[jl61190]

Just joined this forum, looking for a little advice before I make up my mind...

A little info on the house/addition:
My home is an old "L" shaped brick two story with a single room addition in the L's corner. The addition serves as a living room. It sits on a block foundation, and has a dirt crawlspace underneath. The addition in question is, in my opinion, poorly built. The two windows in the room are very drafty(likely need to be replaced), the ceiling sags, the floor is uneven, the entry door in the room needs to be replaced and there is no duct work running to this room. I recently also found that beneath the siding, the exterior wall is just some sort of foam board with foil face... I'm not sure if that is particularly bad or not... but it doesn't seem like a sturdy setup to me.


I've been toying with the idea of simply tearing down this addition. I am not at all attached to this room, or it's extra space. The main thing I am concerned with if we were to tear off the addition is value. We have no plans to sell this house, but it is always something I will keep in mind. The plan would be to add a small porch sometime in the future.

Advice? Experience? Opinions?

Some visual refs... the roof pitch is a little off but it gives an idea of the layout....

 

[woodworkbykirk]

youll notice the loss of space on your house immediately.. though your yard will feel much bigger

 

[AndyWRS]

I am with you on it removing it. From what you mentioned it sounds poorly built and doesnt appear to fit your exsting home. I like the porch diagram, it fits the home, if you dont need the space i would vote for removing it.

 

[ddawg16]

Ya know....projects like that are great ways to get to know your neighbors better.....throw a demo party....supply all the beer and food.....the wifes stand around chating...the guys get to do manly stuff....drink beer....do more manly stuff.....

Tear it down.....you can always do something better at a later date......maybe build a bigger garage......yea...that's it....a bigger garage.....then you have a man cave for the guys.....

BTW....if your rendering is anything close to what is there, you just might improve the value of your property.

And on a more serious note....

Don't do stuff to your house with 'value added' in mind....do stuff to your house because that is what you want. It's your house....enjoy it the way you want.

 

[joecaption]

Hire a compa y with an escavator and a dump truck and that whole thing could be gone and cleaned up in a day.

 

[jl61190]

Thanks for the replies!

Regarding the lost space; I wanted to see how not having that room would effect us. So I moved everything out of the addition a few weeks ago, and arranged the house as if it didn't exist. Have been living in the arrangement since.. So far no negative effects!

We're located on a 13 acre parcel in the middle of field land. The yard feeling bigger was never really a concern, but the road is litterally 25-30 ft from the front of the house. I think loosing that addition will make the distance feel much bigger.

And of course I do think the addition is butt ugly, and any upgrage/repair I do to it cannot over come it's uglyness..:no: It just doesn't match.

My big issue is going to be convincing the man of the house to go along with the plan. I'm not sure why he is so resistant... the only reason I get is "too much work". We live in a pretty rural area with pleanty of farm/construction connections and helpful families/friends, so equipment and man power would not be an issue. Although I am a serial project-under-estimator, I feel this wouldn't be all that difficult... Am I underestimating again?

....any other input?

 

[ddawg16]

Thanks for the replies!

Regarding the lost space; I wanted to see how not having that room would effect us. So I moved everything out of the addition a few weeks ago, and arranged the house as if it didn't exist. Have been living in the arrangement since.. So far no negative effects!

We're located on a 13 acre parcel in the middle of field land. The yard feeling bigger was never really a concern, but the road is litterally 25-30 ft from the front of the house. I think loosing that addition will make the distance feel much bigger.

And of course I do think the addition is butt ugly, and any upgrage/repair I do to it cannot over come it's uglyness..:no: It just doesn't match.

My big issue is going to be convincing the man of the house to go along with the plan. I'm not sure why he is so resistant... the only reason I get is "too much work". We live in a pretty rural area with pleanty of farm/construction connections and helpful families/friends, so equipment and man power would not be an issue. Although I am a serial project-under-estimator, I feel this wouldn't be all that difficult... Am I underestimating again?

....any other input?

Ahhh....your the female part of the team....I thought you were the guy....

I agree with you on one thing.....it is buttt ugly....

I can understand hubby's resistance.....

Unless he is flat out saying no.....take a sledge hammer and remove your half. Tell him he can do what he wants with his half......while at the same time suggesting that maybe he should think about building that new garage behind the house....but it has to match the house.

 

[AlphaPilot]

Ahhh....your the female part of the team....I thought you were the guy....

I agree with you on one thing.....it is buttt ugly....

I can understand hubby's resistance.....

Unless he is flat out saying no.....take a sledge hammer and remove your half. Tell him he can do what he wants with his half......while at the same time suggesting that maybe he should think about building that new garage behind the house....but it has to match the house.

:thumbup: I agree with this too, also shocked :huh: that the female is posting this question. Way to go! :laughing: The renders are nice, too. If money isn't an issue make the back garage brick also.

 

[oh'mike]

Nice antique house----I consider that addition to be an insult to the fine older home--

I agree--remove it----

 

[ddawg16]

Nice antique house----I consider that addition to be an insult to the fine older home--

I agree--remove it----

Best reason there is.....it's about par to taking a Ford Model T and putting rice rocket fenders on it....along with 32" wheels....