cgallagher

marksmu, where does it say you have to ahve a licensed contractor? As far as I know you can install anything you wnat on your own property as long as it passes inspection.

Wrong!

http://www.publicworks.houstontx.gov/plann...t/permits.htm#1

Plumbing, HVAC, and electrical all have to be licensed contractors. They will pull individual permits for every building permit issued. Centerpoint also does an inspection on the hookup.

I've had some large generators installed. I will tell you that the gas generators must be placed on a concrete pad and the generator itself must be at least 5' from the house. City of Houston requires 5'. There are permits required.

When they get all set up, they work great. Especially with the automatic transfer switch. The generator starts up about 6 seconds after the power goes off.

I would speak to some of the local generator installation companies. They know all the codes and can install everything turnkey.

Interesting. Never heard of it. The only way it saves money is if it can lower the run time of the unit. If it does work, then the market will come to it.

Two stage compressors combined with good insulation is the best way to cut costs on the AC.

Hou Tex Glass. 713-777-0748

4) Budget for lot:

a.

Lot should be under $40,000

SOL

If I were to design a modern/contemporary home (with clean lines, metal/wood beams, expansive glass...), would it matter whether the builder I choose has had experience building modern homes?

If so, any recommendation on local builders that have this experience would be appreciated?

Thanks!!

I would think so. The principals of modern construction are the same. But there are many aspects that would be considered foriegn to some of the McMansion builders.

There is a guy down the street building a nice modern home. Ted Anderson Custom homes is the company. The home is on West Rivercrest - it's really something.

I have had two different inspectors make me raise them in utility rooms inside the house.

12" from combustibles is acceptable, any closer than that and an inspector will want fire protection on the combustibles (ie: sheetrock, metal flashing... )

I thought it was only in the garage that they wanted it off the ground. They are always changing things, so who knows.

If you ever have code questions, you can always call down to the city planning and engineering department and ask to speak to a plumbing inspector. They will answer questions like this.

The cost to run a gas line to the bathrooms will be exceed the $700-800 you will spend adding duct work.

If you are skilled enough to run gas and install the units yourself, then you're easily capable of running duct work to the bathrooms. The installation is exactly how you think it would go. Purchase a small sized roll of duct , a couple of small duct boxes, some mastic and strap. Cut the hole in the ceiling and attach the box to one of the ceiling joists. Splice the other end of the duct into a neighboring plenum or duct. Tape and mastic the connections and install grill covers.

This is with the assumption that there is attic space over the bathrooms. If there is not attic space, $700-800 is probably a good deal.

Banks base loans on what the value to risk factor is. So if you are getting a deal at $200k and the bank sees the property being worth $275k, making your $200k a good dela int heir eyes as well, then the risk for them is minimal, with your 10% down you being a creditworthy person such as you are gallagher.

I would go for it, at YOUR terms, and see what the bank wants to do, and hash it out. I have a good feeling they will say yes to you though using these factors.

Ability to prove 2 years of taxes

Having the 10% down in the bank going back at least 3 months, and that it isn't a recent deposit.

Your ability to prove your creditworthiness, i.e (740) beacon and you are over 25 yrs. old.

OK I guess that is what I was waiting (wanting) to hear. It sounds like different banks will deal differently, but you're saying that my theory is reasonable based on actual value and I should run my proposal through the system.

For some reason, I thought flipper might get me 105% financing with nothing down and no payments for 90 days . But I guess this will do.

Investment homes should only be purchased with cash(Lance Roberts).

That guy is very smart.

What does the county appraise the property for?

Well currently all the homes in the area are selling higher than the county appraisals. But nobody is calling up there complaining. A similar priced, but updated home in the on the same street recently sold for 289k. My county appraisal is about 20k under what we paid for our current home, and it went up 12k this year. There have been several new construction projects in the last couple of years. It's in Spring branch area - North of Westview and South of Longpoint, but not zoned to Memorial High. I feel the property has both short and long term potential.

Does the bank recognize the captured equity from the potential purchase? Therefore reducing the amount of the down payment. Or is 20% down based on the amount requested?

We don't have a HELOC currently. But I can see the benifit in that for improvements. Thanks for the replys.

My neighbor has offered his home to us for a very low price. The home could probably sell for north of $260k and he has offered it to me at a no no realator, no improvement $200k. It probably needs $10k in upgrades. The home would be a nice move up from our 1100 sq ft home to 2300, especially with the baby coming. We would also like to keep the home we are in now and could easily rent it out.

I am self employed and would contract the improvements on my own. I am after all, a builder. I could put 20% down, but would like to only put down 10% and save the money for improvements.

What are my options for financing this in the current loan market? I have good credit score (740) and no debt, but I see that most stated income loans want 25% down.

The home we have now is in my wife's name, so I would want to buy the new home in my name.

Any of you loan experts have any advice?

Most demolishion companies will salvage all of the steel beams and copper wiring and piping. They usually pay their employees low wages, but they allow them to collect the metals and take it all to the recycling center. They can get several hundred dollars from the recycling.

Unfortunately yesterdays "top of the line" is now todays "out of date". The city of Houston now requires 14 SEER HVAC units in all new construction. A 13 SEER in 1985 would have been a very nice upgrade at that time.

The wood flooring may have some value, but oak is usually the cheap to buy. So the labor to remove it, refinish, store, and reinstall in a comparable sized dwelling probably exceeds the amount it would cost just to purchase new.

Solid surface countertops are tricky because they are cut to fit only certain sizes. A lot of times, the glue that is used to install them is what causes them to break when they are removed.

Sinks, toilets, tubs, disposals, light fixtures may be the best bet. But we all know the colors and styles that were used in the 80's, so you may have a tough time there also.

Homes built in the 50's and earlier usually have the best "salvagability". They used a lot of Long leaf pine for construction framing back then. Which is now a very sought out material for furniture and flooring. Cast iron tubs are also very desired. If you don't mind the asbestos and lead paint exposure, you can usually salvage a bit more.

All of the fence companies have backlogs of months due to hurricane Ike. They are marking up prices at about 20-40%. However, they may have good reason to recommend re-squaring the gate. I don't have any subcontractor recommendations, but any fence company in the phone book should be able to give a second opinion and quote.

Wow, Red. You have a serious lack of counter on the lip in front of your grill.

Still, room enough for that cold beer! The priorities are taken care of.

I currently have a Jenn-Air downdraft (built into the cooktop), that I think is a peice of junk.

Most down drafts are junk. When the fan is blowing hot, moist air down into a U shaped vent pipe, condensation will form in the pipe and become trapped. As the condensation builds, the inside of the pipe becomes an unsanitary water trap. I've heard stories of birds and mice that have entered from the outside and died. They are popular and look nice, but I would always avoid them if I could.

You are aware that installing a down draft vent system on an island will require jackhammering out enough concrete so that an 8" vent pipe can be run to the exterior wall. Granted you'll have to run gas or 220V wire to the island. To your original question, I do not believe that there actually is a requirement to have a vent system installed for a cooktop. If you have 12' ceilings, it probably wont bother you that much. But there is no height requirement for the vent. So you could mount it flush to the ceiling and it would still pull the hot air out of the room.

I've used so many different surveyors and they've all be good. If it takes more than two days to get the survey, move on to the next one. Try this one:

Proebsfeld and Associates

http://www.probstfeld.com/Survey/index.html

I was just made aware of the possible use of infrared technology as part of the inspection process. Know anything about that?

http://www.texas-inspection.com/infrared/

Actually, that would be a great idea. I know there is one company that charges about 250 a trip. I don't remember the name, but I know they are members of the GHBA www.ghba.org . Make sure you get a recorded copy of the data.

Be careful of the mold guys. They make their money in the remediation process and tend to overexagerate the problem. But an air quality test may be a good idea.

what does 60% elevated moisture level really mean?

It means you need more information. Is this all over the home or is it localized? I still believe the only way to find out for sure is to cut a small hole. Maybe the owner will let you pull out the refridgerator and cut behind it.

Typically in a mold remediation starts with a mold tester will come to the home and take air quality samples. These samples are sent off to a lab. If they detect elevated levels, then they will suggest a remediation. This is a complete gut and strip all the way down to the studs of the affected area. Then the studs are treated or sanded. The area is sealed off usually with plastic sheets and tape. Then air scrubbers, which are high powered hepa filters, are run for at least 48 hours. The tests are performed again and if there is still a high levels, they will run the scrubbers again. Otherwise, the "all clear" is issued and the build back begins. It is a major ordeal and extremely expensive. But once the "all clear" is issued, you can be assured that the area is clean.

The case study Opera made famous involved the installation of a water vapor barrier on both sides of the wall. Not only did the inside of all the walls become completely covered with mold, but the homeowner couldn't see it. So the family became very sick. But the unusal construction largely attributed to the problem. The lawyers went after it and wanted to make mold the next asbestos. Thus the "mold" industry was born.

Mold requires two things to grow - food and water. Food will be any cellulose product, such as paper, or wood. It cannot grow on fiberglass insulation, but can grow on the insulation paper. Once the water is stopped, it cannot grow anymore.

I've seen water hose spickets that have small leaks at the joints that cause water damage inside and outside the walls. But it is a very easy fix for any plumber.

In my opinion, you need to find the exact cause of the water intrusion before you can make a decision.

Thank you very much for the replies. It has been a great help.

I don't want to drop out of this if I'm possibly just overblowing things. If I do go forward I would make sure it's going to work out. Would you suggest I get any sort of specific inspection done for final due diligence? Like a stucco or mold inspection? I've been quoted $1k to get both done. And if you think I should get more inspections, do you do that sort of work or do you know of someone good?

Thanks again very much!

You could try Dale Phillips inspection services. They use code certified inspectors. I don't have the number, but you can find them on the internet.

So you're saying if there was a stucco issue the moisture detector would have found something higher up on the wall? So you think it's possibly something with the weep holes not allowing water to escape?

As to the flashing, what the inspector was referring to was the roof ledges where they meet the walls. I don't think he was referring specifically to the stone facade. I marked the picture to show what I mean. The circle is where there is currently some flashing extending out from the stucco. You can't see it but that's the type of roof edge he's talking about. I also marked a roof edge from a picture of the back. Do you agree?

Front House - Marked

And something else I originally didn't want to bring up as to not over complicate things. But if you look at this second picture you can see where I marked an upstairs bathroom. I had a septic system inspector come out and he turned on all the water to get it flowing through septic tank. Well, he forgot to turn the tub off and it overflowed. I was in the kitchen below and saw water drip through the ceiling below the tub. And from outside the house I could see the water flowing out of the weep holes all along that wall. That incident partially pushed me over the edge regarding this. Already had moisture issues and this idiot goes and overflows the tub.

But my question from this incident is, how are 2nd floor bathrooms usually sealed? If the tub overflowed, does it normally go right down? If the floor is sealed properly then wouldn't the water just flow across the tile and then out into the bedroom... instead of down? And also, how is the inside wall sealed that the water from the tub would be able to reach the weep holes outside at the bottom?

Back House - Marked

I didn't want to complicate my question, but seeing as how you're so knowledgeable I took a stab. Haha.

Thanks for any advice.

Yes, it could be as simple as weep holes, or it could be something more complicated.

As for the picture you show, I can't see anything wrong with that. But common sense says: if that area is leaking, the water would wet the exterior plywood, which would wet the insulation, which would wet the sheetrock, which would show a mark on the sheetrock. We've had a Cat 2 hurricane and a tropical storm come through recently, if there is a leak, you would see it start towards the top of the wall and get worse gradually as it gets closer to the bottom. You would probably see peeling tape and bubbles in the paint. Look for recent paint behind that flashing.

Now for the water incident from your absent minded inspector. Once the water enters into the flooring cavity, it will travel where gravity takes it. It can travel down a wire, or the gradual slope in the floor, or accross a truss and can come out anywhere. The way the exterior waterproofing is layed, it will allow for water to get to the exterior and outside the stone. Unusual, but not impossible.

That's real stone. I disagree that you should see flashing on top. I bet there is flashing but it is hidden by the decorative stone ledge that sits on top of the stone skirt. If there isn't flashing, the damage would be extensive and you would not need a moisture reader. Were there weep holes every 1-2 feet cut in the bottom of the stone? Can you take the end of a coat hanger and stick it up through the weeps holes so that you can feel the space behind?

It looks like this home is less than 10 years old. Was this home built in a city where it would have been subject to municipal inspections? Did the builder use any 3rd party inspectors? Any inspector would have caught a flashing problem before the stucco or stone went on. But they probably won't catch the weep holes.

The problem is coming from the bottom up, not the top down. It would be very easy for a mason to remove a couple of those stones to check out behind, then put them back.

That is a very nice home. It's worth a shot.

Why would I not need flashing with the veneers?

if I look down all the way at the bottom of the stone, right where it meets the mulch, I can see some green mildew.

I can't see your pictures. But I can tell you that the stone should not touch the mulch. There should be some slab exposure.

One way to tell if you have full stones or veneers, is to follow the stone to the bottom. If they sit on a concrete ledge that is part of the foundation, they are full stones. If they stick outside the foundation, they are likely thin veneers.

Full stones do not necessarily have to have flashing. There is an installation method that does not require it. The problem may be that there are no weep holes and the water is collecting behind the stone and does not have a place to escape. This is very easily fixed.

Did they take moisture readings about the stucco / stone line inside the home? If you are not getting any readings higher up, then you likely don't have a stucco problem and you won't be required to replace any of the stucco. (repair price just went wayyyy down). If you do, run like hell.