All Forum Posts by: Ryan K.

Need a railing for my new brick stoop and steps. Its a small stoop about 4x6 with 4 stairs to sidewalk. Got one estimate so far for aluminum but the price shocked me. Its only 6 posts and approximately 18-20 linear feet of railing total including the stairs. I'm hoping to have at least one more estimate today and possible a third soon. But was wondering if anyone has a ballpark number for cost, or any other ideas to keep the budget from getting blown on this item? Im trying to use a railing company for the job but maybe there are other contractors that can tackle it?

From my personal experience a few years ago I found I had to insist that at least complete roof lines be replaced at not just "patched". This was after a tree hit the house. Destroyed a wing to the house so obviously that roof line had to be rebuilt. The tree also slightly damaged the shingles on the walk through and main part of house. Insurance adjuster only wanted to patch it. Well no roofing company will give a warranty for a patch job, so in the end the adjuster agreed to replace those entire sections as well. Personally I hate patches on roofs, it's one area of the structure where you don't want to skimp because water damage gets expensive really quickly. Hope it all works out for you.

In my personal experience if the buyer is financing the property then the bank will likely want the septic pumped and inspected and possibly the well water tested too. The seller (me) had to pay for these inspections and tests. If the septic field has been functioning fine then in most cases I would assume it will pass an inspection. Again this is my experience so in your state it might be different.

I remember reading another post a while back regarding this requirement. Perhaps someone with more experience can chime in and help answer or provide some detail. 

My take on the licensing requirement is that if you plan to do any work which would normally require a permit, such as plumbing, electrical, hvac, framing, foundation then you should be licensed to do said work. If you are simply hiring this work out to a properly licensed contractor or sub then I would think you yourself would not need any license.

I wonder who ultimately enforces this Virginia requirement, and if it is actually ever enforced? I assume most major rehabber are contracting out the work or do so much that they already have a contractors license. So in the grand scheme of things it's not a significant problem.

Looks great, thanks for sharing and providing details on the undercuts!

I'm in a similar situation. I'll be flipping my kitchen to the opposite two walls of the room and will need to redo the electric and plumbing. It really boils down to access for the utilities. Luckily mine is pretty accessible with a crawl space, plus I'll be opening up walls and such during the demo. The sink and dishwasher will be moved to where a washer and dryer are currently located so the water and sewar lines won't need extensive work. But since licensed electricians and plumbers are fairly expensive I'm planning a higher cost estimate to get this work done. I suspect it will be less but you never know until you get some quotes or bids for the work. 

I've seen the same. Mostly from the agents that deal heavily with distressed REOs. 

Save some money first, but in the meantime see if you can become a member in a credit union. They often have no minimum or it's very low.

Lots of unpermitted addition are out there and not reflected on property records. Also for places where basements are built they are often viewed differently by each locality in terms of "living space" and certainly by real value When a transaction takes place. 

It was a volunteer project with a local Christian housing repair program. Funds are tight and most all work is done by volunteers with little experience. Quality of finished paint surface is the least of their concerns in these cases. Most homes are in poverty stricken areas and very run down. It's about getting the homes back to "better" conditions and certainly not for resale or rental purposes. They used the paint and primer in one product to cut down on time to get projects done.

I've always primed bare surfaces before painting but I'm getting mixed opinions on using the all in one products.