5 posts tagged “remodel”
Finished: Address signage. Thanks to our friends over at 100watt, we got a good deal on these lit address numbers. Quite simply, we have the coolest address on the block. Now if only the exterior of the house matched...
Finished: "Master" Vanity, also known as Ikea Hacked. Happy with the Lack shelving system we have been using for a tv stand for about a year now, Wendy and I designed our bathroom vanity based on the same line of furniture. After some lucky finds at our local Ikea, we ripped a tv stand down the middle, mounted it and a standard shelving unit to the wall and wal-la, we can finally brush our teeth somewhere other then the bathtub. Next step: find a mirror and a light.
The inspector comes tomorrow and the work will be finaled, I hope. The long, tedious, yet rewarding chapter will be over. We are finally home, ready to tackle the little projects of homeownership, and ready to start a new and exciting life here in Daly City.
We're in. Sort of. Wendy, the Chengs and I moved into the house over the weekend. Will post more on everything that has been going on soon, probably after we have a working bathroom.
Wendy and I were at the house Saturday to clarify tome items, check on progress, and pick-up/deliver the water heater. During a pause, Wendy's cousin's friend who is helping out pulled us aside to show us a project another project he is doing. Similar to us, it's an addition in a garage, one bedroom, a bathroom, and an office. He's doing that work for $60,000.
Within that context he questioned why we are doing so much? Spending the money we're spending and dealing with all of the headaches. He is of the opinion that this is not our dream home. We are young and we are architects, so we must make money. We could just do enough for 2-3 years then we move on, sell the house, and do what we really wanted. After all the ceilings downstairs are only about 7'-0" high, and we could do better then this in a few years (his opinion).
This coming from a builder who sees houses as investments, flipping them to make money.
Later, I asked Wendy if we were doing too much. We both acknowledged that we're probably spending a little too much. And it has been stressful at times. Our project will probably surpass in market value the neighboring houses. But you know what? I never thought (and I don't think Wendy did either) about just putting up four walls and making a room. We're designers and future architects. This is an opportunity to do more then just building. We may only live here for a few years, but it is going to be home while we're here, not just a place we stay.
So I guess I have my answer, even if few people understand...
A look back: April 20, 2008
Roughly two weeks later and things were moving along nicely. The "gaping hole" had been covered up and the concrete set. The second bedroom was framed and you could start to see the space come together.
We made the decision to go with a waterproofing compound called Xypex to (hopefully) solve our presumed waterproofing problems. Now, the best way to go about waterproofing a space below grade is probably to go in and do the foundation right. Our foundation is a 3-4" slab on grade. Period. No gravel underlayment. No moisture barrier. Nothing. So in order to do that we would have to rip out the whole slab and replace it. That's not in the budget. Our second alternative would be to dig a deep trench around the perimeter of the building and back fill with gravel. A sort of french drain that aleviates most of the hydrostatic pressure. The problem with that is where would we drain it to? And how would we afford it?
So we went with Xypex. It's a chemical compound that bonds within and strengthens the crystaline structure of the concrete, filling in the gaps. No gaps, no water. At least that is what the local rep said. Our situation is exactly what the product was designed for. We took a leap of faith (strengthend by as much research as we could do).
Not everyone agreed with us. No one had done it, no one knew if it would work. The application is quite involved, everything from carving out a trench at the perimeter to misting three times daily. Work ground to a halt. Wendy's cousin decided to walk away rather then risk straining relations with his crew or with us if it failed. He had his reasons and we had to respect him for it. But now what were we going to do?
(Pictures to follow)
A look back: April 10, 2008
The whole drafting, submitting, revising, and resubmitting process took about three weeks. In the end, with only one resubmission, Wendy and I had our permit. Our first all by ourselves. We knew the drawings weren't complete (that's why we were going to be working with Wendy's cousin psuedo design-buildish) but that would come. Now it was time to start.
And boy did it happen fast. Looking back it seems like we left for work one morning and came home to a gaping hole in the garage and a stick framed wall. It was really happening. I'll get into the whole design of the space in a later post, but the jist of the project is the addition of two bedrooms, a family room, and a bathroom within the existing garage and a total remodel of the kitchen and bathroom upstairs. The big hole was necessary so that we could extend the plumbing lines into the new space, plus we had to add an interior braced wall that required a new footing. With the all of that dirt exposed we realized just how much water was sitting under our house and started scrambling for ideas on keeping the new living spaces dry and mold free.
Only a week after construction started we had our first inspections (underground plumbing and footing) signed off and things seemed to be on track. We had a laundry list of things to figure out, order, or design but we were ready for just about anything. Or so we thought.
(Pictures to follow)
