schuebel

Unless I'm missing something what your showing in your pictures isn't a sump pump.  It's a water meter. 

There may also be inspections and deadlines that you would have to meet. I did a rehab loan on my primary residence. It wasn't an FHA 203K loan, most of these have higher fees and standards so my mortgage broker suggested we stay a way from FHA. We had to start the rehab to within 30 days of purchasing and had all work inspected, approved and completed 6 months after purchasing. The only thing we did by ourselves was some of the demo work.

I would suggest you purchase your duplex with a 3.5% down FHA loan and cash flow the rehab focusing on getting one unit completed and ready to rent out. As soon as that is completed and rented out you can live in the other unit while your fixing it up and use the additional cash flow to complete the renovation. This may take a little longer but is much less risky.
   

https://www.menards.com/main/kitchen/kitchen-faucets/american-standard-ellis-trade-one-handle-pull-down-kitchen-faucet/9391321-002/p-1444423981638.htm

I've put this in 2 houses and haven't had any issues. 

https://www.autodesk.com/produ...

Get the LT version. unless you're doing 3D renderings this will work fine 

Youtube usualy has a lot of videos that can help you learn new software but I have a feeling you may be undestimating the amout of time it will take you to learn how to use the program.  For a 125 an hour I have a feeling your are getting more than just drafting services.  Is your drafter doing a code anayliss to make sure the design is code compliant?  Theres also the cost of the software and your drafter is probaly doing a lot of problem solving and stuff you may not see or be thinking about.

I've also never heard of sketch draw but if you are going to take the time to learn how to use software I would stick to something a little more mainstream.  I would assume your current drafter is using an autodesk product, probably Revit or Autocad.  I would reccomed learning one of these programs.  There is alot more learning resorces and support for these.  You should be able to get a subscription for one of these for about $50 a month.  I have been using Revit since 2007 and took a class in college, but it probaly took 2 years before I was proficient using it so be prepared to spend some time learing any software.  

I would try and pull an outlet or a light swithc off and see what the paneling is attacehd to.  Most paneling isn't attached directly to the studs and is glued and/or nailed to drywall or plaster.  You may have to spend some time patching and removing glue from the wall before to texture and paint.  I would not recomed adding drywall unless our are planing on replaceing all the door and window trim as you will need to remove this and add jamb extensions to the doors and windows.

Depending on what your plan is for the house your may be able to paint over it.  You'll just need to use a good primer to make sure the paint sticks.  If it is a flip I would think you would need to remove it, but if your planing on renting it I think painting over it would be fine. 

A house i bought reacently had a lot of paneling.  There was one room that was all paneling and we decided to remove all the paneling.  We thought about adding drywall but as mentioned above it opend up a whole new can of worms at the door and window jambs and heads.  It was a little time consuming to remove the glue and patch but we felt it was easier than adding drywall that would still need to be taped and mudded.  

In other rooms the paneling was just used as a accent wall or wainscotting. thats where we decided to paint since it wasn't the entire room and provided a good accent. 

I think your inspector may be wrong.  Most codes require a  42" high guard rail.  You should be able to get a premanufactued railing or fence from home depot or a simular store that will meet these requirements.  Any of the premanufactured railings will meet the 4" gaps code requirement since this is a pretty common code requierement.  Look for a railing with vertical ballusters so that it is diffucult for someone to climb on and fall in.  I would say a fence or guardrail needs to be installed around the entire stair.  I don't think the inspectors planting or landscaping would accutally meet code since it dosen't acctually prevent a someone from falling into the stair well.  This secton of the code was written to prevent kids from falling and getting hurt.  I have 2 boys and no amount of planting would keep them out of there.  

On another note just becouse a code inspector says you can do someting it dosen't always mean its a good idea.  If you do the planting and someonw falls into the stairwell you would still be responsible.  I would also consider installing a handrail on one side of the stair well. 

You might want to give the Madison Building Department a call. They can can answer all your questions let you know if a permit is required and what work can be self performed and what work will need to be done by a licensed contractor (ie plumbing and electrical).  They are the best resource to answer this type of question. 

Is there any kind of warranty on the mirror.  If it is only a few months old I would check to see if you could get a new one.  I would assume you spent extra money on this mirror so you could attract and keep a quality tennant and would hate to loose out and have to pay to have a vaccancy and find a new tennant.  

The foundation repair is sort of is a band-aid.  The true fix is re-grading the site and getting the water to flow away from the building so that no further damage is done.  The ground around the building should be 8" min below the top of foundation and then slope away from the building at a 1:8 ratio.  The foundaton will most likley need to be repaird for any bank to provide financing as it will most likely show up on the appraisal.  If you are planing on flipping this house it will need to get fixed before you can sell it.  It really wont add any value to the home but will make the house much more sellable.