Day 1: Let the demolition begin!

After being couped up in my place because I was sick, it felt good to get out and release some energy. Our instructions for the demo... gut it all to the studs! A dumpster had been delivered below the second floor windows the day before for us to get started. There were 3 of us, Michael (Joanne's brother), Joanne and me! Michael got it all started by knocking out the 2nd floor window frame so we'd have a clear drop into the dumpster. Joanne and I started in the basement taking down the drywall with sledge hammers!

We cranked up the radio to a country station and began in the basement. It was divided into 3 rooms and we just started making holes in between studs, then ripping off the drywall with our hands. Maybe not the most efficient method, but it worked. It's a walk-out basement, so the walls were not completely surrounded by dirt. In fact there were windows on 3 sides. What we discovered removing the drywall by the windows was that there was previous termite damage to the window sills. No part of the actual structure was damaged and it didn't seem to affect the drywalls attached to the termite damaged wood. Also visible was water damage of some sort. There was no water barrier or plastic sheets between the cinderblock walls and the drywalls. And there was no other insulation. We worked from about 8am until 12pm and actually had lots of fun. The time seemed to fly by as we were able to remove 85% of the drywall and get it into the dumpster.

Up next was to remove windows, more drywall and even more drywall!

House Flip Background and Plan

We searched for quite a while to find a property to flip. Originally we were under contract for a short sale inside the beltline, but the bank would not approve the verbal contract we had with the sellers. After heated discussions of how and where to look, we kept our eyes and ears out for the North Hills area. The investor/builder found a property on Currituck that was a For Sale By Owner (FSBO) that was being sold by the heirs to the house. The property was originally built in 1963 and owned by, I think, one family that raised 4 kids through high school. The surviving mother was the last person to live there and had recently passed away. The home is 1800+ sf, 3br, 3ba split level.

When we first walked through the home you could tell it had not been well kept over the years. There were water stains in certain areas. It had hardwood floors throughout the main floor and upstairs bedrooms. The flooring was about the nicest feature of the home. Everything was original from the wall paper to the bathrooms, kitchens to the wall colors throughout the home. When pictures were removed from walls you could see where it was hung from the outline of dust and dirt that had accumulated over time. The kitchen cabinets were a light blue! There was no a/c, but it did have 3 window unit a/c's, but who know how old they were. The basement was divided into 3 rooms with an uneven floor. As you can see in the picture, there is not a blade of grass in the front or back yards. It is ugly and has no curb appeal what so ever. There are huge trees throughout the lot that shade the entire yard. One tree dangerously hangs out over the the top of the house.

The Plan is extensive. The big plan is to create a usable and appealing yard, gut the entire house to the studs, take off the roof, turn the 3 bedrooms into 1 master suite, build another level above the living rm/kitchen side with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, finish the walk-out basement, create a brand new kitchen and build a "Carolina" room or screened-in porch. And do all of this in roughly 6 months and have it ready for new owners by April or sooner.

The fun part about this is that project is that I will get to work on the house throughout the process and when it's done to list it for sale! So stay tuned to see how it all unfolds!!!