Home improvement photos

[CapnJack]

I've slowly been rescuing my house from the 70s. The previous owners made NO updates throughout the years. When my ex and I bought the house, it was our intent to flip it in 7 years and profit to buy some acreage. She lost interest (in me and the house) so I'm on a solo cruise with some limited help from family and friends. I took two weeks off of work (this week and last week) to work on another project, the basement bathroom. Here's some photos of before and after on some of the projects I've worked on. I would enjoy comments on colors as I'm not an expert on color combinations and would like some input. Anyway, besides the car, this is my second hobby. Keeps my mind active and out of trouble. Enjoy and post some pics of your projects too!

Edited January 24, 2012 by CapnJack

[katalyst]

nice, looks like it's turning out pretty good

 

i had the same situation, my house is from the 60s, was a complete pile of crap when i picked it up.

 

kinda hard to tell with the colors since i'm just getting a glimpse in each photo but fwiw, my main floor bathroom is about that shade of blue and my kitchen is a similar shade of green.

[FJuan]

Yes indeed, looking damn good for a DIYer. The living room came out great, and I would have used a light sand color on the walls to blend better with the wood flooring, but that's just my taste.

 

Any mods to the outside?

[CapnJack]

Yes indeed, looking damn good for a DIYer. The living room came out great, and I would have used a light sand color on the walls to blend better with the wood flooring, but that's just my taste.

 

Any mods to the outside?

 

Thanks! I had always thought about a different color a little closer to the floor too. The green tends to make the trim really pop, but not the floor.

 

No big mods to the outside. Just some general cleanup and landscaping. Here's a before and current.

[FJuan]

The light green doesn't match anything in the room, plus your furniture and entertainment center is dark. That's why a light sand or beige would look good there. The green on the stairway looks great, since there's no furniture to off set.

 

New landscaping looks good, and will look better once it matures. But, the lower bricks are throwing me off. It's the color that stands out and doesn't blend with anything else on the house.

 

IMO on the bricks - Black to match your trim or white to match the house.

Edited January 25, 2012 by FJuan

[el5y]

Oh man thats looking great Capn! I am also going through a reno of my house, though I didn't really take as many before pictures, there are a ton of in the middle and after pictures.

 

Here's a link to my facebook album of the work:

 

LINKY!

[CapnJack]

NICE work e5yl! Your kitchen turned out incredible! I love the ceiling in the living room. What were they thinking when they did the swirl pattern like that back in the day?

 

Great job!

[el5y]

Thanks man, I have no idea what they were thinking but I certainly wouldn't want to be the one to do it. Hopefully this weekend I'll finish off the guest bathroom and the kitchen cabinets (side panels...ugh) Whats up next for you?

[CapnJack]

After I finish the bathroom downstairs, I need to replace a patio door. Then I may take a break for a while and work on a stage 3 LGT!

 

How about you?

[el5y]

once the guest bathroom and kitchen are done I hope to get the garage organized and get two cars in! The new windows are going in this Friday.

[SCHM1AN]

I'm getting ready to be a homeowner in the next few years and seeing the rescue you did to the house gets me excited for a transformation project of my own

[SpecBGuy]

this could of been a great place for a stripper pole

[LosAngelesLGT]

From a designer by trade what you did is such a titanic breath of fresh air. I scream on the inside when I look at that place BEFORE. I applaud your restraint and very safe/sane use of colors.

 

I find, from fixing other peoples mistakes that either its

 

1. incredibly tacky

2. done poorly

3. way over the top

 

It appears you have avoided all these things and increased the value of your home in the process much more than the material cost. WELL DONE!!! WELL DONE!!!

 

EDIT: I particularly like the tree delete (its the little things)

[jazzymt]

Looks fantastic Capn - nice work. My wife and I also spent vacations, weekends, every spare dollar and many we didn't have to fix up our last house. Built in 1909 - it had some beautiful hardwood floors buried under a **glued** carpet pad & two layers of carpet (god people are lazy!). We stripped all the floors, put in tile, etc. We never did finish ripping out the fake bricks in the living room. Biggest job though was ripping the kitchen down to the studs and starting over w/new window, recessed lighting (they had a drop ceiling before w/fluorescents - ick) - and my personal favorite touch - hand made wood cabinets (I built them myself - not bad for my first try I think).

 

We have 2 or 3 before photos somewhere, but mostly only these after photos we took the day we moved out:

https://picasaweb.google.com/nathan.crum/OurOldHouse#

 

We made a very nice profit on the house, but swore we'd never do it again. Built our next house new - somehow that plan never works though. So far on the new property we've built a custom gate, lit arena, barn, ~1 mile of irrigation and the projects continue...

[Firepuma]

Nice to see some others in the same boat. Here is a link to my fb page with a lot of preconstruction stuff-http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1116435118549.17162.1457100669&type=3

And finished-

http://i356.photobucket.com/albums/oo5/grantshow/46e4e4bd.jpg

[ClimberDHexMods]

Nice work!

[CapnJack]

I'm getting ready to be a homeowner in the next few years and seeing the rescue you did to the house gets me excited for a transformation project of my own

 

It's a great feeling of accomplishment when its done. When you get there if you are still in the area, let me know if I can help. I've come to own lots of tools in the process!

 

this could of been a great place for a stripper pole

 

Still can be! The pole is still there and the new cover can be removed easily.

 

From a designer by trade what you did is such a titanic breath of fresh air. I scream on the inside when I look at that place BEFORE. I applaud your restraint and very safe/sane use of colors.

 

I find, from fixing other peoples mistakes that either its

 

1. incredibly tacky

2. done poorly

3. way over the top

 

It appears you have avoided all these things and increased the value of your home in the process much more than the material cost. WELL DONE!!! WELL DONE!!!

 

EDIT: I particularly like the tree delete (its the little things)

 

WOW! Thanks! Its interesting you see the little things, like the tree. Many don't notice that!

 

Looks fantastic Capn - nice work. My wife and I also spent vacations, weekends, every spare dollar and many we didn't have to fix up our last house. Built in 1909 - it had some beautiful hardwood floors buried under a **glued** carpet pad & two layers of carpet (god people are lazy!). We stripped all the floors, put in tile, etc. We never did finish ripping out the fake bricks in the living room. Biggest job though was ripping the kitchen down to the studs and starting over w/new window, recessed lighting (they had a drop ceiling before w/fluorescents - ick) - and my personal favorite touch - hand made wood cabinets (I built them myself - not bad for my first try I think).

 

That kitchen turned out great! The cabinets look awesome! I love the color of them.

I have to ask... Why do people glue carpet down to hardwood. Who in their right mind does that? The previous owners of my house did something similar. They tore down the wall paper, then painted over top of the old glue. Really? Why not do it right? Good thing is I learned how to skimcoat like a mo-fo.

 

Nice to see some others in the same boat. Here is a link to my fb page with a lot of preconstruction stuff-http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1116435118549.17162.1457100669&type=3

And finished-

http://i356.photobucket.com/albums/oo5/grantshow/46e4e4bd.jpg

 

That was a hell of a project! I'd love to see some more of the finished photos.

[SCHM1AN]

It's a great feeling of accomplishment when its done. When you get there if you are still in the area, let me know if I can help. I've come to own lots of tools in the process!

 

I almost went through the home-buying process this year, but I decided to wait another year or two and get a bigger down payment saved up. Whether it's here or not is still up in the air... the gf wants to move to Texas when she's done with grad school but I would really prefer to stay here.

 

Now that I think about it, maybe I should just buy a house anyway so that my anchor is set

[katalyst]

Looks fantastic Capn - nice work. My wife and I also spent vacations, weekends, every spare dollar and many we didn't have to fix up our last house. Built in 1909 - it had some beautiful hardwood floors buried under a **glued** carpet pad & two layers of carpet (god people are lazy!). We stripped all the floors, put in tile, etc. We never did finish ripping out the fake bricks in the living room. Biggest job though was ripping the kitchen down to the studs and starting over w/new window, recessed lighting (they had a drop ceiling before w/fluorescents - ick) - and my personal favorite touch - hand made wood cabinets (I built them myself - not bad for my first try I think).

 

We have 2 or 3 before photos somewhere, but mostly only these after photos we took the day we moved out:

https://picasaweb.google.com/nathan.crum/OurOldHouse#

 

i just took a look at these, really have to say i was impressed, particularly with the kitchen. were all the renovations DIY?

[Firepuma]

!

 

 

 

That was a hell of a project! I'd love to see some more of the finished photos.

 

I'll get some up at some point- it took about two years to complete on a 203k rehab loan. Outside of hiring framers my father and I tackled the majority of the work-

Oh an here's a design blog the home was featured on:

http://gorgeousshinythings.blogspot.com/search/label/keepin%20it%20real

[Perrin713]

Not my home, but some jobs I've done for some clients. Enjoy

[jazzymt]

i just took a look at these, really have to say i was impressed, particularly with the kitchen. were all the renovations DIY?

 

Thanks - yea the kitchen was a labor of love. The cabinets took me forever to build and finish, but they got done eventually. My wife and I did everything in & outside that house ourselves except for the hardwood floors. We spent days on our hands & knees stripping all the glue off, but the floors needed a lot of work and we eventually relented to the professionals. In the end they did a fantastic job for a fair price (really is an art form) and when it came time to do the kitchen floor - I called them first. Refinishing hardwood if it requires drum sanding - I'd never recommend someone to do DIY - needs a Pro.

 

I am also going through a reno of my house, though I didn't really take as many before pictures, there are a ton of in the middle and after pictures.

 

Just looked at these myself - wow - nice work. Especially like the B/A of the kitchen - reminds me of my old house. The bathrooms & master bath/shower is also very nice - I want to do something very similar on my current home. I wish I could have fixed up the bath on our old house, but there was only one bathroom and we needed it - couldn't afford the downtime.

[el5y]

Thanks Jazzy!

 

Almost finished up with the kitchen tonight. Put on the side panels of the cabinets and should have the custom pantry cabinet attached to the wall tomorrow. Next up the guest bathroom. Conversion from 3 knob controls to one, replacing the green tiled walls with the complete wall surrounds.

[pwdrdayz]

I'll go ahead and revive this one. Wife and I just moved to Denver and bought a new home. Love that we get to pick projects based on wants and not needs to fix the mistakes and different taste of others.

 

Glass tile back splash in the kitchen two weeks ago. 8 electrical boxes made for many annoying small cuts.

[pwdrdayz]

Granite split stone fireplace surround and accent wall.

 

Bose Invisible wall mounted speakers. HDMI for tv running over Cat5 network. All A/V components in a rack in the basement controlled by Logitech Harmony 1100.