The Wandering Monk and I haven’t accomplished much on the physical part of the newly re-christened Great Foundation and Screen Porch Project this week. Some teardown; the back end of the bedroom has no floor and we’ve uncovered enough crumbling, cracked, rotted, bug-eaten, twisted, misplaced, poorly thought-out beams, joists, and posts to know we had to rethink the project.
And thinking is what we’ve done. Tuesday after realizing how screwed the foundation was we must have spent nearly three hours talking about how to cope. I know we both worried about it overnight. On Wednesday we talked a couple of times, once unproductively, once brilliantly. Today he stopped by only for half an hour. It was our check-in:
“Goin’ with Plan C after thinking on it overnight?”
“Hell yeah! I mean … if you’re good with it.”
“I’m outstandingly happy about that solution myself. Glad you don’t want it any other way.”
“Whew.”
Of course all that brainwork and jaw-boning was crucial. And better work than the actual work-work. Tomorrow again he’ll drop in briefly to plan his roof-supporting strategy and pick up his weekly paycheck. We’ll hold off on further teardown, then hopefully start with a roar on Monday.
Can’t wait.
While the Monk wasn’t here today, I drafted a floorplan of the rear wing of the house plus the future west and north elevations. For anybody who wants to see them, they’re here.
On the floorplan, the two closets are currently a defunct hallway that goes nowhere. Be good to make use out of that wasted space. The current bedroom now covers what will be bedroom + screen porch
The north elevation is the very private side. It faces on a hill that used to rise directly from the foundation on the back of the house. But last year, the bottom of that hill went away. Eventually the screen porch will face out on a shady, intimate gravel-and-block patio. Eventually. Someday. The north side is also the side that gets the least rain. (And yeah, I know the drawing just looks too boringly cottagey. That’s just not the house’s best side.)
The west elevation is the more public side. Anybody coming to the back door (the only door anybody uses) sees that wall, as does a neighbor from a distance and through a screen of vegetation. I’ll hang a bamboo shade from the eve when privacy or shelter from wind is needed. On this side I’m showing the window trim, which I didn’t on the north. And a small window ($2 garage-sale purchase) to be added. Later.
You won’t be surprised to learn that much scrounged stuff will be within. Although the lumber and construction materials are straight from the local lumberyard (thank heaven for them), lessee … The door on the screen porch is one I picked up from a heap at the landfill a couple years ago. The folding doors on the bedroom closet were $4.00 at a charity sale. The door on the closet in the screen porch came from one of the household demolition projects. I didn’t scrounge the glorious beveled glass exterior door that will open from the bedroom to the porch. But I did get it for some light-on-the-budget sum from the glorious surplus door, window, and plumbing place whose location I never reveal lest everybody else go there and buy all the stuff I want.
And the vinyl flooring — which just happens to fit perfectly within the frame of the screen porch? Retails at $36/yard, but I got a 12′ x 6’7″ piece of it for $5 from a flooring guy who’d gone out of business and needed to raise bail money. Not only that; it was exactly the pattern I’d previously chosen at a carpet store. (Several finds from the ne’er-do-well flooring guy will make their way into the house when I get to that stage, mostly years from now.)
So that’s it.
You know, I actually didn’t set out to write about the house plans. I don’t want to become a one-note poster for the next few weeks.
I set out to write about relaxing after doing so much thinking. How good it felt. How necessary it felt.
To write that post, I placed myself in a somewhat altered state (something I seldom do these days). Which caused me to ramble and … not write that post.
Sorry. But this one needed to be written, too, for anyone interested in seeing the plans.
Maybe I’ll try that other post again later.
Looks great all around. My only question is whether the bathroom plan precludes accessing the WH closet from there, instead of outside.
Looks like you have the same taste in “drafting” paper I do. 🙂
Good job, I’m looking forward to seeing pics of the finished product. When you are done I think one of the most used rooms in the house will be the screen room, weather permitting. One thought… later when time and cash are right you may want to consider adding windows to the screen room so it can be used year round. Something to think about in the future, way in the future.
who’d gone out of business and needed to raise bail money.
Ouch.
Floor Plan
Now I’m wondering how it ties in to the rest of the house.
Nice plan. Good that you didn’t have to open the bedroom from the L-R. I like the laundry-sewing room, too. Do I understand there’s a step down to the screened porch?
The idea of a truly private patio area is nirvana to me. Most houses permit access to patios as if they are for “public” use, for parties or entrance into the back or side of the house. This is a beautiful “No Trespassing” area. A privacy wall (hardscape or foliage) can ensure that permanently.
Definitely thanks for the plans and description. I’m still impressed that you found ANY house in that location, at that price. And I might say it’s just a touch inspirational watching what persistence can bring about.
Do I understand there’s a step down to the screened porch?
I hope so. That way when it rains through the screen and the floor gets wet, the wet stays on the porch. A step-down to the laundry room is also advisable.
Don’t forget about insulating that exterior wall-to-be for the “WH,” which I’m assuming is a water heater.
larryarnold — You nailed the reason for that step down to the porch. There will be no step down to the laundry room because the laundry room and bathroom are already fixed parts of the house. Only thing we’re doing on that side of the house is raising and leveling the foundation.
Same is true for the exterior wall next to the water heater, Bear. Already in place and already insulated.
MJR — I like the idea of being able to pop windows — at least single-pane storm windows if nothing else — into the screened areas. Probably a long-time thing, but cool idea.
Pat — Amen on having a private patio. Another reason I like the screen porch is that it offers privacy, too.
larryarnold — I’ll see if I can draw up a whole-house plan. But basically what you saw at that link is a 24×16 addition that attaches to the original 24×14 “chicken coop” (now the living room). When I bought it the place consisted of the “chicken coop” plus six additions. Two of those are (oh thank heaven) gone now. They were nothing but rot and bad judgment. Even without them the house sort of … rambles.
firstdouglas — Thank you. 🙂 Yes, getting a house for $10k anywhere outside of, say, inner-city Detroit is rare. And getting one on a pretty green hillside in a nice neighborhood is even rarer. All I can say is: foreclosed and abandoned with a leaky roof and decades of deferred maintenance. The bank that owned it was desperate enough to drop the price (in four stages) from mid-30ks to $9,999 over four months.
Seriously desperate, they were. By the time I came along, they gave me one week to close. Probably because they wanted to get it off their books by April 30, but sometimes I think they just didn’t want to give me time to take a closer look!
Claire, I was talking about _both_ exterior walls; specifically the porch-side wall with the door. That one is about to become an exterior wall since it opens to a screened porch, not an isulated room.
Yes, you’re quite right, Bear. And that wall that faces the porch isn’t insulated — yet. But it will be.
Oh, and to answer jed’s question … no, the water heater isn’t accessible from the bathroom. There’s a big old cast-iron tub on that wall. But if you’re also concerned about the “WH” being more-or-less outdoors, it will be protected against weather as much as I can make it.
The apartment I lived in before my current home had the water heater, clothes dryer, and electrical panel all in a closet accessible only from the outside porch. It was well insulated and a few steps up from the ground, and offered no problems during the time I was there.
“You won’t be surprised to learn that much scrounged stuff will be within. Although the lumber and construction materials are straight from the local lumberyard…But I did get it for some light-on-the-budget sum from the glorious surplus door, window, and plumbing place whose location I never reveal lest everybody else go there and buy all the stuff I want.”
I hope I’not giving away anything, but…
Restore.
Run by Habitat for Humanity.
There are a number of them in NW Oregon, and they seem to have lots of salvaged and “no, that pattern just won’t work” rejects from construction projects. It requires flexibility (21 7/8″ X 74 1/8″ window, anyone?), but at a typical 10-20% of the cost of new, it’s worth the trip and the time to dig through their constantly changing inventory.
And having the water heater only accessible from the outside is standard on “transportable pre-manufactured housing” I.e, the good ol’ double wide.
Nope, not giving anything away, bud. 🙂
I’ve heard wonderful things about ReStore. I love the name. But I’ve never been in one. Maybe someday. Meanwhile, my best-kept secret remains my best-kept secret, but you’ve probably just given some terrific advice to fellow scroungers and construction-material bargain hunters.
you’ve probably just given some terrific advice to fellow scroungers and construction-material bargain hunters.
And hopefully also to anyone with leftover stuff to donate.
Habitat is a great idea for a hand up. Our church has sponsored construction of several houses, cash and sweat, over the years, and the folks who moved into them are mostly success stories. My sister-in-law the electrician worked on several homes in Guam, and a couple in the Philippines.