Purchased at a Land Bank auction in September 2014, this art&crafts foursquare style was gutted of radiators and boiler, had sustained squatter damage with bullet holes and missing flooring, and was in bad need of all new plumbing. Most of the fantastic original details remained, however, and we fell in love with the house despite it's superficial condition. The neighbors have been a blessing to this house over the years, keeping it secure, chasing off squatters, and maintaining the yard. See the complete ongoing story with photos and videos on our blog at www.dreamingdetroit.com
Repaired collapsed basement stairs
Cleaned up back yard and installed new fence
Steam pipe asbestos abatement and pipe removal
Installed security doors donated by neighbors
Removed knob and tube wiring and installed new complete modern electrical system
Removed galvanized and iron pipes and installed all new PVC drains and pex water pipes throughout house.
Designed a new balanced forced air HVAC system with supplies and returns to both stories along with a new furnace, humidifier, and electronic air cleaner.
Fabricated custom wood storm windows for the front of the house and the casement windows. Installed aluminum storm windows for the rest of the windows.
Stripped the exposed front porch roof beams, shutters, and windows to original natural wood and sealed with spar urethane.
scraped and painted front exterior
Tuck pointing all exterior brick on house, porch, and porch columns
Stripped original fireplace surround to original detailed woodwork and sealed with spar urethane
Found missing dining room hardwood flooring in neighbor's garage, and along with some leftover original flooring from another house, repaired dining room floor
Removed ancient front shrubs and replaced with young azaleas, hydrangeas, various flowering bulbs, rose bush, rhododendron, fountain grass and a japanese maple.
stripping and sealing all original interior trim moulding and woodwork
restoring all original wood double hung windows with new glass, new sash cord, and refinished wood.
Whole home wired for smart receptacles, ethernet, and coax television networks.
Installed smart video security doorbell
New laundry area in basement with new hookups, hammer arresters, direct drain, electrical circuit and gas service.
New kitchen plumbing, cabinets, countertop, double sink, garbage disposal, dishwasher, fridge with ice maker and water dispenser and gas range. Temporary set up while we redesign the dining room into an open concept kitchen. Lots and lots of help from craigslist and Architectural Salvage Warehouse.
Gutted bathroom floor to joists. Removed previous owner's concrete jungle floor slab. Ripped out and replaced drains to toilet, sink, and shower. Replaced sub-floor. Installed heated floor wiring. New floor tile. Repaired tub surround tile. New pedestal sink, toilet, tub/shower plumbing and fixtures. Programmable heated floor thermostat.
Laboratory water lead test returned. Passed with 0.003 ppm
Jacked up basement stairs pillar to correct main floor slope. Used a large vertical automotive bottle jack/jack stand combination device.
installed housecat
Repaired fireplace louver and installed glass doors purchased from Architectural Salvage Warehouse
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