Jim Baird Posted November 11, 2012 Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 This 1970 ranch looked good sitewise, positive slope on three of four sides, gutters and wide overhang, but some dips and low spots in floors were troubling. Not many vents in foundation wall. Soon as crawl was entered, first stab with probe sank to hilt, and never got better. Worst I have seen, no termite, all mold. Gut job to fix. Buyer not very encouraged, to say the least. Click to Enlarge 47.09?KB Click to Enlarge 40.19?KB Click to Enlarge 43.2 KB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hausdok Posted November 11, 2012 Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 You can see a water line around the perimeter on the block. They must have a pond under there in the rainy season. ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Baird Posted November 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 The water line could be from some history too. Unoccupied for six yrs but utlilies on for duration, note from plumber written in June this yr, apparently when decision to sell occurred, said he replaced WC that was leaking. Last occupant was widow who lived alone there many yrs. Her departure left everything untouched, toothbrush on the sink, food in fridge, creepy in its way. Active leak could have made a lake over so much time's passage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted November 11, 2012 Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 I sometimes refer to these as 'bulldozer' cases. Buy it for the land, bulldoze the house and build anew. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kogel Posted November 11, 2012 Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 I sometimes refer to these as 'bulldozer' cases. Buy it for the land, bulldoze the house and build anew. Marc The 'B' word won't make you popular, but I think you know that. [] My first reaction is the same, but there are builders that are not easily frightened, that can drop that floor and hang a new one, provided the outer shell is worth it. Case in mind, a little 40's bungalow with serious termite damage to the subfloor. The builder had laid a log with the bark left on for a beam in the dirt crawlspace. Basically created a termite nest under there. My clients were a handyman and his son. They took it on as a challenge and have restored that place nicely. An electric chain saw made short work of the log. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Baird Posted November 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 I saw a fixit on a five-yr old house that much of the floor and about a foot of the frame walls, but was not so complete a scene of destruction. It was a 90K repair on a 150K house. This little ranch is not really the apple of the buyer's eye, so he is, if he gets it, leaning toward the trackhoe and roll-off option. Click to Enlarge 83.49 KB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted November 11, 2012 Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 . . . This little ranch is not really the apple of the buyer's eye, so he is, if he gets it, leaning toward the trackhoe and roll-off option.. . . I'm surprised to hear about all this bulldozing. Don't folks in other parts of the country burn down unwanted houses? Around here, folks call the local fire department. They set it on fire, put the fire out, set it on fire again, put it out again, etc. Great fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kogel Posted November 11, 2012 Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 . . . This little ranch is not really the apple of the buyer's eye, so he is, if he gets it, leaning toward the trackhoe and roll-off option.. . . I'm surprised to hear about all this bulldozing. Don't folks in other parts of the country burn down unwanted houses? Around here, folks call the local fire department. They set it on fire, put the fire out, set it on fire again, put it out again, etc. Great fun. Right, same here. Pulling it all down with a hoe, piling the scrap and hauling it all away is the expensive alternative. Sometimes the house will be jacked up and trucked away to be sold as is, but not if it's rotted. Bulldozers in fact are mostly rusted hulks parked out in the back forty. Few of them will ever run again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erby Posted November 12, 2012 Report Share Posted November 12, 2012 The local fire department helped my Dad get rid of his house when a really nasty hail storm took it out, along with several others. Wasn't much left to haul off after they got done with burning it several times. The local fire departments got a lot of practice from that storm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Dirks Jr Posted November 12, 2012 Report Share Posted November 12, 2012 Has a nasty crawl myself today. Click to Enlarge 76.16 KB Click to Enlarge 58.11 KB Click to Enlarge 63.2 KB Click to Enlarge 64.22 KB Click to Enlarge 59.32 KB Click to Enlarge 51.75 KB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Raymond Posted November 12, 2012 Report Share Posted November 12, 2012 In my town there are two hamlets and two volunteer fire companies. We haven't had a controlled burn in over a decade, the liability insurance is more costly than the demo and disposal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlparham Posted November 12, 2012 Report Share Posted November 12, 2012 I sometimes refer to these as 'bulldozer' cases. Buy it for the land, bulldoze the house and build anew. Marc The 'B' word won't make you popular, but I think you know that. [] My first reaction is the same, but there are builders that are not easily frightened, that can drop that floor and hang a new one, provided the outer shell is worth it. Case in mind, a little 40's bungalow with serious termite damage to the subfloor. The builder had laid a log with the bark left on for a beam in the dirt crawlspace. Basically created a termite nest under there. My clients were a handyman and his son. They took it on as a challenge and have restored that place nicely. An electric chain saw made short work of the log. I avoid the B word also. We call them scrapers around here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted November 12, 2012 Report Share Posted November 12, 2012 What my clients appreciate the most is the truth and the truth is what I give 'em, bulldozer or whatever. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolan Kienitz Posted November 12, 2012 Report Share Posted November 12, 2012 We have some property over in East Texas that had a very old and dangerous home that needed to be burned down. I spent six months working with various county and city municipalities (IE: fire departments) and they would not touch it. Reason being due to EPA, insurance and Lord knows how many more regulatory agencies being involved. I was told to have someone backhoe it and haul it off. But FIRST !!! ... I would have to get EPA approval and would have to have the property reviewed for asbestos and other potential harmful items and if found it would have to be contained and removed first before they could chop it down. Thank you large government ... even in a very, very, very small East Texas community where the nearest 'town' is 13 miles away. Well ... I got in touch with a fellow who had a demo business and had some spare time a backhoe and a couple of trucks. Ended up that the the old wood house was down in a couple of hours and complete haul off completed by noon on a Saturday when the job started around 10AM on on Friday. The demo guy had a friend who had a farm nearby with a big gully that held the debris and was burned the following Sunday. BTW - the demo guy even had to be careful where he drove the trucks as the local minders and constabulary had eyes open for such events and more than willing to write tickets and assess fines. I can assure you that it is not as easy as it used to be in many circumstances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghentjr Posted November 13, 2012 Report Share Posted November 13, 2012 Haven't you guy's heard of fires that start at 2:am due to a faulty space heater? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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