I Bought A Neglected House!

[LumbermanSVO]

wow! that's scary about that one burning up like that. Those are interesting switches that you used instead, might look into them.

The new switches are nice, It's a little weird not having toggles in those locations. They should be able to solve the problem of people leaving the bathroom fan on, just set a time to turn it off after 60 minutes.

That sound deadening material you laid down, where did you get that? Hope when you are done with those rooms you show us (if possible) how much sound it deadens.

I bought it from Amazon, it was the only place I could find free shipping. At 125lbs per roll, free shipping is important! I learned about it when doing high end audio systems in cars. For a high end car you'll do a layer of a constrained layer dampener, like Dynamat, then a layer of closed cell foam to isolate the next layer from the chassis, then a layer of MLV.

Have you thought about wiring the rooms with speakers so that if you had a roommate in his room, he can listen to his music in his room through the speakers?

I'll be adding ceiling speakers to the two bathrooms, kitchen, and living room. I haven't decided on bedrooms yet. The tough part isn't the speakers and power, that's easy. The tough part is catering to Android users. If I ignored Android I'd just get a bunch of older Airport Expresses and use them purely as AirPlay targets, just send the 3.4mm audio out directly to the amp. Simple, cheap, reliable and they could live in the IT Room!

To include Android users I'll have to use something like a board from Arylic and it'll have to go in each room that is a "Zone." Having the source far away from the amp makes getting the signal back to the amp in IT Room difficult. I'll probably have to put a DI box in the room, driving up the cost and complexity.

 

[asleep]

New video!

Enjoyed that.

When you started with that sound deadening material it reminded me of something called Dynamat audio installers used in cars back in the day. Similar or no? [edit: Saw your reply above on next page]

Lutron is the isht, always loved their stuff. But yeah, very expensive.

What are the pot lights you're using there? Look great, great dispersion.

 

[mk313]

Great episode. Crazy on those Shelly smart switches. Glad that one blew up when it did & not sometime when you weren't at home.

Funny that this episode talked about the one year mark. I found this link quite a bit after you launched, but just last week I rewatched the original episode & it was crazy to see how far the house has come in 50 weeks. Congrats on that!

As far as questions for next week's episode go: in week one, you mentioned wiring the house up for ethernet. I haven't seen you do that yet. Are you still planning to do that. If not, what changed your mind?

Also, it might be hard to tell with all that you've done, but I'd be interested to hear what you think the change that you've made so far that has had the biggest bang for the buck (made the largest net increase in value after subtracting the cost of the materials, etc) has been so far.

And then two similar questions, what has been the change that you've enjoyed the most (has had the largest benefit on your life/ satisfaction with the house). And what has been the most satisfying project/change you've undertaken.

As always, enjoyed the video & look forward to the next one.

 

[44267547]

Just a guess, I’m wondering if those Shelly switches had some type of circuit overload, causing the capacitor to short out?

Also, I’d be curious to know do you have like some type of date set in your mind of when you think you’ll have this house fully complete with the overhaul to your liking? Still just pretty amazing that you’re able to do most of this on your own, and I’m guessing you’re in your early/mid thirties with the knowledge you have is worth gold.

 

[LumbermanSVO]

Lutron is the isht, always loved their stuff. But yeah, very expensive.

Yeah, it's great stuff. The cost is why I tried the Shelly first. If they turn out to be as reliable as the Hue(also expensive) stuff I have, it'll be worth it. I just wish they exposed the button pushes through the API so they could also control other things through Home Assistant. Instead they only expose the on/off state and brightness.

What are the pot lights you're using there? Look great, great dispersion.

They are 4" Comercial Electric from Home Depot. I bought the ones with four different color temperature settings, they are about $100 for a box of four.

Great episode. Crazy on those Shelly smart switches. Glad that one blew up when it did & not sometime when you weren't at home.
Funny that this episode talked about the one year mark. I found this link quite a bit after you launched, but just last week I rewatched the original episode & it was crazy to see how far the house has come in 50 weeks. Congrats on that!

Thanks man! On some days it feels like I should be much further along, and others I'm kinda shocked at everything I've done.

As far as questions for next week's episode go: in week one, you mentioned wiring the house up for ethernet. I haven't seen you do that yet. Are you still planning to do that. If not, what changed your mind?

Also, it might be hard to tell with all that you've done, but I'd be interested to hear what you think the change that you've made so far that has had the biggest bang for the buck (made the largest net increase in value after subtracting the cost of the materials, etc) has been so far.

And then two similar questions, what has been the change that you've enjoyed the most (has had the largest benefit on your life/ satisfaction with the house). And what has been the most satisfying project/change you've undertaken.

As always, enjoyed the video & look forward to the next one.

Great questions, I'll answer them!

Just a guess, I’m wondering if those Shelly switches had some type of circuit overload, causing the capacitor to short out?

The lights were the only load on it, and they are WELL under the limit of the switches. I think I just got part of a bad batch.

Also, I’d be curious to know do you have like some type of date set in your mind of when you think you’ll have this house fully complete with the overhaul to your liking? Still just pretty amazing that you’re able to do most of this on your own, and I’m guessing you’re in your early/mid thirties with the knowledge you have is worth gold.

I'll answer the first question in the next video. I turned 40 the day I moved in here.

 

[LumbermanSVO]

One year!

 

[mk313]

One year!

Congratulations! I can’t wait to watch it.

 

[44267547]

Will tune in tonight.

Thanks for all the hard work you put in your videos, and I’d wager everyone here probably all learned some thing at this point.

 

[mk313]

Nice job on the video! I really liked the slide show at the end. Getting to see the exact same shots of before & after really shows how much work went into everything.

Congrats on the new tenant moving in as well!

Funny, after you mentioned the Cat 6 cable, I saw it in one of the Before & after pictures at the end of the video.

One question, where does that door that's in the middle of the wall in your room go to?

 

[44267547]

Couple of points:

What’s interesting about this house, is it’s deceivingly larger than it looks. You’d never guess the amount of bedrooms/bathrooms that place has and the potential to expand. [And of course the detached garage.]

I think the biggest improvement that I’ve seen with your project, is the removal of of the debris/vegetation outside, which totally opened up the house. Also, looking at the 16 mark on the video, it looks like you even replaced some of the antiquated ceiling fans with more modernized versions.

My Dad was a business entrepreneur and was in the home rental industry for years, and had 20+ properties that he renovated most of them with a small team, and the payoff long term was hugely beneficial, not because of the net profit from ‘flipping’ of the houses when he sold them, but the amount of money that he actually saved by executing most of the work himself.

I actually forwarded him your videos.

The only question I have, is can you tax-write off a lot of the purchases like smoke detectors, showerheads, LED bulbs, etc. as any type of business expense?

 

[Apple fanboy]

One year!

Good job. I like the before and after photos at the end. I wish I'd taken more of my place before we started the project. Although you can never capture the smell in a photo! Ours was defiantly a wet dog smell. I don't miss those carpets!

 

[LumbermanSVO]

Will tune in tonight.

Thanks for all the hard work you put in your videos, and I’d wager everyone here probably all learned some thing at this point.

Thanks for the support!

Nice job on the video! I really liked the slide show at the end. Getting to see the exact same shots of before & after really shows how much work went into everything.

Congrats on the new tenant moving in as well!

Funny, after you mentioned the Cat 6 cable, I saw it in one of the Before & after pictures at the end of the video.

One question, where does that door that's in the middle of the wall in your room go to?

The door goes to an attic/crawl space, there is also a way to get behind the walls of the IT Room from in there. I also have a couple POE powered switches in there as well as access to a few cameras and an AP. It is also storing a couple 24" subwoofers until I finally start using them.

Couple of points:

What’s interesting about this house, is it’s deceivingly larger than it looks. You’d never guess the amount of bedrooms/bathrooms that place has and the potential to expand. [And of course the detached garage.]

Yeah, from the street it looks pretty small, but in reality it is 2700 square feet. Even the garage doesn't look as big as it really is.

I think the biggest improvement that I’ve seen with your project, is the removal of of the debris/vegetation outside, which totally opened up the house. Also, looking at the 16 mark on the video, it looks like you even replaced some of the antiquated ceiling fans with more modernized versions.

Yeah, that old ceiling fan was dead, I replaced it last winter.

My Dad was a business entrepreneur and was in the home rental industry for years, and had 20+ properties that he renovated most of them with a small team, and the payoff long term was hugely beneficial, not because of the net profit from ‘flipping’ of the houses when he sold them, but the amount of money that he actually saved by executing most of the work himself.

The amount of money saved by doing the work yourself is insane. At this point I probably have around450 hours into the house, and about $15k in materials and tools. I'd hate to see the bill if I had paid someone to do it for me.

I actually forwarded him your videos.

Thanks!

The only question I have, is can you tax-write off a lot of the purchases like smoke detectors, showerheads, LED bulbs, etc. as any type of business expense?

These days an individual has to itemize a LOT before it it becomes worth it over the standard deduction.

Good job. I like the before and after photos at the end. I wish I'd taken more of my place before we started the project. Although you can never capture the smell in a photo! Ours was defiantly a wet dog smell. I don't miss those carpets!

There is no such things as too many pictures during a project like this! Just today i looked up some photos of the furnace from a year ago because it didn't want to light properly.

The hallways still occasionally smell like old person, especially on the more humid days. I can't wait to tear of the carpet!

 

[asleep]

I think I’d make lumber purchases for near term projects now. They’ll raise prices faster than they drop them in reaction to the futures.

 

[LumbermanSVO]

Did the futures go back up? If so, any idea why, or is it part of the general shortages for everything?

 

[asleep]

Did the futures go back up? If so, any idea why, or is it part of the general shortages for everything?

They're looking that way, the reasons are myriad and complex. Generally, yes. I think if you have some jobs over next couple of months I'd secure some materials to get them done if you can. If you can't, just go with it.

 

[asleep]

One year!

Fun year, enjoyed riding along with you.

Looking forward to more. 👍

 

[44267547]

Did the futures go back up? If so, any idea why, or is it part of the general shortages for everything?

I have a family member who’s building a house down south, and they’re actually searching for different building contractors, because some of the lumber prices are just over-inflated. Personally, I kind of think it depends where you are and specifically how much you need.

My neighbor is a builder, and he’s even mentioned that standard lumber is comparable to synthetic lumber in terms of pricing for deck building.

 

[LumbermanSVO]

This week I fix MY electrical mistakes:

 

[asleep]

This week I fix MY electrical mistakes:

Enjoyed that.

Your meter didn't crack up falling through the floor there?

 

[44267547]

I didn’t realize that you have that much extensive electrical experience. All the electrical sub-tracing, installing and troubleshooting alone is saving you thousands.

I’m still shocked how many people don’t use a laser level, way more efficient and accurate, and you achieve that exact alignment you need.

By the way, I saw you using your flashlight on your iPhone a few times, if you’re ever looking for a good rechargeable flashlight, I’d highly recommend Streamlight (The Strion is probably sufficient for your needs). Pricey for a flashlight, but the best in the industry, and their Li-batteries usually last beyond five years with proper charging management. Super durable and tested pretty much for any environment.

 

[LumbermanSVO]

Enjoyed that.

Your meter didn't crack up falling through the floor there?

No! It survived just fine. That meter is close to 20 years old and has taken a beating without failing once. I don't remember the brand name, but I bought it from a Snap-On truck years ago knowing it was a knock-off Fluke at around half the price, it was worth every penny.

I didn’t realize that you have that much extensive electrical experience. All the electrical sub-tracing, installing and troubleshooting alone is saving you thousands.

I can't imagine how much I would have spent by now if I was paying someone else to do the work!

I’m still shocked how many people don’t use a laser level, way more efficient and accurate, and you achieve that exact alignment you need.

I did a lot of research on laser levels when I was buying that one and ultimately came to the conclusion that they are a disposable item. EVERY model I looked at had complaints of them no longer working after being dropped. So I decided to just look at the features and price while ignoring reliability.

By the way, I saw you using your flashlight on your iPhone a few times, if you’re ever looking for a good rechargeable flashlight, I’d highly recommend Streamlight (The Strion is probably sufficient for your needs). Pricey for a flashlight, but the best in the industry, and their Li-batteries usually last beyond five years with proper charging management. Super durable and tested pretty much for any environment.

I have a nice Petzl headlamp, I just misplace it a lot. Now that I have the big power strip charging things in the kitchen I should put it there to charge. I do tend to put tools in random places then can't find them when I need them. That's why I used a knife to cut in the electrical box in the drywall by the stairs, instead of the drywall hand saw.

 

[mk313]

Interesting video as usual. A couple of questions this week.

1. When you were re-running the electrical cable over the gas pipe, after every time you removed one wire, you went into another room & then came back. What was that for?
2. When you re-run the electrical to the addition so that it's not going through the conduit outside, will you remove the outdoor conduit, or just leave it? What about the gas line that runs out there?
3. You mentioned there are 2 runs of wires going to the addition, but you might only run one to replace it. What is the advantage of having 2 runs to begin with.
4. Obviously the answer is no, or else it wouldn't be wired that way, but when you were putting the wires into the circuit breaker, you stripped the wires all the way to the top of the box and then ran the bare wires down to the circuits. Isn't there a possibility that the wires will touch & won't that short circuit something?

 

[LumbermanSVO]

1. I was going to the breaker box to disconnect the wire.

2. I'll remove the conduit and fill the hole. I haven't decided what to do with the gas line yet.

3. The main advantage of having two lines is capacity. I'm running 12 gauge wire, so the circuits are safe up to 20A, so everything should be fine. However, if I end up having to use a mini split to heat and cool the room, then I'll probably want that extra line.

4. The wire I'm using is romex-like stuff. The neutral and hot wires have their own insulation and the ground is bare, and then they are all wrapped together in another layer of insulation. See this pic: https://iscrapapp.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/romex-wire.jpg

So I am just removing the outer layer so that I can route the individual wires where they need to go. As far as I understand, this is standard practice.

 

[mk313]

Thanks for the explanations. Makes sense.

Good luck on the roof.

 

[LumbermanSVO]

Good luck on the roof.

Thanks! I just spent 5 or so hours up there, my arms are jello.