So you basically invest a ton of money into a building that looks like a crack house and spent all your time trying to make it look nice while the city does everything in their power to stop you. I guess they prefer the way things are.... You are doing an awesome job
Hence why the house was sold so cheap, because even though the house should be worth more, you got idiocy for bureaucracy that will do anything they can to hinder your progress because it justifies their existence ie their job.
Mechanical Engineer PE here, I work as part of a MEP design firm. Love your videos and your thoroughness. Frankly what I see you do in most videos puts most contractors I have dealt with to shame. You talking about the no value added issue, I've worked on projects like that many times. Even done a few where the contractor got caught doing work without permits and hired us to clean up behind them. That said those types of projects are the ones that haunt my career. The contractor is responsible for their workmanship for 1 year from completion and the Engineer is legally liable for their design for 10 years (in most states). I can't tell you how many "contractor designed" jobs I have had to deal with 3-5 years down the road when the contractor is long gone and the issues of what they sold the owner are starting to manifest. Even saw one where it was 9 years later and we had to dig up the plans for a subpoena in a fall lawsuit to prove the lighting levels were compliant with the design and were correct in the design in the first place. I've even made enemies of owners and contractors by outright telling them what they want to do violates code or that I will not seal it with out an indemnity letter because of the issues it will cause down the road that I could be held liable for. If the PE you are working with is not providing any input or guidance on what the MC is proposing then you either have a really good MC or a poor PE. I will concede I disagree with some of the provisions in code and then a lot of the bureaucratic red tape and over general interpretations that local municipalities put in place.
Registered Architect here. This is 100% correct. For every one project like Mike's where it appears the design professional isn't providing value, I've been involved with more than a dozen where the design professional is fixing "contractor design" issues and owner scheduling issues. The best advice I can give to anyone, is before you put a hammer in the wall, pay a local design professional for a few hours of their time to meet you at your project. Show them what you want to do and then specifically ask them 4 questions: 1) What work can I do myself without building department oversight? 2) What work can I do myself that will require building department oversight and permits? 3) What work requires a permit and licensed contractor? 4) What work requires approved plans, a permit, and a licensed contract? Doing this will mitigate the vast majority of your schedule and abortive work issues. The note on liability is important. It's not as if one day in the early to middle of the 20th century someone decided to say "we should introduce a bunch of red tape and require design professionals to be licensed and personally liable." The bureaucracy as it exists today was solely built around the industry prioritizing profitability at the expense of the end user. People were ripped off and avoidable disasters to property and persons occurred, over and over again. Ultimately, it exists as a protection to the owner and end user. Can it be onerous, yes? Can it be unwieldy, absolutely. Can it be maddening, 100%. Can it be expensive, yes. But there are ways to mitigate all of that.
Id talk to your contractor if theyre trying to tell you that the same hvac system in your equal sq residential will work in your dust filled wood shop. They have different occupancies and requirements
@@MattO2134 no they are not saying that it was just an example of the stupidity of our local laws. I don’t even need the contractors to install a quality system, never mind an engineer, it’s about layers up layers of expense with no measurable return.
I grew up in Dayton and am glad to see guys like you reviving the city. Sorry the burocracy is making it difficult. Keep this series going. Just as good as your cabin series! Can't wait to see the completed apartments and shop! Good luck on the rest of the build. Thanks for sharing!
Thats a really cool place. I bought a 150 year old house for exactly 18k too! We fixed it up and turned it into an escape room. Had to close it but it's on airbnb now. We had a new inspection company for that remodel (our town uses consultants) like pushing a square rock up a hill!
Don't know if you plan making this a project a series but I personally would love to see it come to life. Wouldn't hurt to get extra revenue to pay all those expensive professionals either. Looks good, hope to see it completed so you guys can enjoy it.
Mike, as a local, I really appreciate that you're going through all the pains to save that old building. It's heartbreaking to see so many amazing old houses and buildings in Dayton torn down, burned down, or just left to rot. I really agree with what you said about the economics of owning property working here. Every time I hear someone on the coasts complain about rent or the cost of property, I hope some day they'll stop "flying over" and see what we have here. Thanks for doing this, and thanks for posting all the rest.
Thanks Grant, as someone who grew up in MA and lives here by choice I 100% agree with you. And I’ll even take it a step further. Whenever I hear a local complain about rent downtown or in South Park or St Anne’s (or wherever) I wish they would consider Twin Towers or the Westside or (pick your next favorite neighborhood).
This is another great video Mike! I’m in a business similar to yours in A VERY popular area of Cincinnati. I started decades ago doing exactly what you are doing. I thank god for city inspection services (and they have come a long way from where they were as far a “customer service”). My young mind had so many ideas on how I could do things to save time and money, but inspections had other plans. I’m about 75% residential, so a far higher standard. However, after my first tenant fire ($210k in damage in 2001 $) I was so thankful for the inspectors and having a huge paper trail to thwart the insurance company and two other tenants who caused legal issues. I can only imagine the costs I would have incurred by “streamlining” the renovations as my young me wanted. This area has skyrocketed and gentrified, my buildings are now worth ten fold all because we did it right and have all standards met - Standards that savvy real estate buyers now demand. Looking back, I see all the time and headaches from inspections are now serving as a great early retirement fund! Don’t let the young you get so down on the system, it’s working for the future you. (By the way - I’m now a Fire Inspector…)
Great points. I too have had issues with the city inspection process, but all-in-all see it as a huge added value. I’ve seen too many DIY or even professional fixes that would have created nightmare liability issues. I now see it as an additional, well trained set of eyes adding protection to my investments.
Wow good to see a classic being rehabbed and not torn down . Cant wait to see the finished shop and apartments. God bless you for giving someone a second chance to feel useful.
You have done a ton of work on that old building. Surprised you have not gone batty working with inspectors and all that entails. Looks top notch!! My father was stationed at Wright Patt during 911. I have a small connection to your home town. Great job!!
Remember you are only a temporary owner, in 50 years a new owner must relying upon your construction are accordingly to code, so because you own the building just means you are a temporary owner. So it’s not to punish you, but to ensure the code is valid for a new temporary owner. Thank you for sharing your amazing journey. God bless you and your family.
Always love seeing run down areas of any city being rejuvenated to become a nice area, the fact that the buildings and their history remains is better than an entire area being flattened and rebuilt. Well done for your perseverance with city planning and inspectors.
Mike, I wish you would have brought us along from the beginning. This is a very interesting project. I’ve been missing your steady Saturday morning videos. So nice to see your project coming along so well. The inspectors are at times a nuisance. I’ve been through it. However, but when it’s finished your building will be a more valuable property, and getting insurance will be much more affordable. I’ve rehabilitated two properties in my life and I always get permits for the work I’ve done. When I sold my first property I showed the buyer the permit for the improvements I made and the sale went very smoothly. Looking forward to more shop videos.
The older I get the more I appreciate old buildings. It's so nice to see you fix this building up instead of it being knocked down and replaced with a newer building.
Please do more videos of you building out your new AirB&B, apartment (which I assume you will rent out), and workshop. It is so interesting to so many people. The building looks amazing since you put in windows, painted, and built the staircase. I wish you had videos of doing all that. I'm glad you got the building fixed from the car wreck.
Really enjoyed this video! Great work restoring and saving the building. And deeply appreciate you giving a person in recovery the opportunity to work. Thank you!
I've spent 27 years tearing apart parts of my almost 100 old house removing lathe & plaster replacing with drywall/ removing windows replacing them/ fences, roofs, garage roof, tearing down the barn for barn wood. It's been a real fun living in my home that had many changes/ I never video'd any of it? never thought anyone would watch my arts & craft transformation restoring it as much as possible/ thanks I love seeing this transform
Michael, you have been busy and we understand why the cabin has taking a back to this project. Building looks great and look forward to more on this project and your New Shop! Congrats!
@@50Acres well worth the time and effort the cabin will always be there but the shop takes precedent! Once that's done you'll hopefully have the time to finish the cabin. Have a great weekend!
building protection suggestion, the corner that was hit by the car, Put in a steel bollard outside on that corner, put protective bollard into search engine it will come up, you probably need a couple, you can paint them black. But since you are so close to the road and have parking so close to building its seriously cheap preventative protection for your building. Anyway Building is looking great! Like that cement block in the front!
I love to see people fixing up and re-using old buildings. Its nice to preserve the history and such of an old building instead of just tearing it down. New sub.
Crazy that I've seen and driven by that building a million times and just happened across this video. Awesome to see you bring a piece of history back to life. Montgomery county is a real pain to deal with when it comes to permits and inspections, I feel your pain. Keep up the good work!
Love it! I pass this building every day on my way to work. Historic preservation is so important. I'd rather have a headache with the city inspectors (been there a lot, I manage Wright Dunbar, Inc. in West Dayton) and have a building with character and workmanship than a piece of junk built today! Kudos!
That building is so cool! Good on you and your wife for saving it. I always wanted to do something like this here in downtown Birmingham, but don't have the money or skills.
So very good to see you again! I hope that you and Sarah and your lovely dog are healthy and happy. Hope the rest of your extended family are good too. That is one heck of a BIG job! I'd have thought you would have pulled every strand of hair off of your head from sheer frustration! You two are truly remarkable people. Blessings on you and whatever project you take on.
Mike...... really enjoyed this one.... I come from Western Pa and my hometown is full of buildings like this one.... I've always had a special place in my heart because of the character these stately old relics have. I hope you do a follow up video showing your shop and the airbnb units!
I am glad to hear your tone about city rules. It sounds just like me except more polite. Really enjoyed this. You and your wife are very creative in your real estate dealings. I admire it.
Good for you!!! Wish you and Sara continued success. I think you will always be your humble and modest selves. And that's why we watch you. Not a planned HGTV reality show.
Incredible space and as usual you're doing it properly. It's really quite close to finish work, the difficult part is nearly wrapped up. Looking forward to seeing more of this project.
I very much enjoyed watching this video. You were frank and honest about not only your current work and the difficulties have been encountering, but your background. It gives us all a better perspective on both your wife and you and the parts you play in this work. Now I feel I can really root for you all and wish you every success. You're doing a heck of a good job in spite of the greedy, self-absorbed bureaucrats.
Great job. My brothers were in construction when we were younger and it is hard work and long hours when you're completely done you'll be so proud of yourself. I never did home Construction but when my older brothers would finish a job they always took me by whatever house they applied in reconstructed before they sold it.
Looks like you need a second shop building channel (or maybe more videos on this one). Looks good so far. Working around old construction can be a bear. When I was a kid, my family rehabbed an 1870's house. Getting through that old horsehair plaster to replace the knob and tube wiring was awful. It still had the piping for natural gas lighting in the walls. Stripping the 6+ coats of paint and varnish from the carved woodwork was the worst. Luckily we had no structural repairs to do. The structure was solid as the day it was built. It still had the original slate roof with no leaks.
Man that is some good work! Very impressive. Going the route of the legal way is hard with permits but you will be glad if you ever sell or if anything g ever happens, you know everything you’ve done is up to code. I just bought a commercial building and will be doing some work to rent it out, similar to your, mixed commercial and residential. This video is inspiring and makes me realize how much work I have in front of me!
Congrats on the new building Mike. So sorry you're going through so much crap with the inspectors and the city trying to move things along. I know once you're done with the renovations your new workshop is going to be epic! I can't wait to see the design plan you'll have for it. The building looks really good and solid and I'm sure Sarah's going to be over the moon when the rental apartment and studio will be done so she can focus on other things.
The tell me everything I did wrong and how it’s gonna catch on fire closing remarks are the exact reason why I watch all your videos to the very end, this one was very well done and with that little nugget at the end moves the 4 1/2 stars I was thinking up to 5. Well done sir, well done.
From Bail Bonds to a Wood Shop slash AirB&B with an Apartment. I think it's awesome! Thank GOD for those drywall lifts!! Just a suggestion, maybe some scaffolding might make life easier on the ceiling work. Keep up the great videos :)
You are to be commended for your ability to do almost anything when it comes to carpentry and mechanical work. The building renovation is very impressive. I can’t wait to see the finished project and any updates you share along the way. Great job!
It's really nice to see you doing something right for once!! I can honestly say that I can't wait to see the rest of the tour! It looks like it will be an awesome shop! The apartments are a great idea that will help cover costs. It's especially nice to see someone taking the time to restore an old building and bringing some modern to the old historical part of the property! This is something you can definitely learn on. You'll find out what you're really made of while restoring this wonderful place!
Looking really good! It’s always great to see an older building come back to life! I feel your pain dealing with insurance companies, I have paid homeowners insurance for 35 years and never had a claim until a nasty hail storm came through. After the claim was paid my insurance almost doubled. Hoping for the best for you with them! Keep up the great work. Your content is appreciated. -Ken
Ah Ken, I’m sorry it took 35 years for you to really understand that insurance companies are there to make a profit, not to help their customers. It’s my opinion something ought to be done about the honest homeowner as yourself where you’ve paid in for decades then had a relatively small claim compared to what some claims for say fire and tornado would be but your raked over the coals and penalized for filing one claim! It just ain’t right, but they’ve got us by the balls
@@1982MCI Insurance is a great example of where the free enterprise system, supply and demand and all that, hasn't really lived up to what our high school textbooks told us about. It would also be nice if our elected governments watched out for the basic John Doe's as they seem to watch out for ABC Corp.
Mike. Congratulations on your endeavors my friend. The Building is Beautiful and its very exciting to see your accomplishments thus far. Love, love, love this. BTW, "I'm just landlord" can be a very BIG job. I was a property Manager years ago and it took everything I had to do that job. I finally gave it up for all the reasons you are having with your build. I'm a people person not a people manager person. Best to you and Sarah on this part pf your Journey. The Cabin will become more and more of a Sanctuary now.
Those old joists.......I am crazy, and I love seeing them. I had to pull out a floor in my 1904 Edwardian home, and almost didn;t want to install a new one because I loved seeing the old wood, square nails etc.
Whew! Glad for you that you can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel on this huge project & that you haven't torn out all your hair! It takes the rare person to put up with the navigating the morass of often senseless restrictions that the regulatory bureaucracy imposes on those who try to rehab old buildings. When people get irked to see neighborhoods with charming vintage commercial structures get razed in their towns, they should know this is why. Filing for permits for a total demo & just starting from scratch is often faster, easier & less expensive and doesn't require that property owners buy antacid in bulk quantities to chew on all day for years on end waiting for capricious bureaucrats to sign off on every detail. Congratulations for sticking it out to save this cute old building for the next generations in your town!
I admire your ability to navigate the maze of permits and enforced backassery. The building is a beaut. I'd be interested in seeing the process of repairing the buildings' structural damage after the drunk driver incident. Nice little overlay on the insurance company btw.
Absolutely loved this video, the shop is coming along so well, you deserve a nice place to work because of so much effort and skill you put into all you do and I look forward to seeing some more, best wishes from England...
Glad to see an old building and neighborhood getting rehabilitated instead of torn down. My hometown isn't getting the same treatment regrettably, but at least somewhere is.
Thanks for the history video. Love to see old buildings restored and given a new life. Having been an “inspector “ I know how sometimes the authorities get carried away with themselves.
What an undertaking. Glad to see someone thinking things out. I see a lot of horrible patches done and think "just a bit of thought would make this so much better". ... or safe. Good on you! Keep it up.
I’ve followed you since the beginning of your cabin build videos and Love this story. I think this is one of your best edited videos yet. Keep on with the grind the light is visible at the end of the tunnel. Peace ✌️
Courageous endeavor I admire any one willing to take on such a big project. I worked 35 years as a traveling commercial Superintendent and have dealt with inspections from Miami to Phoenix and no to states or city's inspections are the same.
Looks awesome! Great work and being a roofing contractor in PA, I feel your pain with inspectors and codes when doing things right. Just working in our nearby city, pulling a permit is two weeks, then for an inspection for substrate is 10-14 days. It’s always fun explaining to a home owner why their roof that has to be replaced has to leak for a month before the city will let us replace it. Of course we do temporary leak fixes to get them to when we can do the roof. Also having to write into their quote about if they fail the substrate inspection that they have to pay up for installing 5/8 plywood on the whole roof because the gaps between the boards in 90-100 year buildings are more then an 1/8” is a fun conversation as well. Big props for doing it right, even though they put you through the wringer. Can’t wait to see what you do with the space!
My husband is a roofing contractor in a small town in western Canada (30k POP) and roofs are neither inspected, nor require permits (only when extending the roofline). My husband just signed contracts to re-roof 8 houses in the same subdivision that are all less than 15 years old. The two things they have in common are that they were all roofed by the same company and they all have cheap boards as the substrate. He did not enjoy having that plywood talk, especially since 5/8ths ply is now over $65 a sheet. It's a big subdivision and he expects to have a busy summer.
WOW!!!! that was cool to see and i loved the narration as well... you do great work and i find it amazing how tough they make it on people trying to come in the city and make it better... i had a buddy help me redo electric in a 1924 building in Cinti and he told me the trick was to leave 1 or 2 simple things wrong so the inspector can find so that he wont start getting really picky.... it work as we had to fix our intentionally left problems and then he passed it on his revisit.. its all about the city getting their money.. keep up the great work and i learn something new every time i watch your videos
Wow! You sure have a lot going on! I love that old brick architecture! There are 3 or 4 buildings in my area like that and I am envious of the work you are doing! It will be amazing when you finish!
Such a cool project. I feel for you with all the craziness, dealing with the city, but it'll hopefully soon be a distant memory and you can just enjoy the space.
I am dreaming of a historic shop building similar to this. It won’t happen in a high priced city, so rust belt or the south are the right places for this. You are skilled and the building looks really great.
Wow great video, nice piece of property. Your hard work is really paying off making the property beautiful again. I lived on Niagara and went to Sinclair College back in the mid-70s. Question... were you able to get any grant money from the city for the restoration of the property, hope so. Thanks for sharing always enjoy your videos. Best of luck with the Endeavors on this property.
You are doing great work. The building looks lovely. I love the color choices too. Did you consider installing concrete pilers near the front corners of the building to protect the building from future crashes.
Doing things legally is usually much more expensive in time and money. Some building inspectors are bullies who just want to cause you grief. I'm thrilled that Dayton still has some affordable areas where artists can set up studios. In our area, Raleigh NC, the land under the building would be worth $250k at a minimum. They would bulldoze the building to put up $1m condos. Even in the sketchiest neighborhoods, prices are soaring. You are going to have a great building and shop when you get finished. Congratulations.
Looks like you have done a good job. My only thought is do you think the people living up top will be put off or complain about the noise from the wood shop?
Me and my wife recently were in Dayton and looking around, we really liked just how much livelyer it is. It feels like people actually care about their homes and the community. Something that is sorely lacking in the town we live in despite it being the home to a Big10 school.
Question: How much did it cost the insurance to fix the damage of the truck hitting your building? It looks like you are doing a much better job than most would do.
Great video Mike! I really enjoyed seeing the building and hearing you discuss things about it! I hope things get more favorable for you with it in the future! Thank you for sharing!
How cool for you. It's coming along nicely. I sure hope it all works out well for u guys. You guys are good people and darn hard workers. God bless you guys 😊
Not sure about your other audience, but I would personally enjoy content like this in addition to your other videos. Although my wife and I aren’t originally from Dayton, we’ve lived in the area for over 10yrs and have really enjoyed learning about the city’s history. It’s absolutely fascinating, and we love seeing these old buildings and their history come back to life and become repurposed. Buildings that now house businesses like Warped Wing, Mudlick, Troll Pub, and many others that have such a rich history makes living in this area such a treat. Looking forward to your new endeavors and thanks again for taking us along for the ride.
So you basically invest a ton of money into a building that looks like a crack house and spent all your time trying to make it look nice while the city does everything in their power to stop you. I guess they prefer the way things are.... You are doing an awesome job
Dealing with any city is like this,had the same problem in Indianapolis
Hence why the house was sold so cheap, because even though the house should be worth more, you got idiocy for bureaucracy that will do anything they can to hinder your progress because it justifies their existence ie their job.
my guess you never dealt remodeled or built your own house or business... city can be very hard asses....
Building codes are written in blood. As much as they are a pain in the ass, you cannot skimp on code issues.
@@JOHNJ0HN9111 Rebuilt a 200 year old house myself, the process took 14 years
The cost of bureaucracy can be maddening, and you're handling it really well. It looks great and hoping it all works out for you and Sarah.
Thanks Earl, it gets frustrating. Hopefully done with it soon.
Mechanical Engineer PE here, I work as part of a MEP design firm. Love your videos and your thoroughness. Frankly what I see you do in most videos puts most contractors I have dealt with to shame. You talking about the no value added issue, I've worked on projects like that many times. Even done a few where the contractor got caught doing work without permits and hired us to clean up behind them. That said those types of projects are the ones that haunt my career. The contractor is responsible for their workmanship for 1 year from completion and the Engineer is legally liable for their design for 10 years (in most states). I can't tell you how many "contractor designed" jobs I have had to deal with 3-5 years down the road when the contractor is long gone and the issues of what they sold the owner are starting to manifest. Even saw one where it was 9 years later and we had to dig up the plans for a subpoena in a fall lawsuit to prove the lighting levels were compliant with the design and were correct in the design in the first place. I've even made enemies of owners and contractors by outright telling them what they want to do violates code or that I will not seal it with out an indemnity letter because of the issues it will cause down the road that I could be held liable for. If the PE you are working with is not providing any input or guidance on what the MC is proposing then you either have a really good MC or a poor PE. I will concede I disagree with some of the provisions in code and then a lot of the bureaucratic red tape and over general interpretations that local municipalities put in place.
Great post. Really tells the reality. Good of you lend perspective here.
Registered Architect here. This is 100% correct. For every one project like Mike's where it appears the design professional isn't providing value, I've been involved with more than a dozen where the design professional is fixing "contractor design" issues and owner scheduling issues.
The best advice I can give to anyone, is before you put a hammer in the wall, pay a local design professional for a few hours of their time to meet you at your project. Show them what you want to do and then specifically ask them 4 questions:
1) What work can I do myself without building department oversight?
2) What work can I do myself that will require building department oversight and permits?
3) What work requires a permit and licensed contractor?
4) What work requires approved plans, a permit, and a licensed contract?
Doing this will mitigate the vast majority of your schedule and abortive work issues.
The note on liability is important. It's not as if one day in the early to middle of the 20th century someone decided to say "we should introduce a bunch of red tape and require design professionals to be licensed and personally liable." The bureaucracy as it exists today was solely built around the industry prioritizing profitability at the expense of the end user. People were ripped off and avoidable disasters to property and persons occurred, over and over again. Ultimately, it exists as a protection to the owner and end user. Can it be onerous, yes? Can it be unwieldy, absolutely. Can it be maddening, 100%. Can it be expensive, yes. But there are ways to mitigate all of that.
Id talk to your contractor if theyre trying to tell you that the same hvac system in your equal sq residential will work in your dust filled wood shop. They have different occupancies and requirements
@@MattO2134 no they are not saying that it was just an example of the stupidity of our local laws. I don’t even need the contractors to install a quality system, never mind an engineer, it’s about layers up layers of expense with no measurable return.
@@50Acres the return is who would be held liable if something goes wrong at the very least.
Kudos to both of you! I enjoy seeing dilapidated buildings being restored versus new buildings being erected. Compliments to you and Sarah! 👍
Our pleasure! Thank you!
Really enjoy your cabin videos, but this was extremely fun! Please show more of your renovation of this property.
I came in comments to say the same thing. 100% agree with you
I grew up in Dayton and am glad to see guys like you reviving the city. Sorry the burocracy is making it difficult. Keep this series going. Just as good as your cabin series! Can't wait to see the completed apartments and shop! Good luck on the rest of the build. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Justin will do👍
Thats a really cool place. I bought a 150 year old house for exactly 18k too! We fixed it up and turned it into an escape room. Had to close it but it's on airbnb now. We had a new inspection company for that remodel (our town uses consultants) like pushing a square rock up a hill!
Don't know if you plan making this a project a series but I personally would love to see it come to life. Wouldn't hurt to get extra revenue to pay all those expensive professionals either. Looks good, hope to see it completed so you guys can enjoy it.
Thank you I will certainly follow up as I make some progress.
Mike, as a local, I really appreciate that you're going through all the pains to save that old building. It's heartbreaking to see so many amazing old houses and buildings in Dayton torn down, burned down, or just left to rot. I really agree with what you said about the economics of owning property working here. Every time I hear someone on the coasts complain about rent or the cost of property, I hope some day they'll stop "flying over" and see what we have here. Thanks for doing this, and thanks for posting all the rest.
Thanks Grant, as someone who grew up in MA and lives here by choice I 100% agree with you. And I’ll even take it a step further. Whenever I hear a local complain about rent downtown or in South Park or St Anne’s (or wherever) I wish they would consider Twin Towers or the Westside or (pick your next favorite neighborhood).
This is another great video Mike!
I’m in a business similar to yours in A VERY popular area of Cincinnati. I started decades ago doing exactly what you are doing. I thank god for city inspection services (and they have come a long way from where they were as far a “customer service”). My young mind had so many ideas on how I could do things to save time and money, but inspections had other plans. I’m about 75% residential, so a far higher standard. However, after my first tenant fire ($210k in damage in 2001 $) I was so thankful for the inspectors and having a huge paper trail to thwart the insurance company and two other tenants who caused legal issues. I can only imagine the costs I would have incurred by “streamlining” the renovations as my young me wanted. This area has skyrocketed and gentrified, my buildings are now worth ten fold all because we did it right and have all standards met - Standards that savvy real estate buyers now demand. Looking back, I see all the time and headaches from inspections are now serving as a great early retirement fund!
Don’t let the young you get so down on the system, it’s working for the future you.
(By the way - I’m now a Fire Inspector…)
Great points. I too have had issues with the city inspection process, but all-in-all see it as a huge added value. I’ve seen too many DIY or even professional fixes that would have created nightmare liability issues. I now see it as an additional, well trained set of eyes adding protection to my investments.
I was thinking the same thing. The extra cost is merely equity that you recoup on the back end.
Wow good to see a classic being rehabbed and not torn down . Cant wait to see the finished shop and apartments. God bless you for giving someone a second chance to feel useful.
"One of the few places where the economics of housing and everything actually still works out for normal people." 👍👏👏👏😃
You have done a ton of work on that old building. Surprised you have not gone batty working with inspectors and all that entails. Looks top notch!! My father was stationed at Wright Patt during 911. I have a small connection to your home town. Great job!!
Thank you for not just tearing it all down. Despite all the frustrations your hard work is going to make that place beautiful. Very impressed.
Remember you are only a temporary owner, in 50 years a new owner must relying upon your construction are accordingly to code, so because you own the building just means you are a temporary owner. So it’s not to punish you, but to ensure the code is valid for a new temporary owner. Thank you for sharing your amazing journey. God bless you and your family.
Super impressed that you enlisted the help of someone in recovery. Your a good man.
Always love seeing run down areas of any city being rejuvenated to become a nice area, the fact that the buildings and their history remains is better than an entire area being flattened and rebuilt. Well done for your perseverance with city planning and inspectors.
Couldn't agree more!
Mike, I wish you would have brought us along from the beginning. This is a very interesting project.
I’ve been missing your steady Saturday morning videos. So nice to see your project coming along so well.
The inspectors are at times a nuisance. I’ve been through it. However, but when it’s finished your building will be a more valuable property, and getting insurance will be much more affordable.
I’ve rehabilitated two properties in my life and I always get permits for the work I’ve done. When I sold my first property I showed the buyer the permit for the improvements I made and the sale went very smoothly.
Looking forward to more shop videos.
The older I get the more I appreciate old buildings. It's so nice to see you fix this building up instead of it being knocked down and replaced with a newer building.
Thank you
Please do more videos of you building out your new AirB&B, apartment (which I assume you will rent out), and workshop. It is so interesting to so many people. The building looks amazing since you put in windows, painted, and built the staircase. I wish you had videos of doing all that. I'm glad you got the building fixed from the car wreck.
Really enjoyed this video! Great work restoring and saving the building. And deeply appreciate you giving a person in recovery the opportunity to work. Thank you!
It is so good to see a old building get remodeled and updated, and a neighborhood coming back to life. Keep going and best of luck.
Thanks! Will do!
I've spent 27 years tearing apart parts of my almost 100 old house removing lathe & plaster replacing with drywall/ removing windows replacing them/ fences, roofs, garage roof, tearing down the barn for barn wood. It's been a real fun living in my home that had many changes/ I never video'd any of it? never thought anyone would watch my arts & craft transformation restoring it as much as possible/ thanks I love seeing this transform
Wow! I’m so happy that you’re renovating history instead of bulldozing and building new that has no character
Michael, you have been busy and we understand why the cabin has taking a back to this project. Building looks great and look forward to more on this project and your New Shop! Congrats!
Thanks 👍, this is what I work on when I'm not out working on the cabin.
@@50Acres well worth the time and effort the cabin will always be there but the shop takes precedent! Once that's done you'll hopefully have the time to finish the cabin. Have a great weekend!
I really like the new unpainted bricks on the corners of the building - it's a cool look - can't wait to see more about this project.
building protection suggestion, the corner that was hit by the car, Put in a steel bollard outside on that corner, put protective bollard into search engine it will come up, you probably need a couple, you can paint them black. But since you are so close to the road and have parking so close to building its seriously cheap preventative protection for your building. Anyway Building is looking great! Like that cement block in the front!
I love to see people fixing up and re-using old buildings. Its nice to preserve the history and such of an old building instead of just tearing it down. New sub.
Crazy that I've seen and driven by that building a million times and just happened across this video. Awesome to see you bring a piece of history back to life. Montgomery county is a real pain to deal with when it comes to permits and inspections, I feel your pain. Keep up the good work!
I know! I was scrolling through and thought is that Dayton?? Love all the old houses with tall ceilings and transom windows.
Love it! I pass this building every day on my way to work. Historic preservation is so important. I'd rather have a headache with the city inspectors (been there a lot, I manage Wright Dunbar, Inc. in West Dayton) and have a building with character and workmanship than a piece of junk built today! Kudos!
Brother, what a cool project. I give you and your family a lot of credit to not just demo the entire building.
Bravo!
Hey Dino thanks man
Wow, that's a huge project! It's looking great though. Dealing with permitting anywhere can really test your patience and sanity.
Very cool! It's wonderful to see an old building re-built so well and a town getting new growth in neglected areas.
That building is so cool! Good on you and your wife for saving it.
I always wanted to do something like this here in downtown Birmingham, but don't have the money or skills.
My wife and I are in downtown Dayton all the time, happy to see the revitalization.
So very good to see you again! I hope that you and Sarah and your lovely dog are healthy and happy. Hope the rest of your extended family are good too.
That is one heck of a BIG job!
I'd have thought you would have pulled every strand of hair off of your head from sheer frustration! You two are truly remarkable people. Blessings on you and whatever project you take on.
Wow new place is gonna be awesome I can tell already! Hope you keep us updated with some more reno videos on this place!
Mike...... really enjoyed this one.... I come from Western Pa and my hometown is full of buildings like this one.... I've always had a special place in my heart because of the character these stately old relics have. I hope you do a follow up video showing your shop and the airbnb units!
Glad you enjoyed it
I am glad to hear your tone about city rules. It sounds just like me except more polite. Really enjoyed this. You and your wife are very creative in your real estate dealings. I admire it.
Good for you!!! Wish you and Sara continued success. I think you will always be your humble and modest selves. And that's why we watch you. Not a planned HGTV reality show.
Incredible space and as usual you're doing it properly. It's really quite close to finish work, the difficult part is nearly wrapped up. Looking forward to seeing more of this project.
Absolutely love this series! Excited to see all that has been going on.
Thank you
I very much enjoyed watching this video. You were frank and honest about not only your current work and the difficulties have been encountering, but your background. It gives us all a better perspective on both your wife and you and the parts you play in this work. Now I feel I can really root for you all and wish you every success. You're doing a heck of a good job in spite of the greedy, self-absorbed bureaucrats.
Great job. My brothers were in construction when we were younger and it is hard work and long hours when you're completely done you'll be so proud of yourself. I never did home Construction but when my older brothers would finish a job they always took me by whatever house they applied in reconstructed before they sold it.
Looks like you need a second shop building channel (or maybe more videos on this one). Looks good so far. Working around old construction can be a bear. When I was a kid, my family rehabbed an 1870's house. Getting through that old horsehair plaster to replace the knob and tube wiring was awful. It still had the piping for natural gas lighting in the walls. Stripping the 6+ coats of paint and varnish from the carved woodwork was the worst. Luckily we had no structural repairs to do. The structure was solid as the day it was built. It still had the original slate roof with no leaks.
Man that is some good work! Very impressive. Going the route of the legal way is hard with permits but you will be glad if you ever sell or if anything g ever happens, you know everything you’ve done is up to code. I just bought a commercial building and will be doing some work to rent it out, similar to your, mixed commercial and residential. This video is inspiring and makes me realize how much work I have in front of me!
Congrats on the new building Mike. So sorry you're going through so much crap with the inspectors and the city trying to move things along. I know once you're done with the renovations your new workshop is going to be epic! I can't wait to see the design plan you'll have for it. The building looks really good and solid and I'm sure Sarah's going to be over the moon when the rental apartment and studio will be done so she can focus on other things.
The tell me everything I did wrong and how it’s gonna catch on fire closing remarks are the exact reason why I watch all your videos to the very end, this one was very well done and with that little nugget at the end moves the 4 1/2 stars I was thinking up to 5. Well done sir, well done.
From Bail Bonds to a Wood Shop slash AirB&B with an Apartment. I think it's awesome! Thank GOD for those drywall lifts!! Just a suggestion, maybe some scaffolding might make life easier on the ceiling work. Keep up the great videos :)
This is such a great video, I hope you continue to film your progress in this building!
Thank you! Will do!
Respect from Moraine, for returning the beautiful storefront back to what it once was.
I love stories about renovating areas. So glad it is you legally doing the work. Excited to see how the workshop turns out.
You are to be commended for your ability to do almost anything when it comes to carpentry and mechanical work. The building renovation is very impressive. I can’t wait to see the finished project and any updates you share along the way. Great job!
It's really nice to see you doing something right for once!! I can honestly say that I can't wait to see the rest of the tour! It looks like it will be an awesome shop! The apartments are a great idea that will help cover costs. It's especially nice to see someone taking the time to restore an old building and bringing some modern to the old historical part of the property! This is something you can definitely learn on. You'll find out what you're really made of while restoring this wonderful place!
I did a similar project down here in Cincinnati. Glad to see the Dayton revitalization continues!
That's an absolutely beautiful building. It's a lot of time and money well spent. Be as nice to the inspectors as humanly possible.
Looking really good! It’s always great to see an older building come back to life! I feel your pain dealing with insurance companies, I have paid homeowners insurance for 35 years and never had a claim until a nasty hail storm came through. After the claim was paid my insurance almost doubled. Hoping for the best for you with them! Keep up the great work. Your content is appreciated.
-Ken
Ah Ken, I’m sorry it took 35 years for you to really understand that insurance companies are there to make a profit, not to help their customers. It’s my opinion something ought to be done about the honest homeowner as yourself where you’ve paid in for decades then had a relatively small claim compared to what some claims for say fire and tornado would be but your raked over the coals and penalized for filing one claim! It just ain’t right, but they’ve got us by the balls
@@1982MCI Insurance is a great example of where the free enterprise system, supply and demand and all that, hasn't really lived up to what our high school textbooks told us about. It would also be nice if our elected governments watched out for the basic John Doe's as they seem to watch out for ABC Corp.
Mike. Congratulations on your endeavors my friend. The Building is Beautiful and its very exciting to see your accomplishments thus far. Love, love, love this. BTW, "I'm just landlord" can be a very BIG job. I was a property Manager years ago and it took everything I had to do that job. I finally gave it up for all the reasons you are having with your build. I'm a people person not a people manager person. Best to you and Sarah on this part pf your Journey. The Cabin will become more and more of a Sanctuary now.
Those old joists.......I am crazy, and I love seeing them. I had to pull out a floor in my 1904 Edwardian home, and almost didn;t want to install a new one because I loved seeing the old wood, square nails etc.
Whew! Glad for you that you can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel on this huge project & that you haven't torn out all your hair! It takes the rare person to put up with the navigating the morass of often senseless restrictions that the regulatory bureaucracy imposes on those who try to rehab old buildings. When people get irked to see neighborhoods with charming vintage commercial structures get razed in their towns, they should know this is why. Filing for permits for a total demo & just starting from scratch is often faster, easier & less expensive and doesn't require that property owners buy antacid in bulk quantities to chew on all day for years on end waiting for capricious bureaucrats to sign off on every detail. Congratulations for sticking it out to save this cute old building for the next generations in your town!
I admire your ability to navigate the maze of permits and enforced backassery. The building is a beaut. I'd be interested in seeing the process of repairing the buildings' structural damage after the drunk driver incident. Nice little overlay on the insurance company btw.
Absolutely loved this video, the shop is coming along so well, you deserve a nice place to work because of so much effort and skill you put into all you do and I look forward to seeing some more, best wishes from England...
Glad to see an old building and neighborhood getting rehabilitated instead of torn down. My hometown isn't getting the same treatment regrettably, but at least somewhere is.
Thanks for the history video. Love to see old buildings restored and given a new life. Having been an “inspector “ I know how sometimes the authorities get carried away with themselves.
What an undertaking. Glad to see someone thinking things out. I see a lot of horrible patches done and think "just a bit of thought would make this so much better". ... or safe. Good on you! Keep it up.
I’ve followed you since the beginning of your cabin build videos and Love this story. I think this is one of your best edited videos yet. Keep on with the grind the light is visible at the end of the tunnel. Peace ✌️
Courageous endeavor I admire any one willing to take on such a big project. I worked 35 years as a traveling commercial Superintendent and have dealt with inspections from Miami to Phoenix and no to states or city's inspections are the same.
Wow! What an awesome story and a great looking building. So much potential. Thanks for sharing Mike!
Looks awesome! Great work and being a roofing contractor in PA, I feel your pain with inspectors and codes when doing things right. Just working in our nearby city, pulling a permit is two weeks, then for an inspection for substrate is 10-14 days. It’s always fun explaining to a home owner why their roof that has to be replaced has to leak for a month before the city will let us replace it. Of course we do temporary leak fixes to get them to when we can do the roof. Also having to write into their quote about if they fail the substrate inspection that they have to pay up for installing 5/8 plywood on the whole roof because the gaps between the boards in 90-100 year buildings are more then an 1/8” is a fun conversation as well. Big props for doing it right, even though they put you through the wringer. Can’t wait to see what you do with the space!
My husband is a roofing contractor in a small town in western Canada (30k POP) and roofs are neither inspected, nor require permits (only when extending the roofline). My husband just signed contracts to re-roof 8 houses in the same subdivision that are all less than 15 years old. The two things they have in common are that they were all roofed by the same company and they all have cheap boards as the substrate. He did not enjoy having that plywood talk, especially since 5/8ths ply is now over $65 a sheet. It's a big subdivision and he expects to have a busy summer.
That is a really cool building and project! The inspections sound like a total pia…. Love what you are doing. Would love to see more on this reno.
The amount you have built since you started your channel is inspiring. Appreciate you. Thank you for the videos.
I appreciate that!
WOW!!!! that was cool to see and i loved the narration as well... you do great work and i find it amazing how tough they make it on people trying to come in the city and make it better... i had a buddy help me redo electric in a 1924 building in Cinti and he told me the trick was to leave 1 or 2 simple things wrong so the inspector can find so that he wont start getting really picky.... it work as we had to fix our intentionally left problems and then he passed it on his revisit.. its all about the city getting their money.. keep up the great work and i learn something new every time i watch your videos
Wow! You sure have a lot going on! I love that old brick architecture! There are 3 or 4 buildings in my area like that and I am envious of the work you are doing! It will be amazing when you finish!
I love a good adaptive reuse project! Keep the videos on this one coming.
Dad was an alcoholic, fair play for giving someone another chance in their recovery journey. subbed
Sad to hear about the bureaucracy. Typical!!!! You did an amazing job and are an inspiration to us all.
It's great to see people revitalizing old neighborhoods. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.
Such a cool project. I feel for you with all the craziness, dealing with the city, but it'll hopefully soon be a distant memory and you can just enjoy the space.
God bless you! Enjoyed seeing/hearing about your new work area & rental spaces.
I am dreaming of a historic shop building similar to this. It won’t happen in a high priced city, so rust belt or the south are the right places for this. You are skilled and the building looks really great.
Wow great video, nice piece of property. Your hard work is really paying off making the property beautiful again. I lived on Niagara and went to Sinclair College back in the mid-70s. Question... were you able to get any grant money from the city for the restoration of the property, hope so. Thanks for sharing always enjoy your videos. Best of luck with the Endeavors on this property.
This was awesome, thanks for sharing! I'd love to see more on this project!
Mike, Good for you for saving that old building. Hopefully you will show more to us non-Patron subscribers.
WOW! WOW! Looks awesome! Tremendous amount of work you all have done.
I just designed a system for a office space. The city rejected it. The engineer they hired used my design stamped it and the city aproved it.
Yea almost exactly my situation. Contractor gave engineer the plan to put in CAD and stamp. Money wasted, no value added.
You are doing great work. The building looks lovely. I love the color choices too. Did you consider installing concrete pilers near the front corners of the building to protect the building from future crashes.
Great video Mike! Love that you're preserving a piece of Dayton history. Hope you got to keep that cool bail bond sign!
Doing things legally is usually much more expensive in time and money. Some building inspectors are bullies who just want to cause you grief.
I'm thrilled that Dayton still has some affordable areas where artists can set up studios. In our area, Raleigh NC, the land under the building would be worth $250k at a minimum. They would bulldoze the building to put up $1m condos. Even in the sketchiest neighborhoods, prices are soaring. You are going to have a great building and shop when you get finished. Congratulations.
Beautiful building-really like the paint job! More videos on this project please.
Looks like you have done a good job. My only thought is do you think the people living up top will be put off or complain about the noise from the wood shop?
Its probably eventually going to be my wife and I up there so it won't be an issue.
Now that's one fine project, hope to see a lot more of it!
Me and my wife recently were in Dayton and looking around, we really liked just how much livelyer it is. It feels like people actually care about their homes and the community. Something that is sorely lacking in the town we live in despite it being the home to a Big10 school.
Its a nice place, Im from out of state, but happy I ended up here.
Question: How much did it cost the insurance to fix the damage of the truck hitting your building?
It looks like you are doing a much better job than most would do.
Maybe install some bollards around the street-facing parts of the building?
Especially around the gas meters?
Fence in the set back portion and use something substantial for the fence posts.
An old building saved is a joy.
Great video Mike! I really enjoyed seeing the building and hearing you discuss things about it! I hope things get more favorable for you with it in the future! Thank you for sharing!
I LOVE THE EXTERIOR PAINT COLOR. Great use of paint. Not sure I ever want to be a landlord but the abnb is a great idea.
Really enjoyed this video of the making of your new shop. Looking forward to watching the progress that’s coming in the future.
How cool for you. It's coming along nicely. I sure hope it all works out well for u guys. You guys are good people and darn hard workers. God bless you guys 😊
Not sure about your other audience, but I would personally enjoy content like this in addition to your other videos. Although my wife and I aren’t originally from Dayton, we’ve lived in the area for over 10yrs and have really enjoyed learning about the city’s history. It’s absolutely fascinating, and we love seeing these old buildings and their history come back to life and become repurposed. Buildings that now house businesses like Warped Wing, Mudlick, Troll Pub, and many others that have such a rich history makes living in this area such a treat. Looking forward to your new endeavors and thanks again for taking us along for the ride.
Thanks Eric, I will follow up as this project progresses. Dayton does have a very interesting history and a bright future.
You will appreciate all the money and time you have put into this project. You will have a great space to work.