Today this blog is going to take a bit of a different direction. Hilary and I are about to have a new baby, weighing in at approximately 1100 square feet and three stories high. You see, since Thing #2 joined our family, we decided we were running out of living space fast. We're currently living on top of each other, I'm tired of having to move Fisher Price animals off the desk in order to reach the computer, and Hilary is tired of me throwing out her stuff every time I felt like cleaning. It was time to either start shopping for a bigger home, or consider an addition. Trouble is, we generally like our house, love our yard, and enjoy the neighborhood. Plus, we just can't imagine keeping the house clean for more than five minutes at a time (especially since our house cleaner retired two months ago), what with our two rugrats doing their best to unclean it, and figured that staging a house for sale would be nearly impossible. So we considered our next best option.
The Renovation Revelation.
Renovation is in my genes far more then selling/buying. My dad is a retired architect, and in 1979 the family did a major addition on the Connecticut homestead, adding an entire second floor. I believe dad's almost done with that project. Additionally, my sister just finished a renovation on her house. To me, selling the house would be the wimp's way out. I mean, when prehistoric caveman decided he wanted a hot tub outside the cave, did he sell and move up to the Stalactite Plan by the park? No, he hired a heavy dinosaur to make a big footprint in the back yard, and filled the hole up with molten tar. then, he soaked his way to bliss until he got eaten by a velociraptor. Hilary is still trying to figure out if we're (okay I'm) completely nuts. Jury is still out. So dad came to town last fall, and we mapped out the grand scheme. It involves adding a new master BR and bath on top of our one-story family room, plus additional space coming off the back in the form of more basement area with a workshop (which I will reside in 24/7 when the girls hit their teens and start having feminine issues) and mudroom, a bigger family room and kitchen eating area, and a new deck. Plus, we decided it would be wise to re-orient some of the rooms, making the dining room into an office, the living room into a dining room, and a short list of other items. All in all, a pretty sizeable project. I will get into more details in upcoming postings, but at this point we've got the builder, the electrician, and the heating guy all set to go. Now, I'm deeply entrenched in figuring out how we're going to pay for all this. If that goes well, I expect groundbreaking (actually, deck demolishing) in about a week. And yes there will be pictures. Possibly injuries as well. But definitely beer, if anyone wants to come help.
My sister, a sort-of stay-at-home mom with lots of free time on her hands (come on, admit it Audra), worked out a scheme where for her renovation she became the day-laborer for the builder. Throughout the process she swore she was going to write a book on the process. But even after having the Order Of The Golden Crowbar bestowed upon her by a panel of experts (mom and dad), she still has yet to write a syllable. I'm going to attempt to avoid that by documenting the process throughout. So stay tuned for more. Expect gruesome details, a multimedia experience, fireworks, laser shows, and perhaps a review on a new power tool whenever the opportunity comes up. If all works well, much of it will be amusing. Some of it will be informative. A little bit might perhaps be boring and self serving. But in the end, you may find some value in all this. If so, please let me know.
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