NoVa Greenovation

Before/After Pictures

2010-12-13T16:57:00.000-08:00

We've been loving our new house. It just feels so great to have enough space for everything (and everybody) and to look forward to coming home each night.

There is still plenty of unpacking (especially in the basement (aka "man world")) to do, and a few finishing touches to be done (like the porch columns and railings) but we thought it was time to post the before/after shots. It really is incredible how much the house has transformed since we first laid eyes on it. Because there are so many, I'm posting them on Picasa, instead of the blog. Click here to see the room-by-room transformation.

Thank you to everyone who followed this blog and offered their support throughout this long and trying process. I've already heaped praised on Impact Construction, and particularly Dave MacDonald, for their/his superb work. We would also like to recognize Marge Olson for the many mornings she spent sitting with her cup of coffee and sketch book drafting idea after idea for this project. She really helped us figure out what we wanted (and didn't want) and her sketches saved the project when the architect's plans didn't work out. THANK YOU MARGE!

Now that the house is finished, we've decided we just have too much time on our hands. So, on or about March 23rd, we'll have a new baby boy to occupy our time, and fill the new third bedroom. You know what they say about idle hands!

More Finishes Fun!

2010-10-16T09:33:00.000-07:00

We've been to the house every night this week and there has been something new to see every time. We're still planning on moving in next weekend (keep those fingers crossed though). Now that the old hardwood floors are refinished we can start moving things in from the storage unit (that is, if we can get it open and all our stuff isn't moldy and ruined....)

Another shot of the siding. Still needs gutters.

New granite countertops! Now, you may be saying, "hey, those aren't green!" And you're right. Environmentally-friendly countertops are horribly expensive ($70-$100+/sq ft) and most just don't have the strength of surfaces like granite; not yet anyway. But if you have some extra money laying around or happen to come into some money some day, they have some really beautiful countertops made of recycled material (paper, glass, etc.). Here are just a few:

http://greenhomeguide.com/know-how/article/5-gorgeous-green-countertop-materials

You could also use very modern looking materials, like stainless steel, which can be recycled over and over again.

Anyway, here are some close ups of the "tan brown" granite. We just love how the reddish brown chunks get picked up by the cognac colored cabinets, the wall color, and the finish on the pendant lights.

The Hokie-themed bedroom walls after a few days of drying. I think they look pretty great now. Good job Jody and Alex!

I can't believe these are the same white oak floors, but they are. The guys refinished them in one day (yesterday) and they just look fabulous.

Another shot of the newly installed granite. The fridge isn't quite in place yet. It's pulled out so the plumber can connect the water line.

We decided to make the granite on the island the focal point of the kitchen, so we went with a more subdued Corian for the rest of the countertops. This is the "earth" color. It's hard to tell from the photos, but it actually has an umber brown base that goes so nicely (if I do say so myself) with the cabinets, tile, and granite. They did such a nice job on the install that it took me a while to even find the seam. Corian is an acrylic material that is not coated on top; the color goes all the way through. So while it does scratch more easily than granite, the scratches can be easily sanded out without any damaged to the countertop.

The view of the new kitchen from the bottom of the stairs.

Medicine cabinets mounted in the master bath. We're waiting for a replacement globe for the light fixtures above, so we'll photograph those when they're completely in.

All of the closet rods and shelves are in now as well. This coming week will include paint touch ups, final trim painting and touch up, carpet install, gutters, plumbing hookups in the kitchen and hopefully some grading. The porch rehab will probably happen after we move in. And there are some other little things that will have to be tended to, I'm sure. But it's all coming together so nicely. We're so grateful to have such a beautiful house and just can't wait to settle in!

Superman or Merlin? I'd say a little of both.

2010-10-15T06:11:00.000-07:00

At this point in the renovation process, from what we have heard from other folks who were brave enough to test their marriages with big renovation projects, most people are ready to either throttle or sue their contractor. We have been fortunate to have the exact opposite experience. Dave MacDonald, our project manager from Impact Construction, has been a super hero.

For example, we had this old piano sitting in our living room. After much debate between spouses, we decided to post it on Freecycle and Craigslist to find a new home for it. Jody and I were really stressing about how to get this piano out of the living room before Monday, when we though the floor refinishing was supposed to begin.

Turns out, it's starting today. Thus, I received this picture on my phone when I arrived at work:

Dave had enlisted the help of a subcontractor and they somehow managed to get that piano out of the house and on to the porch. Another contractor may have just delayed the project until the piano was out, or asked us to hire someone to move it. This is just one of many ways that Dave has gone above and beyond for us.

The list is extensive. Not only is he managing many subcontractors to get this project done as quickly as possible (plumber, electrician, carpenter, HVAC guy), but he is also managing the many additional things we have asked of him (e.g. quotes for a new driveway, landscaping, mounting racks in the pantry, towel bars in the bathroom, trim over the kitchen cabinets, rain barrel installation, etc, etc). This is all in addition to the fantastic attention to detail he has had over the 11 month life of this project. We embarked on this adventure knowing there was a very tight budget. Instead of just ordering the cheapest of the cheap, as most contractors do, Dave picked out some beautiful finishes that stayed within our budget (e.g. the interior doors, exterior window trim, interior window and door trim).

Dave, we want you to know how much we appreciate your diligence and hard work. You will forever be a part of our new home. Thank you for making it so beautiful!

Finishes Part III

2010-10-10T13:58:00.000-07:00

We're getting so close now that I'm tempted to put a sleeping bag on the floor and eat takeout just to be in my own house. Almost all of the light fixtures have been installed, as have the rest of the cabinets and bathroom vanities. The biggest news from last week is the siding installation. We're really pleased with the color. Alex and Jody also spent the weekend painting Alex's bedroom in Virginia Tech Hokie colors. Yes, that's right. His room will be maroon and orange. I won't lie-there was a bit of "I told you so" this afternoon when Jody realized he was going to have to do a third coat of paint.

This coming week the carpet is scheduled to be installed along with the granite countertop in the island and the Corian countertops along the walls. Then the plumber can come back and finish installing the sink faucet, refrigerator water line, and bathroom faucets.

The couch delivery and Fios install have been scheduled for the week of the 18th, which means we're *planning* to move in the weekend of the 23-24. Pregnant ladies aren't supposed to do a lot of heavy lifting, so if you're around that weekend we've got some pizza & beer (or dinner of your choice) with your name on it in exchange for a few hours of hauling boxes from the on-site storage unit!

Wall cabinets installed

New banister

Master bath vanity

New toilet in the master bath

Kids' bath vanity

New drywall to divide old and new basements

Standing in the old basement into the new

Entry light fixture (one of my favorites)

New siding!

New pendant lights over the island

First coat of maroon. The lady at Home Depot promises that it will actually be maroon, and not fuschia when it dries.

Ah, just like the autumn foliage of Blacksburg, VA-don't you think?

Second coat of maroon.

Finishes Part II

2010-09-29T06:59:00.000-07:00

More photos from our meeting this morning. The interior in the old part of the house has now been painted. All the tile has been grouted and part of the kitchen cabinets are in. The countertop folks came by yesterday to measure so they can start fabrication.

Looking into the new entry way from the outside, standing on the new side porch.

Old dining room, painted new!

Laundry room with grouted tile-trim is next.

Looking into the kitchen from the entry hallway. That's the island on the left. You can see the new wall for the bar overhang peaking out the top.

Another shot of the dining room looking through to the old living room.

Newly grouted kitchen tile.

The wall cabinets have not yet been installed. This is looking from the family room into the kitchen at the back of the island. That's the wall to support the overhang.

Our old bedroom/new guest bedroom/study with new drywall and new paint.

Another shot of the awesome dining room color (can you tell it's my favorite?)

Closer up shot of the old living room, with new paint.

Another shot of the kitchen. I'm standing next to the island, with my back to the pantry.

Finishes Part I

2010-09-24T08:39:00.000-07:00

The house is really starting to come together. We have new front doors on the old and new porches. Tile in the kitchen and bathrooms and newly painted walls (which are still being touched-up in the photos below).

Cabinets will go in by early next week and the siding should be up by the end of the week. Will we actually be in the house by Halloween? Free candy for everyone if we are!

Kitchen tile (not yet grouted)

Master bath

My closet

One of the windows in the bedroom and my closet door

Family room

New front door on the old porch, which will be getting a spruce up when the interior is finished.

Trim and Interior Doors

2010-09-15T12:01:00.000-07:00

We're moving along nicely now. Just a couple pictures from the iphone until I have a chance to download photos from the better camera.

Tile is being installed this week. Painting and cabinet installation will be ongoing next week as will siding!

Closet doors in the kids' bedrooms. All of the interior doors are this paneled style and will be painted white.

Trim on bedroom windows. We were going for a simple craftsman style. I think they did a great job!

Trim on family room back window

Trim on family room windows

Drywall and Sofa

2010-09-06T12:22:00.000-07:00

Mostly pictures for this post. We finally have finished drywall in the house. All the walls have now been primed and it's really starting to look like a place we could live in! Next up will be the paint, trim, and doors. Oh, and we finally bought a piece of grown-up furniture, not even from a yard sale, but from a real furniture store (that isn't IKEA).

Kitchen-the fridge will go along that wall on the left. The island will be where that big box is currently being stored.

Family room-the entertainment center will go under those two small windows. Anybody know where we can find another Ikea Norrebo Storage Bench? They've discontinued them and we'd really like another to match our set.

Master bedroom- The bed will be centered under those three small windows.

My closet on the left. The master bath entrance on the right.

Shower in the master bath.

The new sofa. Jody is very excited about the chaise lounger on the left.

This is the fabric we're getting on the three larger pillows, instead of the orange stripes.

Drywall and Insulation, Part I

2010-08-20T16:40:00.000-07:00

The project was delayed for three weeks because the roof trusses did not land where they were supposed to (and consequently, we failed the framing inspection). Our fantastic engineers figured out a way to reinforce the trusses so we did not have to add a soffit in one of the upstairs bedrooms and bathroom. Of course, Arlington County took its sweet time reviewing the revised drawings, even though they were approved by the structural engineer. And it took until today to get an inspector out to the house. Everything has been approved now: plumbing, mechanical, electrical, and framing and they are installing the insulation today.

During the delay we had some progress in the old part of the house. We decided to expand the dining room a bit by knocking out a closet that had been in our old bedroom. You can see in the picture below the area to the left of the buckets is where the closet used to be. For those who have been to the house, the bathroom door is in the far left of the photo. I was standing in the doorway to the old kitchen when I took the photo. It has completely opened up the dining room and the old hallway and we are very pleased with the new space. Including the floor repair, that little change with big impact cost us a grand total of $600.

The ceilings in the old house were damaged when the tarp over the old roof became loose during a few heavy rainstorms. The contractor replaced the ceilings for free and we had them go ahead and do all the walls while they were at it. If you've been in our house, you know what condition the old walls were in. It's an understatement to say they were not flat. Here's a shot of the new drywall.

They've also installed the new windows in our old bedroom, the bathroom, and the old living room. It's hard to tell these are new because the new trim isn't on yet, but take my word for it, they are a significant upgrade from the original 1925 windows.

This House Has Guts

2010-07-28T18:59:00.000-07:00

While we were on a fabulous vacation out west (pictures here), the house got some guts. The plumber, electrician, and HVAC (heating and cooling) subs were able to get in and rough-in all of the connections. Thanks to our friends Kevin and Alison for taking these great pictures and keeping us up to speed while we were away.

Solar tube in the kids' bath surrounded by insulated air ducts. The A/C vents will be in the ceiling because (a) there's more room for them there than under the second story floor, and (b) cool air sinks and hot air rises so cooling will be more efficient with the vents in the ceiling.

Plumbing rough-in for the master vanity (which will have two sinks). How cool to be able to use spray paint to write reminders on your office floor!

Plumbing rough-in for the kids' bath and the installed bath (right). The bath and wall surround are made of Vikrell, a new material from Kohler. We're giving it a shot because it got great reviews on strength and durability and it saved us a couple hundred bucks over a cast iron tub and much more over a tiled wall. And, of course, we will be installing low-flow shower heads (1.5 gallons per minute) and toilets (1.28 gallons per flush) to reduce water consumption. If I had my way, we would have composting toilets, but Arlington County hasn't deemed them acceptable...yet.

Rough-in for the master toilet and installed master shower. We used a Kohler Vikrell shower stall here too. The name of the line is Sterling.

Rough-in for recessed lights in the family room. We realized one row of lights was too close to the kitchen so they'll have to be moved further into the family room [crosses fingers for cheap change order].

Within the next week or so, the house should be ready for its drywall. The kitchen cabinets arrived yesterday and just about all the finishes are on site now. Once the drywall is up, the floors will go in and the cabinets and vanities will be installed. Rolling right along!

Framing Complete, Windows In, Roof On

2010-07-10T13:42:00.000-07:00

It's been an exciting few weeks. This phase of the work is going pretty quickly. They finished the framing and we took our maiden voyage up to our second floor while the exterior walls were still open. It gave us a new perspective of our whole neighborhood and we really like the view. We have three celestory windows in our bedroom, positioned over the bed and looking out over the backyard. From Jody's height, you can see the tips of rooftops. From my height, all you can see are treetops and sky. I LOVE it!

In the kitchen, we decided to reuse our old kitchen window since we liked the size and it was fairly new (7 or 8 years old) and in good condition. We're also reusing a half-round window that was in the old family room. It will go in my closet. Jody's closet and the upstairs "kids'" bath will have solar tubes. They are highly reflective tubes, 14in diameter, that pop out the top of the roof and channel sunlight into the room. Ours are by Velux. It's a great way to get natural light into a space when the sun is out so you reduce electricity use.

Another note about the framing: we couldn't afford to use FSC-certified wood for the whole project, but we were able to use it at least for the roof trusses. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certifies lumber that comes from a sustainably managed forest, so that the forest can continue to be productive for a very long time with minimal harm the ecosystem. The FSC website says "The FSC label provides a credible link between responsible production and consumption of forest products, enabling consumers and businesses to make purchasing decisions that benefit people and the environment as well as providing ongoing business value."

We labored long and hard to decide which roof shingles and siding to choose. The siding, which is unfortunately vinyl (we just didn't have an extra $5k for the hardiplank), will come later. The color is granite gray. The roof shingles are from the Certainteed Landmark line and they're called "driftwood." We fell in love with the many subtle colors and think it will look very nice with the earthy gray color we chose for the siding. Since the main view from the street will be the large sloped roof, we spent a lot of time deciding on the color.

Enough blather. Time for some pictures!!!!

FSC certification stamp

Looking down the stair case from the second floor.

An action shot of the huge fork lift used to get the plywood up to the second story.

Shot of the back with the side roofs to the right almost finished.

We were actually supposed to have what's known as an "eyebrow" that would have made the second story look like a pop-top addition instead of part of the new structure. It was supposed to wrap around the back so there would have been a little roof overhang across the back of the house between the first and second story. Well, since the architect overestimated the roof height, that lip was hitting right at the top of the back windows shown in this picture. It would have blocked what little North light will come into those windows. We had luckily stopped by the house on Saturday to check on progress and the framers happened to be there putting up the eyebrow. The supervisor framer explained the situation and we had them stop work on it immediately. We then, with the framer, designed an overhang for the patio doors (pictured below) to help add some interest to the back of the house since it was pretty bland looking without the eyebrow.

Windows in, house wrap on! You can see the impromptu overhang we added on the right.

Master bedroom, with the celestory windows facing the back yard.

Part of the solar tub installed. There will be a metal tub that comes through the attic and will spill light into the room.

Arguably, my favorite room of the house: my closet.

The master bath is in the foreground. One of the other bedrooms is in the background.

Jody's closet. Did you really think I'd share?

Bedroom 1

Second upstairs Bath

Alex's bedroom

Storage nook over the old attic, accessible through Alex's closet. He's already been spending the most time here when we visit the house.

New roof

The nub you see at the top of the roof is the top of one of the solar tubes.

Fabulous Framing

2010-06-27T17:02:00.000-07:00

This is the first time we really get to see how much space we will have. It's not enormous, but that was on purpose. Part of building "green" is blending in with the existing environment and neighborhood. We didn't want a McMansion-looking house towering over our neighbors. We're really pleased with how modest the house will look from the street while still giving us the space we need. We will also use less energy with a smaller house. An added bonus of the long roof is front is great positioning for solar panels. That roof faces south, an ideal location for PV panels. The house will be wired for the panels, but we won't install them until the price comes down a bit more.

The wood used for the framing and trusses is a fast-growing soft pine that came from eastern Canada. Unfortunately, it is not certified by the Forest Stewardship Council because that was just not in the budget. FSC-certified lumber is considerably more expensive than non-FSC certified. But if you can afford, it's a really good idea. The FSC organization will make sure that your wood comes from a sustainably managed forest.

There was a lot of progress this week-enjoy the photos!

First floor exterior framed.

Roof trusses.

Our windows are stashed in various corners of the existing house. Energy star rated. Our goal was 0.33 for the U-Factor and somewhere under 0.5 for the solar heat gain, so we did pretty well for a tight budget.

Inside the new family room looking out towards the backyard. I love the low windows-our kitty will too.

View of the back of the house.

Second floor framing has begun.

About half of the roof trusses have been installed. Check out the cool fork lift bringing the plywood up to the second floor.

Standing in the kitchen looking at the newly framed pantry. The laundry room is behind the pantry (front door is out of view on the left).

Another shot from the family room. The patio sliding doors will be in the left-most opening.

Holy roof batman!

View from the street.

Another view from the street.

View from the back. The fork lift is over what will be the small patio/deck.

Final view from the back. The rectangular window is in the master bedroom (it will be centered over the bed).

Day One of Framing

2010-06-22T06:33:00.000-07:00

It took over a month to get the slab poured, which turned out to be OK because there was a major problem with the design of the roof system. The roof trusses could not be ordered, and framing couldn't be started, until it was resolved. Turns out our esteemed architect designed the staircase for a first floor with a 9ft high ceiling, but designed the roof height to accommodate only an 8ft ceiling. You won't be shocked to discover that rather than redesign the roof system to accommodate 9ft ceiling and go back to the county for approval (which took 4 months last time we had a design change), we decided to settle for 8ft ceilings on the first floor.

After that snafu, the slab was poured, the windows were delivered, backfill was completed, and yesterday they started the framing. In another week or two, we should have a completely framed structure.

Looking west-the existing house is to the left.

Standing on what will become the small deck.

Looking into the basement.

The side patio you see will be the little outdoor entry porch.

We also, after much laboring, picked out the siding and roofing colors. The house will be granite gray with a "driftwood" colored roof. I've posted some photos of these colors on existing houses.

This is the roof color we selected.

This is the granite gray siding.

Foundation Walls

2010-05-29T06:04:00.000-07:00

West side of the house (front faces South)

Close up of west side

Waterproofing and backfilling around the walls is next.

Back of the old house. The tarp is covering the old basement,

which will be adjoined to the new basement.

Back of the house. The patio will be in that space on the right that jogs in. The opening on the back wall is for the egress window. You can see the walls and doorways from Alex's old bedroom (two-tone blue) and the kitchen (pink).

New Beam in Place, Footers Poured

2010-05-23T18:00:00.000-07:00

Our new steel beam is now in place and most of the old foundation has been demolished. You can see it in a pile in the center of the big hole. We will use it as part of the new drainage system (cool, huh?). Virginia Concrete, just a few miles away will provide the rest of the material need for the drainage. It will be recycled concrete.

The retaining wall seen in these pictures was behind the old foundation. It will be demolished, yielding another chunk of square footage we did not expect in the basement (about 200 sq ft).

As you can seen in the photos, the footers for the foundation walls have been poured. They passed inspection earlier this week. Once the old retaining wall is removed, the guys from North Star will pour the new foundation walls. One of the pictures shows the truck load of forms they will use for the walls. When we were there on Wednesday, one guy was lifting the forms, one-by-one, and carrying them down to the work site. Each one has to be sprayed with a release agent to pop the forms off once the concrete sets.

Speaking of the fabulous work by North Star: last Thursday our project manager, Dave, showed us a giant rock sitting near the southeast corner of the new basement. It had been uncovered once they excavated the 4 feet of soil in front of the old foundation-soil that was supposed to stay put until we discovered we would have to rebuild the foundation. Dave said it was cost about $1500 to get the excavation equipment back on site to remove the rock and asked how we felt about leaving it in place as a tribute to the local landscape. We were warming up to the idea until friends pointed out (thanks Duncan) that the slab would likely crack around the rock as the house settles. We raised that point with our contractor in an email and suggested that maybe we could drill a hole through the rock and slide some rebar through to stabilize the connection between rock and slab. Less than 24 hours later the North Star guys had used some of the equipment already on site to unearth the rock. Sweet!

We’ve been on top of picking out our finishes, but the contractor is really starting to get on us about selecting the plumbing fixtures. If the framing is up in a few weeks, as scheduled, I guess they’re going to want to start doing plumbing rough-in asap. One thing we’ve been struggling with is finding a decent shower and bath for the master and kids’ bath, respectively. They both have to be drop-in units (acrylic, fiberglass, etc.). We’ve read so many horrible reviews about these kinds of units cracking after a year or two of use. Recently, someone recommended the Sterling (Kohler) economy line, made of Vikrell. Does anyone have experience using showers or tubs made of this material? Is it durable? Decent looking? Easy to clean?

With the warmer weather rolling in, the grass on the back of our lot has been growing out of control. A big thank you to our neighbor, Mike, who performed a surprise mowing for us last weekend.

Hopefully many more pictures to follow as the progress keeps on coming!

Work Resumes

2010-05-06T05:58:00.000-07:00

The county has approved the new foundation work after over two weeks of delays. Apparently, this is one great example of how hard it is to get the whole building industry to move to green building products/practices. The county plan reviewer was reluctant to approve the two new beams we have to install; They weigh 500 lbs each and are made of 60% recycled steel. The reviewer had approved the use of the same kind of beam in another project, but it was installed upside down (eek!). You can imagine her reluctance when we said we wanted to use the same beam. She wanted to know every detail about the material and installer instructions. Our beams can actually be installed either way, but it took some convincing before she would believe us.

Here's a link to the manufacturers website:
http://essofnc.com/metwood.html

Had we just used the industry standard material, instead of a new, different, recycled material, we could have been two weeks further along in our project. According to our contractor, the building industry is slow to change for any reason, and improving the "green factor" is no different. But at least we have recycled materials available to us, even on a very tight budget.

No pictures today since not much has improved, except the arrival of the beams. They will be installed this week. Next week North Star, our foundation company, will demo/excavate only the portion of the foundation where the new pillars in the basement will go. Then they'll pour the pillars to support the house and demo the old foundation.

First Construction Set Backs

2010-04-15T09:02:00.001-07:00

Well, we all knew the delays would come, but we didn't think it would be quite so soon after starting the project. Two difficulties arose last week. One: termite damage, not termites, just their handiwork. Dave, the project manager, is pretty confident that the crumbling band board (the board that runs under the siding along the top of the foundation) is old damage. So we just have to replace the boards that should do the trick. We do plan to get some proposals for long-term termite prevention once this house is complete though.

Two: an inadequate foundation. Apparently the newly exposed foundation at the back of the house showed signs of wear and tear. Bad news: our engineer took one look at it and said it had to go. Good news: the change order is not *that* costly (because we've eliminated the need for a good chunk of concrete) and we actually gain square footage in the basement, about 110 to be exact. You'll notice on the top picture in the last post that we couldn't excavate all the way up to the back of the house. That was because we didn't want to disturb the foundation. Well, now they have to get that dirt out of there so they can build a temporary structure to hold up the house while they build some new supports (columns and beams).

Of course, all this means going back to the county for approval and we have stopped work until that can happen. Justin's architect has been assigned this job. Let's hope the expedited process for projects under way is truly expedited.

Excavation

2010-04-04T13:31:00.001-07:00

Things seem to be happening so fast now. On Friday, they finished excavating the new basement. It looks bigger than it will be when it's finished because the new foundation will take up a bit of space. The actual footprint of the addition is only about 667 sq ft.

During the excavating our neighbors, who are in the construction business, watched on with great interest and filled us in on all the details. Apparently, the excavation took longer than originally planned because our soil was so compact that every time a big chunk was loosened, it expanded to several times its size. But our expert neighbors told us that Rock Hard, the excavators, really did a great job adjusting to the circumstances.

You can see that we didn't excavate the four feet closest to the remaining house. We can't dig any closer than this to ensure that we do not disturb the footings of the remaining structure. As a result, there will be a short hallway connecting the new and old parts of the basement. You can also see some excavation along the side of the house. This is where the small side porch/portico will be. The front door will be about parallel with where the rear of the remaining structure is now.

Demolition Derby

2010-04-01T12:22:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was the day we've all been waiting for. It has been nearly a year and a half in the making. But the wait is over and construction has begun. The pictures really speak for themselves.

Let the Demo Begin!

2010-03-18T05:45:00.000-07:00

Today is the day that things start to get rolling. The very first demolition activity is to take a huge dying tree down. About half the tree has been dead since we moved in and, frankly, I'm amazing it hasn't fallen on our (or our neighbor's) house yet. So today he comes down (we will be planting many more in his place after construction). We're going to chip up as much as we can to use for mulch in the "tree farm" area of our back yard where we have planting a bunch of saplings and random others things to establish themselves before placing them in another part of the yard.

Monday is when the real fun begins though. That's when they'll start taking the HOUSE down. And according to Justin, the contractor, that should only take about 3-4 days. By the end of next week our house will be half as big as it is now. Then they will have a surveyor stake out where the new foundation will be and they'll begin to excavate. That should take about 3 days. Next comes the foundation, which should be poured and finished within a week. After that, the framing begins.

It's all becoming very real and exciting. Justin says they're on schedule to complete the project within 3-4 months. I'm putting this down on the blog as evidence, because you and I both know we should expect more like 6 months. I haven't met a person yet who has been through a renovation that has been completed on time. Nonetheless, it's great to have things rolling because at least now the end is in sight!

Permit Granted-Again!

2010-03-10T05:39:00.000-08:00

So I've been too bitter to update the blog lately, until today. The short version of the story is that after we got county approval (the first time, in December) our contractor realized that he could save us about $7000 if we made a few changes to the foundation (basically by using less concrete). He promised me he would make the changes and get them approved by the county, which he finally did yesterday, but it was a long and stressful journey. After many meetings with the county, the structural engineer could still not understand why the county was so reluctant to approve plans that still met Arlington county building code. My theory: in a down economy, when you work for a local government that is dependent on funding from the state (who is teetering on bankruptcy), what is one way to ensure you keep your job? Look busy. And that is precisely what our plan reviewer did-for about two and a half months.

We're all just very happy that the final approval has been given and now we can get started! Let the bulldozing begin!!!!

Permit Granted

2009-12-15T12:52:00.001-08:00

Today we got word that our plans have been approved (finally) after much work on behalf of Brian from Sustainable Design Group. He really deserves a big applause for all the hoop-jumping he did to secure the approval. It was not an easy or pleasant process (see the last post). But we made it through the process in about 5 weeks, which is remarkably fast, even with the many revisions that were required. So thank you, Arlington County, for being so speedy. At some point, we will be writing a letter to recommend some ways to make the process more efficient. I'm pretty sure I needlessly sprouted some grey hairs over this process....

Our contractor, Justin, is going out of town between Christmas and New Year's so it's unlikely that demolition will begin before Jan. 1. We're just thankful that all the ducks are now officially in a row and we can start the new year off with a bang...er...bulldozer?? If the project is completed on schedule (big IF), we should be done by May. The bank says we HAVE to be done by June 30 so we should be in our new house by the end of the summer. Now the real fun begins!

PS- We picked up the permit this morning and we'll let our readers guess how much an Arlington County building permit costs:

A) Ski weekend in West Virginia
B) A new macbook pro.
C) A 50 in. flat screen plasma TV.
D) A used car.

Good News/Bad News

2009-12-01T13:58:00.000-08:00

Good news first: we are now the proud owners of a huge mortgage on a tiny, shabby, two-bedroom cottage in the highly-desirable suburb of Washington, DC: good ol' Arlington county (i.e. we closed the loan yesterday).

Bad news: Arlington county sucks. Ok, the schools are great, the taxes are manageable, the parks are many and near-between. But the plan reviewers? They, well, suck. We have been in to see the county at least four times now and revised our plans twice. Keep in mind that every person in the building profession who has seen our plans has said that are some of the best plans they have ever seen. The first rejection was warranted. Our plat needed updating and did not include the set backs or the sheds on the property. Fine. Though, did we really have to go to the county to pick up the plans, pay $30 to have 3 pages reprinted on 18 x 24 paper and be late to work (again) to resubmit them in person carefully removing the staples from all three sets of plans, inserting the corrected pages, and re-stapling them? The second rejection came with a list of items that needed fixing that didn't seem too serious (e.g. specify what kind of glass, tempered or otherwise, will be used in the windows). There were about six items. We gave the list to the architect. He made the changes, requiring 7 new pages to be printed (at a cost of $50 for 3 copies on 18 x 24 paper), we took an afternoon off work and went back to the county where confrontations with a staple ensued. The THIRD rejection came yesterday when the plan reviewer told me that none of the changes she requested had been made. "Huh?" I said. After a very confusing back and forth, she agreed to meet with the architect the next day and explain what she needs.

That meeting was this afternoon. The plan reviewer called afterwards and said that she had gone over the plans with the architect and he now understands the "major changes" that are necessary. Jes then left her desk and promptly consumed a Caribou dark chocolate hot chocolate. She is now breathing deeply and awaiting a call from the architect.

Moving Weekend and Progress Update

2009-11-24T14:06:00.000-08:00

Whew! I did not have any concept of what exhausted felt like until this weekend. My boss graciously gave me Friday off and Jody took a half day. We spent the entirety of three whole days packing, moving to the in-laws, and hauling things into the storage unit (which is fixed now-thank you Mobile Mini!). The house is still not totally empty, but we have successfully cleared out the basement, kitchen, bathroom, Alex's room, dining room, and study. Our bedroom and the family room are nearly done, but still need some sorting and packing. We have determined that all of our furniture will not fit in the outside unit. So we'll have to wrap it up and store it in the rooms that are not being demolished. The only work in those room will be new windows and refinished floors, so it shouldn't be a hassle to have a few pieces of furniture to move around.

We gave away our old gas stove on Freecycle last night and are looking to give away the microwave hutch. Next we have to roll the fridge into the dining room where it will be stored during construction along with the new dishwasher and gas range.

The bank has officially approved our builder, Justin and our application has been submitting to underwriting for final approval. With any luck, we should be able to close Monday at 4p. After that, we'll sitting on our hand waiting for the county to approve our plans (we resubmitted them for the second time on Friday because of some minor details that had to be added by the structural engineer/architect) and issue the building permit.

I'm so glad we get to take a break from all of this uprooting and enjoy some down time with family and friends over the long Thanksgiving weekend. Hope you have a wonderful turkey day!

Storage Update

2009-11-17T09:27:00.000-08:00

After a stern email complaint, our sales rep from Mobile Mini has promised to send out a repair guy to try and fix the door problem. He explained that if the unit is not on a completely flat surface, or if loading half the unit with heavy furniture causes it to become uneven, the doors can become...well...stuck. Awesome. So either the repair will fix them, or, here's the best part, we get to unpack all of the stuff we've loaded (including our couch, dining room furniture, and many, many, boxes) and put it into a brand new unit! Yay.

But I have to say the folks at Mobile Mini have been very responsive thus far.

A big shout out to our neighbor, Robert, for having his construction buddies fabricate a huge steel tube that we can now use to slide over the stuck handle and yank it open! THANKS ROBERT!