Jewel in the Rough Polished in 14 Days
In May, 1989, my husband, Michael, and I decided to start looking for a larger home. We felt we had outgrown our three-level townhouse in Sherman Oaks and our daughter, Danielle, 2, asked for a yard to play in.
We were excited about moving but had different ideas of where to live. Michael liked the thought of living in the West Valley. Not only was it near his job but the homes there were newer and we could buy one in move-in condition. I preferred to stay in the neighborhood, but there we could only afford a fixer-upper. We are not do-it-yourselfers--Michael stores all his tools in a shoe box--and the thought of buying a house that required a lot of work overwhelmed us at first.
After viewing literally hundreds of homes up and down the San Fernando Valley over 1 1/2 years, we still hadn’t agreed on one to buy. Michael, tired of searching, gave in to my wish to stay in our area.
It wasn’t until our condo sold and we had signed papers to move into an apartment that we found the fixer that would become our home.
Located in a nice section of Sherman Oaks, on a quiet tree-lined street with other well-kept homes, it had nice curb appeal, even with its outdated 1950s’ landscaping. The kitchen was next to a large family room that led to the back yard. Marble fireplaces in the living room and family room added to the charm.
Spacious rooms with lots of closets was another plus, but what an eyesore. Every room had a different colored carpet that looked old and shabby. The house appeared dark inside with taupe paint, brown paneled and dark papered walls.
Thick, musty drapes with yellowed pull blinds behind and original shutters covered the windows. The floor heaters, window air conditioners, round metal plates in the ceilings in all the rooms and acoustical ceiling in the family room added to the total look.
But Michael and I felt we could tackle this remodel. It was more of a cosmetic fixer--we had no desire to add, enlarge or move around any of the rooms. The bathrooms and kitchen needed updating, but we knew we could live with them until the time (or money) came to improve them.
The house had been on the market six months and the owners, now in another state, had drastically reduced the price.
Since escrow on our condo would close two weeks before the house closed escrow, we decided to stick with our original plan: place most of our belongings in storage and live in a furnished apartment for a month. We would then have two weeks to work before moving in.
We had the house inspected and made a list prioritizing the work. We realized it might not all be completed in the 14 days. The owners let us schedule appointments at the house with the various contractors for estimates. This agreement was written in the escrow instructions.
We hired a general contractor to do most of the work and to oversee other hired contractors. Our apartment was close to the house making it convenient for us to check on progress.
The first project was the acoustical ceiling. Our general contractor told us if he scraped and replastered it, tiny cracks would appear because of the large sized room. He suggested ripping out the ceiling and having it drywalled. This is very expensive.
I called my cousin, Phillip, who buys and renovates homes. He had a friend in the drywall business who, as a favor, did this for under $700, 60% less than the contractor quoted. White crown moldings were added for a finishing touch. He also recommended other contractors he had worked with and listened to my ideas, giving advice based on his experiences with remodeling, which turned out to be helpful.
Through the inspection, we learned the house was well-built on a solid foundation. We also learned the 40-year-old leaky plumbing required replacement.
Next on the list, installation of a central air conditioning/forced air heating system. With the new system, the window air conditioners and floor heaters would be removed as well as the round metal disks in the ceilings. Michael began calling the recommended plumbers and air-conditioning people.
The house had plenty of windows with nice sun exposure. We decided to have all carpets, window treatments and wall paper removed.
All walls, with the exception of the family room, were painted white. The family room was painted a pale pink. We chose a mauve cable carpet in all but the living/dining room because of durability. It can withstand Danielle and her friends, as well as look attractive. But in the living/dining room, beneath a brown shag carpet, lay an oak floor. The floor was stripped, bleached white and lacquered for protection.
The last big expense on our list, and the piece de resistance, replacing the 11-foot aluminum sliding glass door with white sliding French doors. What’s nice and different about these is they have screen doors, so they look beautiful while keeping flies outside.
The amazing part of this story is that everything on our list was completed in 14 days! People told us so many horror stories about remodeling that we expected delays and problems.
The secret to our success was careful planning. Before escrow closed we hired all of the contractors. We discussed with them how long each job would take and organized the work to be done in a logical order. (For instance, the ceiling was taken down before the floors were lacquered.) By the time escrow closed everyone was ready to start working.
During escrow Michael was offered a better job in Beverly Hills. Now he’s grateful we aren’t living in the West Valley because he doesn’t have a long commute. We’re all happy in Sherman Oaks.
Ro z bruch is a free-lance writer living in Sherman Oaks.
