TXvoodoo Posted September 19, 2005 Share Posted September 19, 2005 Hello All,I am new to the forum. Just letting you know that I purchased the Lucian Hood Mod in Braeburn Valley. I have most of the original architectural plans and I plan on bringing the house back to its original granduer. Lots of sad mistakes in the house but a few small treasures also. With the plans came a fantastic detailed pencil rendering of the home (1'x3') drawn by Lucian and signed. With the plans there are some incredibly detailed pieces on the blue prints, most of which I have taken to be framed. The exterior of the home is all redwood which has shamefully been painted over, not to mention that the previous owner had some crappy painters come in and damage most of it severly by power washing the old paint off. The former owner also tore out some great planter boxes that ran the length of the home and were made of ledgestone and will be hard to match the remaining ledgestone. The posts supporting the roof over these planter boxes originally wre mounted at an angle to add to the contemporary feel, but the former owner had them replaced and mounted them straight up and down. These will be returned to their original angle in the near future. As for the foundation problems that a few mentioned on this forum, there aren't any. Just some shifting in the soil, but the original foundation has held up pretty well for a fifty year old home in Houston. The most pressing issue at the moment is the $600.00 electric bills. We tried to get the owner to tell us the amount he had been paying during our option period, but he never came through until after we were locked in. I crawled into the small attic and realized that the insulation is pretty much non existant after 50 years. Insulation people have told me that I would have to rip out sheetrock to get the insulation in because of the flat roof, but I figured out that we could pull the facia off the roof and shoot it in between the ceiling joist. It seems this will work. So, if anyone cares, I'll keep you posted. Lots of work to do!TX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stolitx Posted September 19, 2005 Share Posted September 19, 2005 Congrats! And thanks for saving that great house. Please keep us updated. I know many will want to know what is going on.I'd personally like to know how the insulation process goes. I too had a previous owner who didn't come clean about the utility bills when I asked. I had no idea a flat roof could get insulation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jm1fd Posted September 19, 2005 Share Posted September 19, 2005 You might consider doing a radiant barrier next time it has to have a roof put on it. You can call the electric company and get the high and low bills...or at least you used to be able to.How old is the A/C equipment? If it is ancient or poorly installed, that could be some of your woes as well..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXvoodoo Posted September 19, 2005 Author Share Posted September 19, 2005 The AC unit was new in 2003, but the duct work in the attic has lost most of the insulation wrapped around it. This combined with hardly any roof insulation causes a lot of heat to come into the house. There are lots of windows also, which I am having covered with a high tech 'nano film' made by Huper Optic. Supposedly works great, but costs a pretty penny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXvoodoo Posted September 19, 2005 Author Share Posted September 19, 2005 As far as a radiant barrier, thats a great idea. We will need a new roof in about 3 years, so I will be researching the options to get the best roof I can afford. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dream Posted September 19, 2005 Share Posted September 19, 2005 Congratulations. Thats a great house. Good luck with all of the updates and restoration.Dream Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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