The Salem House
Project considerations- seeing beyond the obvious
We started this remodeling project after purchasing this house as-is and in very poor condition. When I say as-is, I mean as-is, or in other words, full of junk, mold on walls, and in need of a complete and total remodel. In total, we had about 5 roll offs worth of junk come out of this 2000 sq. ft. home before we could start the remodel.
After the removal of the junk; junk cars -yes cars, as in more than one, decades of newspapers, magazines, cigarette smoking, and broken furniture, we finally got to the base-layer which was composed of avocado-colored carpet, brown-stained, moldy drywall, and wood-paneled walls. The home was equipped with a humidifier, which caused some major problems. There were many items crammed against the drywall, which trapped humid air from the HVAC ductwork against the cold walls resulting in moisture buildup which lead to the surface mold that you can see in the photos.
This home used to be located near an airport that has since been moved and has now been developed into an up-and-coming neighborhood. In fact, the original airport has been completely redeveloped into a master-planned community- complete with high-end restaurants, bars, very expensive homes and a very proud, high-priced HOA. What this means for us is that we now own a property that is going to see a major increase in rent/value with desirable amenities such as proximity to restaurants, bars, transportation, entertainment, all without the hassle and expense of an HOA.
This home is located directly to the right of the photos above- you could imagine the noise that had to be endured when living with a full-functioning international airport in your backyard…
Airport induced Home Improvements
I can remember being a kid and going to the airport to watch the jets take off. Back in the 80’s, you could drive right up to the end of the runway to witness the roar, power, noise and wind of the take-offs as the jets propelled themselves into a seemingly impossible flight directly overhead.
Coincidentally, the Salem house is located less than a mile from the end of the old runways. I can imagine what it was like to live in these airport houses and deal with the same noise and power that used to give us a rush as kids at the end of the runway. It must have been very disruptive to peace and quiet that is so essential to comfortable living.
Airport proximity improvement Capital
I’ve been told that at one point, in this area of town, the city provided improvement funding for homes near the airport so that they could better deal with the loud noise of jets taking off overhead. This fact means that we know that:
- The attic was insulated to a higher R-value than others due to the proximity to the airport.
- The home has double pane windows
- Newer HVAC system installed. ( One of the reasons for updating the HVAC system on these homes was due to the fact that they argued that it was too loud to open their windows, so A/C was required. )
Knowing what we do about the neighborhood on the airport and the property values associated with the re-development, we decided to take a risk on this property with the hopes of a big payoff.
More posts coming soon showing this full remodel and reveal. Next post- Demo
