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Taking Advantage of the Hurricane Matthew Destruction to Upgrade the Old Manse

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  • Taking Advantage of the Hurricane Matthew Destruction to Upgrade the Old Manse

    So, Hurricane Matthew did this to our home:







    The pine extended the length of the house, over the crown and through onto an addition that was made in 1968. The branches pierced the ceiling.
    "Yeah, but never trust a Ph.D who has an MBA as well. The PhD symbolizes intelligence and discipline. The MBA symbolizes lust for power." -- Katy Lied

  • #2
    So, first we had to get the insurance stuff done. It only cost $2800 to get the trees off the house, which was a total deal. After all was said and done, we got $42,000 from the insurance company (including the still-to-come depreciation). As we discussed our options with contractors, we realized that if we ever going to take advantage of this money to fix up/enclose the carport into a usable space (an office since my wife works from home and she's in the living room since the hurricane), now was the time. Our daughters have shared a bedroom forever, and the oldest is now a young woman and the blonde is still a child, and they are at each other's throats all the time. Then, we spoke with my mom, and my stepfather is in a wheelchair and they can't come visit. She said they'd pay for a ramp if we'd put one on. I grew up in a house with a massive front porch across the front:

    So, we decided to add a front porch down half the front to the front door, and make it Craftsman style. The brunette starts driving in May, so we're also adding a circular driveway.
    "Yeah, but never trust a Ph.D who has an MBA as well. The PhD symbolizes intelligence and discipline. The MBA symbolizes lust for power." -- Katy Lied

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    • #3
      We had the contractors come up with some designs, we got three quotes. The one we liked the most was the middle price. He got it to us first, showed up on time, every time, didn't need any money to start, didn't ask for any draw until the framing was mostly done (and even then only 10%), and had a stellar reputation.

      We had to start with asbestos abatement, which contractors aren't allowed to do. We had to find our own people and do that ourselves. The addition was the only part of the house with popcorn ceilings and therefore the only part with asbestos in the house, thankfully. Servpro came and did a very professional and prompt job. However, it required setting up decontamination showers and draping the entire area of the house in plastic like a Dexter kill room, and taking the ceiling down to the last layer of paper on the gypsum board. SC law also requires an independent air-quality inspector on site the entire time, so this guy with a really cool microscope was set up in our dining room all day, and he indulged my kids and taught them during lulls about what he was doing and looking for. My kids, yeah, sure. My kids.

      What's odd is after it was all cleaned up and passed the quality tests, you could tell that people used to smoke in the house. It took about 2 weeks for the nicotine stench to dissipate. Eventually, that'll get covered up with super-then sheetrock, but for now the ceilings are a mess of ripped paper. Then came demolition of the carport roof and ripping out the azaleas in front/digging the trenches for the footings.

      This pipe here went to a solar-powered water heater that I had no idea was up there, that wasn't disclosed was up there, and was way back in a part of the attic I've never been in and never even bothered to peak into. They started in with the claw and water started spraying everywhere because it was still under pressure, so they had to get a plumber over here in a jiffy to seal it off. The tank was up there too. One of the guys asked if he could have it to make it into a BBQ grill. "Sure, man."





      "Yeah, but never trust a Ph.D who has an MBA as well. The PhD symbolizes intelligence and discipline. The MBA symbolizes lust for power." -- Katy Lied

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      • #4
        Beautiful amidst defeat
        Last edited by wuapinmon; 01-23-2017, 05:17 PM.
        "Yeah, but never trust a Ph.D who has an MBA as well. The PhD symbolizes intelligence and discipline. The MBA symbolizes lust for power." -- Katy Lied

        Comment


        • #5
          The next step was to cut the slab in the carport and knock off the top step so that the footings for the masonry work could be poured. That was a noisy day. I had no idea that they could tie rebar together with pull ties. The trenches were dug with a little ditch witch. The operator who dug them did it in about 35 minutes. It was pretty amazing to watch the precision of someone who knew what they were doing:







          Last edited by wuapinmon; 01-23-2017, 05:16 PM.
          "Yeah, but never trust a Ph.D who has an MBA as well. The PhD symbolizes intelligence and discipline. The MBA symbolizes lust for power." -- Katy Lied

          Comment


          • #6
            Looks like a beautiful spot for a home.
            One of the grandest benefits of the enlightenment was the realization that our moral sense must be based on the welfare of living individuals, not on their immortal souls. Honest and passionate folks can strongly disagree regarding spiritual matters, so it's imperative that we not allow such considerations to infringe on the real happiness of real people.

            Woot

            I believe religion has much inherent good and has born many good fruits.
            SU

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            • #7
              Concrete day, on the way to masonry work. Our mason is 83 years old and says he likes working still because if he sits around he gets sick, but if he stays active he feels better. Since he's his own boss, he can work as fast or as slow as he wants, and he just charges by the job now. He doesn't need the money, he just likes the work and getting out of the house. My contractor says he uses him because he's as fast as the other masons around, never calls in sick, is never hungover on Monday, and works as hard as they do, just slower, but more consistently.





              "Yeah, but never trust a Ph.D who has an MBA as well. The PhD symbolizes intelligence and discipline. The MBA symbolizes lust for power." -- Katy Lied

              Comment


              • #8
                Framing started on MLKJ Day. They worked quickly. One morning to build the flooring, including raising the laundry room floor up to the same height as the rest of the house. One day to frame the walls. Then each day, I come home, and they are fixing the damage to the roof and to the joists, and a little here and a little there, reshingling as they go.









                "Yeah, but never trust a Ph.D who has an MBA as well. The PhD symbolizes intelligence and discipline. The MBA symbolizes lust for power." -- Katy Lied

                Comment


                • #9
                  I'm enjoying this thread. I hope the updates come fast and furious. Good luck with everything wuap.
                  Ain't it like most people, I'm no different. We love to talk on things we don't know about.

                  "The only one of us who is so significant that Jeff owes us something simply because he decided to grace us with his presence is falafel." -- All-American

                  GIVE 'EM HELL, BRIGHAM!

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                  • #10
                    Today they put in new windows, including, if you look at the extreme right, replacing the full-size WTF window in the shower in my daughter's bathroom with a more modest transom window. Hardiplank vinyl siding will cover this portion of the house. The new roof is tied in as a shed roof, angling off the old one. I'll be interested to see how it looks once the tarps come down. So far, it's hard to tell on the outside what it's going to look like. Inside, it looks like the bottom photo. I'll keep posting photos as more happens.





                    "Yeah, but never trust a Ph.D who has an MBA as well. The PhD symbolizes intelligence and discipline. The MBA symbolizes lust for power." -- Katy Lied

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      After all is said and done... the hurricane is going to be a blessing to you and your family for years to come. This is a nice thread - keep us posted.

                      When poet puts pen to paper imagination breathes life, finding hearth and home.
                      -Mid Summer's Night Dream

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                      • #12
                        So maybe you mentioned it above, but what are the plans for parking? A new carport? Just park in front of the office?
                        Ain't it like most people, I'm no different. We love to talk on things we don't know about.

                        "The only one of us who is so significant that Jeff owes us something simply because he decided to grace us with his presence is falafel." -- All-American

                        GIVE 'EM HELL, BRIGHAM!

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by snowcat View Post
                          Looks like a beautiful spot for a home.
                          Gracias

                          Originally posted by falafel View Post
                          So maybe you mentioned it above, but what are the plans for parking? A new carport? Just park in front of the office?
                          A circular driveway. We realized that we never really used the carport, so we're going without one. If we decide we need something, we'll just build a garage in front of the other side of the house. That's the nice thing about having land.

                          Originally posted by clackamascoug View Post
                          After all is said and done... the hurricane is going to be a blessing to you and your family for years to come. This is a nice thread - keep us posted.
                          Hurricanes and I have a love/hate relationship. They cause me lots of heartache, but I learn something from them. What kind of man to be, and what kind of man not to be.
                          "Yeah, but never trust a Ph.D who has an MBA as well. The PhD symbolizes intelligence and discipline. The MBA symbolizes lust for power." -- Katy Lied

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                          • #14
                            Thanks Wuap. Interesting stuff.

                            We rode out a hurricane when we lived in Houston -- did nothing like the damage it did to your house but it was still the craziest thing I have been through in my life and even though we were very prepared I would never do that again. Everybody should get TF out of town well before any hurricane arrives.

                            Kind of worked out well for us too because we got a brand new roof, brand new fence, some other upgrades paid for by insurance that helped us sell at a decent price a year later even at the absolute bottom of the housing crash. Glad things are working out for you and your family after what I'm sure has been a very stressful time.

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by wuapinmon View Post
                              Hurricanes and I have a love/hate relationship. They cause me lots of heartache, but I learn something from them. What kind of man to be, and what kind of man not to be.
                              That's a great metaphor for life. Best of luck going forward.

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