Rod here (you can tell by the black text). After 9 years of cruising my sailboat from San Francisco to Mexico and then to the Pacific Northwest it was time for some changes. I had closed the doors on my mostly one man business and 'retired' at 52 in 1993. It was now 2002, cruising had cost more than I anticipated and the stock market downturn had hurt. I considered getting a job, but at that age, being out of a technical field for so long, and not having worked for anyone but myself since 1969, the idea was not appealing.
After living aboard sailboats for 27 years and being out of the booming housing market for too long I decided to 'buy myself a job'. So after owning my Valiant 40 sailboat for 16 years I sold her and bought a 'fixer-upper' house in Bellingham, WA.
Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures when I first bought it, but it was a MESS, although structurally very sound. I'm going to show before and after photos here, but keep in mind that the 'befores' were after a lot of cleanup!
The King St. house was tiny - one bedroom, a 3/4 bath and an eat in kitchen - only 650 square feet. But there was a basement of about 450 feet and the big plus was a large rear connected area of about another 650 feet. It was originally a split 2 car garage and some extra space, all of which had been used as a pottery studio for many years.
There was a huge Lawson Cypress that totally dwarfed the house and was growing against it. I became friends with a local landscape architect who thought my idea of removing it was awful. So he graciously volunteered to thin it out and add some real interest to it. The after photo doesn't fully show the beauty of what he created.
There had originally been a large pottery kiln on the gray bricks.
The freeway ran behind the property. Fortunately while I owned it the state built a sound wall and regraded the hill to allow us more yard space.
My original plan was to build a second living unit in the rear section. The property was shy 400 square feet to have a legal duplex on it so we (after Sandra & I got together) decided instead to build 3 bedrooms and a full bath in the rear and to improve the hall that connected the two areas. The house would then become a very nice 4 bedroom, 1 3/4 bath, with a den and storage area in the basement.
The new rear entry and patio
A corner of the master bedroom. It has a pocket door to the master bath, and the bath also has a door to the hall.
The second of three new bedrooms. All of the sheetrock and plywood walls and ceiling were replaced throughout the rear section. All new electrical, plumbing and roofing was done.
The gaudy blue paint was all over the kitchen. Sandra's sister Joan and her husband Bev enjoying a dinner in the eating area. They were very helpful in designing the new floor plan and with offering many good ideas.
After new floors, counters, stove and lots of paint.
Rod working at night in the rain trying to unclog a main sewer line. I was ultimately unsuccessful and had to call in the pros to install a new pipe.
The wishing well with some rotten boards replaced and Sandra's pretty flowers.
I'm cheering with the last truck load of old stuff headed for the dump!
The rebuilt and repainted gate and house with some new landscaping.
Because Sandra and I plan to live in Canada we did not redo the house for ourselves. Our plan had been to try to make some money on it by selling it and to buy another house in a better section of Bellingham to rent out. We were successful with this and here is what we now have. It's a quality home built in 93, with 4 bedrooms, 3 baths and family room in a great part of town.
I had originally planned to do most of the work myself. We soon realized that this would take forever at the rate I was able to do it. So we hired several excellent subs. I want to thank Jason, Jim, Rob, Russ, Simon and Zack for all their hard work and cooperation. I also want to thank Sandra for all her great help, ideas and assistance, and for putting up with me during some of my stress times!
