Old house, 2 story craftsman, 1925 square foot, built in 1910. Had roof
replaced last November (a must!), but there are many things that need
doing:

1. Foundation replacement. Current foundation is conglomeration of stone
and mortar, some concrete, some brick. The house is not bolted to the
foundation, a big problem in Berkeley, CA, where it's 1.5 miles from the
most dangerous earthquake fault in the USA (the Hayward fault), in terms
of the estimated damages and likelihood of serious rupture (up to 7.3 on
Richter Scale 70% likely within the next 30 years). Considerable
settling in the middle of house, especially noticeable downstairs.
Unmistakable to anyone but a sleepwalker.

2. Removal of brick and stone cosmetic siding from all 4 sides, first
story (they tell me that will have to be done before the foundation job,
in order to protect the workers). The current brick, besides being
dangerous to workers replacing the foundation has mortar like sand
(mostly you can remove it with your finger nails!).

3. Obviously, the removed siding needs to be replaced with some type of
siding, probably after installation of sheer and insulation. I'm
thinking I might be able to do that myself - cedar shingles, if I rent
scaffolding.

4. Replumb entire house - remove the old galvanized hot and cold water
pipes (the ones I've seen are very badly corroded inside, and give off a
LOT of rust when unused for a few days).

5. Replumb all the drains. I assume all the drains should be replaced. I
had the drain to the upstairs bathroom sink bust a couple of weeks ago
(water poured out of the downstairs ceiling!) and can't use that sink
nor the tub in that bathroom (because it's clogged).

6. New electrical service. In the attic you can see knob and tube wiring
(much of it blatantly illegal) and none of the outlets are grounded.

7. Exterior paint badly needed.

8. There's no central heating, so I'd like to install.


OK, so I have a neat deal where the town will give me a no-interest loan
of $50,000 I don't have to pay back until I either sell the house or 30
years passes. I qualify because of my age and income.

$50,000 won't pay for even just the foundation and siding. I got a quote
for $64,000 for that, but the contractor didn't plan to have drainage
for his new reinforced concrete foundation. If I want that, I'll have
to pay more. His bid includes removal of current siding and replacement
with board-like concrete horizontal lap-siding.

I have some money, but it's invested and is my only source of income,
currently and hate to tap into it. I'm hoping I will get a job.

I'm wondering if it's reasonably practical to put off the foundation,
leveling and siding work and do the other stuff now. Would it make more
sense to do it all now? I was going to ask this question of contractors,
but think I may get a more unbiased response posting here. I asked the
woman I'm dealing with for the loan monies yesterday (she works for the
city, but has a degree in architecture) and she said she thought it
didn't matter. I'm not sure I trust her opinion on this. She has her own
perspective on things. I've heard some talk that electrical is best done
when the plumbing is done, etc. When the exterior brick and stone (all 4
sides of the house, on the first story) is removed, wouldn't that make
it easier and more economical to replace the plumbing, do the new wiring
and install central heating?

There's a lot of other stuff that needs doing, but I've only mentioned
the crucial stuff. Things like remodeling the bathrooms, interior
painting, window replacement (well, some of it should maybe be done when
the siding is done), refinishing floors, replace garage roof and replace
one wall of garage, removing an upstairs wall, etc. can all wait until I
can afford to do them.

If I put off the foundation work and can do just the plumbing,
electrical, heating and exterior painting, I figure I can maybe do it
with the loan money and not spend my own, for now.

I'm thinking I should find a real good general contractor to coordinate
this stuff, especially if I do the foundation and siding now (that will
all be a lot to coordinate). How important is it to coordinate these
things or are they pretty independent?

I know a few general contractors who seem to have very good reputations,
and plan to start making calls in a couple of days (Monday). These are
guys who I've talked to in the past who have been here. I have to act
soon, because the loan money has to be used within a year or so, I
believe. Thanks for considered advice!

Dan