Topic: Gone done dug me a new money pit and not the fun two wheeled kind :(

[edwardmorris]

Hello folks, sorry to bother you yet again with a non-SOHC topic. I guess the 750 reviewers were right, the bike just runs and works so well its just boring . As some of you may know I have a second 750 patiently awaiting final assembly but some major obstacles in the way had been garage space, passing of my dear friend who helped wrestle the engine into the first bike, and life just getting in the way in general. Well, I was hoping to address some of that so I ended up buying me a fixer upper home. The key selling point being the gigantic garage it came with, that pretty much takes away all lack of space excuses. Its a fixer upper so needless to say this is a project on its own first, but hopefully once out of the way it will aid with future 750 projects (yes, I know I haven't finished the second one yet but my brain has been flooded with ideas for at least two more I would like to do).

I have come to rely on the collective wisdom of this great community for advice on virtually everything I was challenged with, so I'm hoping you will all lend me a ear and let me rant/vent/share as I slowly get started with this new endeavor. Besides the imminent need for garage space, we have also outgrown the starter home that we've been living in all this time, so I am planning to get some additions and remodeling done to the fixer upper before we move. The goal is to try and do whatever I can as best as I can based on the local laws and permits situation out here in NW Indiana, as having some contractor do it all is sure to bankrupt me. There will be some things where I will not have a choice, but whatever I am able to do, I will try to do and sorta use this thread to document the journey and seek advice. Updates will be slow early on but I'm sure I'll find stuff to rant on about haha. Thank you, for being such a great presence in my life, and thank you Glenn for keeping the forums up (Note to self and Reminder: Donate).

[rocket johnny]

the size of your shop is in direct proportion to the amount of stuff you pack in it and how many new friends you will have who want to store their crap in it .   don't ask me how i know this   

[edwardmorris]

the size of your shop is in direct proportion to the amount of stuff you pack in it and how many new friends you will have who want to store their crap in it .   don't ask me how i know this   

Don't I know it. Coming from the apartment life of parking in the street, the starter home with a garage felt like I had all the space in the world I'd ever need. Before I knew it, my in-laws' (who live across the street btw) 22' step ladder, a colleague's dresser from 1912 brought from her great great grandmother from Europe, a workbench and ton of yard work stuff have somehow managed to make their home in there. New place will be all MINE I tell ya, lived and learned haha

[jgger]

The worst thing you can have is a garage attached to the house with a door into the house!  A friend of mine had either a 3 day or maybe a 1 week rule. If his wife brought something into the garage at the end of the " grace" period it went in her car.

[Kelly E]

The 2 car attached garage belongs to the wife. She can still barely fit her car in one side. The 30' X 48' detached shop is mine. The only thing belonging to my wife in the shop are garden tools.
No relatives are allowed to store stuff here.

[edwardmorris]

The worst thing you can have is a garage attached to the house with a door into the house!  A friend of mine had either a 3 day or maybe a 1 week rule. If his wife brought something into the garage at the end of the " grace" period it went in her car.

Thankfully the 3-car monster is separated from the house by 30' of backyard. Grocery hauling will be some work now

[Don R]

 I missed out on a house with a Carter lumber company building in the back, it was huge 1/3 was gravel floor for cold storage and 2/3 was concrete with an office bathroom, second floor, finished walls and ceiling. My kids would have had to change schools and at the time it was the top of my budget. We didn't do it.
 Today it would be perfect. The house was nice too. L0L!

[edwardmorris]

... The house was nice too. L0L!

LOL! That's what I said when the agent first showed us the place!

[edwardmorris]

Here's a not so great quick shot of the garage. Concrete has definitely taken quite a beating and I'll need to figure out what I need to do here. The garage seems a little bit too low for me compared to my current one (granted it was built in 80s as opposed to this one from much earlier), but the vehicles should clear it as long as the floor isn't raised too much

[edwardmorris]

Well, I'm in contractor estimate jail right now, so trying to find time when I can to try and start fixing up small things here and there. This vintage laundry sink has definitely seen better days but it looks like the drains have rusted heavily, base looks a bit iffy too. On the left side it looks like laundry was drained into it and water collected before draining. This makes sense since there is no laundry drain nearby and the old 1 or 11/2" drains are too narrow for newer machines. What are my options here besides demolishing and taking it out in buckets? I would like to save this sucker if I can.

Will a concrete sealer work on it? It does not appear to be soapstone or anything.
Can I possibly drain a 2" hole in it and add a laundry drain pipe and tie it to the drain below? I want this setup so that if the drain ever backs up, it will spill into the tub instead of the floor.
If the base looks iffy, will some cinder block underneath it be adequate support? I am not sure I will be able to get the metal base out to treat/paint etc. will have to do it in place.

[Don R]

 That horizontal sump pump check valve will get gunked up and not work eventually.
  That steel pipe appears to be 1 1/2" and close to the main stack. You could use a rubber coupler and put a pvc wye on it to pick up the sink trap and extend behind the sink to a trap for the washer, make the standpipe increase to 2" and as high as you can above the top of the washer.
 Not exactly code here but I've seen it work.

[Terry in Australia]

Well done Rafi, I hope it works out for you. My next door neighbour of around 15 years, Memo, and old Italian guy recently sold his house and moved into a little retirement apartment closer to family and hospitals etc. The house looks OK on the outside, but the previous owners who we got on with well also, extended what was a tiny house, but did it on the cheap, and Memo spent a fortune fixing all of the "bodges" that the previous owners did.

When Memo was still living there, we discussed putting up a new side fence. Memo said he'd ask his son to get some quotes, but never got back to me, so the fence is literally falling down. The problem is, is that there are 3 or 4 massive Conifer trees just on their side of the fence, with branches that protrude into my yard by 20 feet, or so? Massive trees, 40 feet high, that need to be trimmed, ot cut down. I have one behind my house that I wanted to cut down when it was still manageable but my wife wouldn't let me chop it down then, and now 22 years later it's probably too big for me to tackle. 

I think the new owners are slowly moving in. There's an old pool in the backyard, and I'm presuming they don't want it so I overheard the lady talking to a contractor about getting it pulled out. His response is that they'd need to get a crane in to pull it out, but first she'd need to get rid of the trees. I reckon old Memo probably got more for the place than what it was worth, and it's definitely gonna be a money pit, I reckon each of those trees will cost at least $5K to remove, then there's the fencing, landscaping, and a complete renovation of the house, that they probably paid around $500K USD for.

[edwardmorris]

That horizontal sump pump check valve will get gunked up and not work eventually.
  That steel pipe appears to be 1 1/2" and close to the main stack. You could use a rubber coupler and put a pvc wye on it to pick up the sink trap and extend behind the sink to a trap for the washer, make the standpipe increase to 2" and as high as you can above the top of the washer.
 Not exactly code here but I've seen it work.

This is a great idea! I can also add another Y up top to make sure that the washer hose is always above the tub so in case it ever backs up it doesn't fall on the floor. About the tub itself though, is a concrete sealer a good idea or will it chip and clog up stuff?

Either way I had to put this on hold, because after weeks of chasing around subcontractors, we finally have an agreement signed and hoping to have the remodeling work start in Jan. Part of the deal is the workers will use this sink and the toilet in the basement while on site, so I'm going to hold off on fixing this for now.

I have a couple days off, so I am going to start tearing down some other junk like the old timey cabinetry and what could only be "carpet" in the basement.

[edwardmorris]

Well done Rafi, I hope it works out for you. My next door neighbour of around 15 years, Memo, and old Italian guy recently sold his house and moved into a little retirement apartment closer to family and hospitals etc. The house looks OK on the outside, but the previous owners who we got on with well also, extended what was a tiny house, but did it on the cheap, and Memo spent a fortune fixing all of the "bodges" that the previous owners did.

When Memo was still living there, we discussed putting up a new side fence. Memo said he'd ask his son to get some quotes, but never got back to me, so the fence is literally falling down. The problem is, is that there are 3 or 4 massive Conifer trees just on their side of the fence, with branches that protrude into my yard by 20 feet, or so? Massive trees, 40 feet high, that need to be trimmed, ot cut down. I have one behind my house that I wanted to cut down when it was still manageable but my wife wouldn't let me chop it down then, and now 22 years later it's probably too big for me to tackle. 

I think the new owners are slowly moving in. There's an old pool in the backyard, and I'm presuming they don't want it so I overheard the lady talking to a contractor about getting it pulled out. His response is that they'd need to get a crane in to pull it out, but first she'd need to get rid of the trees. I reckon old Memo probably got more for the place than what it was worth, and it's definitely gonna be a money pit, I reckon each of those trees will cost at least $5K to remove, then there's the fencing, landscaping, and a complete renovation of the house, that they probably paid around $500K USD for.

Thanks Terry! Hope you've been keeping well. There are certainly some "bodges" especially in the basement which looks like a hodge-podge of DIY blunders (like outlets only 6" off the ground dangerously close to water seepage stains , dry wall glued to cinder-block foundation which also weeps in heavy rain, disadvantage of living between lakes here), and I am trying to address what I can on my own as labor costs here seem to be sky high at the moment. Thankfully there are no trees anywhere on the property, just one on either side neighbors' yards and they've kept them well trimmed. I'm out of contractor haggling jail, only to fall into permits and inspection jail now. Hoping the relatively mild winter holds up and weather doesn't add more delays.

[edwardmorris]

Well, the first picture should just about sum up where things are with the remodel

I am trying to work out some numbers to build a custom vanity. I narrowed down the layout to give to the counter top guy however I'm not a 100% if I got the dimensions right. There are two vanities, one for each bathroom, all using the same simple Kohler Caxton undermount sink. I had a local welder build me up some nice brackets to hold the "floating" vanities up, and based on where they ended up with the studs, this was the drawing I came up with to make everything fit. My question, what should be the minimum distance from the wall to the start of the sink (where the 4" on center faucet holes will be drilled)? I have it as 6" in my drawing but can this be less than that? I want to add a tip-out tray and that could use some more room on the front, so any thoughts?

[grcamna2]

Nice size space for your bikes