We all dream of someday owning our perfect home. A home full of love and built to suit us as individuals. We all have different desires when it comes to the perfect home, making homes across the world unique in their own way. Personalizing something generic makes us attached and makes it our own. It gives us a sense of pride and excitement. A home with a personal touch is a home we look forward to returning to. A house with a personal touch immediately becomes a home. One guy found a little place that no one wanted to call their home. In fact, it had been abandoned for quite some time. He had a vision though and knew that underneath the rot and decay was some hidden potential. What he did to the decrepit house was nothing short of incredible. Take a look at his journey to turn a dilapidated structure into a beautiful home. This is the ultimate build. What an amazing remodel.
After months of negotiating for this bank owned property, he was able to purchase this old dingy house for only 40 thousand dollars.
The reason he got it for so cheap was because nobody wanted the property. The house was a mess and every single inch needed attention. He started by completely gutting the place. Everything but the wall studs were taken out.
The layout of the place was very confining. He teamed up with an engineer and spent $200 in order to draw up plans to give the structure an open living space. They had to move support beams and load bearing walls to achieve this.
The main support beams were very heavy but with the help of some friends he was able to place them per city code.
The house had an old addition that was rotting and sagging away from the main structure. With no way to make this space a comfortable room, he decided to tear it down to build a little awning over a backyard porch.
He spent every second of his free time working on this project. Every day after work, he was there until dark. On the weekends, he was working on his dream from sunrise until late after sundown. It must have been exhausting.
With the structure up, the inspector required more joists due to the span. He was within code, however when it comes to building inspectors you must choose your battles wisely. He happily agreed to reenforce the structure.
Next step was roof demolition. He also found that all the fascia was rotted so he had to tear that down to be replaced also.
He rented a paint sprayer from Home Depot to paint the new fascia. He did this before he laid the shingles down so he didn’t have to mask in order to paint. That meant more work on a list that was already a mile long.
He hired two laborers and with their help he was able to complete the roof in one weekend. It turned out beautiful and should last at least 50 years.
The house was in dire need of new plumbing with rot and leaks everywhere. He left this up to the professionals and the entire house was lined with brand new shiny copper pipes and best of all, no leaks!
The same goes for the duct work. He let the professionals handle the heating and cooling. This is quite important in Arizona due to the extreme heat during the summer months.
The old cast iron windows were leaking and offered zero insulation value. With the help of a laborer, he managed to replace 8 windows in 8 hours.
It was a tedious process but it was also his favorite part of this project. They had a system down and quickly got the hang of replacing the old heavy windows.
The new windows look great and accent the fascia nicely. They also offer great insulation and UV protection.
With a solid roof over his head, he began the drywall and insulation process. This is a dirty job.
When working with insulation you need to wear gloves, a mask, eye protection, and long sleeves and pants. Even covered from head to toe, there is no avoiding the itching that follows with this work. But it needs to be done and done right.
Once the drywall was hung, the taping and mudding began. This went well into the night.
And began at the crack of dawn.
While the interior work was underway, he hired a stucco company to refinish the entire exterior.
Once the stucco dries, it will be ready for a color of his choice. Below you can see the added joists the inspector asked him to set in place.
The stucco was complete, updating the exterior of what will soon be a home.
The electrical system was outdated and considered unsafe. With the help of two electrician buddies, he replaced the whole electrical system including a new and updated main panel. This was passed off by the inspector the first time around.
With the drywall in place and smooth as a baby’s bottom, he was able to start installing the kitchen cabinetry. He went with a simple yet bold design.
Which turned out beautiful. I’m in love with that hood.
The countertops are stunning.
None of this has come easy. He spent long and exhausting nights working towards his vision.
There was a slightly awkward and unusable space that he filled with a tall wardrobe closet matching the style of the home perfectly.
With new walls and new drywall came new trim work. The cuts had to be perfect to line up down the hallway symmetrically.
This also meant a new and updated bathroom. Due to some improper advice from a hardware store employee, he ran into a bit of a problem. He attached the bright white subway tiles to a waterproof green board backing. After almost a year of living in and building this project the tile started to fail, crack and leak. Not everything can go perfectly.
This lead to bathroom demolition number two.
After the mess was cleaned up and the studs were left for a few days to dry, he had to change-up the installation process to prevent this problem in the future. Luckily, there was no mold present during this.
He used a cement backer board this time around which will definitely provide the structural stability required.
He covered everything in redguard which will keep the water where it belongs… down the drain.
After seeing the white subway tiles in place, he decided to take a different design approach that better suited the style he was after.
He also decided to add a beautiful glass door to open the room a little more.
With the main dirty work done, he was then able to add brand new carpet.
With the interior details wrapping up, the exterior color was a long debate.
The color he decided on scared him to death. He was happy with it on a small space but was worried he had made a bad decision when he covered the entire house. He was reassured by his girlfriend that he made the right choice and after a few weeks it grew on him. He decided that in the end it was the best color for the style of decor that went with the home.
With the home complete he was able to focus his attention on the yard and landscaping. There were two giant Dutch elm trees in the front yard that were dying. He tried for months to revive the trees but they were too far gone. He ended up taking them down offering a better view of the newly remodeled home.
He now had a clean slate to work with.
Sod was delivered and he knew he had a tiring job ahead. He was so close to finishing that he was motivated to get it done.
The sod was installed bringing this project closer to the finish! It looks beautiful.
Planters were filled and colorful plants were set in place adding a personal touch.
Lots of flowers.
He decided to replace the trees with young ones that he could care for. They were young, just like the newly remodeled house.
The backyard was the last part of the project.
He had to haul truck loads of garbage and debris to the dump before he could start making it his own.
He had some plans drawn up and decided against the oversized pavers to the right.
He had concrete curbing poured at roughly 2 dollars a foot separating parts of the yard and adding character.
He added the barn styled shed of his dreams to store all his yard tools.
And here you go! The final project was completed and here it is in all his glory. This once distraught, abandoned property is now a beautiful home with a new personality.
I love what he did with the interior design as well. I imagine his girlfriend helped with this aspect.
The hardwood dining table was built by his girlfriend’s 79-year-old grandfather. He says the craftsmanship is the best he’s ever seen.
A brand new kitchen with brand new appliances.
Here is the guest bedroom.
This is the master.
Here is the twice remodeled bathroom.
And a cute candid photo of his pup who was terrified of the power tools.
His friend’s pooch was in love with the cool countertops in the heat of Arizona.
He’s very proud of his work and so is his girlfriend who has since become his fiancé.
H/T
This is an impressive project to take on, to say the least. He got the property for an amazing deal and with a lot of time, effort, and money he was able to build his dream home. The end result is incredible and this is now a place that any family would be proud to call home. I commend him on his efforts and constructing a quality home that will stand the test of time. Good job!
