It's a single home of 4. It's in a rural location but fairly large, including a gymnasium. It was intended to be flipped before the housing market fell out but now It's our permanent residence. Because of the location all my neighbours and or their children within a 20 mile radius went to school here.Any questions?

Here's some pictures, also, sorry about the off and on. It's part of living rural that your internet just stops working from time to time if it's storming. http://imgur.com/HLNKE Some proof

Album:http://imgur.com/a/K3cnt#0

  • From Space:http://imgur.com/a/mooLp
  • Just to do a faq
  • How Much did it cost? About 35, 000 and
  • How Big is it? Roughly 30,000 sq ft.
  • I've kept zombie apocalypse preparations in mind, nerdy blood runs deep up here, and all I can say is "bring it"
  • It's electric heat and runs in upwards of 200 because It's tied it with all the other electrical.
  • The house stays somewhat cool in the summer because It's kind of cave like. The halls can stay about 66-68, the rooms branching off get a little warmer though but it helps quite a bit.
  • I can go shooting in my backyard and It's a nice perk of living in bfe as it were

If anyone is interested still by morning I'll do a video walk through and get some blueprints up. I'm also more than willing to give advise to anyone who would also be looking to do something like this. A lot of you seem to have a pretty strong want to do projects like this as well. This is an AMA so I'll do my best to answer every single question. I did ask you guys to ask so I'll hold up my end and supply answers.

Not that it's relevant, but I am a 22 year old female. (I know reddit will probably jump me for it) I'm just getting a lot of questions asking about 'My wife and kids'.

**** I've been answering questions, taking pms, and doing a lot of back and forth emails since i posted this pretty much non stop marathon style for over 12 hours. I'm going to take a nap and I'll answer anything and everything...something about rampart or..something..brb***

Comments: 1957 • Responses: 73  • Date: 

dreambmcgee645 karma

this is what i used to daydream about when I was in a boring class. the mezzanine above the gym was always my room. and the wall across from it was a huge movie screen.

you are technically living my childhood dream.

pictures please!!!

edit: spelling

k4713k254 karma

Still gathering some up. There was a local news article about it but it makes me nervous posting exactly where the location is.

dreambmcgee143 karma

Now I see the dream is possible. Are your rooms absolutely huge? How many classrooms are in there?

Can you make one into a ballroom to hold masquerades?

this is sooo cool.

k4713k208 karma

The building was built in 3 sections, 50s,80s and 90s. Guess which is the best construction? There's a garage, wood shop....there's a pool in one of the rooms because when we moved we had a Koi and pond plant business and needed somewhere to keep the fish until we could sell them. Most have been utilized.

*Edit *Koi....not lion.

k4713k300 karma

Had LAN parties in the gym when i was in high school.

HKYK165 karma

Which section has the best construction? Genuinely curious, because I have no idea.

k4713k286 karma

The 50s part.

Valendr0s142 karma

Just because it seems to have the best construction doesn't mean it does.

A building in the 50s in southern California seems very stable and well-made until an earthquake comes along and knocks the thing down, while the neighbor's house that was built in the 90's just laughs with its improved codes.

k4713k81 karma

I can believe it.

k4713k38 karma

They're up there in the edit.

amaitken630 karma

Do you ever get creeped out or scared for no reason just because it's an old school?

k4713k856 karma

Absolutely. The gym and that part of the unremodeled house creeps me out. I've had 2 people tell me a kid actually died in the gym, fell on the floor, cracked his head open but I e never found any proof if it. Sometimes when you're walking it echoes off the walls and sounds like someone is walking right behind you.

Rykhuu290 karma

Are you going to home school your kids? If so... I don't know.

k4713k157 karma

No, my parents are actually looking to move to Florida, so I have no idea what' going to happen when that time comes.

ghoooooooooost330 karma

As someone who spent the first 22 years of her life in Florida, may I recommend not following your parents to Florida?

k4713k187 karma

I love West Virginia. It might not be the best state, but I love it too much to leave. Trust me, I've tried.

writeswithlight230 karma

Do you have unusually low toilets? I... I had to ask.

k4713k305 karma

Down toword the gym yes. elementary school size, adorable little toilets. That part isn't remodeled.

rab777hp370 karma

Wait wait wait... you have URINALS IN YOUR HOUSE????????????????????????????

/dreamhouse

k4713k459 karma

You can buy them at lowes or home depot. Make your house your dream house.

joshmonster421 karma

I have a urinal in my house!

The rest of my family calls it a shower.

k4713k68 karma

You're just saving water, good on you! Thinking about the environment like a baus.

rab777hp111 karma

Holy shit.

There are SOOO MANNYYYY!!!!!!

Damn expensive though.

k4713k258 karma

If you're gonna piss, you might as wel llook like 1000 bucks while you do it. AmIright?

k4713k181 karma

http://imgur.com/a/K3cnt#0

Here's an album for everyone. I can take some more tomorrow when it' light out what does everyone want to see?

jayski0193069 karma

Did yout dog eat those rolls on the counter?

k4713k158 karma

No, she used to just eye food on the counter so hard. Is made a sandwich once, turned to put up my fixins and when I turned back around it was fucking gone. Didn't hear her take it and it was eaten by the time I found her. Crumbs all over her mouth. She was pretty sneaky.

bopie176 karma

[deleted]

k4713k292 karma

Also, taking some celing tiles down, someone left a glove up in the ceiling on a wire, damn near had a stroke when it poped down.

k4713k251 karma

The electrical pannel on the inside says "sex toys" for one of the switches. It took about an hour to figure out what it actually goes to.

[deleted]162 karma

... what does it go to?

k4713k183 karma

A set of outlets on the side of the house

EnsoElysium95 karma

Did you ever figure out what they meant by that?

k4713k137 karma

I wish. It made for some really good laughs, when AEP (our power supplier) came in they laughed about it too.

[deleted]190 karma

Will you make a followup post if you end up finding a secret sex toy dungeon?

k4713k287 karma

Reddit will be the first to know.

WolfDemon197 karma

When you do find out please dont sell the rights to Oprah

k4713k138 karma

Promised.

k4713k164 karma

Like I had mentioned everyone that lives around here went to school out here, so people stop by all the time to just look around and tell stories about when they were there. there's been quite a few "I got my nose stuck in that corner for being bad" kind of stories.

hotiggy161 karma

does it hurt to be that awesome?

k4713k276 karma

It's pretty damn painful * sunglasses on*

M_Binks155 karma

That's pretty clever k4713k. I'd say you really took him to school. sunglasses

k4713k124 karma

Fuck. Yes.

Enraged_Beaver127 karma

Does the intercom system still work?

Dinnertime! -time-ime-ime-ime

k4713k114 karma

Sadly, they crucial parts were tripped before we got settled. I want some pretty bad. It echos well so a good shout sometimes works. If not you have to kind of yell, walk, yell some more and then ask what room they're in because "I'm right here just doesn't work well."

ivanthegreat23122 karma

How much did it cost? The school itself and the remodel? And yes like everyone else said pics would be great!

k4713k179 karma

Around 35,000. The remodel has been really off and on for about 7 years now. When we first moved in someone before us was starting to making a nursing home out of it but got caught taking money from the loan and buying building materials for thier own bank and were caught for laundering money. However, the work they had done was minimal at best. I stayed in a room that had been carpeted and the rest of my family stayed in another room at the other end of the house that is now our garage.

nashboober144 karma

Are we talking US dollars? If so, mind = blown. Good on you.

Fuqwon94 karma

There are some parts of the country were you can get property/buildings insanely cheap.

It was part of the reason for the housing bubble that developers in certain states could buy houses for 30k, fix them up, then flip them for 5-10 times as much as they paid.

k4713k103 karma

We had our house on the market for about 3years with no solid buyers. People would come look and try to haggle down to 100,000, or they just wanted to come look which was a huge HUGE inconvenience.

intripoon110 karma

Isn't that incredibly cheap for such a huge building?

k4713k154 karma

Yes. But, location and the fact it was listed as commercial building...

spazzikarp102 karma

Any permit issues with converting it to living space?

k4713k186 karma

A lot actually. It's also been damn near impossible to insure.

goodvibeswanted61 karma

Interesting. I thought of looking into this in the future, after we have some money saved up. I am worried we won't be allowed to convert a commercial building in a comercial zone into a home. An old school is something I hadn't thought of. Are the property taxes high?

k4713k82 karma

A bit, mostly because of the acerage attached.

Richie31152 karma

Acres were included with the property?

k4713k105 karma

5 acres of land. It ads to the overall property tax.

TheRaisin110 karma

Why did the school shut down?

k4713k161 karma

There were other schools built in not such a rural area, more centralized schools.

imjoesnuffy108 karma

Any unusual expenses with your domicile? Taxes, garbage, electric, water? I can't imagine it would be cheap to heat it in the winter.

k4713k161 karma

Heating in the winter gets a litte crazy. But where it's all brick and block it stays about 66 in the house all summer kind of like a cave.

k4713k138 karma

The down side of it being like a cave is down toword the gym the floor has a tendency to sweat, it's like a go and mop once a day kind of thing.

EnsoElysium87 karma

Wait. The floor sweats?

I've been to clubs and I've seen the ceilings sweat from condensation but how do floors sweat?

k4713k128 karma

It gets warm in the halls and the floor stays really cool so it sweats.

SkylarShankman105 karma

Serious question: What gave you the idea to do this and what is your favorite ex-school room that has now been converted (Gym, music room, theater etc...)

Joke Question: Is it a lot easier to lure kids into your house when it looks like a school?

k4713k191 karma

We do a pretty big haunted house ever year. Kids pile up into the back of pickup truck to trick or treat here because everything is so scattered out here, so we get them by the truck loads. Favorite room is probably the hallways. I'm a grown-ass woman and I still am a little freaked out to go into the gym by myself at night.

k4713k111 karma

There's also kids that come and ask to play basketball from time to time.

hehe_OK44 karma

Do you let them?

k4713k131 karma

We do, but were cautious as to who we let in now because we've been targeted for break ins so many times. But the good thing about living rural is everyone knows everyone and you can find out who did what fast. The home alarm actually has sirens on top of the roof to draw attention just for that reason.

Dammit_Rab19 karma

you should get some more big badass dogs to protect your shit and walk with you to that scary ass gym

k4713k37 karma

My dad laughs at me because I do take the dogs with me.

sunflowers45100 karma

does anyone else think this looks like a great scene for a horror movie? with the gym and whatnot?

k4713k252 karma

On Halloween I actually get a legitimate excuse to chase children with chainsaws.

hand_in_kak96 karma

Are there any creepy ghost stories about the former school?

I used to live in school-house that was built in the 1850's.. it had it's own interesting problems.

k4713k58 karma

That to me is more interesting that what I'm living in.

AggedOut81785 karma

Have you ever seen a stranger just standing still in the hallway not saying one word?

k4713k205 karma

My dad has done that to me, he's also that horrible kind of person that thinks scaring people is fucking hilarious.

CWGM83 karma

Why do you have a plant in the way of your bathtub? I'd find this extremely annoying. Getting out of the bath only to be attacked by leaves, it's like being clung to by a shower curtain, but more nature-y.

k4713k64 karma

No no. It's not even halfway done. It's sitting in there because I was watering it and it needed some light. That's a bath at the end of the hall no attached rooms or anything. There were 3 diving walls between the toilet and the bath...tore them out, got the walls painted and tile laid down. The plant is just sitting in there to get some light.

rapist168 karma

Have you ever played silent hill?

k4713k120 karma

Yes. And givin I'm I'm west Virginia and that was where the movie was set, is say It's pretty fitting.

boblabon67 karma

Do you inadvertently keep to the boys/girls restroom? Or do you use the (opposite gender of yours) room just because you can?

k4713k55 karma

We wanted to keep that part of the house that way so there's still a girls and boys bathroom. We rarely go into that part of the house.

[deleted]84 karma

That's almost eerie.

Does it bother you to have a house that large with segments you don't even go to? That would just creep me out, somehow.

k4713k79 karma

You sometimes just forget it's there, there's door dividing off that part of the house so it's easy to just look right over it.

SilentRunning63 karma

How many square feet is the whole house?

Only thing cooler would be living in an old fire station like the one in Ghost Busters.

k4713k81 karma

I still want to live in a fire station. Down side, regular houses make me claustrophobic. I recently moved back home and it was really driven home how nice it is for all your rooms to be at least 19x23.

k4713k80 karma

Roughly 30,000

Juntistik56 karma

Any plans to build a home theater in a classroom?

k4713k76 karma

We've always wanted to do one of the rooms into a theater room. Money is the only issue in this whole equation.

goodizzle51 karma

Does it smell like a school? You know, that gluey, crayons, and chicken nuggets with mashed potatoes smell?

k4713k48 karma

I wish. I wish the old kitchen was still intact.

[deleted]45 karma

Schools are mostly classrooms i guess, so what did you do with all the separate rooms? Do you use them all?

Did the school have a library? Office area? what did you do with these areas?

k4713k54 karma

We used all but what was the old kitchen and what was the science room. We did put up walls to decide some, for on suite bathrooms.

[deleted]28 karma

that sounds many weekends worth of projects :P

Would it be possible to sketch up a rough floor plan?

k4713k61 karma

Blueprints on the way

k4713k48 karma

Sure. I also have old blueprints. A once janitor brought us some a few years ago. Would have been super handy just starting out.

puredemo42 karma

What's the square footage?

Have any pics of the gym?

[deleted]39 karma

[deleted]

k4713k111 karma

I had a few friends up in ny that proudly told me i was a redneck for living in a school. However that works.

k4713k42 karma

I just tell them the house really and when they come pull up into the bus loop. It's just a house to me now.

inthisdesert35 karma

How much did it cost?

The initial purchase of the school, not the remodeling.

k4713k50 karma

35,000 ish

inthisdesert99 karma

Please excuse me while I pick my jaw up from the floor.

salgat22 karma

Not that cheap after you consider all the remodeling.

coaxfun31 karma

100k in remodeling over the years, you still have a sweet house. My house cost 200k, and is 1/10 the size... >_>

k4713k40 karma

That's what we tried to sell it for.

ghoooooooooost31 karma

[deleted]

k4713k38 karma

We've thought about it, but that's where the red tape starts. You have to get papers stating you're a landlord, even if it's on your property in your home, covers your ass a little.

Wheat_Grinder31 karma

Can you post some pictures?

Wheat_Grinder34 karma

That is most impressive. How much did it cost?

poopenheimur57 karma

not going to lie, i laughed my ass off.

k4713k73 karma

As did I. Fuck that's awesome.

k4713k15 karma

More on the way

gandorf60426 karma

Why is there a hammer in your bathroom?

k4713k27 karma

That room is being remodeled right now, I was tapping the pins back in the hinges of the cabinet.

intripoon26 karma

How did it come you moved there in the first place?

k4713k46 karma

The neighborhood we lived it was going to hell quickly, not that it's not bad out here at times. This place has been broken into more than a few times, once while we were all here.

[deleted]44 karma

How many of those times were idiots who just wanted to check it out?

k4713k73 karma

Too many to count.

TheHag23 karma

Really? People just walk in, realize it's a house, and continue to check it out?

k4713k45 karma

We leave the doors open in the spring, kind of gets the air moving through the house and warms it up a little...so yeah, people have jut stood at the door yelling hello before. It'ss really way out of the way and people who stand in your door and yell usually aren't trying to cause problems. Everyone knows people out here are pretty well armed to the teeth so tend to not cause trouble.

TheHag23 karma

Have you ever give them a tour and explained what the place is?

k4713k37 karma

Many times. We all have it memorized by now.

somecleverusername6226 karma

how many rooms? any stuff from the old school left behind? desks etc? i would love take all the old gym balls and bounce them all around one room

k4713k29 karma

Cabinets. Turned one of the tops into a laundry room table. http://imgur.com/lQ6N5 http://imgur.com/rTCgc

[deleted]16 karma

That is so awesome. Do you ever have wild parties over there?

k4713k25 karma

Other than LAN parties, none.

PhilGarber13 karma

Was this expensive? Should people who want a big house consider this kind of thing? Any red tape?

Edit - Nice kitchen :-).

k4713k22 karma

It's a lot of work if you plan to do it all yourself. My parents are pretty handy people and passed that on to my sister and I. Now I know how to so everything from pluming to sheet-rock. The red tape was having it switched from commercial property to residential. Also, be prepared to do a lot of shopping for insurance, because you'll more than likely have to get it from somewhere that they'll insure it like they would a commercial building.

PhilGarber14 karma

That's weird.. Why is it still considered commercial?

k4713k26 karma

It's not the typical construction of a house, and that makes insurance companies nervous for residential.

therealknewman11 karma

SHould park your cars in the gym. No question, just that. Also, neat!

k4713k44 karma

Had gokarts in there once.