As you can see I have the whole house sanded down and the new windows are in. I did all 30 windows in 1 day by myself. It’s looking really good now and it’s easy to imagine how it looked in bare wood form circa 1925 with a possible Model-T parked out front.
Looking in the near distance you can see the new 20-story luxury upscale condo building called The Broadway that’s being built just 2 blocks away. It’s the largest scale condo high-rise in San Antonio and the most expensive coming in at $500 per square foot.
The San Antonio Riverwalk Extension will reach 2 blocks away from this high-rise and our property as well. This area of Broadway will become quite swanky in the next 3-5 years with the addition of this high-rise and more on the table.
We are in good company with the builder, Mr. Red McCombs who is also betting on this area as being a good investment. Mr. McCombs is supposedly keeping the top floor for his private use while the 19th floor is comprised of two penthouses at 4 million each, one of which is already sold.
The complete electrical is also now roughed in. All we have to do is set the meter loop next week and then we can call in for rough inspection. I hired and fired a plumber this week as well, after talking him down to the price we needed he dropped off his materials and disappeared for 4 days.
He begged me to give him another chance and explained how badly he needed the work, I could only keep asking myself why wouldn’t he show up and do it then? If it’s this hard to get him over to do the rough-in then we could really be in a jamb when inspections started…better to clip this guy now.
Of course we didn’t give him any money up front so we haven’t lost anything but time. The HVAC guys have started running all the ductwork for the new central A/C I’m adding. I’ve located the furnace and coil in the attic to save space.
I am using a 4-ton, 14 seer Goodman system for this house. They recommend roughly 1 ton for every 500 s.f. of living space. Prices in San Antonio for a system like this with all new equipment, ducts, grilles, boxes and permits run about $5,000.
Keep in mind this is a builder price; retail companies from the phone book would be quoting $8-10k easy.
I got the siding on this week as well. I used the “historical replica” #117 siding for the whole master suite addition so it matches the existing house. I did the whole rear addition with 1 helper in a day, a big day though. It’s been pretty fun building this “new” addition in the “old” style.
It reminds me of the restoration/modified builds they do on old muscle cars these days. All old and original looking but with today’s advanced technology.
Hi Tom,
Thanks for this great blog. I have been reading your old posts in the last few days and found them to be very informative. You mentioned in this blog post that you got your new A/C system at the investor price (as oppose to the more expensive retail price.) Can you explain what is investor price and how do you get it?
Kwan
Hey Kwan,
You just have to build a relationship with an HVAC guy that does new construction. What you are trying to avoid paying for is retail “yellow pages” prices that they charge homeowners. I know what the equipment costs so they can still make a nice profit and charge me about $1000 per ton for a complete new system with all new equip, plenum and flex ducting. This is with permits of course. Prices will vary in different parts of the country though. Thanks for the comments and glad you enjoy the blog.
I dont know if the blog is read anymore but is this Faux wood siding.
Jacob, that is real Pine wood siding. Its called T117. You can find it or special order it at a lumber yard. It has the same pattern of the original siding used in the 1920’s.
We have recently put new pine siding #105 on a 1902 Victorian home that we are restoring. I was curious if you had issues with the pine knots bleeding through the paint.
We had primed with Kilz Premium and painted 2 coats of color and yet the knots still bleed through.
I was wondering which lumber yard you used to get the T117 siding? I will need to order some for an addition I’m working on.