Our Home Renovations: The Beginning

Written by nickel - 8 Comments

I’ve written previously about that fact that we’ve been thinking about adding on to our house. Well, we’ve decided to go ahead with the addition, and our contractor will be taking the first tangible steps this morning when he tears out our old deck.

As I noted previously, we’re adding on off the back, thereby expanding our dinette, creating a new and larger laundry room, and creating a new closet for one of our bedrooms (which sleeps Sons #1 and #3). The deck will be replaced with a new (and larger) one, and we’re also converting the boys’ old closet into a pantry (closed up on their side, opened up on the dinette side) and turning the old laundry room into a nice, centrally-located powder room.

Finally, we’re adding on a small storage building/workshop out back. Think “shed” but nicer, in that it will be on a concrete slab with electrical service as well as roofing/siding to match our house.

Depending on the weather, the entire process should take about two months. But how long it will take is anybody’s guess.

Published on October 1st, 2007 - 8 Comments
Filed under: House & Home
email this article - digg this - stumble it - save to del.icio.us

Did you find this article useful? If so, please sign up to receive e-mail updates:

Comments (scroll down to add your own):

Starting a renovation project in October just seems unnatural…I’ve spent too much time in the north, I guess.
Comment by Blaine Moore — Oct 1st 2007 @ 9:19 am
Yeah, October is actually our driest month of the year, and the heat has now broken, making it more comfortable for outdoor work. Around here it’s the perfect time of year. We should have the now roof on, etc. well in advance of the late fall/winter rains.

Comment by nickel — Oct 1st 2007 @ 9:53 am
What is your working estimate of how much it will all cost?
Comment by ntguru — Oct 1st 2007 @ 10:30 am
Good luck Nickel - I am sure this process will be a bit stressful for you and your family but once it is done it will all be worth it. I like the sound of your “shed” - sounds more like a retreat than a shed.

The Dividend Guy
Comment by The Dividend Guy — Oct 1st 2007 @ 11:12 am
Around $50k, although there is a good bit of side work included in this. This includes removal of the old deck/patio, the addition, the outbuilding (with electrical service/lighting), the new deck (nearly twice as large as the old deck), conversion of the boys closet to a pantry accessible from the dinette (and closed off on their side), and conversion of the old laundry room to a powder room (including all fixtures, cabinetry, finish work, etc). The new dinette will also have a large walkout bay window as well as a built-in desk (recessed along the wall) on one side.

Flooring will be hardwood to match the remainder of the house except in the laundry, which will have linoleum. The laundry room will have a good bit of cabinetry (and a closet) as well as Corian countertops to match the kitchen (and of course all new plumbing). All trim work (crown molding, etc) will be done to match the rest of the house. The kitchen will be repainted to tie it in with the addition, the powder room will get hardwood floors (mostly new plumbing here, as well). The boys’ bedroom will get re-painted and re-carpeted to tie it in with the addition (primarily the new closet in this case).

We’re also having a utility sink put into the garage.

Finally, we’re having the entire exterior (and the new outbuilding) painted (or re-painted, as the case may be) to minimize the “added on” look.

Comment by nickel — Oct 1st 2007 @ 11:21 am
How is this going to be paid for? Sounds like you’re incurring new debt, which is no good.
Comment by Tyler — Oct 1st 2007 @ 2:57 pm
Tyler: Why does it sound like new debt? We’re actually paying cash. Even if we weren’t, incurring debt to improve an asset isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Comment by nickel — Oct 1st 2007 @ 4:09 pm
Because nickel pretty much everyone assumes that everyone else is in debt. And that no one can afford anything. Hence Tyler probably thinks anyone who buys anything is going into debt.
Comment by livingalmostlarge — Oct 1st 2007 @ 8:05 pm