Good news and bad news for BadMouth's arcade projects

[BadMouth]

I bought the house I've been renting for the past six years.

The good news is that I no longer have a fear of ending up with a bunch of large machines that I might not have a place for in the future.
The bad news is that it's not currently a house I'm proud to own, so every bit of my free time and money for the next three years will be spent renovating it.
All my belongings will be crammed into the basement while trying to still leave access to the plumbing and electrical running through the floor joists, so I can't even really pick up and stash any future projects.

Maybe one of the remodeling sweepstakes I've entered will pay off and I'll get out of doing the bathroom or kitchen. 
(although I can kind of see myself kicking them out for not doing things up to my standards)

[Generic Eric]

Congrats on your positive news!

Why three years?

[BorgDog]

Congrats on the home ownership. 

I've found that on remodeling you need to double the time estimate and triple the cost estimate and you'll still come up short, so I'm sorry to say you're out for at least 6 years 

[Malenko]

can I buy your racing cab?  Also, congrats! 

[BadMouth]

Why three years?

Money.  I can sink about 10 grand a year into it. 

I was completely debt free before buying the house and would like to stay debt free except for the mortgage so I'm doing everything out of pocket. 
I'd do a home equity loan but I only had 5% down, so I don't have enough equity.  I want to keep at least enough money in my savings account to stay afloat for a few months if I would lose my job or something. 

I have a few grand to get me started.  The first thing on the agenda is to pull all the interior trim in the bedrooms and smooth out the drywall.
I thought all the drywall seams were bulging, but it turns out they are all low and were just never finished properly. 
Hopefully I can have it done in a few months (I'm working long hours so don't have the chance to really knock it out quickly).  I'm taking it one wall/ceiling at a time.

After the drywall is cleaned up, I'll paint, add ceiling lights to the bedrooms, have the hardwood floors refinished, then replace all the trim and interior doors with modern stuff.  Also going to replace all the outlets for good measure.  The bedrooms should look like new construction at that point.  That was the plan anyway.  The hitch in it is that the hardwood floors are continuous throughout the house so should really all be done at once.  That means I'll also have to do the drywall in the living room first.  It wouldn't be that bad except that the ceiling has tiles glued to it.  I haven't pulled any off yet, but I think they're glued directly to the drywall and it will be a PITA to get the ceiling looking nice after ripping them off. 

I hope to get that and the bathroom done this year.  The bathroom needs gutted including ceiling and subfloor.  The whole house will get replumbed when the bathroom is done, but it's a small one bathroom house and everything is easily accessible from the basement, so I don't think it will be that bad.  The bathroom probably should also be done before having the hardwood floors refinished.  I could probably do the floors myself, but it's one of the things I've decided that the cost of a professional getting it done quickly is worth it vs me getting it done slowly.

The kitchen can be sealed off from the rest of the house, so it can wait until another time.
I'm hoping next year, but threw in an extra year just in case. 
If that gets done the second year, I'll probably be working on the exterior in year 3.

[wp34]

Congratulations on buying your house.   

Remodeling is a chore but it can be a lot of fun and rewarding.

Since space is temporarily an issue you need to build a bartop driver so you have something to relieve the stress while you are remodeling.   

[BadMouth]

can I buy your racing cab?  Also, congrats! 

I'll part with one of the twins for what I paid for the seat.  I've decided I'd rather one good killer setup than a set that rarely gets used.

I also have a red cheap felt racing seat that I need to unload.

[Malenko]

thats what I get for being a smart ass!  PM me some deets!

[Generic Eric]

May your saw cut true and your drill drive straight and hard.

We've lived in our house for 7 years now and haven't done any major remodeling; just added tile to upstairs bath, some new windows and a door. 

TBH it feels like we are renters, maybe even visitors.   

[BadMouth]

TBH it feels like we are renters, maybe even visitors.

Living here for 6 years before buying it, I don't feel any different.
It won't feel like mine until I've changed everything to suit myself.

It's not unlivable now.  It's just had very few updates since being built in the 60's.
....and the finish quality wasn't exactly top notch, even for back then.

[nitrogen_widget]

I agree %1000 percent on paying someone to do your floors.
I redid my sister's floors & while they came out great it was a lot of work.
After I clearcoated them I had rent a 4 disc sander to go over them again because they wern't smooth.

I ended up paying someone to do mine because of it.

[Locke141]

Congratulations. 

[Slippyblade]

Congrats man!  The wife and I are hoping to buy our rental within the next year or two.  Same boat as you though, the house as is, needs a lot of work.  But we like the location and the property is pretty inexpensive.  When we purchase I'm looking at a list of "Honey-do's" a mile and a half long. 

PS:  If you don't mind, what is your property size and how much did you pay? 

[BadMouth]

Congrats man!  The wife and I are hoping to by our rental within the next year or two.  Same boat as you though, the house as is, needs a lot of work.  But we like the location and the property is pretty inexpensive.  When we purchase I'm looking at a list of "Honey-do's" a mile and a half long. 

PS:  If you don't mind, what is your property size and how much did you pay?

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