Yet Another Interview

I told you here that our top pick contractor for whom we had waited an extra month for an estimate and with whom we had history, backed out on the job.  He has returned 3 copies of our plans: 1 for him and 2 for the permit process.

Two full sets of building plans for the county permit office.

I emailed a new contractor at our old contractor’s suggestion to get one more estimate before deciding who would renovate The Glade. After a few days he had not called me so I called him.  He told me he could meet early in the week to see the project and would give me a call. Two weeks later I still haven’t heard back from him so he’s off the list.

West exposure of The Glade

I called the contractor who had been our runner-up and asked him if he would reconsider the job.  He said he would speak to his partner and let me know. He did call back and said they could do the job but could not schedule the start until July.

Ready for renovation

I called him back and hired him.  Let’s go over some of his strong points: he is a plumber and does all the plumbing and tile work; he had thoroughly gone over our plans and priced things out strategically; he comes highly recommended by our friends.

A sketch of proposed changes to the front of The Glade.

This whole process is on God’s timetable and I thank Him for it.

What steps do you take to make expensive decisions?

The Purpose of This Blog

All along the real purpose of Let’s Face the Music  (first post March 4, 2011) was to chronicle the major remodeling project we had decided to undertake so we could live at The Glade even when we were old and not so mobile as we are now.

Living room, dining room, kitchen, powder room on the first floor and a flight of steps to the 2nd floor.

After thinking about what we actually needed and would like to have (What We Need 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5) we hired an architect to polarize our desires and draw up the plans.

Floorplan for the additions and renovations for The Glade.

Once we got the final working plans we contacted 4 contractors to give us bids.

The Glade from the east side which faces the dead-end of our street.

In the mean time we submitted out plans to the local Historic District planning committee  to get the OK (see the jolly work this took 1, 2, 3 and 4) to make major modifications to our house.

This is the plan the historic commission accepted.

Last week, after getting the final bid we hired our contractor. The next day our contractor asked for 2 full sets of plans to submit to the local permit agency.

Two full sets of building plans for the county permit office.

So when I asked back here to “give me a starting date” I can finally say we’re getting started in the Spring of 2013. Woo-hoo!

Have you started something new?

Bird’s Eye: Wink, Wink

We have a round window in our only full bathroom at The Glade.

The bird’s eye window at The Glade.

A window like this is often referred to as a bird’s eye window.

Bird’s Eye Window at The Glade

In the design for the renovation two more bird’s eye windows have been planned.

The round window on the left echoes the original round window on the right.

The pursuit is on for us to find these 2 additional round windows.  We’d really like them to look like the original one even if they are a different size.

Can you spot the bird’s eye on the east wing?

The really difficult thing is to try and find windows that open.  Our window is about 22″ in diameter and rotates in the frame to open.

The window has a half screen and rotates in the sash to open.

I’ve only seen one like it in my search of local and internet salvage sites.

This beauty is no longer available.

They’re popular in our area but finding one not already installed is challenging.

What elusive object are you seeking?

Some Pre-preparations

We’re getting closer to beginning the big renovation at The Glade. We received the plans from the structural engineer via the architect which detailed how the thing the addition to The Glade is going to be built. We’re trying to zero in on tasks we can accomplish to minimize losses like foundations plants.

Currently the front door of The Glade is on the right side of the facade with a meager foundation planting and herringbone brick sidewalk.

The plan is for the front door to be moved from its asymmetrical  position to the center of the front facade changing places with the window.

Projected placement of the front door.

Naturally when the door moves so will the porch and the electric light on the small roof covering the entrance.

Notice the door has moved from the right hand side of the house to the center.

One of the notes on the plans says “bluestone pavers and treads @ new front porch”. I love bluestone. Currently the porch and step are cement. Not my favorite.

The herringbone path and azaleas must be moved before the renovation at The Glade.

We’re also going to have to remove part or all of the brick herringbone path that leads from the driveway to the front door. This will give us an opportunity to redesign the foundation plantings and wind the path up to the front door in an interesting way.

The meager foundation plants are disappearing and the facade looks bare.

Charlie started moving the plants to a sheltered place in the woods. By tomorrow they’ll all be gone.

Any temporary changes taking place in your life?

Another Big Fat List

I am a list maker! I even have encouraged Charlie to start making his own lists (which he does and now suggests others do the same). So I’m a big fan of listing. This newest list is called: “Items I want to look for at the Vintage/Salvage Yards”.

1. Interior doors – Can you believe the structural engineer who works with my architect actually made a listing of doors needed for the new design and numbered about 10 interior hollow core doors.  The Glade does NOT have hollow core doors.

We’re looking for solid wood paneled doors.

2. Piece of furniture for a bathroom vanity. I would love something vintage that we can refinish and reconfigure.

Source: bhg.com via Melissa-Sue on Pinterest

3. Shutters for the new windows. We probably have sufficient shutters for the full-size windows but the smaller casement windows (over the counters in the kitchen and bathrooms) will also need shutters. We should be able to find appropriate ones at a salvage yard since they usually have lots of old shutters.

Shutters on the house are Duron’s “Thunder Grey”

4. Bird’s eye windows.  I really like our design decision to repeat the bird’s eye window (which is in the current bathroom) in the two new bathrooms.  We’ve been looking for a while for round windows exactly like ours but have not yet been successful.

Bird’s Eye Window at The Glade

5.  French double doors. We are planning to have a pair of interior French doors and two pairs of exterior ones as well. The interior ones, at least, should be of a vintage variety. Let’s see what we can find.

French doors from our second floor bedroom to a porch.

6. Lighting fixtures for closets, bathrooms, hallways. We want to find something unique and vintage at a really good price.  We know how to rewire and refurbish.

A small fixture we found at the salvage yard for $10.

The hunt is on!

What do you seek?

Structural Plans for The Glade Renovation

We have received the structural plans from the architect for our renovation (including 2 new additions) at The Glade.

The Glade is ready for a renewal.

I was going to post all the various pages to show the extent of the information but this one page has enough information for one post.

Each of the 4 sides of The Glade will be affected by the renovation.

The west side of the house is the facade that’s most visible from the street and is getting a major change. The kitchen entrance will move from the rear of the house to the side through a new mudroom in the interior.

West exposure of The Glade

Let’s break it down. The most obvious additions are a door and porch where the window now is and a two-story kitchen (1st floor) and master suite (2nd floor)addition.

The west side elevation is the first glimpse of The Glade from the street. This door is the entrance we use most.

The side notes from top to bottom (My notes in parentheses.):

1. Existing vent attic (on the original house)
2. Asphalt shingle roofing over 30# felt on 5/8 inch CDX over plywood sheathing (The entire house is getting a new roof.)
3. New 1 x 6 Azek fascia and rake boards, painted
4. New round windows to match existing diameter
5. New gutters and downspouts to match existing (We’ll probably redo all the gutters and downspouts after the new roof is installed.)
6. New Hardiboard siding @ exframe walls over new air infiltration barrier.
7. 5/4 x 4 trim @ windows and doors, painted; new shutters to match existing
8. Painted parging @ new foundation walls

Unfortunately most photos of The Glade from the street make it look like it’s tipping over. I’m hoping a newly designed entrance with better foundation plantings will make a more appealing statement.

Street view of The Glade

The front facade is having only one major change.

Notice the door has moved from the right hand side of the house to the center.

The side notes from top to bottom pertinent to the front:

1. Relocate front door to existing window opening, prep and repaint door (a job for me).

We’ve made a few cosmetic improvements here and here to the back of the house and will continue to paint the trim. While trying to keep the character of the orginal structure we have some exciting changes planned for the back of the house not visible from the street.

Back of the house from deep in the yard before the fall.

On the left facing the rear of the building we’re adding a conservatory with a full bathroom (open porch overhead) and on the right a new kitchen with master suite overhead.  The kitchen has a bay window that overlooks the garden.

The most significant changes will happen on the back of the house where both new additions are visible at the same time.

The side notes from top to bottom on the left:

1. Dormer @ master bedroom doors
2. Flashing at roof to wall connections, TYP
3. Roofline beyond
4. New gutters and downspout to match existing
5. 5/4 x 4 trim @ windows and doors, painted
6. Minimum 36 inch high railings @ stair, code compliant system TBS by owner

Notes from top to bottom on the right:

1. Align new ridge with existing FV roof slopes
2. Existing attic vent
3. Asphalt shingle roofing over 30# felt on 5/8 inch CDX over plywood sheathing (The entire house is getting a new roof.)
4. New gutters and downspouts to match existing (We’ll probably redo all the gutters and downspouts after the new roof is installed.)
5. Asphalt shingle roofing over 30# felt on 5/8 inch CDX over plywood sheathing.
6. New 1 x 6 fascia board with drip edge
7. New 5/8 inch Azek trim at existing windows
8. Flash wall to roof connection, TYP
9. Asphalt shingle roofing over 30# felt on 5/8 inch CDX over plywood sheathing.
10. MDO paneled trim @ bay window painted

Finally, the east side of The Glade can only be seen from our yard and by the last 2 neighbors at the end of our deadend street.

East side of House and garden

This side of the house will have a new conservatory full of windows and a second-story porch which overlooks perhaps the most beautiful part of the yard.

The east side elevation shows how the new conservatory will fit into the original structure.

The side notes from top to bottom on the left:

1. Flashing @ roof to wall connections, TYP
2. Asphalt shingle roofing over 30# felt on 5/8 inch CDX over plywood sheathing.
3. New gutters and downspout to match existing
4. New Azek trim @ porch columns and beam
5. Bluestone pavers and treads @ new front porch

Notes from top to bottom on the right:

1. Align new ridge with existing FV roof slopes
2. Existing attic vent
3. Asphalt shingle roofing over 30# felt on 5/8 inch CDX over plywood sheathing (The entire house is getting a new roof.)
4. New dormer @ master bedroom doors
5. Asphalt shingle roofing over 30# felt on 5/8 inch CDX over plywood sheathing.
6. New 1 x 6 fascia board with drip edge
7. Painted wood brackets

The next step is to get approved by the county historical association since The Glade is in a designated historic district.

Of what do you disapprove?

Design Development for The Glade Renovation

We recently received the Design Development Floor Plans and Elevations from our architect. The dark lines denote the existing structure and the double lines the addition.

Floorplan for the additions and renovations for The Glade.

She’s ready to send the plans to the structural engineer and then to finish the Construction Drawings to allow the permit process to begin.

The exterior elevations that correspond to the above floorplans.

Now is the time for us to OK or change details in the plans.

So here’s our list (as returned to the architect):

1.  Only one sink per bathroom.
2.  Only windows in the kitchen bump-out. I don’t want access directly into the kitchen due to dragging in dirt and mud; prefer everyone always use the mud room.
   

   Mud room Plan “B”

3. I really like the bay window bump-out. The windows should not be floor to ceiling, just regular windows or slightly over-sized with a wall up to the sill which can have trim, baseboard and electric.
4. In the conservatory one French door centered in the wall at the back of the house. 
   

   French Doors with regular size windows

   Windows will fill other spaces (6 total?).  The windows should match the ones in the kitchen bump-out. In future there might be a deck out from the French doors but for now some steps down to the yard would be fine.

5.  The shower in the master bathroom can go all the way to the wall near the door. 
   

   Glass Shower

   Eliminate the linen closet by the shower; we’ll put it directly across from the door in the bathroom.

6. Love the placement of the bird’s eye windows.
   

   Bird’s Eye Window

7. Pantry might have double doors that open out.
8. The pricing of the engineering drawings ($1600) and construction drawings ($1850) is OK.

What decisions are you making?

Faucetted

Charlie and I have begun to think about the individual elements that will make up the renovation to The Glade. Among them are plumbing fixtures which, while traveling in Europe, we had discovered should include tall spigots. While meeting with our architect, she mentioned that she really likes Grohe faucets for the bathroom and kitchen.  She further explained that they’re very well-made and they have a nice feel when being used.

Then she said something that made a lot of sense to me. When you’re spending money on the house put extra consideration and money into those things that you touch and use on a daily basis.  I’ve had a kitchen sink faucet that didn’t work well and it was at best an annoyance and at worst a nuisance which finally needed to be replaced.

 

First I checked Amazon.com and Overstocks.com to see what kind of price range we’re talking about. The faucet pictured above is about $418 at Overstocks, $410 at Amazon, and  at Lowes $358.56

The Lowes display includes many brands - Grohe fixtures are on the dark gray units

 After searching for Grohe on the internet we realized that our local Lowes store carries Grohe. Charlie and I went out to look at Grohe fixtures in person. When we arrived at the fixtures display Charlie moaned and looked forlorn because there were so  many choices.  I said, “For starters let’s just look at the Grohe.”

 That’s what we did.  Then the plumbing associate from Lowes came over to ask if we had any questions.  He had recently questioned the Grohe rep to find out what is so special about these faucets.

3 different styles of Grohe shower wands in stock at Lowes

 Grohe is a German company.  Its faucets are made of solid brass then covered with the outside material.  They’re heavy. The controls move very smoothly and stop just where they’re set, almost like a hydraulic lever.

I like the stick style of shower wand pictured above as an addition to a regular shower head. At this point we’re sold on Grohe faucets and shower heads for all our new installations which at least includes 2 kitchen sinks, 2 bathroom sinks, and 2 showers.

We’ve even honed in on the designs we prefer so the next step is to find the best price on the things we’ve chosen.  Without a lot of checking around Lowes seems to be the place. Update:  National Builders Supply has the same faucet (SKU 32298000) for $290.95.  Oooooo!

What do you splurge on?  Is it permanent or temporary?

Too Exotic? Too Elegant?

When we received the preliminary sketches of the architect’s design for expanding the Glade included were front, side, and rear elevations. As I showed you here we would like to have an uncovered porch, also called our “rooftop terrace” on the plans, just outside the master bedroom.

Rooftop terrace at back of house outside Master Suite

 How delighted was I to see the railing of the terrace drawn in the Chinese Chippendale style! This style was invented by Thomas Chippendale, an English furniture and cabinetmaker, and was first published in a book of his work in 1754.  

From the backyard the Chinese Chip railing is elegant.

 My only hesitation is whether Chinese Chip is too fancy for the humble Glade after all it’s used on the upper story of Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s home in Virginia.

Source: springhouseconstruction.com via Jo on Pinterest

The style can be simplified.

Source: chinoiseriechic.blogspot.com via Jo on Pinterest

Then I was driving to work and I saw that townhouses near us sport a bit of CC and I became more open-minded.

A simple Chinese Chip design.

Chinese Chippendale is really a style more than an actual design. 

Source: google.com via Jo on Pinterest

 

 

I was convinced to go ahead and try it when I saw this fabulous tutorial on how this railing was designed, laid out, and built. The scale is very similar to our installation.

Source: google.com via Jo on Pinterest

 

What’s your take? Are you a Chinese Chip fan? Is it too much for our little place?

The Glade a la Carte: Master Suite

I met with our architect who showed me two different sets of plans for the renovation to The Glade. I liked both of them.  The best part is I don’t have to choose one or the other, I can mix and match, one from column A two from column B, an a la carte menu.

Currently the second floor at The Glade looks like this.

2nd Floor Plan

 Plan “A” is a more compact version and Plan “B”, while not overwhelming in scale, is a bit larger.  The layouts, too, are slightly different.

Plan "A" - the small version.

 We’ve decided to keep part of the existing bedroom wall (noted by a dotted line below) on the bathroom side to enlarge it just a bit more.

Plan "B" - more room (not more rooms) than Plan "A"

In today’s post we’re deciding on the master suite features (toward the top of the drawings above). Number 77 on my 101 Things in 1001 Days list is to make the master bedroom a haven for two. In addition to the bedroom, which was always there, we’re adding a master bathroom, a walk-in closet and an uncovered walk-out terrace/porch.   These things were on the original wish list. 

Looking down the hall from the bathroom to the far bedroom, the doorway on the left will be closed in to become a long wall.

 We’re closing in the bedroom door to the hall and ripping out the built-in closets on either side of the door which encroach on the space in the master bedroom.  We’d like to position the bed against an interior wall looking out the windows which is impossible in the current layout.

The bed is positioned to look out the window (not pictured) between the 2 chairs.

 The new door to the bedroom will be through what is now the window next to the bathroom across from the laundry.

The new door to the bedroom will take the place of this window.

 In the next few weeks I’ll be collecting my thoughts on the walk-in closet.  I have plenty of ideas.  I’m trying not to get carried away. I love this one Sandra from Sawdust and Paper Scraps designed and built.

The terrace/porch on the side of the bedroom over the new conservatory  will be accessed through French doors much like this inspiration shot which I’ve featured many times.

Walk out from the bedroom through French doors. Belle reve!

 I guess that tells you we’ve pretty much decided on a modified Plan ”B” for the Master Suite.

There’s so much to consider.  I’m excited. I had a laundry list of requests for this area and every one of them has been addressed.

What’s on your serene haven must-haves list? How’s it coming along?