Everything will be fine, it is supposed to look like that. Trust me.
As I have been putting together this portfolio page, I am almost giving myself a panic attack thinking about how much work I have done recently, and how much is left to do. This house remodel was about a third of my work for the last year. My original goal, was that I would handle the plumbing, HVAC and electrical. I figured I could outsource the other jobs, which tend to be a bit less expensive to complete.
Little did I realize how many people were trying to escape from California and move to Arizona just like us in 2021. On top of scrapping to find building materials, labor of any skill level was nonexistent. While, I was able to hire a little help here and there, I ended up adding to my adventures the great wide world of drywall, paint, flooring and all that comes along with it.
Let’s start our journey.
Let’s travel back to March 2019. I’d been stressing about the state of the world for a couple months at this point and through some financial juggling we begin to make an escape from Los Angeles plan.
We wanted to find a house near the 40 acres that we already had an Arizona so that we could have access to the existing property that we were trying to develop. Additionally, we already had a lot of our stuff at this property and wanted to have access to it.
Housing prices in the area were skyrocketing and crap that should’ve been torn down was fetching a pretty penny. I insisted that whatever property we chose would have to have a large shop and a minimum of an acre of land. While it may appear that I was being a drama queen, at the time I had a business with a 5000 square-foot shop in Los Angeles, and that stuff had to go somewhere. Building a shop on an existing lot was just not in the financial forecast after the purchase of a house. None of what my wife was finding gave me much hope in solving this problem. Scrolling through listings, I found this somewhat bizarre property, with a small house and a large shop. It was currently in bankruptcy. After I hesitantly suggested that we take a look at this one, she gave me this weird look as if I had a third arm growing out of my head. After a couple days of not being able to find anything that met our requirements, we finally decided to go see the property. After seeing the place in person, we are able to see more potential than was apparent in the listing photos that might as well have been taken by a drunk third-grader.
Upon arriving at the property, we’re greeted by the owner who made it apparent in a not-so-subtle ways that he had a master plan on how it was going to be able to keep the property and pull it out of bankruptcy court. Knowing that things were in the hands of the bank, we ignored the shenanigans and tried to move forward as if it was any random listing. After many months of every imaginable complication and setback possible in the purchasing of a house, we were finally able to take possession in October of 2019 after having to hire a lawyer to evict the seller.
Upon entering the house for the first time as owners, we realize we probably should have packed hazmat suits. Front and center, was the couch he left, as if trying to keep things creepy like a ghost that just lingers. With the design aesthetic that I would describe as sporadic junkyard chic, his love for octagon and unexplainable random architectural features, we knew we had our work cut out for us. With the house being only 20 years old, and completely made out of steel, it was a virtual tank. However, all the other details to make a house livable left a lot to be desired. Given my insistence on the shop and the necessary compromise on the accompanying house, I had some pretty big promises to fulfill.
Upon entering the house for the first time as owners, we realize we probably should have packed hazmat suits. Front and center, was the couch he left, as if trying to keep things creepy like a ghost that just lingers. With the design aesthetic that I would describe as sporadic junkyard chic, his love for octagon and unexplainable random architectural features, we knew we had our work cut out for us. With the house being only 20 years old, and completely made out of steel, it was a virtual tank. However, all the other details to make a house livable left a lot to be desired. Given my insistence on the shop and the necessary compromise on the accompanying house, I had some pretty big promises to fulfill.
Having to go back to Los Angeles for a week to fulfill some business promises, I hired Mike and Jake to start removing some of the ugly. My wife and neighbor Ed, joined in the project. When the previous owner built the house, he must’ve had a lot of extra steel studs and from the looks of it. He must have also been invested in a fastener company. Walls that should’ve come out of minutes, took hours. After the demolition work, the house felt more livable then when we first visited. The ghost was gone, however the pigeons and rats remained.
After the veil had been peeled back, it was apparent that a lot of repairs were needed. Much of the plumbing had to be replaced, the insulation was poorly done and the dozen pigeons living in the attic were no longer welcome. Much of the electrical was ripped out when walls had been removed, and the electrical box look like a poorly inspired impressionistic modern art piece.
The attic had a nonworking HVAC system and enough duct work for house twice its size. Everything was poorly sealed up and the heating and cooling losses through the roof were enormous. Evaluating the open concept and the fact that the house was only a little over 1300 square feet, I decided to install three mini splits to replace the poorly thought-out nonworking system. This would allow me to thoroughly seal and insulate the attic. Between this, and installing new doors and windows, there was the potential to cut the cooling load for the house in half.
With some of the basic repairs performed, the old flagstone removed from the floor, and the concrete leveled to the point that it no longer resembled a motocross track, I was able to start moving forward with some of our design elements.
In order to get rid of the very unusable angled kitchen design that the house originally had, we had to remove the original shower to take the space back for the kitchen. This allowed me to make the kitchen a little larger a lot more usable. In doing so, I had to move the plumbing and electricity for the island and change the venting system.
We were now into the middle of March of 2021 and we were greeted by an inch of snow at the time of year that people from colder climates would visit here for spring break. I’m sure all those who came were thoroughly disappointed. I was happy to find out later that the crappy weather we had been dealing with for a couple months was not typical.
With the original HVAC and ducting system gone, I patched up the ceiling and I installed the mini split systems. I then installed all the plumbing in the walls, which is very clean, but required a lot of additional work.
The original plan was to build an addition to the house which would be accessed through a small walkway. Because of budget constraints, and lack of available labor, this had to be put on hold. However, I did manage to pick up a full bunk of 2x6s from the scrap yard at a slightly less insane price than what the market was currently asking for.
The outside of the house was anything but attractive. Luckily for us, much it was hidden with palm trees. However, the front door has a wide-open view and the soffit was about as trashy looking as you could get. After ripping out the soffit, I was able to build a structure to attach stained black wood in place of the original perforated steel. In the process, I also cleaned up the front fascia of the house to look less disjointed.
A key element of our focus was the front entryway. The glass in the door and the side windows was atrocious, but the door itself was in reasonable shape. After adding some new lights and replacing the side glass, I covered the door on both sides with some black stained rustic pine. I added the waterjet aluminum address placard, and my wife finished it out with some planters.
It’s no secret that the front of the house will not to be in architectural Digest anytime soon, but we have a lot of improvements planned for the future. After we finish trimming out the roof, we’re going to paint it slate gray and all the red block will be painted to match. The intention is to downplay the house and let the landscaping hide it. This property has an extensive amount of outdoor block walls and individual areas that can be built upon to take advantage of the outdoor living space. When it is done, the house will more or less blend into the rest the property.
Even though we were enlarging the kitchen, it still was not huge. It would have a large island with a good amount of workspace, but storage was still limited. Deciding from the beginning that we probably didn’t need a tree growing out of the middle of our floor to greet you as soon as you enter the front door, we filled in the hole and reclaim the area to build a pantry.
After framing it, running electrical and performing the drywall work, I built shelves inset into one wall to hold food. The shelves are only 4 inches deep and are perfect to store items so you can easily see them. While, the initial framing was not the straightest I’ve ever done, everything came together nicely with a liberal use of spray foam. After all this work, I was open to any solutions that would make finishing it out easier. Apparently, Home Depot heard my thoughts and offered me a sale on workshop cabinets and a birch workbench. With a little bit of modification, it made quick work of finishing the room.
With the original shower reclaimed to the kitchen, the new shower was built where the old tub sat. I plumbed in a new custom shower and lined everything with hardy board. A shower pan was poured, and luckily, I was able to hire a friend to help with some of the tile work. I framed in some new walls and finish the drywall. I had to rewire the whole bathroom to accommodate the change in layout and the custom lighting we wanted to install. Then I finished out the flooring with vinyl plank. I added a heated towel rack and an exhaust fan that would double as a circulation fan to make up for the fact that the bathroom no longer had its own HVAC ducting.
After removing the ugly gold trim propane fireplace, I ripped out the rest of the wall. I framed in a new wood storage area made of maple plywood and thoroughly insulated the opening.
In place of the original fireplace insert, I would be adding a wood-burning unit that would provide an appealing natural fire anesthetic along with being able to heat the entire house if necessary. I framed in the rest of the fireplace area with steel studs and hardy board. I installed electrical power to run the fan built into the fireplace insert and thoroughly insulated everything. I position the fireplace insert and sealed up the ducting.
After months of having to cook every meal in our RV, I was finally able to focus on the kitchen. With the framing done earlier, I ran all the electrical which ended up being quite a bit. I then drywalled the kitchen, did the plastering, and was almost ready for my least favorite task.
When we bought the house, every surface was textured and every corner was rounded. Aside from not meeting our desired aesthetic for a more contemporary look, the house had patches everywhere due to the repairs and changes that we made. Even if we wanted to keep the original texture, it would have been next to impossible to make everything match without redoing it all. We decided that we would skim coat the entire house, including the ceiling. I hired some help for this, but with the lack of available labor, I had to train everyone from scratch. Ultimately, I decide to just finish it up myself. After the plasterwork, I bit the bullet and spent a few days sanding to get ready for paint.
At some point, my wife decided she wanted a completely matte black kitchen. Unfortunately, matte black cabinets are not something you just pick up anywhere. I was able to get a good deal on some standard white Baltic birch cabinets in Los Angeles. The quality was good so long as you are not picky on the style. Not to be deterred, I was able to get everything to fit with just a few modifications. After all was hung and we raised everything 4 inches because I’m not short, I proceeded to spray 2 gallons of automotive flat black hot Rod paint on everything. This was actually a bit more challenging than I was expecting, as painting the inside of the cabinets was not the easiest. I painted the door separately, and glued matte black acrylic on the door. I trimmed all of the acrylic with a router. I will show this Later.
With the cabinets painted, it was time to paint the rest of the house. I spend a day masking everything off, cleaned out the house and prepping all the details.
The next day, I sprayed about 10 gallons of primer and 10 gallons of paint on the walls and ceiling. The ceiling was flat white and the walls were eggshell. We’re keeping it all white for now so have a blank slate moving forward.
With everything painted, I installed appliances and the range hood. I also finished up the plumbing for the island.
This is when things got interesting. It’s good try new things, even if they are a little scary. Consider doing something adventurous like learning to dance or jumping out of an airplane without a parachute. For me, this task felt more like the second. We had used up most of our budget, and wanted honed black granite countertops. After waiting a month for the countertops to come in, we received leathered instead of the honed we ordered. Not having time to wait another month to get the correct stuff, we went with what we had. This is where the fun part comes in. Granite is expensive, and we could not afford to pay someone to cut it.
Using a homemade A-frame, I went and picked up two huge slabs of granite from the supplier. With some forklift acrobatics, I managed to set the slabs on my trailer which was about to become a makeshift cutting table. Diamond saw in hand, I spent the next couple days cutting and polishing the edges of the granite. Working alone, I put the slabs in place driving my forklift into the house. This was not the easiest task with the sandy soil outside of the house. The island slab was huge and would not fit through the 6 foot wide French door opening. This required bringing the slab in vertically and then positioning it on the island. I then brought in the waterfall and glued it in place. This is one of those jobs that you are very happy to be done with.
Using a homemade A-frame, I went and picked up two huge slabs of granite from the supplier. With some forklift acrobatics, I managed to set the slabs on my trailer which was about to become a makeshift cutting table. Diamond saw in hand, I spent the next couple days cutting and polishing the edges of the granite. Working alone, I put the slabs in place driving my forklift into the house. This was not the easiest task with the sandy soil outside of the house. The island slab was huge and would not fit through the 6 foot wide French door opening. This required bringing the slab in vertically and then positioning it on the island. I then brought in the waterfall and glued it in place. This is one of those jobs that you are very happy to be done with.
Nearing the end of the project, I got the rest of the vinyl plank in place. The entire house uses the same flooring. We wanted this consistent element to keep things clean.
I cut some hot rolled steel and covered it with an automotive clearcoat and used it for the fireplace. I added a piece of the granite left over from the kitchen for the fireplace hearth.
The two bedrooms completed with new French doors, new windows and new mini splits. The vent in the ceiling are for a whole house swamp cooler.
Here’s the bathroom finally together. This little area, had a lot of customization. We had a half circle mirror custom-made, and I fitted LEDs behind it. Three hanging lights add to complete the aesthetic, and two lights were added above the door for backlighting. The vanity is made from a Home Depot workbench. I custom-made one of the drawers to accommodate the sink plumbing, and we had a glass top made to make it more waterproof.
With all the fixtures in place, and the glass doors installed, it was nice to finally have a shower in the house.
With all the fixtures in place, and the glass doors installed, it was nice to finally have a shower in the house.
With a small unused area next to the door, I framed it in and added shelves. This ended up being extremely important, as the vanity does not have any lower cabinet space.
If you ever find a project that just never wants to end, you can always extend it a little more with some custom paint. In as little as 40 hours, you can do a complete custom textured plaster and painted faux finish.
If you ever find a project that just never wants to end, you can always extend it a little more with some custom paint. In as little as 40 hours, you can do a complete custom textured plaster and painted faux finish.
I installed a whole house humidifier and finished the laundry room.
With the pantry done, it’s filling up quickly.
One of the 4 barn doors I made.
With the entryway finished, it’s time to find some art for the big open wall.
In the second bedroom, we added some built in wardrobes, and the room is being used as an office and closet.
We finally have the custom bed we made in the bedroom and it starts to feel like home.
Finally, after six months we moved out of the RV. Had I been able to work on this everyday, I probably could’ve finished it in about three months, but I also had to move a business and work on a lot of other projects at the same time.
The projects on this property are only getting started, but actually having a legitimate house is pretty major at this point.
The projects on this property are only getting started, but actually having a legitimate house is pretty major at this point.
