HELP! Anybody here in construction?

[DivaSkyChick 0]

God I hope someone can help me, I'm at a total loss.

I have just been assigned the lovely job of coordinating the renovation of a largish cinderblock shack in our back yard and turning it into a fabulous guest house. It has electricity, a leaky roof, no ceiling, broken windows and no doors in the two doorways, one of which is large enough for french doors. I also have to put in a deck on one side.

Now, I will have help with the hard work but I need to come up with a budget and list of everything necessary, and quite frankly, i have no frigging clue where to start.

Okay, actually, I have to get all the crap out of there first, including the ten billion SPIDERS. Then I suppose measuring everything would be smart. Next, I think, framing everyting in 2x4s would be good to have something to stick the drywall to. Needs a cieling... How do I find out how to do all this crap? Anyone? We have a limited budget so I can't hire a contractor. Basically it's me and the boys and all their big fun tools.

Anyone? Thanks!

Mandy

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www.facebook.com/mandyhamptonfitch

[Zenister 0]

you do realize that there are lots of starving skydivers at Eloy with various construction skills, i'm sure if you smiled nicely and offered beer and/or other incentives you might get some help there too...

____________________________________
Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed.

[freeflir29 0]

I would start by maybe looking through some interior design magazines to get an idea of what you want to do. When you find something you like tear out the page and keep it in a binder. That way you can take it with you to home depot or where ever you buy your materials. Also...measure everything out. Walls, floors, ceiling, doors, and windows. Take a few Polaroids too. This way when you go to buy materials you can show them the pics of where it is now and where you want it to be when you get done. (through the magazine pics) All that will be very helpful in getting you all the right parts and pieces and will cut down on the number of trips to the store.

[Jimbo 0]

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I would start by maybe looking through some interior design magazines to get an idea of what you want to do.

Clay?

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Jim

"Like" - The modern day comma
Good bye, my friends. You are missed.

[freeflir29 0]

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Clay?

Hey!!! When it's your house you are building that shit is both interesting and helpful. I don't visualize interior design well so I need pictures so I can point and grunt to the guy at Home Depot.

[skymama 37]

I work for my dad, who has been a residential contractor for over 30 years. I'll see if I can corner him and ask him to offer you a few suggestions tomorrow.

She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

[DivaSkyChick 0]

Thanks Mamma!

All good advice - especially hauling some Eloy boys up here to help me out! Pizza, Beer and what, maybe dancing girls? good deal? lol

Actually I found a killer website www.easy2diy.com that has flash animated tutorials for a lot of the stuff I need to do. OOOOOOHHHHH exciting stuff like "Insulating an Unfinished Attic" and "Taping Drywall." Good stuff maynard!

M

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www.facebook.com/mandyhamptonfitch

[dropdeded 0]

I have 17 years+ roofing,a year and a half flooring(vinyl & carpet),about a month of insulating and 1 day framing.Too bad your not a little closer,I would love to help any way I could.
Maybe I can help with any roofing questions.Whats on it now and what condition is it in ?Any chance you can post a picture of the place?
Just a thought

dropdeded
pcss#26

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The Dude Abides.
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[Ducky 0]

I won't spill out my resume for ya, but I currently work as Job supervisor for a custom home builder, I have quite a bit of experience in most all aspects of construction. I would be gald to offer any help I can.

As with any project whether it be a small add on or a whole new house, your first goal should be establishing a budget. Do NOT try to figure out how much it will cost and then decide if you can afford it. Always determine what you can afford in cash, sweat, favors and credit (in that order) first.

You also want to make sure that what you are hoping to do with the building is legal. In many places adding a separate structure that can be inhabitated i.e. a guest house, requires special zoning. You are adding a possible second residence and therefore your property/land becomes "multi-family". You might be fine in your area though. In any event you will need building permits and inspections. If you live inan area where you think you can get away w/o these or if it is more a renovation than a conversion you may sneak it past. One thing to be aware of if you do not permit the job is that if is not done to suit local building code it can and will bite you in the ass if you ever plan to sell.

Check inot these things first and then hit me back w/ a PM of any questions you might have.

kwak

Sometimes your the bug, sometimes your the windshield. Sometimes your the hammer sometimes your the nail. Question is Hun, Do you wanna get hammered or do you wanna get nailed?????

[lagerhead 0]

Very good advice. As a fire marshal who handles code inspections i can tell you that you truly need to make sure it is done right, or it will bight you in the ass. check all zoning ordinances. building codes, fire codes, etc. your local code enforcement office should be able to help you with this. good luck and keep it legal

[jimmytavino 16]

are 4 foot wide.... so a room which is say, 19 foot 6 inches is better than a room which is 20 foot 6 inches,,you follow?) Suspended ceiling grid and tiles are a possibility for the ceiling (these are usually "2 foot modular") ,, for ease of install and for a finished product immediately on completion,, ( no painting) plus ceiling tiles and grid designs can allow for some choice to suit your taste...and you can just run your walls up beyond the height of the ceiling level, and not deal with wall to ceiling finished corners.... simply establish the ceiling "height" with the "wall angle" component of the ceiling grid...it's fast,, it's lightweight, it's factory finished...The ceiling installs after the walls are complete.
Stud walls, or at least "furring strips" secured over the face of the cinder block,,, will give you the attachment points for your wall surfaces, ,,, will allow for an area to run any
wiring, telphone lines, co axial cable lines, or audio/ video wiring,,,,,and also allows an area which can be insulated...... Some wall surfaces are factory finished, like paneling,, or can be painted or wallpapered as is the case with drywall, (sheetrock)
Consider ceramic tile....for walls AND for floors as well as for decorative highlights.... Tile can be somewhat easily installed, and with the correct tools
and "wet saws" can be fitted perfectly...This way you have some aesthetic choices, as you select your grout and tile colors and sizes. Again a room which is say, 19 feet 8 inches is easier to tile with 1 foot square tiles, that would be a room which is 20 feet 2 inches,,,,,,right???? this way you keep your small pieces to a minimum....
If low budget is the way you are going,, then carpet, installed over the existing floor, finished wall panels
and suspended ceiling,,,,will keep your labor requirements reasonable while still providing you with a nice finished product...good luck

[DivaSkyChick 0]

Thanks to all who responded here and pm'd me. I'll post a pic of the before when I can, and tell you how it goes.

The question I'm wrestling with now is to drywall or not to drywall. I could seal and paint the cinderblock to a pretty cool effect - since I'm going for a mexican style with lots of brightly colored ceramic tile and stuff anyway... That would save lots a cash and effort in framing, etc. Key here is the budget. We have a certain amount to spend and anything we don't spend will go to jumps, etc. But it has to LOOK like we spent the money!
LOL

Thanks again for the help!

Mandy

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www.facebook.com/mandyhamptonfitch

[RevJim 0]

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Stud walls, or at least "furring strips" secured over the face of the cinder block,,, will give you the attachment points for your wall surfaces, ,,, will allow for an area to run any
wiring, telphone lines, co axial cable lines, or audio/ video wiring,,,,,and also allows an area which can be insulated......

You forgot the CAT 5 cable for the home network!
Never, ever forget the home networking!

It's your life, live it!
Karma
RB#684 "Corcho", ASK#60, Muff#3520, NCB#398, NHDZ#4, C-33989, DG#1

[steve1 5]

I know it's hard to take in all the advice that's being given. One thing that may help is to go to a builders supply buisness and find someone who is knowlegeable and willing to answer your questions. Be careful with this. The people at Home Depoe or Lowes often don't have much experience to fall back on themselves. When I built my log house in Montana I didn't have to worry much about building codes, but some places are terribly strict in this respect. But even without building codes your construction project may have to be done over again in a few years if it isn't put together properly. That's why it is important to get someone to help and plan it out carefully. When I wired my house, I didn't have a clue how to do it. All I knew was that I couldn't afford to pay an electrical contractor $30. and hour to do it. So I bought a bunch of books and asked a million questions whenever I'd buy the materials. In other words I'd ask them exactly how to put it in. Today everything seems to work fine and is safe, but I'm sure some of it isn't up to current building codes. If I have to redo a lot of it someday, when I sell the place, it might have been smarter and cheaper to have hired a contractor the first time. Steve1

[Kris 0]

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You forgot the CAT 5 cable for the home network!
Never, ever forget the home networking!

What is this CAT-5 that thoust speak of? The language is foreign to mine ears.

C'mon, isn't everyone using fibre?

Kris

Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and
Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™

[Ducky 0]

CAT-5 Category 5 wire. Data wire friendly to high speed networks and data transfer. Very common in houses these days for telephone & dataport wiring. Much more realistic than wirirng internally with fiber optic.

kwak

Sometimes your the bug, sometimes your the windshield. Sometimes your the hammer sometimes your the nail. Question is Hun, Do you wanna get hammered or do you wanna get nailed?????

[bobsled92 0]

Quote

Quote

You forgot the CAT 5 cable for the home network!
Never, ever forget the home networking!

What is this CAT-5 that thoust speak of? The language is foreign to mine ears.

C'mon, isn't everyone using fibre?

Kris

Hey Iv'e do service calls where people tell me that they are building contractors & did it themselves and I find SPEAKER wire at the jacks and it's wrapped around 240V lines
Catagory -5 WIRING>5 twists pre inch(NOT cable=coax) is becomming standard finally(that's what I do) whoopiddy doo...
FIBER to the "CURB" is as close to a residential as it got and is now abandoned. If you only have 1 line and no strong ac V. your only data worry is one of those rigged up "I got a 50ft phone cord...it'll work ok" type of deals

_______________________________
If I could be a Super Hero,
I chose to be: "GRANT-A-CLAUS". and work 365 days a Year.
http://www.hangout.no/speednews/

[RevJim 0]

Kris was just being a smart ss.

Fiber optic is still way to cost prohibitive.

Infa Red is to limited by range and line of sight.

Wireless is currently to limited by speed to be cost effective.

Coax went out with the dinosaurs.

Face it CAT5 is a standard that's gonna be here for awhile.

It's cheap, easy to set up, and capable of sustaining speeds of 100Mbps.

A simple net card runs under $10. A cable/DSL router with 4 port hub, less that $100, and 30 or 40 bucks worth of cable and you have a decent speed network.

It's your life, live it!
Karma
RB#684 "Corcho", ASK#60, Muff#3520, NCB#398, NHDZ#4, C-33989, DG#1

[Kris 0]

Quote

Kris was just being a smart ss.

Fiber optic is still way to cost prohibitive.

Infa Red is to limited by range and line of sight.

Wireless is currently to limited by speed to be cost effective.

Coax went out with the dinosaurs.

Face it CAT5 is a standard that's gonna be here for awhile.

It's cheap, easy to set up, and capable of sustaining speeds of 100Mbps.

A simple net card runs under $10. A cable/DSL router with 4 port hub, less that $100, and 30 or 40 bucks worth of cable and you have a decent speed network.

Heh. I know you were, Jim. I'm still using CAT-5 in my home LAN but I still have a spool of fibre sitting in my garage that I need to figure out something creative to do with.

Now... if I could just get my hands on a gigabit switch and some gigabit NIC's I think I would be in heaven. Who doesn't want to transfer their pr0n 10x faster?

Kris

Sky, Muff Bro, Rodriguez Bro, and
Bastion of Purity and Innocence!™