This is really happening...

This is really happening...

June 14th -- Signs of progress...I came home to find the biggest construction dumpster I've ever seen in my life (only sort of an exaggeration) parked in front of my house.  That thing looks so big that I bet my entire house and all of its contents could easily fit inside with room to spare.

Not only was there signs of progress in the front of the house, but another surprise awaited me as I pulled into the alley behind my house

Next step...the demolition crew and excavation should begin next week.

Then it will really get interesting.  The original mudroom on the back of the house, which also covers the stairs to the basement, will be demolished, along with its simple slab foundation that was built separate from the house.  The house sits on a brick foundation that is very scary in the sense that it looks like it could fall apart at any moment.  

The current stairs to the basement are part of the mudroom concrete foundation, so that will be demolished as well and will be replaced with a pier foundation that will tie the foundation for the two-story addition and new staircase to the current house without either structure pulling the other in directions they are not supposed to go (yeah, no kidding, I am so NOT a structural engineer).  

A support post will be installed in the basement.  The structural engineer said this is necessary so that the entire house and addition does not fall down.  House not falling down is a very good concept.

The basement is the home of my washer and dryer, provides miscellaneous storage and is the location of the furnace, hot water heater, and various other mechanical systems.  Once the excavation begins I will not have access to the basement for about 6 to 8 weeks.  

I just keep hearing the words of my contractor in my head.  During our first meeting when I was taking him through the initial tour of the house,  I showed him the basement and existing foundation.  He had me when he looked at me and said, "This house has good bones."  

Given that this is the last weekend that  I will have access to my basement, the odds are very good that just about everything that isn't packed up and in storage will enjoy a spin in the washer and dryer.  

The Building Permit

The building permit was issued on Friday, June 7th and was taped to the front window on Monday, June 10th.  

This project is officially on!


The contractor gave me a hefty "to do" list with my shopping marching orders.  First up, plumbing valves and gas fireplaces.  


The irony of shopping for fireplaces on the hottest day of the year so far (98 degrees) was not lost on me.  Totally chill.


And now an occasional installment of:

Lessons learned......

1.  Assemble a team that communicates well:  Choose your architect and contractor wisely; you are assembling a team so make sure that all members of the team communicate well.  While I am sure I will call my contractor and architect different names throughout this process (some that will need to be censored for this blog), they are in my mind The Dream Team.  They have known each other over 15 years and have worked together on a variety of projects, especially old houses.  An architect who is familiar with the builder will often design with the builder's strengths in mind. 



2.  Identify your taste and style with images:  For years I have had a habit of clipping images from magazines and brochures of different things I thought I would like for my house.   I would put these pages into a manila file folder on the bookshelf labeled "house project."  As this project came closer to reality, I found the contractor and architect would frequently ask me what I liked.  I remembered my file folder and could show them exactly what appealed to me, which helped the design process immensely.   Interestingly enough, the saved clippings of bookcases, kitchen layouts, entry ways,and various living spaces had not changed much over the years as many of the images were very similar.  I learned that while I had no idea what to call my style, it was very consistent.


(scroll down to view previous blog posts....)

Home Renovation Journey

In the fall of 2012 I began a journey that actually started in September 1987 when I purchased my first (and only) house.  I am the third owner of a 1903 Victorian Farmhouse located on a double lot that was once farmland.  The house was built by a farmer and his only child, a son, became the second owner when the farmer died.  One of these days maybe I will actually get around to digging through the city archives to test the veracity of the ownership story as it was told to me -- as it stands, it is a nice urban legend.

Since 1987 I have had all sorts of plans, ideas, and hallucinations about how I would renovate this house when all the planets in the cosmos aligned and the time was right.  That's right, I have had 26 years to think about this.  I am a patient person and something tells me that this project may be the ultimate test of my patience.

In the fall of 2012 I got serious.  After a three-month period of interviewing, I found my architect and my contractor.  Then we went through the process of conceptualizing the plan, the scope and cost of the project.  I will spare you the details of that process....for now, but reserve the right to include that in maybe a future post.

On March 28th the plans were submitted to the city for approval and permits.  

On May 28th -- the anticipated day that the building permits would be issued -- I had completed moving all of my belongings (that I did not donate or throw out) into my garage as I prepared to move into one room of my house.  That room is my office that is so small not even a twin size bed fits in it, but that is another story for a future post.  Yes, I have decided to be an "urban backpacker" as I am planning to live within the midst of this 6- to 8-month construction project -- soon demolition will take away my kitchen, but I'll have a refrigerator in the living room (maybe a microwave) and access to a bathroom before it is redone.  I am convinced that my architect and contractor made a wager to see how many days I will stick it out before moving out.  

On June 9th I decided to start this blog -- as far as I know, we don't yet have the permits (I haven't been informed if they were issued on Friday).  Last Wednesday, a person at the city office told the architect that they are very overworked and busy.

So, I will begin with "before" photos of the exterior of the house.

Below is the front of the house as it faces east.

Here is the side of the house that faces south.  The double windows on the main level will be removed and in its place will be doors to a pergola and deck off the dining room.  This side of the house faces a lovely side yard.
  

This is the rear of the house as it faces west (don't look at the stack of junk in the lower right-hand corner that awaits the arrival of the construction debris dumpster).  The rear of the house will be redesigned with a two-story addition that will include a new rear entry into a newly designed mudroom on the main level that leads into a "gathering room" that is open to a galley kitchen; a redesigned master bedroom, master bathroom and deck are planned for the upper level.

I am not posting a photo of the side of the house that faces north, although you can see in the photo above that it is very close to the property line of the adjacent house -- there isn't much to look at except for a shed dormer on the upper level that covers the current master bathroom.  

Besides the rear, two-story addition and the south-side pergola and deck, the project includes a new roof, two new high efficiency furnaces with zone heating controls (one for the addition and one for the existing structure), new windows, new kitchen, new main level laundry room adjacent to a pantry off the kitchen, new 3/4 bath off the gathering room, renovated main level guest bathroom (but keeping the original claw foot tub that will be resurfaced) connected to a guest suite (an interior wall in the dining room will be moved to enlarge the guest bedroom for a double bed), and all the original oak floors will be resurfaced at the end of the project.  

Who's idea was this?

There you go.    I am now in zen mode as I vow to go with the flow as the project enfolds, hoping not to lose my cool (too often) and along the way to find a balance between wild excitement and terror.