Home Tour

Have a second an hour?  Come on a (very lengthy) tour with me of our latest undertaking.

'Before' photos of our duplex in it's original state beginning with the exterior:

Front view of the house.  Entrance is on the side.  So I suppose this is really the side view of our half…hmm.
The stairs that you see here are the entrance to the duplex next to us and happens to be for sale as well.  Who wants to be our neighbor?!

Front view?  Side view?  Either way, a less than welcoming main entrance.  

Horrific 70's style shrub blocking some beautiful natural light into the dining room.

Alternate view

Close up of vine coverage.  Vines = brick's worst nightmare.  Thus, they will all be removed.

Let's go on in, shall we?

Looking into the front "master" bedroom from the front door.  Really there is no such thing in these older homes.  All bedrooms are virtually the same size.  Read: small.

As you can see, we have started marking items for demolition (beginning Wednesday).

Standing opposite - looking at the front door and the front window

Standing halfway between the dining room and living room looking towards the fireplace.  Our house is directly across the street from those windows.

Closer view of the fireplace.  The top slab of concrete will be among the casualties and will be replaced with a wood mantel.  Brick will likely be painted white.

Standing at fireplace, looking into dining room.  Kitchen is beyond the door.

The wood floors may be among our bigger projects.  Some of planks are rotting for reasons unbeknownst to the inspector (or us for that matter).  Termites and water damage have been ruled out, thankfully.

Looking into the front bedroom from doorway

Still in the front bedroom, looking out to the street

Standing at the window, looking into the "Jack and Jill" bathroom.

Directly inside the doorway of the bathroom

Now, standing opposite

Existing vanity 

Standing at tub, looking at vanity and mirror

Side view

Existing linen closet and pipe enclosure

Bathroom lighting

Standing in second upstairs bedroom (exactly the same as the first) looking into the bathroom from the other side

Now, standing opposite

Ceiling fan fixtures throughout the house.  Most are missing lights such as this one.

Directly outside of second bedroom.  In the dining room, looking into the living room

At the kitchen doorway, looking in.  Door leads to basement stairs.

Standing opposite near the doorway.

We are dealing with some very strange electrical concepts thought the house

Existing pantry

Third upstairs room, standing inside the door.  Technically, it's not a "bedroom" because there is no closet.  We will change this :)

Standing opposite.  Window looks onto street.

A view of just how grimy things are.  Yuck.

Stairs leading to back door and basement

And if you thought our hands were full already, let me show you the basement:

Stairs leading to basement

Looking up from the bottom of the stairs

Side view of stairs.  As you can see, we are already envisioning a new layout.

Looking into the basement room - again no closet, so not considered a bedroom.

Inside said room.
Um, yikes.
It's not water damage, however, just old plaster.

Looking out into the basement from the room.  Sorry for the blurred picture.
Notice how low the ceilings are and the exposed pipes.  Not for long!

Standing along back wall, looking in to the laundry / storage area

Another view of the stairs / under stairwell

Inside laundry and storage area

Another view

Shower anyone?  A view of the second bathroom

Standing opposite

Lastly, a few shots of outside.

Standing outside the back door, facing the two car garage.

Another portion of the yard, just past the rotting deck ;)  We have some plans to disguise the overhead power lines.  

A glorious view of the back of the house - Peeling paint and exposed power lines galore.
 Depending on budget, we will aim to bury these underground.  This is pretty typical of older homes, however and one of the main differences you will find in the burbs.  Where did all the power lines go?! 

Side view of the garage entrance.

Not so bad, right?  Fooled you.
A view of the neighbors yard just over the fence to give you an idea of potential.

There are plenty of miscellaneous fixtures that will be removed

Inside view of the vines, which with their removal will be instant light.

Hard to believe this is a desirable neighborhood after scrolling through these gems, yes?  Heck, even I think we are crazy.  

Let's just hope it's the good kind of crazy that comes with a big payoff at the end!

Updates to come...