All Forum Posts by: Matt Williams

192O one and a half story, the attic was converted to 3 BR with what they called a 4th, no closet though.  though out the upstairs there are knee walls, 4 ft high, pink rolled insulation tucked behind. Ceiling framed lower than the actual roof with blown cellulose. The entire interior of the roof has the original cardboard still in place. What I have since learned is how this set up works to prevent ice damming, and has some sort of ventilation built into the bottom of the roof.                                                        Guess one would be is this the best way to go about insulation this type of house. not really looking for the cheapest option, unless its the best option. With 3 BR up there, this seems to be a big deal, I just want to be able to get it right.   being in Ohio, we get both the hot *** summer, and the cold *** winter, spending a little here seems like a wise investment.  I read both good and bad with the foam insulation, mostly that it is too expensive.

It would be nice if possible to open the space by not having the framed in low ceilings, as well as doing away with the knee walls. 

Thanks in advance.

If the K&T is such a hazard, how is it that people get away with reusing the wiring when they upgrade to new 200a panel ( i dont know what 200a means, just stealing that from above) Wouldn't that be inspected due to the permit?

Just got to the point in the demo of this 1920s 1.5 story house, where I into the walls enough to see that this is a balloon framed house. My knowledge of house framing is based on how we do things today. I had never really needed to know anything other then that, until now.

Before I started the demo, I did some light homework on how things were done back in the 20s, but without knowing which I would find of the framing options, I just hit the bullet points on each, until I knew which one I would find.

The first thing the owner/investor asked was " is that safe" referring to the wall studs going from basement to roof, without much between. Since the only things I have seen so far that weren't holding up are those they have been done in the last decade, I would have to lean way towards the 93 yr old parts being much safer than the 13 yr old crap.

Of course, I had to mention the whole part about it being a fire trap, which seems to be what helped burn Chicago down back in the day, But with modern tech, that shouldn't be as worrisome as back then.

Anyone with anything you think I should know, need to , or what to know about balloon framed houses.  

Does this way of framing avoid having load-bearing walls, or does it make more of them, just different then what we think of today?

Due to removing the orig, wood windows, casing, door jambs, the plan turned into removing all the plaster walls on the 1st floor and insulating and drywalling. Which I already know is going to be fun due to the uneven walls, and true measurements of the studs.

Here to learn, and avoid costing time or money on something someone already had the answers too.

So this is what buyers want to see right as they walk into their new home.  Hoping its prettier on the other side.  FYI, still have the mantel just to be safe

Joe Splitrock

Yea my rant wasn't meant to be directed towards you, or anyone. So if that felt like an attack, that's my bad.  I worked as an independent contractor for over 10 years, finally decided to walk away from that security of having steady work, and income, so I could finally provide the level of service I wanted to, and homeowners deserved.

I am a rare type, most others subs were more than happy with just doing enough to get paid, and move on. With the big company's, they pack the schedule so tight, you don't have time to do things the correct way every time, not even most of the time.

My point is, maybe start looking for contractors with their own name on the truck. They might cost more, and not have the manpower of the bigger outfits, but they will feed their family with your business, so they will care to keep you happy. Or so that's how things should work I feel.   

Good help is hard to find, which is why its so shocking to me when you investor types find one, you still don't want to pay their rates. Here you are talking about all the BS you have to deal with when your working with unskilled people, IE the types you get when the lowest offer is the winner. Save yourself the hassle, and the money, and just pay a skilled tradesman his rate, and he will pay for himself.  

I work in the property management business for 10 years, and I never understood the idea behind maintenance men doing the work that requires some degree of specialized skill. So often apartment complexes would stop calling professionals for HVAC, PLUMPING< FLOORING, ETC and think just because of their maint. crew gets hourly rates, that somehow that was saving money. Overlooking the fact, that most of the time, they did not fix the problem, they just masked it, which ends up costing more money down the line. Your skill professionals, not only warranty their work, they also know what they are looking at, they see problems before they happen, and can save tons of money. 

There might be a few guys out there that can do all things and do them well, but they sure aren't doing it for maint. man money. 

Stop holding on so tight to your profits, that your paying more then they are worth. Find a guy or guys you can trust, treat them fair, and they will blow you Fing mind. OR keep getting the Jack of all trades types to learn what someone a few more bucks have spent years mastering.

Take it from a flooring installer for 20 years. every door jamb in this house is going to need to be sealed.  I've been in hundreds of houses where i couldn't smell anything, then when i have to undercut the door jambs, a game changer. red hot blade hitting urine-soaked wood. MMM I tell ya many have made me hand the job off to my helper.

Jen, 

 Thanks for having my back on the teardown. Not that it is off the table, just now that I have seen the condition of more than just the section in the photo, and how small it really is compared to others I have seen, I might be able to do both, keep it and open up the layout.  

I found other houses where it was done and looks amazing. Granted those houses were in locations with a higher market potential, which allowed for the spending of money on things like the fireplace.

Guess i will just have to open up some walls and see what happens.

Thanks for the advice

brandon, 

  I just got to see the condition of the bricks that are going through the 2nd floor, and Im impressed. Just based on the 1st floor, i assumed it was going to be worse as it went up. Not the case, and actually with some TLC, by someone other then myself, this thing might have another 93 years of use.

It's on the west side of Cbus, which until this I had not ever been..... 

Brad , 

Did you see the photos, there isn't anything appealing about this fireplace.  The time, and effort, let alone cost of making this thing a centerpiece, would not be an efficient use of any of the 3. If i was buying this whole adds value talk, Rather than deal with renewing odd brick,  which no matter how good you do, still does not look as good as a new brick. If someone could prove that unusable fireplaces add value, I'd start learning to lay brink.

I almost beat what is happening is that when buyers are touring properties bet they say things like they love it, its gives it that old fashion feel.

Taking that at face value you miss what i am assuming in buyers trying to convince themselves, that the house is worth buying, even if it does come with a worthless eyesore.  

I wonder if the investment people are putting into restoring the look of these fireplaces, wouldn't be better spent removing them. Whatever the "added value" would be in my case, isn't going to give buyers the same feeling they will have when they tour the house and see the great room concept we were able to do by removing some worthless bricks.