Finally the new Remodel

All right. I'm finally to the new remodel. Seeing as how I'm an architect, and rather experienced in drafting, I started off by drawing up some plans for the remodel. I thought this would be a couple week endeavor. Turns out I was wrong...again. It was more like 80 hours of work to get these things to the same level as we would a normal project.

Check 'em out here: http://www.customgroup.biz/1342/

The nice thing about having drawings, is the ability for mulitple contractors to price the SAME thing. "Apples to apples" comparison as they say. The other nice thing is that I've already thought through most everything that will be involved. So when someone has a detail question, the answer has probably been on my mind once or twice before the question was even asked. Maybe this is more of a professional ability now that I have experience...I don't know. Trust me though, drawings are worth it and they help.

Here's the house, somewhat un-demolished, but probably cleaned up from the original, trashed out out condition:

The porch is so skewed that it needs to be torn off and re-built. I would rather it be a hip instead of a gable, so that's what is proposed. The proposed new porch will be split-face block, with a new concrete cap. The porch columns were adapted from a design I saw in Nashville, IN this fall while there with Sheri (see below).

From the back of the house, you can tell that the second floor is kind of cut short. The bathroom, which is the only room past the main bearing wall on the west side (back) of the house, is woefully under-sized and simply too small. Not to mention that when we originally looked at the house five years ago, it was plumbed with garden hose. No kidding. The plan is to add on a master suite above the kitchen, and extend it past the first floor exterior wall to create a screened in porch off the kitchen. Too cool, huh?

Check out the old built-ins. The take up too much space on the interior, so I decided to take them out. Fortunatley, after a little TLC, they came right out in one piece. Instead of trashing them, I'm going to try and re-use them in the dining room, along the wall as relief and a book shelf.

Most of the house is in relatively decent shape, except for what has already been demolished in the past. All of the walls are plaster on wood lath. The exterior walls, including the middle wall between the units, have no exterior sheathing. This is weird to me. The interior face of the studs have a beefed up, ship-lapped and dadoed lath that acts as many components for the building frame, including lateral bracing for the exterior walls. Where the plaster is in relatively good shape, we are leaving it in place, cutting out the bad and unnecessary sections, and covering everything wonderful, new 5/8" and 1/2" gypsum board (drywall).

next time, more demo but with my little brother...