Construction on my home started Wednesday.
In addition to DITLOA, Dining Out for Life, my regular work, and kid wrangling, I’m now dealing with fairly substantial construction. I’m excited, though. I love these kinds of projects, and I’m typically not too bothered by a little chaos.
When we moved into this house almost seven years ago, we anticipated adding to it one day. That day has come. Or I should say that eight to ten weeks has arrived. Our home is a 1920s cottage-style home with about 1,600 livable square feet. The addition will add about 600 square feet. Most importantly, it will add a small master bed and bath and a laundry/mud room. Hooray!
I put the project off for longer than I’d hoped because I knew it’d be a time sink for me. But I think I’m ready. And I’ve certainly had plenty of time to think about what I want to do and how (retrofit, renovate, add on–all as “green” as possible).
I once heard an interview with Christie Brinkley where she was asked, “What the most difficult thing you’ve ever gone through?” Her answer? “Renovating my house.” At the time, I remember thinking that Ms. B was both lucky and spoiled if the most difficult thing she’d ever experienced was renovation. So I’ll try not to whine over the next several weeks.
Here are a few photos, so you too, can follow the process. Or not.
Here’s the old deck on the back of the house. The railing and gate are newish, added when we put a screen and front porch on about 5 years back. This is now gone!
As we removed most of the deck, we discovered that when a previous owner had bumped out the back hall to add a 1/2 bath, they’d rested the entire 16-inch bump-out on the porch. No support whatsoever. And the flooring support was barely enclosed and full of rot and leaking insulation. We’re now under strict instructions not to jump with joy while using the 1/2 bath. At least until we can get this rebraced.
Here’s the door that once led from the kitchen to the back deck. My son now calls it “the door to the deadly cliff.” I like “the door to nowhere.” We’re closing this in to add kitchen storage and a kitchen desk area. We’re also rebuilding the remaining 1/3 deck with Trex (recycled plastic). The area under the deck that’s gone will, I hope become a gravel parking area. Although we have to see if our neighbor (whose house is both a wildlife habitat and a major fire hazard) will let us back our cars two feet onto his part of the driveway.
Oh joy! Anyone else undertaken a project like this before?
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De-lurking to say:
We just bought a house a year ago in G’ville…just down the “hill” from you…here’s how desperate the seller’s market was a year ago here: it had NO kitchen and NO laundry and an asphalt parking lot for a backyard. But the house is from the 1920’s and is great…we just went through a LARGE reno to add the missing items. No additions, just repurposing the spaces. This was a house originally and then was turned into offices and the kitch was ripped out. Argh! We reno’d from October through February. (We still have the parking lot with the white stripes in it…not ready and no money to tackle the outside yet.) I was the GC and it took all of my time. The kids (14 and 9) could handle the intrusions as well as my husband and I could. I am a fledgling writer and didn’t write a lick during that time. Oops, this supposedly upbeat post is turning sad.
But I’ve read your blog for years and I know you’ll be able to handle the reno…you seem very strong! Our process was long, but good. We had a great bunch of workers. It helps to be “onsite” all the time to keep the little mistakes from happening. We “greened” as much as money and supplies would allow…and felt that not adding on was a big plus for us. But you NEED the extra space! : )
Best of luck to you, Edgy Mama, with your Edgy Reno!
I really enjoy reading your blog and have for years…and then ended up moving from the N.O. area to your “neck of the woods.” Love the actual “springtime” that I’ve always read about, but never experienced. Thanks for writing, and your kidlings are adorable…
(P.S. I didn’t spellcheck this, so I apologize for the horrid condition of this post. I was just happy to be able to answer one of your questions!)
Thanks, Elise! Love to hear from long-time lurkers. Glad to hear you made it through your project!
We discussed trying to stay within the footprint of the existing house (much greener), but it would have meant giving up E-spouse’s home office and enclosing our beloved screened-in porch.
I really like my construction guys so far. They seem conscientious.
Now I’ve gotta go move some plants!
I’ve done some smaller interior projects myself, and I just paid for and fretted over two kitchen remodels in the past year (both “old” house and “new” house). I have avoided projects involving exterior walls or structure, though. So I salute you!
Bathroom projects seem notorious for revealing bizarre surprises. Fortunately my own bath projects unleashed only minor oddities, but yours is about the third case of “What the heck were they thinking?” that I’ve heard recently.
I’ve heard that Asheville has some environmentally conscious builders and contractors. If you found some of those folks, that should help. I was frustrated by some difficulty getting vendors and contractors to cooperate with me about green materials and methods. I managed to donate some removed material and appliances to Habitat for Humanity. And I successfully avoided vinyl floors, despite several attempts to talk me into them. (”But everybody uses vinyl! It’s cheap!”)
I’d love to hear more about your green materials or methods. Besides recycled plastic decking, what sorts of things are y’all doing? Bamboo floors? Denim insulation? I look forward to progress updates.
Cheers
No and I do not envy you. But think of it as fun, and you will enjoy it immensely (when it’s finished!).
H yes, we’ve done a renovation. In fact, we are in the midst of one right now! In A’ville in fact. Take a look:
http://kay-renovation.blogspot.com/
Really hate to say ours is not very green!
oooh im also de-lurking to add to the conversation.
my hubby and i have spent the last year and a half remodeling/renovating our home. (in N. Florida)
with help from knowledgeable friends and family we replaced all the siding on the outside and are now working on more cosmetic things inside–new kitchen, flooring, etc..
it’s been a struggle every step of the way—nothing has ever gone as planned. even supposedly simple tasks ended up harder than we thought they would be.
my hubby and i agree if we’ve made it through this, then we can make it through anything.
good luck with your project!
Best of luck with your renovation.
Just now finishing up a complete one on a cabin near Etowah. Glad it is over but I am looking for the next one.
Good advice from above.
Regards,
Chris
Yowza! yes, we’re planning on retiling the existing bath during the process, which makes me nervous, as I have no idea what we’ll find when we pull out that ancient, cracked fiberglass tub!
Glad to have all of you along for the process!
I thought you were completely white and had already passed this vital step. Welcome to the fold…
http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/2008/01/29/37-renovations/
Did you see our Asheville house before the kitchen remodel and the sunroom addition? It took an entire fall, and I was home most the time with a baby and a wild boy 4 year old. I still miss that kitchen, and especially that sunroom. Worth every bit of aggravation during the remodel!
Edgy I’m in the building materials biz. I’m not so sure how green your deck mfg really is… they started out with good intentions. But John Q Public wanted a better looking product, and that demanded more virgin plastic, and less recycled material.Heck, have you considered who will recycle your faded deck boards in the future.
Wood is still the answer! We have lots and lots of trees. trees are are best renewable resource. Check out the new green treatment called micro-pro.
I know, UGA. For my front and screen porches I used the stuff that’s mostly wood pulp. But it’s high maintenance. It stains and needs to be pressure washed. But it won’t need to be pulled up in 8 years like the splintery stuff on the back porch!