Good luck to the new owners. They’ll have their plate full. As I’ve said, we bought the place as a fixer-upper, and two decades later, after a lot of big work, it’s still a fixer-upper.
- The roof, again. If they’re really ambitious, they’ll go for standing seam rather than asphalt shingles.
- Replace the upstairs windows. Winter gets cold.
- Paint the exterior. We had a tradesman lined up, but he backed out after his wife died.
- Scrape and paint the hallway. Caulk the floor, too.
- Repaint the floors. The interior rooms could also use refreshing.
- Retackle the mother-in-law apartment. When we added it when we first moved in, it was the nicest room we had. But a two-pack-a-day habit took a toll.
- Downstairs toilet. Minor, but annoying.
- Regrade and repave the driveway.
- Minor landscaping issues, but they add up. I’d start by felling the trees next to the house.
- Improve the insulation. Seriously.
According to some owners, a boat is a hole in the water where you pour endless amounts of money.
In the same vein, an old house is a hole in the ground where you pour endless amounts of money.
Jnana's Red Barn 