Doubling Home’s Space Through Rain and Shine
We moved into our home in 1983, three months after we were married. We settled upon a three-bedroom, two-bath super fixer-upper in Covina. The price was quite reasonable; however the place needed lots and lots of work just to make it livable.
Even though it was a postwar tract home, it had solid oak floors and a very large lot.
We received permission from the realtors and the owners to begin working on the yards while we were in escrow. In four weeks we had the front yard turning green, the jungle of the rear yard cleaned up and various auto parts removed. I took a two-week vacation to ready the house for moving in.
We had to clean every surface, paint it and fix all the defects uncovered by the pest inspection in two weeks! We were saved by neighbors and friends who spent an entire weekend helping us. After 12 gallons of white paint, two boxes of Spic and Span, eight dumpster loads of trash and junk, and a new kitchen floor, moving day was upon us.
Our home was far from being what you would call a nice place to live but it was livable, and we proceeded on various remodeling jobs after moving in. First was the bathroom, where car parts had been cleaned in the tub and the walls used for a pin-up gallery. The tub was repairable, so we had the porcelain refinished.
For two years we mainly did small spruce-ups, including painting the house. Wanting more space, we debated moving to a larger home or adding on. The only road open for a larger home was to add on.
We contacted architecture students at the local college to incorporate our ideas and wish list into a working plan. We estimated that we saved more than $4,000 by working with the students. The students gained experience and to follow the plans through the permit and review stage with the building department.
The plan called for adding dining and family rooms downstairs, with a nursery and master suite upstairs. Each of the two bedrooms upstairs would have its own bath. Other features of the master suite would be electrically operated roof windows, a sitting area with fireplace and a sliding-glass door leading to a deck.
One major drawback to this whole project was that I had little or no experience in the construction of a house. The square footage to be added was 1,500 square feet, bringing the total for the house to just under 3.000 square feet.
I was a wee bit short in experience but my enthusiasm and my wife’s encouragement and support would make up for that. There would be concrete pouring, form building, insulating, plumbing, electrical and drywalling to be done. I readtwo very informative books on carpentry cover to cover.
The day I received our approved blueprints from the city building department, I shook with nervousness and fright!
After a few hand-wringing days, I settled down and began to put things together. Undaunted, a neighbor and I laid out batter boards and string lines defining the lower addition. We had begun!
After that, I had to dig and dig, and the existing foundation needed to be reinforced to bear the load of the second floor.
By hand I dug under the footing every few feet and poured concrete in the space.
After a month, it was time to insert a load-carrying beam to support the middle of the second floor joists. This beam was a 6-by-12 and was 19 feet long. We accomplished the placement of this beam, by cutting a hole in the roof and a slot out of the kitchen ceiling. Shortly after the installation of the support beams we removed the rest of the roof, the rafters and all the old insulation.
We had had no roof and no rain for four months, so Mother Nature decided that August would be a good time to pop a few major thunderstorms on our area. We had water in the linen closet, the living room and just about everywhere else. Sheets of plastic and tarps helped some, but strong winds whipped them around and caused many leaks. Would this nightmare ever end?
It did end, but not before causing the plaster in the living room to develop major cracks, and not before several tense hours of climbing around on ceiling joists trying to staple tarps down.
After these storms abated, we were able to complete the wall framing for the second floor without major difficulties, save one. That mistake is all my fault as the blueprints called for a 9 1/2-foot ceiling everywhere except the sitting area for the master suite.
That ceiling would be a standard 8 feet. Oops, I had figured on a standard ceiling everywhere and a 7 1/2- foot ceiling in the sitting room. It was not until the building inspector pointed out the error on the day before the roof trusses were to arrive that I realized my mistake.
So, long into the night I worked building up the top plates to the required height. The following morning friends who were to help with the trusses came early, and we completed the job just as the lumber truck pulled up.
After completing the roof, we moved inside to work on the electrical and insulation.
Since we were trying not go too deeply into debt, we put off having the house wrapped and stuccoed until the wiring was complete.
Soon after we scraped up enough money to pay for the stucco we had our house “wrapped.”
After we were enclosed, we tended to the drywall, painting, and laying of carpet. By November, 1987, we had completed the downstairs portion.
Now for the second floor. Work progressed more slowly due to the overall size of the addition. By August, 1988, we had carpeting, some trim, and a functioning bathroom. We decided to move into our new bedroom and decorate the nursery as we were three months away from another addition. No other work was done, due to the arrival of our daughter in November, 1988. By March we decided to completely remodel the kitchen.
Cabinets were ordered and removal of all the old cabinetry and plaster began. I completely rewired the kitchen and added new circuits. I designed a new lighting fixture to complement the cabinet trim and installed all new appliances.
By May, we had a brand-new kitchen. Today, work continues on trim and other final touches. Major projects remaining include the master bath which is delayed due to the cost; the final staircase, again delayed due to money, and the dining room floor, which will be oak planks surrounded by a cherry and walnut border, also delayed due to cost. Little by little things get done. . . .
READERS WELCOME TO SHARE THEIR REMODELING TALES Readers wishing to share their remodeling experiences should send queries or manuscripts to Real Estate Editor, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053.
