Some questions about my old house?
Question:I just bought this great fixer upper.. and I mean fixxer upper. The house was built in 1930 and it still has the great high door frames with low knobs.. The problem is that the previous owner turned this big beautiful home into 4 small apartments and one efficiency. So there's alot of extra walls and doors where there shouldn't be. How do I go about finding the original blueprints for my house?
Plus, where there was two rooms, the previous owner turned it into one giant room and I want that room to be my new big kitchen. Problem: no gas or water hookups. How hard is it to run these up from the basement? Can I do this myself, or do I need a professional?
And do I need a permit to remodel the inside of my house?
Answers:
Well, good luck on your adventure. Unless you are in the building trades I would hire someone to do the work. Just about anything can be done meaning if you wanted a sink on your roof I could get it there and hook it up, so gas, a drain and water supply to the big room would not be that hard with basement accsess.
Your print might be on file but don't count on it being that the house is from the 30's.If you can't find the print check around in your near area and see if you don't have a nieghbor with a house simuler to yours. I live in a town where there are many old homes that are registered historical homes. I've done work in several of them and even though they appear to be different they have some of the same trats, and basic layout just in reverse.
Before you go moving walls you want to be real sure that your not messing with what is called a bareing wall. Meaning that it was put there to support a heavy weight point could be a wall directly above it , a roof line change or joist direction transfer. You can add all the walls you want.
Some times you don't need a permit to do work on your own home inside. Just depend how major of a project your going to do. It wouldn't hurt to check. You know they want your money though. I would check around first and get to know your comunity and how others delt with a simular project that you are thinking on taking on. Word of mouth goes a long way when you need something done by the best.
Another thing is that if you do hire out the work I would ask who people recommend. Someone with years of experiance is best. With exspeiance and a license is better I guess. I have ran acoss to many people that have a license that can tell you what the code book says but don't have a clue to how to do it.
Most anything you want do anymore the parts and how to do it book can be bought at lowes or home depot but if you aren't experianced with gas work don't mess with it. OK? You can clean up a water leak but cleaning up a gas leak, well you don't want to go there.
Good luck. Spell check isn't workong right now so I'm sorry with the miss spelled words. you might be able to sould what I wrote out.
Professional, and yes, you would need a permit.
Blueprint should be found at the local courthouse.
When renovating you need to check your local area about permits. If the job is as big as you claim i think you do need them. Also, permits protect you from poorly done work if you have contractors in to do the work. As for the gas question, do not attempt that yourself call a licensed professional. An architect can probably help you with the floor plan as most old homes were built with a similar floor plan. Also an architect can help you to make sure that if you start removing walls that your home still remains structurally sound. I myself am a DIY'er and enjoy renovating our old home. Good luck !
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