i think this is a great way for Matt to continue with his brand, people come to this channel to learn building science, not to flip a cheap house. And in that sense this is a great series, a lot of this stuff is important for builders and home owners as well , how to look at a house and make it efficient is super important! Thank you Matt
ricky gars The explicit purpose of the series was to show a “real renovation” on a “middle class budget.” He’s already 300% over budget and he’s calling in architects and structural engineers. If he had said “I’m going to throw as much money at this house as possible so you can see all the newest building science,” the criticism wouldn’t have been as valid. I’ve learned a lot from Matt’s other videos. He needs to stick to selling over-engineered building products to people with money to burn. He’s clearly out of his element when trying to do these renovations.
Matt sits down after this project is done, tallies everything up and realizes it would have been cheaper to just build a new house. So much for the middle class budget.
Yup, if it isn't a "family" homestead, these days it's a hard pass on reno., those type s of homes had a 50 yr life cycle- sad. I like Matt but the Zip phenom is going to lead to the same problem in 50 yrs- cause maintenance- people just don't do it.
He said at the start he paid close to half a million bucks for this dump. That's 1% territory. And he's gonna probably pay at least another $300,000 in materials and labor fixing it. In the end he's going to have the best part of a million bucks into a house that MIGHT sell for $500K. It's a good thing he's not flipping it. He'd lose his shirt.
I was in a 1911 attic today in Indianapolis. It had all the greatest hits: knob and tube, bad splices, mold, vermiculite insulation, cracked and bowed rafters, mice and bats, improper ventilation, water heater venting directly into the attic, and put the cherry on top with a dormer window access. Every day is an adventure in the inspection world. Don't expect, inspect.
Yikes! Might be better to tear down and rebuild! Warning: Rats leave a pheromone trail. That is how new rats find their way back to a place you have previously eradicated them, and that trail I have been told can lasts for 5 years. The stench from the feces and urine will heat up every year as temps increase and you cannot get rid of the stench Talk to your local exterminator before putting in new stuff, he should have something to put on that trail to neutralize it. Otherwise They'll BE BACK! Love the channel. (I speak from experience)
This is so great. I have a 70s house pretty much like this in Australia and going through the same thought processes and exact issues with droppings, bad insulation, leaky, hot house and roof. Excited to see how Matt tackles this house!!! I can then put some of the ideas into practice.
I'm here because of a 70.s house in Australia too...buying it to watch Reno's of my more modern place next-door...then deciding weather to Reno or rebuilt on the old gal...its a chocolate brick almost all original on the coast..I like the idea of reno and just modernisation but both my modern place on one side and very modern neibour pull me to rebuild...but who wants to live next to a full demo and re build. For a year after you just moved in.
I'd like to see this project with the work adjusting to the budget, instead of the budget adjusting to the work. I feel like the constant increase of the budget it not realistic; for most folks embarking on a remodel, there is a dollar cap they simply cannot exceed - it may be more than originally budgeted, but it is not double or even more of that amount. How do you adjust the scope to get the most for the dollars available? What is cut when something else must be added?
Tery Shaw I agree. This whole series has destroyed its original stated intent. I quit watching after the architect got involved and the budget went thru the roof. Back to reruns of “Hometime” for me.
Here in quebec we dont only get the blower test free but when they come back and show improvement on a second blower test we get paid 20% of our costs for improvements. Its expensive but it gets alot of people trying to improve their messy 70 s homes
I'm wondering how long this continues before the decision is made to simply tear this down and start over. It's getting close to that in terms of economic reality. I'm watching purely for entertainment value now as this stopped being about a "real world remodel" the moment an architect was hired. Now we have a $2k air quality assessment and we're bringing in an engineer to assess the changes needed to the truss to support the remodeling of the living space underneath (that Matt said initially he wasn't going to do). Good times!
A contractor once told me that in the 1970s nobody had any money due to the recession so builders cut as many corners as possible. That is how we got such great building innovations such as aluminium electrical wire instead of copper. Beware of purchasing a house made in the 1970s. As Matt has now found out the hard way ;) Amazing idea for a web series. Can't wait to see more. BTW in Massachusetts, you can call Mass Saves and they will do this energy audit for free and then you can get a Zero interest loan to pay for any improvements you need.
Same thing happened where I live in the 2000's. Builders cut corners with the outside of the home and now there's water damage galore and walls having to be ripped out and redone 2 years latter. I live in Utah, it rarely rains.... that ought to tell you how bad it is. I don't buy anything newer than the 90's. Even then they cut corners. I just default that I will have to renovate the place no matter what these days. We are in our in laws house basement and it hasn't been updated since the late 40's when it was made... the 40's have issues too. Lead pipes leaking, in ground/concrete ductwork is compromised with cracks, and don't get me started on the electrical work. It may have thick copper wire, but with scary casing and no ground, sparks are commonly seen. we are slowly replacing stuff DIY (since I grew up with that and my father works in the renovation business) in exchange for rent. Otherwise things would be falling apart faster.
70s is also when boomers needed houses, LOTS of houses. Giant demand plus empty pockets meant major cost cutting. The most glaring is using T1-11 as a combo sheathing and siding product. It "works" but is terrible at air sealing and keeping leaks out. That house may have been "fancy" to get some tar paper under it!
"I can't go halfway..." This is why our budget tripled on our tiny 720 sq. ft. 1950s house renovation in western New York. But I can't thank you enough for the knowledge you've imparted to us. In the end we will have basically a brand new, tight, energy efficient house.
@@doug.ritson Insulation is rarely worth DIYing unless its a small area. The pumps on the professional trucks can vaccuum everything out in a few hours, and then blow new insulation in even faster. Trying to stuff it into garbage bags or using shopvac takes ages. A neighbor tried, it wasnt fun!
bigpjohnson I just went through this, I had to pull out blown in the exterior walls and ceiling. I tried doing it by hand but it was ridiculous. I rented a gas powered insulation vacuum and it was worth the 300 dollars a day. That’s the best way to do it or have a pro.
Love your videos, Matt! My wife and I are looking at gutting our house, completely remodeling, and doing a major add-on in about three years. The house was built in the 1950's. I'm learning a LOT about the way we're going to want things done, and even a few of the "improvements" I've done that I'll need to fix at that point. I'm getting a lot out of the Real Remodel series!
Great to see a realistic house flipping episode! And that it's good to see that just looking from the outside you can expect certain problems like a house being leaky. Instead of how the house flipper shows always glossing over the exciting stuff like tiling and kitchen fixtures but then stumbling across a setback that wasn't in their budget and was totally unexpected and saying Oh rats!
Great video Matt! My time in HVAC taught me some of that, but your buddy and his formal IAQ assesment were eye opening for sure. We've been building the same sort of houses in Dallas forever also; Fox and Jacobs, who built more "Victory Villages" and military housing, as well as developments for enormous war material plants changed over to civilian construction after the war and built more "ticky, tacky boxes, all just the same" or minor variations all over North Texas. It seems like a large percentage of them still stand, complete with all the sins they were built with! Thanks again for the vid- look forward to seeing your finish on this one!
Many Utility Companies do free energy audits. Blower doors can tell a lot about air tightness but little about the most efficient upgrades. BTW I am a level 1 energy rater and a FL Certified Building Contractor. I have been using a blower door since the 90's.
@@WeKnowEDKH NE FL am looking for a place to rent in November. retired and moved to WA and it just didn't take. I need to be back and doing some building and remodeling.
Yes, my house built in 98. Only thing covering the obs is the vinyl siding. A gust of wind hits the house, I can hear and feel it inside the house. I figure it would be cheaper to buy a new house than fix this. Now the house is full of dust all the time. Retired on limited income, I'm not going nowhere. Thanks for your videos.
If you ever need to replace the siding, adding some Tyvek and taping all the seams would help a lot with the drafts. In the meantime, you can caulk around baseboards and windows and maybe put foam gaskets under your outlet and switch plates. Good luck!
So glad I found this series. It makes me feel so much better about the crap 1957 house we live in. I like how you are keeping it real for pricing as well.
Excellent video Matt, it really helps to see a real world example. Its nice to see what the wealthy can build, but for me, its more valuable to see what the rest of us have to deal with, and to learn what the best affordable options are.
You are not doing a simple remodel that an average homeowner can afford. This is the super upgrade / ultra luxury remodel that you could only afford if you were getting services for free or had an unlimited budget. This is just crazy. Most places can't even find someone to do blower door tests on a new construction.
Matt I think you overpaid on this house. You should have walked through the house, done a home inspection, & audited utility bills. On a different note I cannot wait for you to work on DemoRanch Mansion. 👍
Austin has a hot housing market, he could probably re-list it as-is and find some sucker who will pay even more. The new owner could just paint and never fix the glaring flaws.
@@bigpjohnson Buying anything really old the commonsensical thing to do would be to hire a qualified forensic structural engineer home inspector and inspect the entire house for all defaults and go on from there in the contract negotiations. It sounded like to me he made an offer and they took it. So now he has a project house that looks phooking awful. LOLfrom the first video I would definitely get rid of that drop down kitchen ceiling.
Matt, The big takeaway here is that if we as a population are serious about the environment, building scientists are going to have to strongly influence building codes on new construction (quantity will bring down cost) and there is likely a huge market gap for remodel/retrofit.
I think the takeaway here is that the whole neighborhood is full of houses built this same way. Unless Matt plans on purchasing all of them, he is way over-improving this house, making it nearly impossible to sell in the future. It might bring up values of surrounding homes, but it will not bring up the quality. This seems like it would be a fun series to watch, but I feel bad for all the folks that live in houses like this one without any idea how much repairs they need or how little their house is actually worth.
Having spent WAAAAYYYY too much time working in hot attic spaces, and knowing how quickly the perspiration begins, I could see it on your arms within minutes after you climbed in. Good luck to the crew that’s tasked with retrofitting up there. Hopefully during the winter
You are gonna be a great landlord. One of those who cares about their tenants. I saw the other real estate agent guy was doing reaction video over your remodeling. And basically, he was laughing that you will blow up your budget and he could have done it so differently. I, in person, lived in a house remodeled by a builder who happened to be our landlord as well, all the attentions to details really touched us, because we knew if he did it otherwise, we would have had day and night difference in terms of comfort and livability. That bloke who did reaction video about you on the other hand doesn't care much about the people who actually lives in it, as long as people signed up the contract, he just owns them.
Kevin also lives in a different climate. California's weather works better with old single pane windows than here in Texas with our heat and humidity. If you are fixing to rent, you do have to make hard decisions on what to improve, especially in lower cost of rental areas. Most tenants dont want to pay $100 more per month because you air-sealed and insulated and put in a new A/C system, even though it saves them $100++ in electricity. People only look at the upfront price, running and maintenance costs are invisible until they bite you in the ass. And that's why I gutted my house and sealed and insulated the crap out of it. Its a 70 year old house that is cheaper to cool than many new homes.
Consider heavily insulated metal ductwork after you clean out the nasty flex duct and insulation, ventilate the attic with baffled soffits and solar vents, staple solar radiant barrier to bottom of roof rafters making sure to cut radiant barrier around the exhaust holes, blow in lots of quality insulation.
I'm totally dealing with this in my 40 year old house right now. I have old, leaky, metal ducts. Musty air in the summer, high energy costs, low air quality. I'm trying to figure out if I should replace or just seal and reinsulate. Everyone says something different. Thanks for the video, it came at a good time. I'll probably go with the guy I talked with about the home audit. On the plus side, at least I don't have the rats.
40 years old? Replace it. You wouldn't do repairs on a car that's been driven for 40 years. Your repairs aren't going to give you decades of trouble free service either. Time to replace it.
You could clean and seal and insulate, but that is 40 years old of dust containing god-knows-what lying inside them, and you're breathing it in constantly. Rip them out and put in everything new. Flex duct isnt perfect energy-wise, but its cheap and NEW. You'll appreciate the clean air. :) If its not much extra, then get metal ducts again.
A few years ago my utility offered free blower tests and then made a recommendation of what to do to make the home more energy efficient. I took them up on their offer and then paid $1500 to have their air sealing contractor come in a seal the home. They sealed ceiling leaks around light fixtures and bathroom fans. They also sealed around pipe and any other ceiling penetration. They then went to the lower level and sealed along the walls where they meet the basement concrete wall. After they were done they redid the blower test and it was much better. The very next month my utility bills dropped by 30%. Well worth the upfront cost. I have been saving money now month after month, year after year, spring, summer, fall and winter. Saving energy saves money. Check with your local utility and see what energy efficiency programs they offer.
I gutted my 1950 house and sealed the exterior and new windows and doors, then blew in cellulose in the walls and attic. It costs barely more to cool than my old apt that was a quarter of the size! Air-sealing and insulating pay themselves off very nicely in hot and humid or cold areas.
1. Insulation crew comes in and vaccums it clean. 2. Electrical work if needed, air-sealing, HVAC, etc. work is done. Rafter baffles are added as needed. 3. Insulation crew returns and adds fresh insulation. That's the process in most houses if you arent doing any structural changes.
I saw 30+ ACH50 once when doing an "energy audit" on a 1890's building. It was a 8.000 s.f. warehouse/retail store. One of their summer high school workers had driven the fork lift out the back door (at teenage speed) with the lift up. Crashed into the wall, pulled that wall off the side walls slightly and left a gap (up to an inch) between the side and back walls. They had put pipe insulation into the gap but it was worthless. They decided to just upgrade their lights.
Thank you so much for saying dew points instead of humidity %. I hate the fact the weather forecast industry states humidity % instead of dew point most the time.
Eco three here in alabama done all of this and more, blower door test, infrared readings starting from the crawl space, to the interior rooms, then in the attic. Duct work tested, and much more for free if I use them. If i did not use them to service my house the cost for a 1800 sq ft. House $197.
I Have Had My Entire Old Central System Replaced With A Ductless Mitsubishi Mini Split System. I Have A 60K BTU Heat Pump And 7 Head Units! I Could Not Be More Happy. My Install Took Place From 2019 06 21 To 06 25. The First Night With The New System I Set All Units To The Lowest Setting Of 61 F! I Woke To A House Sitting At 57.3 F. My House Was Built In 1952. There Is No Insulation In The Walls! I Still Have To Remove And Seal All Of The Supply And Return Vents In The Ceiling And Floor, 14 Total.
As a homeowner, I'm inclined to fix the obvious stuff, like the ubiquitous leaking attic door and missing insulation, before spending $200 or $2,000 on a blower test . Living in the N.E., I run a blower test of sorts every spring and fall with an exhaust fan upstairs and the basement windows open; the air currents from the outlets and some of the baseboards were obvious from the dust smell and congested sinuses. It's also obvious on those -5 degree (F) days where the air currents are between the drywall and the concrete blocks; they are getting harder to find after years of injecting cans of Great Stuff. There were kitchen cabinets where I could feel the cold air falling down from the attic and that's all gone now. I'm sure a professional audit would find more than I have, but the house in this video was neglected in terms of efficiency (and a few other things) for 40 years. If making an informative video were not part of the mission, I'm sure Matt could have found a lot of this stuff, fixed it, and then gotten an energy audit with some hope of ending up with a shorter list of issues.
Matt, to build on Kevin Whitlow 's comment, You were talking about how crazy it is to have ducts in a hot attic so shouldn't you blanket insulate the roof to keep the attic cooler like some other homes you have done or maybe convert the house to mini split system and get rid of ducts completely?
Amazing information as always! Very useful, good to hear from the engineer explain in easy-to understand language:) Also really enjoyed the transitions on the video, very good editing voice-image and added material (have seen almost all your videos and this one caught my attention on that detail) Thumbs up for video editor!
You've brilliantly demonstrated a prime example of how so many of us unwittingly contributes to climate change; how, before we run out and implement expensive technology solutions, we should begin with ensuring energy efficiency & maximum insulation upgrades in our existing housing stock. This is true worldwide. It would save plenty of money & definitely lower our greenhouse gas emissions whilst simultaneously being one of the simplest things we can do as individuals to protect our world when, as individuals, we often feel too small to make a difference. Collectively those individual actions add up to a lot. Thanks for highlighting how important a leak proof envelope & proper insulation is.
AGW is a myth. Long before the industrial Revolution the climate shifted massively worldwide, and humans adapted. Interestingly, most massive climate shifts coincided with Solar Maximums/Minimum- which can last for centuries. Our impact on the planet doesn't amount to a fart in a hurricane compared with the amount of climate-modifying energy we receive from the the Sun on a daily basis. Climate Change is just a secular religion for those who have rejected the other ones. Complete with committing original sin against a god (Mother Gaia) and penance/indulgences/sacrifices for those sins (Carbon Credits & Smart Cars). But it appeals to the humanist side of most Leftists and their need to believe they can create heaven here on Earth- if only they can just get the correct policies enacted.
@@jckay5087 Several small details that you've overlooked. Environmental concerns are not merely limited to those of liberal political views. Plenty of Conservatives hold those same concerns, concurring with their liberal counterparts on measures that need to be taken to protect our world. Secondly, it's a matter of simple mathematics, i.e. 1+1=2. If you add tonnes of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere over the length of time that we have, well, cause & effect. It's unavoidable. Thirdly, basic science has aptly demonstrated how the various greenhouse gases cause warming & finally, (& this may be because you have little or no contact with the natural world), you obviously haven't been paying attention to what's happening around you. The seasons are out of whack affecting growth patterns, hibernation, sea ice formation, interruption of food availability in the natural world & so on. Basic observation skills should tell you that something's badly wrong.
I was excited about this series because I thought we'd finally get to see how Matt handles a house with a standard rental budget. I'm not sure Matt would know how to do a normal rental now. Nothing wrong with that, but this would never work as a landlord.
Arthur, you clearly have never owned an investment property. There's a fine line between building science, and overkill. Chances are your personal home would fail most, if not all of Matt's standards. It doesn't mean it's not a safe and durable home. I build and have toured many new construction luxury apartments. None would meet these standards. Toyota is s great car, but lacks the bells and whistles of a Tesla. You can have great rental properties without being a slumlord. I invite you to stay at my Airbnb's so you can learn the difference.
I know this area in Austin, and the max monthly rent is $6500 on a really good day. At that rate, Matt's original rehab budget would take around a year to capitalize (taxes, insurance, and other overhead excluded). That's not unreasonable at all. With his new budget, nearing 250k, it's going to take 4 to 5 years to capitalize the rehab alone, and another 10 years to capitalize the purchase. That's a terrible investment. He is better off flipping it if he isn't capable of scaling back his rehab.
@@pmpbd3 Matt's standards are what new building technology he can convince his multimillionaire clients to install into their hermetically sealed, over insulated abodes.
Man, 27ACH? I don't even want to test my 1970's house now. But I'm dozing it over and going high performance NEW BUILD next year!! (I'm jealous of my clients houses!)
Houses in FL are built the same way. The sad part is that I could spend a ton of money fixing my modist 1980 ranch style house with all the same problems as that one but a future buyer doesn't care and doesn't care to be informed. I don't think I would be able to increase the home price at all. As far as most buyers are concerned a three bed two bath ranch is the same as the next one.
This observation is an industry flaw. Upgrades and quality require the seller/builder to educate home buyers of the benefits. The added cost will reduce the pool of potential buyers but unseen improvements should increase the homes durability, energy efficiency, and comfort.
@@Promeethious I'm about to embark on building a net zero home instead of fixing my old one. The builders here in SW FL are terrible. They put tons of money into cosmetics but the structure style hasn't changed since the early 1980s. They still put cold ducts in hot attics too. Way under insulated.
@@townsendliving9750 it's the area. Lots of people from California and upper east coast moving in looking to buy a house using all their previous equity on old home. Home prices have been going up for decades. Tint is going from Red to Blue in these areas as they bring all the ideas that made the last place they lived unbearable.
other929 what ideas are people bringing, and why did do think those ideas are what made the area they are moving from unbearable? And, for that matter, why do you posit some degree or “unbearable-ness” as the motivation for people to move to where you are? Perhaps you think your area is unbearable, therefore anyone choosing to move there must be coming from somewhere worse?
@@other9293 I'm from CO but have been living in CA since '98 and we just bought a house in Austin for 400k+, 1800 sqft, 1/2 acre, built in '68. We will rent it for 5-10 years and then knock it down and build our retirement home--booyah! They say Austin is the blueberry in the tomato soup of Texas! Despite high prop taxes in Texas, it is more retirement friendly than CA (no state income tax). And the beaches along the Gulf are incredible...you can swim in it unlike CA!
I have seen one of your videos that suggested to insulate the rafters of the roof instead of blowing insulation onto the floor of the attic to keep the ducts from creating condensation and help keep the house cooler. Would inspectors accept that? And what is the Best way to insulate the rafters?
Matt -- your videos are awesome man! This one really made me think about my attic. We have had a hot house most of the summer and the AC guy even came out. He didn't check the attic and neither had I. Bad move on my part! Routine check of the attic is always smart. I knew I had a problem when I opened the attic and got a blast of cool air. One of the straps holding our duct in place had fallen causing stress at the duct joint which separated so our kitchen had not had AC all summer since the attic was being cooled every ten minutes or so. Total fail on my part for not inspecting it myself. Problem is now fixed. I love your ideas about insulation and creating a conditioned attic --- just not the way I did it haha!
You mentioned the rats/mice have chewed the Romex. That makes a solid case for EMT conduit in residences. Be glad to come to Texas and pipe your house Chicago style.
Sean forgot to mention that a Supply Air Leak to Outside will put your house under a negative pressure, pulling outside air into your house from all the cracks, when the HVAC Unit is running.
This is what you can expect buying a house that is over 10-20 years old really. ANY house. 70s-80s houses were built fast and cheap since boomers needed lots of housing. They used T1-11 siding as sheathing to save money, then spent 100X as much cooling and heating it. I usually recommend friends to get as new a house as possible, or at least 90s and newer. That way plumbing, electrical, windows, and insulation are up to decent modern standards. Add some more attic insulation and better HVAC and you're good. I bought a 1950 house and gutted and rebuilt it, it performs like a new house now.
Another great video. That rat problem a home inspector should have found in a traditional home sale. Granted im sure you saw it when looking at the house before the blow test. I'm looking into going to your Denver visit. Just need to be sure I can schedule that trip. Big problem though. On the course info page you linked It did not show its date towards the top of the page for people to see. Its both in your link description hear and on there full events calendar but that can discourage people having to hunt for it. Thanks for all your great videos I've learned a ton form you over the years!
W1NGXER0 Scary, very scary. Reminded me of the time I was looking to buy a 70 old home back in the 80’s. I asked the owner, a very elderly widow, to allow me to look in the attic and the crawlspace. Her response was classic, “What on earth for?” Haha!! Well the house had termites in the Crawlspace, rat droppings in the attic and signs of leaking, very poorly insulated and very old wiring and plumbing. I passed on it. What on earth for? Because it’s buyer beware, that’s why. PS, she wouldn’t budge on the price as if all was OK with the house, but it wasn’t. Attractive house on the outside but problems beneath the surface.
A lot of good info thanks. I live in AZ near where you were the other day. My husband had talked about doing this in our old house. But we moved. With all the fruit trees, we have to watch for roof rats too.
@@townsendliving9750 I swapped out a 25 year old furnace for a mini-split system about 5 years ago and am super happy with it. Cut my energy bills in half and had a much better system. No leaky and dusty ducts. Constant and even heat and cooling when needed (in Seattle). Indoor air quality is better.
@@YummyPork the house house geothermal heated floors, no duct system in place now, its between mini splits, probably would need about 6 mini splits, or a chiller system in the cieling. That one is much more complicated to design and install but has lower energy bills and is just a water based system amd makes no noise.
Matt have you ever had a problem with a house settlin problem like a garage foundation going down. Know anyone in dfw area that can repair this type of foundation
I commend you for taking on this incredible task of applying building science practices to an existing home. Most people live in "crappy" homes so I think these videos have a greater potential of impacting house performance than your videos discussing new home construction. If I remember correctly, you talk about houses generally being built to last 50 years. This house is about 50 years old, when you paid for it did you get it for essentially the price of the land? At what point is demolishing the home the best option? You had an architect design a remodel, you cleaned up the property, and in this episode you conducted a blower door test and looked at the attic. 1. I am not sure why you would pay for a blower door test before sealing obvious leaks. It seems in this case the test would be best suited for identifying leaks through walls so it seems impractical to test until you fix attic and ventilation. Unless you are just trying to establish the initial condition of the house for your viewers. 2. Did you perform an overall evaluation of the house to determine what changes in the house will significantly improve the building performance of the house? You must have had some concept of what needed to be done before you bought the house. The decision process displayed in the videos seem to be made from the position of: I own this house what can I do to optimize its performance. 3. My guess is that you will end up just spraying foam to seal under the rafters, what would you do in cold climates where condensation is a concern? 4. I like that you are discussing costs and hope you will include cost/benefit for different options in future videos. Your videos are great, keep up the good work.
Wow. Well, you’re already replacing the roof, maybe pull the sheets off and insulate the space at the roof. The perfect, pre- Halloween episode! Those rats are creeping me out.
He said 19" of insulation for an r-38 rating. Blow in cellulose is about that at 12", and fiberglass at about 10". Also, I prefer a traditionally insulated house with vented roofs for multiple reasons: cheaper than spray foam, less harmful to people, moisture damage doesn't go unnoticed when shingles begin to fail or are damaged, no need for humidity sensors in the attic, no need to waste blowing AC into the attic to keep it conditioned. The pros to a conditioned attic is that your system isn't "fighting" against the external heat of the attic and mold is less likely to develop if the ducting gets a hole in it. If the safety of spray foam is taken more seriously in coming years and the cost goes down, then I will start using it on homes, but I don't want to gamble with the health of clients, the same way Matt isn't going to by taking out the ductwork, old insulation, repairing electrical and fixing the air leaks.
I saw channel who had an opinion of what you are doing with a "rental" property. I understand you will be renting this property, but only after you teach the viewer of how to renovate a home. You have a great idea here.
9:08 that's the sebum or natural oils from the rats. You'll often see it around corners near the floor on the walls as they hug the corners. It just builds up over time.
Definitely interested to see what you do here. I'm interested in the costs to better insulate my attics (one over living space, one over garage but has a shared wall with upstairs living space). I'm in the Austin area, so whatever you do here will be relevant to me. I'm interested in what the costs/process would be to change a blown-in insulated attic to one that is spray-foamed on the roof-side. I'd like to bring my HVAC into the conditioned space to save on costs there as part of this. I know I'll need a more efficient furnace for that, but the insulation piece is where I see mixed messages online. Some say "heck yes" and others say that they can't because of the existing venting system.
In our hot and humid environment here in Texas, I wouldnt really recommend foam. These houses do need to be able to dry upwards to some degree. Foam works well in colder climates however. You also need to add mechanical ventilation to keep indoor humidity to acceptable levels. I've known a few people who have spray foam and some had issues with moisture. The inspectors and code enforcement arent always up to snuff while spray foamers just want to foam and get paid. I looked at all the options and just went with R-50 cellulose over plywood on top of the rafters. Its not state of the art but it works well enough. Good luck with your future improvements! The energy savings are always nice.
@@bigpjohnson So is there a recommended way to better insulate an attic in Central Texas that already has HVAC running through it? Do I just need better insulation on the "floor" of the attic and possibly better ducts? I assume I could do foam on the garage attic wall that's shared with the upstairs living space though, right? It wouldn't affect upward air movement, but there's tons of gaps where mechanicals (water.. because my water heater is in that attic, electric, phone, etc.) are going through that wall and I'm not happy with the cutouts in the batts there. It's also held in place with mesh, which is better than just a few straps, but there's gaps around the header due to how it was installed.
Maybe, maybe not. Kevin would more focus on necessary repairs and upgrades that gets renters in and keeps them. His climate is also different so he wouldnt *need* to spend so much on new windows and insulation. If this was a rental for rental's sake, fix the exterior, new windows, attic insulation and new HVAC, then interior cosmetics. Kevin's, and most of the commenters on the first video, main problem was with the major exterior and layout changes that add $100k on TOP of fixing existing issues.
wade barnett He bought it as a fixer upper. Probably got it for a great price since the previous owner suspected there were bad problems but was either 90+, an invalid, or just a lazy moron. I go into my attic and Crawlspace several times a year to inspect and sometimes make improvements. It’s your home, take care of it.
Matt, this is a great series on your own house remodel, thanks. What are your thoughts on using radiant barrier foil on the rafters to bring the attic temperature down closer to ambient external temperature and keeping the attic vented space?
i think this is a great way for Matt to continue with his brand, people come to this channel to learn building science, not to flip a cheap house. And in that sense this is a great series, a lot of this stuff is important for builders and home owners as well , how to look at a house and make it efficient is super important!
Thank you Matt
They'll learn more than they ever wanted to know about remodeling a house. Everything needs to be redone.
ricky gars The explicit purpose of the series was to show a “real renovation” on a “middle class budget.” He’s already 300% over budget and he’s calling in architects and structural engineers. If he had said “I’m going to throw as much money at this house as possible so you can see all the newest building science,” the criticism wouldn’t have been as valid.
I’ve learned a lot from Matt’s other videos. He needs to stick to selling over-engineered building products to people with money to burn. He’s clearly out of his element when trying to do these renovations.
Matt sits down after this project is done, tallies everything up and realizes it would have been cheaper to just build a new house.
So much for the middle class budget.
Lol ya
Yup, if it isn't a "family" homestead, these days it's a hard pass on reno., those type s of homes had a 50 yr life cycle- sad. I like Matt but the Zip phenom is going to lead to the same problem in 50 yrs- cause maintenance- people just don't do it.
New construction is always cheaper and more cost efficient.
He said at the start he paid close to half a million bucks for this dump. That's 1% territory. And he's gonna probably pay at least another $300,000 in materials and labor fixing it. In the end he's going to have the best part of a million bucks into a house that MIGHT sell for $500K. It's a good thing he's not flipping it. He'd lose his shirt.
@@whatareyoudoingyouidiot342 445k + his estimate of 100-200k is around 600k. Thats middle class in a big city, not 1%.
I was in a 1911 attic today in Indianapolis. It had all the greatest hits: knob and tube, bad splices, mold, vermiculite insulation, cracked and bowed rafters, mice and bats, improper ventilation, water heater venting directly into the attic, and put the cherry on top with a dormer window access. Every day is an adventure in the inspection world. Don't expect, inspect.
Yikes! Might be better to tear down and rebuild! Warning: Rats leave a pheromone trail. That is how new rats find their way back to a place you have previously eradicated them, and that trail I have been told can lasts for 5 years. The stench from the feces and urine will heat up every year as temps increase and you cannot get rid of the stench Talk to your local exterminator before putting in new stuff, he should have something to put on that trail to neutralize it. Otherwise They'll BE BACK! Love the channel. (I speak from experience)
This is so great. I have a 70s house pretty much like this in Australia and going through the same thought processes and exact issues with droppings, bad insulation, leaky, hot house and roof. Excited to see how Matt tackles this house!!! I can then put some of the ideas into practice.
Just tear it down and build a compressed earth block house. Build it with pocket walls filled with rockwool insulation.
I'm here because of a 70.s house in Australia too...buying it to watch Reno's of my more modern place next-door...then deciding weather to Reno or rebuilt on the old gal...its a chocolate brick almost all original on the coast..I like the idea of reno and just modernisation but both my modern place on one side and very modern neibour pull me to rebuild...but who wants to live next to a full demo and re build. For a year after you just moved in.
Matt with the dad noises getting up in that attic. I'm dying
The struggle was real.
Came to the comments just to shit talk that attic entry haha. Poor ol guy, love you Matt... the blower door guy still got it though
I'd like to see this project with the work adjusting to the budget, instead of the budget adjusting to the work. I feel like the constant increase of the budget it not realistic; for most folks embarking on a remodel, there is a dollar cap they simply cannot exceed - it may be more than originally budgeted, but it is not double or even more of that amount. How do you adjust the scope to get the most for the dollars available? What is cut when something else must be added?
Tery Shaw I agree. This whole series has destroyed its original stated intent. I quit watching after the architect got involved and the budget went thru the roof. Back to reruns of “Hometime” for me.
Here in quebec we dont only get the blower test free but when they come back and show improvement on a second blower test we get paid 20% of our costs for improvements. Its expensive but it gets alot of people trying to improve their messy 70 s homes
I'm wondering how long this continues before the decision is made to simply tear this down and start over. It's getting close to that in terms of economic reality. I'm watching purely for entertainment value now as this stopped being about a "real world remodel" the moment an architect was hired. Now we have a $2k air quality assessment and we're bringing in an engineer to assess the changes needed to the truss to support the remodeling of the living space underneath (that Matt said initially he wasn't going to do).
Good times!
I stopped following this series for a while, looking at the Playlist it seems he did tear it down. (Haven't watched yet)
A contractor once told me that in the 1970s nobody had any money due to the recession so builders cut as many corners as possible. That is how we got such great building innovations such as aluminium electrical wire instead of copper. Beware of purchasing a house made in the 1970s. As Matt has now found out the hard way ;) Amazing idea for a web series. Can't wait to see more. BTW in Massachusetts, you can call Mass Saves and they will do this energy audit for free and then you can get a Zero interest loan to pay for any improvements you need.
Same thing happened where I live in the 2000's. Builders cut corners with the outside of the home and now there's water damage galore and walls having to be ripped out and redone 2 years latter. I live in Utah, it rarely rains.... that ought to tell you how bad it is.
I don't buy anything newer than the 90's. Even then they cut corners.
I just default that I will have to renovate the place no matter what these days.
We are in our in laws house basement and it hasn't been updated since the late 40's when it was made... the 40's have issues too.
Lead pipes leaking, in ground/concrete ductwork is compromised with cracks, and don't get me started on the electrical work. It may have thick copper wire, but with scary casing and no ground, sparks are commonly seen. we are slowly replacing stuff DIY (since I grew up with that and my father works in the renovation business) in exchange for rent. Otherwise things would be falling apart faster.
70s is also when boomers needed houses, LOTS of houses. Giant demand plus empty pockets meant major cost cutting.
The most glaring is using T1-11 as a combo sheathing and siding product. It "works" but is terrible at air sealing and keeping leaks out. That house may have been "fancy" to get some tar paper under it!
"I can't go halfway..."
This is why our budget tripled on our tiny 720 sq. ft. 1950s house renovation in western New York. But I can't thank you enough for the knowledge you've imparted to us. In the end we will have basically a brand new, tight, energy efficient house.
💸The budget is flying away💸..But a great episode thanks for the information.
Good video.. Perfectionist contractor does not mix well with budget remodel... :)
Right, he's gonna hire a crew to come in and vacuum the insulation out, rather than sweat equity it.
@@doug.ritson Insulation is rarely worth DIYing unless its a small area. The pumps on the professional trucks can vaccuum everything out in a few hours, and then blow new insulation in even faster. Trying to stuff it into garbage bags or using shopvac takes ages. A neighbor tried, it wasnt fun!
bigpjohnson I just went through this, I had to pull out blown in the exterior walls and ceiling. I tried doing it by hand but it was ridiculous. I rented a gas powered insulation vacuum and it was worth the 300 dollars a day. That’s the best way to do it or have a pro.
Summer in Texas, "let's go up into the attic"... those are fighting words. 😁
Love your videos, Matt! My wife and I are looking at gutting our house, completely remodeling, and doing a major add-on in about three years. The house was built in the 1950's. I'm learning a LOT about the way we're going to want things done, and even a few of the "improvements" I've done that I'll need to fix at that point. I'm getting a lot out of the Real Remodel series!
Great to see a realistic house flipping episode! And that it's good to see that just looking from the outside you can expect certain problems like a house being leaky. Instead of how the house flipper shows always glossing over the exciting stuff like tiling and kitchen fixtures but then stumbling across a setback that wasn't in their budget and was totally unexpected and saying Oh rats!
Great video Matt! My time in HVAC taught me some of that, but your buddy and his formal IAQ assesment were eye opening for sure. We've been building the same sort of houses in Dallas forever also; Fox and Jacobs, who built more "Victory Villages" and military housing, as well as developments for enormous war material plants changed over to civilian construction after the war and built more "ticky, tacky boxes, all just the same" or minor variations all over North Texas. It seems like a large percentage of them still stand, complete with all the sins they were built with!
Thanks again for the vid- look forward to seeing your finish on this one!
Many Utility Companies do free energy audits. Blower doors can tell a lot about air tightness but little about the most efficient upgrades. BTW I am a level 1 energy rater and a FL Certified Building Contractor. I have been using a blower door since the 90's.
Where in FL are you located?
@@WeKnowEDKH NE FL am looking for a place to rent in November. retired and moved to WA and it just didn't take. I need to be back and doing some building and remodeling.
Yes, my house built in 98. Only thing covering the obs is the vinyl siding. A gust of wind hits the house, I can hear and feel it inside the house. I figure it would be cheaper to buy a new house than fix this. Now the house is full of dust all the time. Retired on limited income, I'm not going nowhere. Thanks for your videos.
If you ever need to replace the siding, adding some Tyvek and taping all the seams would help a lot with the drafts. In the meantime, you can caulk around baseboards and windows and maybe put foam gaskets under your outlet and switch plates. Good luck!
So glad I found this series. It makes me feel so much better about the crap 1957 house we live in. I like how you are keeping it real for pricing as well.
Built my house last year in Michigan, .92 ACH :) Spray-foam for all walls, Spray barrier in the ceiling, and blown-in to fill up.
Congratulations. Killer blower door score.
This is gonna be a great series. And as filtered, dehumidified conditioned air leaks out, unfiltered, humid, unconditioned air rushes in
Excellent video Matt, it really helps to see a real world example. Its nice to see what the wealthy can build, but for me, its more valuable to see what the rest of us have to deal with, and to learn what the best affordable options are.
This is going to be a very informative series. Looking forward to how you bring the ducts into conditioned space.
You are not doing a simple remodel that an average homeowner can afford. This is the super upgrade / ultra luxury remodel that you could only afford if you were getting services for free or had an unlimited budget. This is just crazy. Most places can't even find someone to do blower door tests on a new construction.
Matt I think you overpaid on this house. You should have walked through the house, done a home inspection, & audited utility bills. On a different note I cannot wait for you to work on DemoRanch Mansion. 👍
Austin has a hot housing market, he could probably re-list it as-is and find some sucker who will pay even more. The new owner could just paint and never fix the glaring flaws.
@@bigpjohnson That would not be a good thing for him to do bigjohnson, he would just be creating bad karma for himself.
@@lenovovo He would also have to disclose known problems now. The previous owner was likely ignorant of many of these problems.
@@bigpjohnson Buying anything really old the commonsensical thing to do would be to hire a qualified forensic structural engineer home inspector and inspect the entire house for all defaults and go on from there in the contract negotiations. It sounded like to me he made an offer and they took it. So now he has a project house that looks phooking awful. LOLfrom the first video I would definitely get rid of that drop down kitchen ceiling.
@@bigpjohnson All someone would have to do is watch his youtube channel ;)
New to this channel with the first video in this series... Fun to view. I especially loved the explanations from Sean Harris--great guest.
The only thing I can recommend is "spray foam." Lot and lots of the stuff. Hope you share the rework with us.
Matt, The big takeaway here is that if we as a population are serious about the environment, building scientists are going to have to strongly influence building codes on new construction (quantity will bring down cost) and there is likely a huge market gap for remodel/retrofit.
“too stupid ...”
“there response...”
I think the takeaway here is that the whole neighborhood is full of houses built this same way. Unless Matt plans on purchasing all of them, he is way over-improving this house, making it nearly impossible to sell in the future. It might bring up values of surrounding homes, but it will not bring up the quality. This seems like it would be a fun series to watch, but I feel bad for all the folks that live in houses like this one without any idea how much repairs they need or how little their house is actually worth.
Having spent WAAAAYYYY too much time working in hot attic spaces, and knowing how quickly the perspiration begins, I could see it on your arms within minutes after you climbed in. Good luck to the crew that’s tasked with retrofitting up there. Hopefully during the winter
You are gonna be a great landlord. One of those who cares about their tenants. I saw the other real estate agent guy was doing reaction video over your remodeling. And basically, he was laughing that you will blow up your budget and he could have done it so differently. I, in person, lived in a house remodeled by a builder who happened to be our landlord as well, all the attentions to details really touched us, because we knew if he did it otherwise, we would have had day and night difference in terms of comfort and livability. That bloke who did reaction video about you on the other hand doesn't care much about the people who actually lives in it, as long as people signed up the contract, he just owns them.
Kevin also lives in a different climate. California's weather works better with old single pane windows than here in Texas with our heat and humidity.
If you are fixing to rent, you do have to make hard decisions on what to improve, especially in lower cost of rental areas. Most tenants dont want to pay $100 more per month because you air-sealed and insulated and put in a new A/C system, even though it saves them $100++ in electricity.
People only look at the upfront price, running and maintenance costs are invisible until they bite you in the ass. And that's why I gutted my house and sealed and insulated the crap out of it. Its a 70 year old house that is cheaper to cool than many new homes.
Austin is extremely expensive to live in , if he does all the repairs to his standard only Michael Dell will be able to afford the home !
Max Young who are you referencing? Link pls
@@aayotechnology ruclips.net/video/5M6nDHmyVlo/видео.html
Loving the step by step "a video as you work through it" you're doing for this house. I'm locked in. Great content!!! Quality videos. Thanks
Consider heavily insulated metal ductwork after you clean out the nasty flex duct and insulation, ventilate the attic with baffled soffits and solar vents, staple solar radiant barrier to bottom of roof rafters making sure to cut radiant barrier around the exhaust holes, blow in lots of quality insulation.
Love It! Was a pleasure to chat with Sean at the AeroSeal Summit! Looking forward to meeting you too one day Matt.
I'm totally dealing with this in my 40 year old house right now. I have old, leaky, metal ducts. Musty air in the summer, high energy costs, low air quality. I'm trying to figure out if I should replace or just seal and reinsulate. Everyone says something different.
Thanks for the video, it came at a good time. I'll probably go with the guy I talked with about the home audit.
On the plus side, at least I don't have the rats.
40 years old? Replace it. You wouldn't do repairs on a car that's been driven for 40 years. Your repairs aren't going to give you decades of trouble free service either. Time to replace it.
You could clean and seal and insulate, but that is 40 years old of dust containing god-knows-what lying inside them, and you're breathing it in constantly. Rip them out and put in everything new.
Flex duct isnt perfect energy-wise, but its cheap and NEW. You'll appreciate the clean air. :) If its not much extra, then get metal ducts again.
I'd prefer to replace them, but the cost is about 2 to 4 times as much. I'm willing to pay for it, but if there really is no other options.
@@grapeape3633
Make some calls and get bids. They can vary greatly. Even if you decide you're only going to do upgrades. The more the better.
A few years ago my utility offered free blower tests and then made a recommendation of what to do to make the home more energy efficient. I took them up on their offer and then paid $1500 to have their air sealing contractor come in a seal the home. They sealed ceiling leaks around light fixtures and bathroom fans. They also sealed around pipe and any other ceiling penetration. They then went to the lower level and sealed along the walls where they meet the basement concrete wall. After they were done they redid the blower test and it was much better. The very next month my utility bills dropped by 30%. Well worth the upfront cost. I have been saving money now month after month, year after year, spring, summer, fall and winter. Saving energy saves money. Check with your local utility and see what energy efficiency programs they offer.
I gutted my 1950 house and sealed the exterior and new windows and doors, then blew in cellulose in the walls and attic. It costs barely more to cool than my old apt that was a quarter of the size!
Air-sealing and insulating pay themselves off very nicely in hot and humid or cold areas.
New York offers free energy audits to any homeowner.
Oh my goodness, just demo and start new might be cheaper.
That was my thought as well when I saw the first video of this dump. Strip it back to the frame and go from there.
Matt, stop rubbing your face after handling that attic!😣
3lightsteps glad I’m not the only one that cringed every time he touched his face after poking around in all that rat feces and urine!
😂😂😂😂 but seriously, you’re right
@@RickinICT Yep
I do it all the and I'm an electrician. Puts hair on your chest!
Gachiguru , 😂
I like to see what is the process for fixing your attic
1. Insulation crew comes in and vaccums it clean.
2. Electrical work if needed, air-sealing, HVAC, etc. work is done. Rafter baffles are added as needed.
3. Insulation crew returns and adds fresh insulation.
That's the process in most houses if you arent doing any structural changes.
I saw 30+ ACH50 once when doing an "energy audit" on a 1890's building. It was a 8.000 s.f. warehouse/retail store. One of their summer high school workers had driven the fork lift out the back door (at teenage speed) with the lift up. Crashed into the wall, pulled that wall off the side walls slightly and left a gap (up to an inch) between the side and back walls. They had put pipe insulation into the gap but it was worthless. They decided to just upgrade their lights.
Can't wait to see what your gonna do. I need some ideas for my 1950house.
Great video Matt. Great to see two professionals assessing what 10 out of 10 buyers wouldn’t even look at. I’d like to see the follow up video.
Matt is the King of OVERKILL....
Thank you so much for saying dew points instead of humidity %. I hate the fact the weather forecast industry states humidity % instead of dew point most the time.
Eco three here in alabama done all of this and more, blower door test, infrared readings starting from the crawl space, to the interior rooms, then in the attic. Duct work tested, and much more for free if I use them. If i did not use them to service my house the cost for a 1800 sq ft. House $197.
Now I'm going to use the exterior of my house as the interior of the concrete form. That should seal things up.
I Have Had My Entire Old Central System Replaced With A Ductless Mitsubishi Mini Split System. I Have A 60K BTU Heat Pump And 7 Head Units! I Could Not Be More Happy. My Install Took Place From 2019 06 21 To 06 25. The First Night With The New System I Set All Units To The Lowest Setting Of 61 F! I Woke To A House Sitting At 57.3 F.
My House Was Built In 1952. There Is No Insulation In The Walls! I Still Have To Remove And Seal All Of The Supply And Return Vents In The Ceiling And Floor, 14 Total.
As a homeowner, I'm inclined to fix the obvious stuff, like the ubiquitous leaking attic door and missing insulation, before spending $200 or $2,000 on a blower test . Living in the N.E., I run a blower test of sorts every spring and fall with an exhaust fan upstairs and the basement windows open; the air currents from the outlets and some of the baseboards were obvious from the dust smell and congested sinuses. It's also obvious on those -5 degree (F) days where the air currents are between the drywall and the concrete blocks; they are getting harder to find after years of injecting cans of Great Stuff. There were kitchen cabinets where I could feel the cold air falling down from the attic and that's all gone now. I'm sure a professional audit would find more than I have, but the house in this video was neglected in terms of efficiency (and a few other things) for 40 years. If making an informative video were not part of the mission, I'm sure Matt could have found a lot of this stuff, fixed it, and then gotten an energy audit with some hope of ending up with a shorter list of issues.
3:58 Matt when is the last time you have been in an attic? Risinger needs yoga.
He's used to looking up at double height ceilings.
Chad K the straining hurts me.
I didn't know if he was gona make it ha
His pants are to tight! lol
Matt, to build on Kevin Whitlow
's comment, You were talking about how crazy it is to have ducts in a hot attic so shouldn't you blanket insulate the roof to keep the attic cooler like some other homes you have done or maybe convert the house to mini split system and get rid of ducts completely?
Amazing information as always! Very useful, good to hear from the engineer explain in easy-to understand language:)
Also really enjoyed the transitions on the video, very good editing voice-image and added material (have seen almost all your videos and this one caught my attention on that detail) Thumbs up for video editor!
bet all your neighbors in their same "crappy 70s house" appreciate how you view their homes.
You've brilliantly demonstrated a prime example of how so many of us unwittingly contributes to climate change; how, before we run out and implement expensive technology solutions, we should begin with ensuring energy efficiency & maximum insulation upgrades in our existing housing stock. This is true worldwide. It would save plenty of money & definitely lower our greenhouse gas emissions whilst simultaneously being one of the simplest things we can do as individuals to protect our world when, as individuals, we often feel too small to make a difference. Collectively those individual actions add up to a lot. Thanks for highlighting how important a leak proof envelope & proper insulation is.
AGW is a myth. Long before the industrial Revolution the climate shifted massively worldwide, and humans adapted. Interestingly, most massive climate shifts coincided with Solar Maximums/Minimum- which can last for centuries. Our impact on the planet doesn't amount to a fart in a hurricane compared with the amount of climate-modifying energy we receive from the the Sun on a daily basis.
Climate Change is just a secular religion for those who have rejected the other ones. Complete with committing original sin against a god (Mother Gaia) and penance/indulgences/sacrifices for those sins (Carbon Credits & Smart Cars). But it appeals to the humanist side of most Leftists and their need to believe they can create heaven here on Earth- if only they can just get the correct policies enacted.
@@jckay5087 Several small details that you've overlooked. Environmental concerns are not merely limited to those of liberal political views. Plenty of Conservatives hold those same concerns, concurring with their liberal counterparts on measures that need to be taken to protect our world. Secondly, it's a matter of simple mathematics, i.e. 1+1=2. If you add tonnes of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere over the length of time that we have, well, cause & effect. It's unavoidable. Thirdly, basic science has aptly demonstrated how the various greenhouse gases cause warming & finally, (& this may be because you have little or no contact with the natural world), you obviously haven't been paying attention to what's happening around you. The seasons are out of whack affecting growth patterns, hibernation, sea ice formation, interruption of food availability in the natural world & so on. Basic observation skills should tell you that something's badly wrong.
My own experience is the rats came though the roof vents
The screen material was like window screen
Replaced every vent screen with hardware cloth
I was excited about this series because I thought we'd finally get to see how Matt handles a house with a standard rental budget. I'm not sure Matt would know how to do a normal rental now. Nothing wrong with that, but this would never work as a landlord.
This is not Matt's field of expertise. He's a newby to the small home remodel.
Matt's trying to do what's right long-term, and not what greedy wannabe slumlords would do.
Arthur, you clearly have never owned an investment property. There's a fine line between building science, and overkill. Chances are your personal home would fail most, if not all of Matt's standards. It doesn't mean it's not a safe and durable home. I build and have toured many new construction luxury apartments. None would meet these standards. Toyota is s great car, but lacks the bells and whistles of a Tesla. You can have great rental properties without being a slumlord. I invite you to stay at my Airbnb's so you can learn the difference.
I know this area in Austin, and the max monthly rent is $6500 on a really good day. At that rate, Matt's original rehab budget would take around a year to capitalize (taxes, insurance, and other overhead excluded). That's not unreasonable at all. With his new budget, nearing 250k, it's going to take 4 to 5 years to capitalize the rehab alone, and another 10 years to capitalize the purchase. That's a terrible investment. He is better off flipping it if he isn't capable of scaling back his rehab.
@@pmpbd3
Matt's standards are what new building technology he can convince his multimillionaire clients to install into their hermetically sealed, over insulated abodes.
Man, 27ACH? I don't even want to test my 1970's house now.
But I'm dozing it over and going high performance NEW BUILD next year!!
(I'm jealous of my clients houses!)
Really looking forward to this new series of this house being redone
props to the camera people... who got there without any noises... =)
Houses in FL are built the same way. The sad part is that I could spend a ton of money fixing my modist 1980 ranch style house with all the same problems as that one but a future buyer doesn't care and doesn't care to be informed. I don't think I would be able to increase the home price at all. As far as most buyers are concerned a three bed two bath ranch is the same as the next one.
This observation is an industry flaw. Upgrades and quality require the seller/builder to educate home buyers of the benefits. The added cost will reduce the pool of potential buyers but unseen improvements should increase the homes durability, energy efficiency, and comfort.
@@Promeethious I'm about to embark on building a net zero home instead of fixing my old one. The builders here in SW FL are terrible. They put tons of money into cosmetics but the structure style hasn't changed since the early 1980s. They still put cold ducts in hot attics too. Way under insulated.
I have an old house so i love tjese videos! Please keep it up👍👍👍
Ok, I gotta ask - At what point is it time to walk away, call the demolition team in, and start the heck over??!
When it's my house instead of his. 😁
Shit this house is not that bad at all, just needs some love. I'm shocked at the initial cost of over 400k. But I guess that's just how the area is.
@@townsendliving9750 it's the area. Lots of people from California and upper east coast moving in looking to buy a house using all their previous equity on old home. Home prices have been going up for decades. Tint is going from Red to Blue in these areas as they bring all the ideas that made the last place they lived unbearable.
other929 what ideas are people bringing, and why did do think those ideas are what made the area they are moving from unbearable? And, for that matter, why do you posit some degree or “unbearable-ness” as the motivation for people to move to where you are? Perhaps you think your area is unbearable, therefore anyone choosing to move there must be coming from somewhere worse?
@@other9293 I'm from CO but have been living in CA since '98 and we just bought a house in Austin for 400k+, 1800 sqft, 1/2 acre, built in '68. We will rent it for 5-10 years and then knock it down and build our retirement home--booyah! They say Austin is the blueberry in the tomato soup of Texas! Despite high prop taxes in Texas, it is more retirement friendly than CA (no state income tax). And the beaches along the Gulf are incredible...you can swim in it unlike CA!
I have seen one of your videos that suggested to insulate the rafters of the roof instead of blowing insulation onto the floor of the attic to keep the ducts from creating condensation and help keep the house cooler. Would inspectors accept that? And what is the Best way to insulate the rafters?
Either closed cell or open cell insulation
He needs to take do this blower door test at "Demolition Ranch" Matt's house.
It might be time for those two to get together at the next house that should be demolished.
Matt -- your videos are awesome man! This one really made me think about my attic. We have had a hot house most of the summer and the AC guy even came out. He didn't check the attic and neither had I. Bad move on my part! Routine check of the attic is always smart. I knew I had a problem when I opened the attic and got a blast of cool air. One of the straps holding our duct in place had fallen causing stress at the duct joint which separated so our kitchen had not had AC all summer since the attic was being cooled every ten minutes or so. Total fail on my part for not inspecting it myself. Problem is now fixed. I love your ideas about insulation and creating a conditioned attic --- just not the way I did it haha!
Don't build 'em like they used to. Thank God!
The only good things they had back then was the lumber and the labor. Every other system has deteriorated or fallen out of Code or accepted use.
You mentioned the rats/mice have chewed the Romex. That makes a solid case for EMT conduit in residences. Be glad to come to Texas and pipe your house Chicago style.
Sean forgot to mention that a Supply Air Leak to Outside will put your house under a negative pressure, pulling outside air into your house from all the cracks, when the HVAC Unit is running.
Yes. True.
It's funny to hear you trash talk the house when you know the previous owner 😂 Has she said anything about your reviews of her old house?
If you pressurize the house that might lift the attic access panel.
The Blower door was installed to de-pressurize the house NOT Pressurize as stated.
I've been waiting for the next episode in this series!!!
Learned so much from this video. Thank you!
This is what you can expect when you buy a house sight-unseen because "she is a nice lady..."
This is what you can expect buying a house that is over 10-20 years old really. ANY house. 70s-80s houses were built fast and cheap since boomers needed lots of housing. They used T1-11 siding as sheathing to save money, then spent 100X as much cooling and heating it.
I usually recommend friends to get as new a house as possible, or at least 90s and newer. That way plumbing, electrical, windows, and insulation are up to decent modern standards. Add some more attic insulation and better HVAC and you're good. I bought a 1950 house and gutted and rebuilt it, it performs like a new house now.
@@bigpjohnson I don't disagree one bit with what you said.
This is what you get when a contractor who specializes in hawking overpriced building products to wealthy people is in charge of a renovation.
Totally agree with you, why he paid so much is beyond me and why didn't he get an inspection first...... I'm pretty blown away really.
Another great video. That rat problem a home inspector should have found in a traditional home sale. Granted im sure you saw it when looking at the house before the blow test.
I'm looking into going to your Denver visit. Just need to be sure I can schedule that trip. Big problem though. On the course info page you linked It did not show its date towards the top of the page for people to see. Its both in your link description hear and on there full events calendar but that can discourage people having to hunt for it. Thanks for all your great videos I've learned a ton form you over the years!
I am a contractor in the Dallas area. I see homes like this all the time.
W1NGXER0
Scary, very scary. Reminded me of the time I was looking to buy a 70 old home back in the 80’s. I asked the owner, a very elderly widow, to allow me to look in the attic and the crawlspace. Her response was classic, “What on earth for?” Haha!! Well the house had termites in the Crawlspace, rat droppings in the attic and signs of leaking, very poorly insulated and very old wiring and plumbing. I passed on it.
What on earth for? Because it’s buyer beware, that’s why.
PS, she wouldn’t budge on the price as if all was OK with the house, but it wasn’t. Attractive house on the outside but problems beneath the surface.
Missouri here. Pretty typical for that size and age of house.
Mellow Guy
And people blame the utility companies for their high bills.
😂😂
A lot of good info thanks. I live in AZ near where you were the other day. My husband had talked about doing this in our old house. But we moved. With all the fruit trees, we have to watch for roof rats too.
I bet he will use several mini splits. Seems more economical then having to rework it all.
That's my guess too. Just get rid of those ducts rather than try and find a way to bring them into the envelope.
Ah you beat me to it I just asked Matt about that before I read your comment!
May be the route I go with my house but I havent figured it out yet, mini splits seem to be such a good option
@@townsendliving9750 I swapped out a 25 year old furnace for a mini-split system about 5 years ago and am super happy with it. Cut my energy bills in half and had a much better system. No leaky and dusty ducts. Constant and even heat and cooling when needed (in Seattle). Indoor air quality is better.
@@YummyPork the house house geothermal heated floors, no duct system in place now, its between mini splits, probably would need about 6 mini splits, or a chiller system in the cieling. That one is much more complicated to design and install but has lower energy bills and is just a water based system amd makes no noise.
Love the series and love your work, Matt. Keep it up.
So you bought a house and then inspected it for rats? Usually that goes in reverse.
He said he bought the house sight unseen from a good friend of his.
Sean Harris is awesome!
Matt have you ever had a problem with a house settlin problem like a garage foundation going down. Know anyone in dfw area that can repair this type of foundation
The budget was how much?
A mere $750k.
Meet Kevin has entered the chat
Yes.
I commend you for taking on this incredible task of applying building science practices to an existing home. Most people live in "crappy" homes so I think these videos have a greater potential of impacting house performance than your videos discussing new home construction. If I remember correctly, you talk about houses generally being built to last 50 years. This house is about 50 years old, when you paid for it did you get it for essentially the price of the land? At what point is demolishing the home the best option? You had an architect design a remodel, you cleaned up the property, and in this episode you conducted a blower door test and looked at the attic. 1. I am not sure why you would pay for a blower door test before sealing obvious leaks. It seems in this case the test would be best suited for identifying leaks through walls so it seems impractical to test until you fix attic and ventilation. Unless you are just trying to establish the initial condition of the house for your viewers. 2. Did you perform an overall evaluation of the house to determine what changes in the house will significantly improve the building performance of the house? You must have had some concept of what needed to be done before you bought the house. The decision process displayed in the videos seem to be made from the position of: I own this house what can I do to optimize its performance. 3. My guess is that you will end up just spraying foam to seal under the rafters, what would you do in cold climates where condensation is a concern? 4. I like that you are discussing costs and hope you will include cost/benefit for different options in future videos. Your videos are great, keep up the good work.
Another super informative video. Thanks Matt!
Wow. Well, you’re already replacing the roof, maybe pull the sheets off and insulate the space at the roof. The perfect, pre- Halloween episode! Those rats are creeping me out.
He said 19" of insulation for an r-38 rating. Blow in cellulose is about that at 12", and fiberglass at about 10". Also, I prefer a traditionally insulated house with vented roofs for multiple reasons: cheaper than spray foam, less harmful to people, moisture damage doesn't go unnoticed when shingles begin to fail or are damaged, no need for humidity sensors in the attic, no need to waste blowing AC into the attic to keep it conditioned. The pros to a conditioned attic is that your system isn't "fighting" against the external heat of the attic and mold is less likely to develop if the ducting gets a hole in it.
If the safety of spray foam is taken more seriously in coming years and the cost goes down, then I will start using it on homes, but I don't want to gamble with the health of clients, the same way Matt isn't going to by taking out the ductwork, old insulation, repairing electrical and fixing the air leaks.
This is going to be a $1mill house all in by the time you finish.
I saw channel who had an opinion of what you are doing with a "rental" property. I understand you will be renting this property, but only after you teach the viewer of how to renovate a home. You have a great idea here.
9:08 that's the sebum or natural oils from the rats. You'll often see it around corners near the floor on the walls as they hug the corners. It just builds up over time.
My attic looks exactly like that. I'll be intrested in seeing how I can change it and make it better.
Definitely interested to see what you do here. I'm interested in the costs to better insulate my attics (one over living space, one over garage but has a shared wall with upstairs living space). I'm in the Austin area, so whatever you do here will be relevant to me.
I'm interested in what the costs/process would be to change a blown-in insulated attic to one that is spray-foamed on the roof-side. I'd like to bring my HVAC into the conditioned space to save on costs there as part of this. I know I'll need a more efficient furnace for that, but the insulation piece is where I see mixed messages online. Some say "heck yes" and others say that they can't because of the existing venting system.
In our hot and humid environment here in Texas, I wouldnt really recommend foam. These houses do need to be able to dry upwards to some degree. Foam works well in colder climates however. You also need to add mechanical ventilation to keep indoor humidity to acceptable levels. I've known a few people who have spray foam and some had issues with moisture. The inspectors and code enforcement arent always up to snuff while spray foamers just want to foam and get paid.
I looked at all the options and just went with R-50 cellulose over plywood on top of the rafters. Its not state of the art but it works well enough.
Good luck with your future improvements! The energy savings are always nice.
@@bigpjohnson So is there a recommended way to better insulate an attic in Central Texas that already has HVAC running through it? Do I just need better insulation on the "floor" of the attic and possibly better ducts?
I assume I could do foam on the garage attic wall that's shared with the upstairs living space though, right? It wouldn't affect upward air movement, but there's tons of gaps where mechanicals (water.. because my water heater is in that attic, electric, phone, etc.) are going through that wall and I'm not happy with the cutouts in the batts there. It's also held in place with mesh, which is better than just a few straps, but there's gaps around the header due to how it was installed.
I can't believe Matt didn't do a pre-buy inspection on this house. This is a train wreck.
At least you can stand in your 70's attic. I'm wallowing in it
Way better than any similar series on TV
Matt's next learning demo at this house. Matt teaches you how to build a conditioned space with hands on work adding sheathing and insulation.
I'll bet Meet Kevin is literally shaking watching this video.....lol
Maybe, maybe not. Kevin would more focus on necessary repairs and upgrades that gets renters in and keeps them. His climate is also different so he wouldnt *need* to spend so much on new windows and insulation.
If this was a rental for rental's sake, fix the exterior, new windows, attic insulation and new HVAC, then interior cosmetics.
Kevin's, and most of the commenters on the first video, main problem was with the major exterior and layout changes that add $100k on TOP of fixing existing issues.
Those duct pie wedges are horrible for airflow. I recommend to anyone that has those, to replace your ductwork.
Woah! We just had an energy audit on our house (built 1925) and ours was only 17
Surely, a pro like you checked the utility bills before you bought it. Right?
wade barnett
He bought it as a fixer upper. Probably got it for a great price since the previous owner suspected there were bad problems but was either 90+, an invalid, or just a lazy moron. I go into my attic and Crawlspace several times a year to inspect and sometimes make improvements. It’s your home, take care of it.
He said he didn't even see the inside before he bought it.
very informational, good job guys
Matt, this is a great series on your own house remodel, thanks. What are your thoughts on using radiant barrier foil on the rafters to bring the attic temperature down closer to ambient external temperature and keeping the attic vented space?