The Frustration House

Here are the details on the Frustration House. The before pictures portion of the before and after rehab pictures is below. We closed this one last week on Wednesday. The seller needed an extra day to get some more things out of the house. So, he was there when I showed up with my contractor the next morning. Not good. He kept up the whole ‘frustration’ thing for me. First, he followed us through the house as we were going over the scope of work, making suggestions and informing me of things he never mentioned when I first looked at the house (nothing major). Geez.

During all of this, he was constantly talking about how he should have waited to sell and how I am going to make a fortune and blah blah blah. Man, you spent 6-7 months making this decision. After a while, I’d had enough. My contractor was already having to have me clarify things because he was getting mixed up with what I was telling him and what the seller was telling him. I finally, politely as possible at this point, asked if he had everything he needed and then showed him to the door.

Just goes to show you that the name for this house fits perfectly.

My guy is doing the repairs in the scope of work below for $5,500. I still need to have the carpet guy come in and replace the carpet after this work is done. That should be about $2,000. My AC guy probably needs to replace the blower motor but he has not been there to verify yet. I’m sure there will be other miscellaneous items that pop up and I will let you know when they do.

House Details

[Source: Website]

This is a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom, 2300sf house that was built in 2001.

The Numbers

Scope of Work

Exterior
• Power wash the exterior where necessary.
• Repair weather stripping for back door.
• Paint back door and trim.
• Replace warped deck rail.
• Install new oil-rubbed bronze doorknobs and deadbolts for front door, back door and door to garage.
• Install new light fixtures for front and back porch (see material specs).
• Clean windows inside and out.
• Install new screens where necessary.
• Water grass and plants when possible.
• Haul off construction debris and trash.

Interior
• Texture any imperfections in walls and ceilings. Match texture.
• Prep interior for professional painting (remove all nails and things attached to walls and neatly caulk and sand) Paint interior walls and trim (ceilings only where necessary).
• Tighten fridge water connection and paint handle on fridge with correct paint.
• Replace garbage disposal.
• Repair kitchen cabinets where worn.
• Hookup automatic garage door opener so that it operates correctly.
• Replace light fixtures (see material specs)
• Replace interior doorknobs with oil-rubbed bronze (and strike plates). Counted 13.
• The closet doors in the master bath should be silver (3).
• Replace all mini-blinds with new white mini-blinds.
• Install correct light bulbs in bathroom and where needed throughout.
• Make sure all switch and plug plates match throughout the house. Replace broken /painted ones.
• Re-caulk around toilets and where necessary.
• Clean return air vent and opening and install new air filter.
• Install smoke detectors where necessary.
• Replace all doorstops with oil-rubbed bronze doorstops.

Master Bath
• Repair the broken cabinet door.
• Replace both faucets with new (see material specs)
• Remove carpet from wet areas (just keep in the closets) and install vinyl stick down tile.

Upstairs Bath
• Install new chrome faucet (see material specs).
• Install new white toilet seat (make sure tight).
• Re-caulk neatly around tub.

Downstairs Bath
• Replace faucet with new oil-rubbed bronze (including drain cover – material specs)
• Replace hand towel ring with oil-rubbed bronze.
• Replace light fixture with oil-rubbed bronze fixture (see material specs)

Materials Specification

Paint Colors

Interior:

Walls – Realist Beige SW 6078 FLAT
Trim – Extra White SW 7006 SEMIGLOSS

Exterior:

Trim & Backdoor – White Semigloss

Materials:

Upstairs Bath Sink Faucets (3): Glacier Bay Builders SKU 217-251 $24.86 (chrome)
Downstairs Bath Faucet: Pegasus Estates Oil-Rubbed Bronze Faucet SKU 666068 $89

Light Fixtures:

Exterior Light Fixture Black SKU 245746 $8.97
Chandelier for Dining Room and Breakfast SKU 892-587 Commercial Electric $65 (Oil Rubbed Bronze)
Ceiling fan for Living Room and 3 Bedrooms SKU 161-646 Hampton Bay Glendale $65 (make sure you get Oil-Rubbed Bronze).
Flushmount for Entry, Downstairs hall, 3 Upstairs Hall SKU 720163 $15 Commercial Electric Oil-Rubbed Bronze (make sure to use at least a 60W bulb)
Downstairs Bathroom Vanity Light – Progress Lighting North Park Venetian Bronze SKU # 552-400 $70

Before Pictures