We're just finishing up a project, renovating a 1100 square foot old farmhouse. For the project, we hung all new drywall (often over the existing old drywall that was basically beadboard), mudded, textured and painted.
My dad installed all new wiring and converted a closet upstairs into a bathroom.
The beautiful douglas fir floors had been abused with layers of paint (including some lead) and a tar like linoleum glue. These were stripped and refurbished.
We're in the very last stage of the project starting to move in. Small details continue to bedevil us. Little paint touch ups here and there, the hand rail needs to be put back up, little sections of base boards need to still be put up. The finishing work always seems to take the longest.
I'd be happy to answer any specific questions to the best of my ability concerning dry wall, paint and floors, but I'd just like to throw out a few considerations for anyone who is thinking about a similar project.
First, you're going to save a lot of money doing all of this yourself. No doubt. Hiring it out will be expensive. But you'll also spend a lot of money. There are many consumables you'll need, and you will be at the hardware store often, with each trip costing you. Just keep that in mind when you budget your project (I think we dropped $1000 for paint and paint supplies alone).
Second, this house became somewhat of an obsession for me. I was there every night for at least 2 hours, and every Saturday for about 6. It's a lot of work, and believe me, every phase of the project takes twice as long as you think.
If you're a handy person with access to youtube, you can figure out how to do almost anything. Heck, you can even get professional quality. What you won't get is the professionals level of speed. So just be patient as you do this. It pays to go slow.
Mostly, I'm just making this post for anyone who is considering a major renovation. It will be rewarding and save you money, but it is a massive undertaking.
Fire away with questions and thoughts.
