McDonald's has the golden arches, we have...

...a framed in arch for the wall by the front door. Additionally, the furnace vent had a small leak in it. The project manager caulked around it so hopefully we'll be able to refrain from having a new roof for a little while longer. By a little while, I mean 6-12 months.

A few nails & screws were pulled off the ceiling & walls to prepare for drywall installation. Oh yeah, someone put white plastic lattice in the dumpster. I'm gonna look around the neighborhood to see who's using white plastic lattice. Perhaps I could create a lattice/dog poo sculpture and place it in their driveway as a reward for them. I think the white & brown would contrast eachother nicely and create an interesting composition.

I'm hoping for some insulation & drywall to be delivered tomorrow. We'll see...I'm tired from travelling and going to bed...

Multimedia & Last Rough Inspection

Video of the clever pups.

Link to pictures.

Update from today: we passed the building inspection.

Inspection Week & other small stuff

This week was rough inspection week. Not a whole lot happened.

Plumbing:
- not too exciting. There are holes & pipes in the floor now. The old plumbing was cut out & plugged where appropriate.
- The plumbing contractor was pretty funny. He certainly showed up pretty early one morning.
- passed inspection

Electrical:
- completed
- passed inspection
- Electricians were very nice, very professional. They were very helpful when walking through where the switches & fixtures are going to be placed. I would've had the switch be the door turn on & off the fridge if I did it so I'm glad the pros are working on it. He also pointed out some stuff that needed to be fixed and offered to take care of a thing or two free of charge.

HVAC:
- almost completed. one supply needs to be removed since it will no longer be needed. We now have 4 supplies coming through the floor. Three under the windows and one will come through the toe kick under the cabinet.
- passed inspection

Framing:
- Almost completed. Inspection is Monday
- The arched cutout still needs to be framed in. The opening will be 4ft wide & 34 inches off the ground.

Other stuff that happened this week:
- Appliances were ordered
- picked out a vent hood (big honkin' Kitchenaid)
- Ran wires for in ceiling speakers in the tray ceiling

Next Week:
After framing inspection and the arch being completed, they'll insulate the space and begin drywall. I'll be real happy when the drywall is completed & primed so the dust will be way down. I have to start some painting & trim work. I'm also putting the drywall back up in the garage. I'm going to keep the door that led from the kitchen to the garage and use it as the door that leads out to the garage. It needed to be replaced and the two doors are identical except for their condition.

We need to pick out the following in the next couple weeks:
- Pendant Lights (2)
- Ceiling fan (42")
- Light for dining room
- Faucet for kitchen

General Thoughts:
The project is moving along quickly. I'm hoping for a mid-august completion. We should know a ballpark completion date once there's a delivery date for the cabinets. Lots of stuff happening next week!

Canine Situation:
The dogs have settled in finally. They don't seem to care about people being in the house. They're sequestered in our bedroom with the TV on to drown out the sound. They have learned to crawl under the plastic that's not taped to the floor. They'll do that when we're walking around in the construction zone which is pretty darn cute.

Ummm...errr...we're finally back

Yeah...sorry. Finally back in the game. Long story short...it's not the best time to have your home appraised.

Things got a little scary there for a little while. We've been sitting with a demolished 1/3 of our home for a bit too long as we stepped gingerly through the mortgage minefield.

The demolition has been the best part so far. We were able to fully demolish the main floor of the house and fit it all in a 20yd dumpster. One aspect of the house that sped up the process of demolition was the method in which the drywall was originally attached to the studs. Construction adhesive doesn't do the best job of attaching to studs after 40 years...who knew? :o) The drywall came down in huge chunks which was a huge timesaver for us. Ron introduced us to the art of ladder-walking which sped up the process and sent shivers down the spines of those representing OSHA.

The old kitchen fought gallantly to stay on the walls, but its resistance was ultimately futile. Cabinets dropped on a corner fell like a house of cards, and there were giggles all around each time they were tossed on the floor of the garage.

A couple of other thoughts from demolition. Gas from drain lines...not the most pleasant aroma.

The project is smaller and the loan is closed so construction is ready to start and it did today.

Day 1 Activities
1. Portable toilet delivered this morning. It's emblazoned with the moniker "Happy Can". It's resting comfortably by the mailbox in a Walden-like atmosphere under a magnolia tree.
2. Dumpster showed up.
3. Lumber delivered

Work Completed Today
1. Laminated beam set (three of them sandwiched together. Individual beam is 14X2). It's freakin' huge!
2. 24X24 concrete pillar poured in the crawlspace to spread the load.
3. Wall framed that will make up the third wall of the kitchen
4. Ceiling joists cut in preparation for the tray ceiling
5. Temporary supports put in place to compensate for cut ceiling joists.

Next Steps...
1. Hopefully the tray ceiling will get framed in this week
2. The wing wall by the front door needs to be moved, thickened so the vent for the furnace can be hidden in it, and an arch cutout be framed in there as well.

Canine Reaction
This was of significant concern due to outsiders being in our home and making a bunch of noise with power tools and other construction related lunacy. We were pleasantly surprised that the man & little lady were okay with the work in the house after a few minutes. They are being placed in the bedroom with the television on (I may move the station around for variety over time). It's nice that they didn't decide to rearrange the furniture (aka destroy it) and behaved like the little angels they are.

Sub Bids & Appliance Selection

Subcontractors were at the house today taking a look around so they can provide estimates. Roofing, plumbing, carpentry, hardwood floors. Electrical & HVAC will be able to work from the plans. We still need a lighting plan which will come when the construction drawings are developed.

Waiting on Revised Pricing...

Okay...so the pricing for the first round of schematics went a bit on the exorbitant side. Once I had time to let this settle, I came to the conclusion that this was part of the process in determining what we really need for the house

The Badger is Being Reassigned!

I have spoken with 3.5 lenders about their construction-to-permanent loan programs (I'm only counting the yahoo at Citimortgage as 0.5 based on his abundance of enthusiasm). Each program offers pretty much the same flexibility and general logistics. Current rates for both the construction period and the permanent mortgage are all within 25 to 50 basis points of each other. And costs are what they are for this type of project. HOWEVER, all lenders want to charge origination fees! *Gasps*

Can someone shed some light on this for me? Granted, construction/perm loans are not your bread-and-butter refinance. But that aside, how, in today's lending environment, are two borrowers, contributing both equity and cash to the project, with 800 credit scores and documented income, expected to agree to an origination fee? I'm calling up The Badger.

Ungasp!...No Pricing Yet

Oh well...guidance pricing will be available on tomorrow (Friday). We did get to look at the 3D renderings which were pretty cool and really drove home how different the space is going to look once it's finished. We asked for a couple of other 3D images to look at the space from different angles so that we are getting a grasp of the whole space. We're squabbling over the placement of a window and the dimensions of the ceiling that will be raised, but other than that the design is solidifying nicely. I'll post the 3D renderings when I receive the PDFs.

We want to do something different as far as materials and color in the island for both counter top and cabinets below. I also suggested that the bar area could work well as glass top instead of granite like the rest of the kitchen.

We also talked briefly about appliances. The designer recommended Kitchenaid Architect II stuff to us which looked pretty good and would fit into the space and budget pretty well.

Not much more to talk about until pricing is available. The pricing will be addressed as "pods" or broken out into sections that can be isolated should we need to make a decision on whether to keep or kill a certain section. The badger is still ready for launch if necessary.

Guidance Pricing...Gasp!

Today at 4pm we will be looking at 3D renderings of the interior space which should be pretty cool. In addition to the fun part of the meeting, we will also be receiving "guidance pricing" which is a ballpark cost of the project as it is drawn up for us. This makes me a bit nervous. This is the part of the process where we come back to reality.

If the price is exorbitantly high, I would like to produce at least some sort of smart ass comment around the fact that something shouldn't have been designed in a manner that could have never been afforded in the first place. To me that would not be properly managing client expectations based on earlier conversations. In other words, don't design a $200K project if the budget is $100K. I really have no idea how this will turn out. Perhaps I should bring the "badger" to ensure things go smoothly:

Maddie a.k.a. "The Badger"









Our project is significant for the builder and would represent is decent chunk of income for them so it's in their interest to not go too far overboard with the pricing. I feel that our budget is large enough to cover 85-100% of what we want to do.

We're starting to look into mortgages this week too... Given the current market trends, I hope the bank appraisal of the property is at least in line with the tax assessed value of the home. If not, my next call is to the county. Our area hasn't been affected too badly yet.

I'll post again after the meeting this afternoon.

Schematic Drawings

First Phase of the design process is well underway. We met with the builder to go over schematic drawings. So here's the update to this point.

Site plan - revealed no problems at all. It was interesting to see the details of the property and the set back lines which mark the limits that you are allowed to build on the property and remain within zoning constraints. Based on the site plan, I could build several outbuildings in the backyard and still have room to spare. There's room in the future to expand the garage toward the street and have a side entrance instead of a front entrance. The problem with the garage today is that if you enter park a car in the left door, you can't open the driver-side door once you're inside the garage. So, I'm exiled to parking in the driveway unless I want to "Dukes of Hazzard" in & out of the window every time, which would be fun for a while...

Schematic Drawings
We have a series of schematic drawings now. The first ones created were an as built of the existing structure.

Rear Elevation (as built):
Typical split-level layout from the rear. I'm not a fan of the house from the back as it currently stands. Having it drawn out really makes it stand out that it needs some help.





Interior Floor Plan (as built):

So here's the current interior of the home. The area in the middle (main floor as we call it) is where we are doing the work. The top of the image is the back of the house. The garage is on the left. The upstairs & downstairs part where the bedrooms are won't be touched with this project. The current layout of the main floor is very open. As you can see, the kitchen is pretty small.

Proposed Exterior Changes (Rear Elevation View):
Here's the change to the back of the house. I think they nailed it with the design. The new addition will encompass a kitchen and a screened porch. The kitchen is under the gable and the porch will be under the metal roof. I really like what was done with the roof line. It ties in the house very well and also does a good job of breaking up the split-level look. You'll see a little line between the two gables. That's called a "cricket" to prevent a dead drainage spot in the roof. The brick along the bottom will be taken from the wall that is being knocked down so it will tie the addition into the house better.

Proposed Interior Changes (favorite):
This is our favorite interior layout that was proposed. To give an idea of scale, the footprint of the addition is approximately 16' X 27' so it's pretty substantial. There's plenty of backyard left so it'll still be a pain in the ass to mow. The kitchen is huge. and I really like how everything has been shuffled around. I also really like the addition of the hallway, pantry, and powder room. There are also built-ins drawn in on the right wall in the dining room and the parition wall by the foyer. If budget is an issue, I can live without the built-ins and the powder room and pantry since that can come at a later time if necessary without too much interruption. The dotted line in the kitchen and dining room is where we would trey up the ceiling to 9 feet.

Next Steps:
We make some notes and go back to the builder with any proposed changes. The only change is to have a window along the left wall of the kitchen so we can see that portion of the yard. Once that is done, we'll be able to see 3D renderings of the interior space to get a better feel for it. After that, more details will be worked out. I still need to take interior & exterior "before" pictures. There's plenty of time for that since construction won't begin for a while.

First Design Meeting

We had our first design meeting today. The designer asked us a ton of questions to get a feel for what we are looking for in our kitchen. The as built drawing of the existing space are complete. There's a survey company coming out to do a site plan on Monday.

We had prepared for the meeting with the designer by answering a questionnaire about how we would like to use the kitchen. Additionally, we had been keeping images of kitchens we like to provide the sense of style we are going after.

As part of the project, we are expanding the main floor of the house into the back yard by approx. 15 feet. That means the new foot print of the main floor will be around 25'x40'. It's a large space, but it encompasses the kitchen, a porch opening to the back yard, the dining room, foyer/front entry, and den/keeping room. Additionally, we want to soffit or trey up the ceiling in this space to 9' or 10' based on what's feasible to gain the increase in space volume. The remaining aspects of the project are to replace the roof and paint the exterior siding & trim.

The next step in the process is to review schematics and design drawings of how the new space will be laid out. I'm hoping to have around 4 different options to look at given that we gave the designer room to design which I think is very important for this process. I'll hopefully post current or "before" pictures sometime this weekend.

Beginning of the Road...

We are about to begin the design phase of a major house remodel. We are working with a design/build firm for this project. We live in a late 60's split level. Our kitchen needs a bullet put in it and we would like to expand our current space on the main floor to allow for a porch that opens into the back yard.

We decided to go with a design/build firm since both our job our demanding and we don't have the time to put too much own our own sweat into the job...not to mention the fact that we'd like this project to be completed before I turn 40 (I'm 32).

The vendor selection process was pretty simple for us. We looked four firms that were all found on the NARI web site. All of the companies had been in business for over 20 years. Each company came out to my house to talk with us about the project. Pricing a remodel project is a tough one. There are a number of variables that can have a significant effect on the final price of the project.

This is where the design/build firm comes into play. You'll notice that "design" is listed before "build". That's done for a reason. The whole purpose of the design process is to nail down all the details before a tool is touched. Also, once partly into the design process, accuracy of cost estimates becomes much closer. An added benefit here is that you are only financially obligated for the design services provided, which for design/build firms can run 4-6% of the overall cost of the project. It's better to be out 4-6% of six figures than get 60% of the way through a project and realize you can't afford it. :o\

Here is the current status of our project:
- as built measurements have been taken
- we are having a design meeting with the design/build firm tomorrow so they can get a clearer picture of what we want for our kitchen & eventual new space.
- as built drawings of the house should be completed within a week and top-down floor plan views of the new space (schematics) should be available shortly after that.
- Design process should take approximate 2 months and construction for this project should be 3.5 - 4 months.

I'll post pictures of what the existing space looks like and some details of what we want to do.