Total Renovation & Addition - 1963 Brick Ranch

3 months ago

last modified: last month

Hello - we’re embarking on a major renovation project and this is going to be my place to chronicle our progress.

I have a couple of threads over on the Kitchens forum, as that was one of the major things we tackled in Phase 1 of our complete house renovation, and I started 1 or 2 threads in the very early stages of Phase 2, about 9 months ago.

We’ve had the house since June of 2021, started Phase 1 in June of 2022, moved in in November of 2022, and here we are finally breaking ground for Phase 2 in January 2024. It’s been a process.

Backstory:

We purchased the house, located on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, from the estate of our next door neighbor after he died. It was truly a hot mess - filthy, stuffed with junk (as in hoarder house), totally overgrown yard, and filled with Chinese drywall from after Hurricane Katrina (2005.) But it’s on a relatively large lot for the area, we love the neighborhood in this little beach town, and it definitely had some decent bones.

Basics:

1963 red brick front facade rambler

1700 sq. ft.

2 bedrooms

1 bathroom

Living room, dining room, kitchen, large “bonus” room

2-car carport

125’ x 108’ lot

Phase 1 focused on the inside, strictly making it livable:

- Gut to remove all Chinese drywall

- Total renovation of full bathroom in hall

- Add ½-bath to the outdoor (in the carport) laundry room

- Divide the large bonus room between the carport and kitchen into a mudroom/pantry plus a 2nd guest room

- New plumbing and HVAC

- Remove wall between kitchen and dining room to create an eat-in kitchen

Unfortunately, we didn’t end up with the best contractor for Phase 1, but we got through it and we’ve really enjoyed living in the house for the past 14 months. Now, with the sale of our primary home from which we’ve fully retired, we ready to start Phase 2. (That translates to we have the $$ needed to get it done!)

The scope of this project is pretty big:

- An addition off of the primary bedroom which consists of 2 walk-in closets and a ensuite bathroom

- All new windows

- New metal roof

- Total rehab of the house’s exterior

- Pergola type structure in front of the house

- 24 x 36 foot detached 2-car garage with 2-room “living-space” attached (pool room/mancave/extra spot for guests/whatever)

- Inground pool

- Extras: Whole house generator, outdoor shower, new driveway, covered patio area off garage/poolhouse

In between the 2 phases we cleared the over-run yard, ripped out the horrible chain link fence, and had a privacy fence constructed around the backyard

Here are a few pictures, first of what it looked like when we purchased it:

How we've lived in it for the past year:

We cleared the yard a few months ago, and this is what they got accomplished today, the very first day of work:

An exciting beginning!

Featured Answer

Connecticut Yankeeeee

last month

You’ll get through at your own pace. I’m also all about kids and grandkids visiting. My most important features in a home will be comfort and not worrying about making a mess. I don’t really care what a future buyer will want.

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Comments (7)

Susan W
Original Author
3 months ago
First, I’ll say we live in a southern beach community where probably 75% of brick houses are painted. I just put that out there because I know many people are horrified by the idea of painting brick and my husband would never have considered it if we had a brick house in the Northeast we were lived all of our lives. But down here, it seems to be a thing.

This house is sided on 3 sides and brick in the front. As you can see from my photos in the original post, the siding is in very bad shape, so we’re replacing it and painting the brick. I’ve read that Sherwin Williams can match Hardie Board colors and I’m getting samples of both a textured and smooth variety. Anyone have experience with matching a color or thoughts or advice in general? (Advice other than “don’t paint the brick” please!)

This is the look I'm going for - it's the Pearl Gray

These are the 2 samples I ordered:
Susan W
Original Author
2 months ago
Dang, but framing goes fast!

The power company is putting our lines underground since we are upgrading the system and it's new construction. Will get rid of that big ugly thing off the carport roof. That's nice...

Head is nearly exploding with all of the decisions to be made!!
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Susan W
Original Author
last month
Guess who is no longer painting her red brick house?

Me. Me. It's me!

Our retirement beach house is now going to be fully Hardie Board sided! Amazing how things can take a turn once into a project.

I've totally changed my color scheme, going for what I hope to be a calm coastal vibe now that I'm no longer dealing with the brick. As always, the photo is not terribly accurate as it represents samples actually leaning against the front of the house in bright sunlight. I love it in person.

Big things happening today, as all of the new windows finally arrived. New metal roof should be here next week...
Susan W
Original Author
last month
At this point I'm not posting any progress pictures, but saving it all for my very exciting Before & After reveal!

The new-construction detached garage with bonus space is built, roofed, and getting ready to be sheetrocked. I think they're also going to start painting the exterior next week.

Working on installing/modifying the final replacement window in front of the house, then they'll finish the remainder of the Hardie Board siding. The new bathroom just had some inspections and they've broken the wall between it and our bedroom. They've started working on the new roof of the house.

There have been some delays on the in-ground pool, but that's worked well for us. Looks like it will be in by the end of this month.

We've had multiple people passing by, on foot and by car, who have stopped to talk about everything we're doing. This project has become the talk of the neighborhood - in a very good way!!
Connecticut Yankeeeee
last month
Wow! Amazing work so far! I do not have the energy or patience to take on such a project but your home will be gorgeous when done. Really looking forward to the reveal!
Susan W
Original Author
last month
That's an interesting comment because in all candor, I feel that I don't have the energy or patience either. My husband and I are way too old for this. LOL

But the opportunity presented itself and it was a situation to which we could not say "no." I guess I wish we were 10 years younger, but I'm very happy we're not 10 years older!

I think one of the best parts about being older is that I have zero concern about what a future buyer might think. And I don't care if something is in-style or out-dated or even super trendy. If my husband and I like it, we go for it. And if it's something that's going to entice our kids and grandkids to visit - even better!

The most difficult part for me comes in making the incredible number of decisions (on the daily!!) that need to happen. I've got a decent eye, or at least it's good enough to have always made me happy with my final results on our past projects. But sometimes I struggle to fully envision what I want. Does that make sense?

I'm usually an over-sharer with our children, but I'm trying to keep the details of this project as much under wraps as possible. My reveal to them will definitely be in person rather than through pictures!