Well, here we go! It's going to be an interesting adventure to take on a home purchase and remodeling prior to move-in day on Feb. 23rd, '09.
To keep everyone posted on progress, trials, and all the adventures along the way, I've started this blog and will update it periodically. I figure it will be a good way to blow off some steam (which I'm sure will be inevitable) and find humor in the chaos that is sure to come.
A little bit about the house: It was built in 1938 by the cannery workers of Sunnyvale (apparently Sunnyvale's main industry was the cannery back then). Next year will be its 71st birthday! The structure itself is sound; the foundation, walls and load bearing members are intact and are in good condition.
It's 1348 sq. ft., 2.5 bedrooms (it's listed as 3, but the "third" is really half a room), 1.5 baths and has a one-car detached garage with a second story above it. There's a fully finished ~230 sq. ft. basement that leads to more storage areas beyond it. The lot is a bit on the small side - 3,920 sq ft. It's a corner lot located a few blocks to downtown Sunnyvale and the Sunnyvale train station.
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=705+W+WASHINGTON+AV,+Sunnyvale+94086&ie=utf-
8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=X&oi=geocode_
result&resnum=1&ct=title
The current owners have lived there for almost 30 years. They expanded the back of the house to enclose the entry to the basement, replaced the roof, changed most of the plumbing to copper and updated the electrical system. However, the interior wasn't as well maintained. The kitchen is old and the quality of the products and installation weren't great, so it's showing its age. Luckily, the fridge, washer and dryer are good, but the stove, dishwasher and microwave will be replaced.
First challenge: getting all the STUFF out of the house. The current owners are encumbered with 30 years of accumulated junk (there's no other way to say it).
View exhibit B to the left. Imagine this quantity of STUFF throughout the rest of the house.... The house is built with an incredible amount of storage space, which they have made ample use of.Here's the link to all the photos I took:
http://picasaweb.google.com/oliviaryu77
So, notwithstanding the challenge of getting everything, everything out of there before 5pm on Feb. 5th when I receive the keys, we're going to have a lot of work on our hands over the next few months!
The plan is to remodel the kitchen and full bathroom first. Of course there are a lot of little things that go with that, but those are the major things to tackle first. Eventually, I'd like to convert the "third" half bedroom in to a master bedroom suite, expanding the current half bath in to a full and making a walk-in closet out of the rest of the space.
The basement will be used as the family room/home theater, which will allow the front living room and dining room to be less crowded. The room above the garage is going to turn in to my painting studio and the garage will be kept clear so that my car can go in there (eventually I'll put an automatic garage door opener in).
Lots and lots to do and it's going to be a busy next few months, but it's also going to be great fun!
