We are in week two of our addition/ renovation and it’s been so cool (and scary) to come home everyday to crazy fast progress. One day we had a garage and narrow driveway, the next we have a wide open excavated space and framing! While this isn’t the fun, decorative stuff it is the foundation for all of that!
The excavation began and immediately doubled the width of our driveway… (and we made the decision to bury our power lines while the driveway is all torn up.)
Of course Andrew being of the male persuasion has been excited about the “big toys” (don’t worry, there were no keys anywhere for him to find.)
Where my mudroom used to be! This is when I started drinking more wine.
The foundation was poured and waterproofed (and I found myself digging the whole black and white stripe look-ha!)
And this is literally beyond exciting to only Andrew and I, but this was the first time we could really park our cars side by side! After two years of having a 7 foot wide driveway in which I needed a sherpa and pickaxe to exit my car, this was a jump up and down moment!
And then on one day the framing started!
And I could start seeing the shape of things!
As of yesterday the bottom level was enclosed and things start revealing themselves- like where my pantry will be, and my teeny tiny laundry room!
And while you are in the middle of the banging, sawing, ripping down and re-building you can’t help but think about where you’ve been and how far you have to go. This was our house when we bought it. Helllloooo gold eagle! Built in 1941 and owned by one single family not much had been done SINCE the 40′s! The house was 1,500 square feet at start (not counting our sunroom or mudroom, both of which were not heated, nor the small bedroom above the garage you could only access through the tiny “Being John Malkovich” door.)
This was our house before we started phase 2- most of the construction was done to the interior, as you recall (and will see in the book), but we did paint the shutters black, add some landscaping and new lighting, got rid of the screen door and painted the wood door (after a brief fling with horrifically mustard yellow paint and the notion that I wanted a bright front door…). We added no more square footage during this phase.
This is what it will look like after we complete this phase (master suite, garage, laundry, mudroom and pantry). We will be about 2,000 square feet after this phase.
And here is our ultimate goal- after phase three (which will take years to save up for after this current round!) This phase would include extending the entry a little (an extra couple feet would make a WORLD of difference in our tight entry) and adding a portico to give the house a better profile and dimension while turning our sun room into a family room and FINALLY fixing the tiny, off center window above the front door that makes me CRAZY. No biggie (she says sarcastically).
Final square footage: 2,200. Not too big, not too small. Juuuuuuust right. :)
Architectural Plans by New England Design
Construction by VW Builders.