Monday, November 27, 2006

So far...so little?


Well we have some homework to do - we met with Contractors 2 and 3 and now have to figure our next steps. First we have a few large numbers but no specifics on how much it is going to cost us to renovate. Also, we aren't positive on what the next step is but we do know a bit more about what the future holds.

Now its time to decorate and try to insulate the house for winter - even though the last few winters have been mild (global warming?) we want to be prepared for cold.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

The Next Steps?

As Steve mentioned last week, we are on to the talking to contractors phase. Until we decide who we are going with let's just call this guy #1.

#1 seemed very laid back and is currently working on one of the homes a few streets away. We got his number off the sign - so this isn't exactly a referral at this point but we figure it is good to see what else he has done.

#1 walked the house as we jabbered away about the "character" of the house (cloth wiring, lead paint, etc) and what our rough plans are for the next phase. He didn't seem shocked by any of this and even complimented how much better the structure of the house (as seen in the basement) was than he expected. He also confirmed that the floor boards in the dining room are the originals.

Overall a positive review for #1. He was able to figure out a good plan for efficiently using the upstairs space to create a hallway into the kitchen and the dining room. The plan is to divide the kitchen into a laundry room and full bath (for the kids). We also discussed the ideal spot for putting a staircase up to a 3rd floor (obviously this is not part of the next phase - more like phase 27).

One other revelation - our dream of 2 staircases may not be possible. A little history - when the kitchen was remodeled in the 1950s, they took out the back staircase which went up to the back hallway to expand the kitchen. Having been a Cosby fan in the 80s - I always thought it would be so cool to have 2 staircases. The contractor pointed out that without expanding the space, the stairs would be very steep and not up to code.

#2 had to cancel for tonight so we are hoping to re-schedule for this Saturday. It will be nice to hear his perspective as well. #2 re-did the B&B in Naperville and the owner speaks very highly of the work they did.

More to come when we starting getting numbers and deciding what we can afford. The good news is that #1 said that we would save a ton by doing the demo upstairs ourselves. And of course the male in the house thinks that would be a ton of fun...

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Next step - the contractor.

We have a couple of appointments set up with contractors this coming week. This will help us determine the size of our project. I haven't asked anyone how much it would cost to add a second basement. A second basement? That's right. Well not for 108, but my dream is to have 2 floor basement. How cool would that be, "Oh, that's right, we keep that in our second basement..."

This is a random photo for possible ideas for landscaping next spring. That is a project in itself. We are going to be taking some ideas from Conservation at Home.

Friday, November 10, 2006

A start?

Well we had our first appointment with an Architect! He reaffirmed that we needed to be talking to a contractor to get the real overall project scope. So back to the drawing board. We are going to visit a few of our neighbors (one of which turns out owns the The Naperville Running Company) to find out who they used. Again the key is finding a contractor with an eye to keeping the house historic.

Katie is still working at ripping down some of the wallpaper and scraping some paint in the bathroom (possibly our first project).

Thursday, November 02, 2006

One step for us, one giant leap for 108

It has begun. We have appointments with a few architects next week and we should start getting numbers on what it is going to cost us to get 108 fixed up. It sounds like there will be some things that I will be able to do (our town is a bit permit heavy). More to come...