My brother, Sean, is our architect. He has done amazing work designing and redesigning our future home as our plans have been revised over the past few years. At one time, we thought we would continue to live in the house and fix it up one room at a time. Then we thought we would build the addition while living in the original house and then live in the addition while we redid the original space.
When the economy hit its low only a few months after we bought the house, we listened to advice to hold off construction plans. We couldn't justify putting savings into the house when the job market was so unstable. Sean stepped up to the plate when we decided to re-do the bathroom after almost a year in the house. Another year later, we began to get bids from contractors. As have many couples before us, we realized that our home improvement projects were more than the two of us could take on. We needed professionals. Also, breaking up the project could leave us with a disjointed end product.
All along, however, we have known that we wanted to keep the original layout intact. I like the separate dining room to the right as you walk in and the open entryway that looks straight through the house. Sean's creative work has integrated new with old. His plans update the original house without erasing the past.
In February, my brother moved to Austin!!! I am overjoyed to have him here. Now, he, Rob, and I are together working as a team and watching the progress, walking by the house each day to see what's new.
A few weeks back, in a meeting with the city and through consultations with the engineer, our 1928 house was deemed structurally unsound. The bad news: we would be taking down the entire house to rebuild. The good news: we can reclaim the clapboard out of which the walls were framed and the new structure will go up more quickly.
Last weekend was Easter weekend. Sean, Rob, and I went to Rob's family's ranch in Menard, TX to camp on Friday night and headed to his parents' lake house in Canyon Lake on Saturday and Sunday. Before we left town, we watched the work begin again. On Thursday, the roof began to come down.
When we returned, the clapboard walls were being reclaimed piece by piece.
By the end of the day on Monday...
Today, I rushed home from school. All of the debris has been hauled off. The toilet and bathtub, salvaged from the bathroom, and the shiplap and flooring have been safely stowed away in the builder's storage unit.
I wonder what I'll see when I come home tomorrow!!
When the economy hit its low only a few months after we bought the house, we listened to advice to hold off construction plans. We couldn't justify putting savings into the house when the job market was so unstable. Sean stepped up to the plate when we decided to re-do the bathroom after almost a year in the house. Another year later, we began to get bids from contractors. As have many couples before us, we realized that our home improvement projects were more than the two of us could take on. We needed professionals. Also, breaking up the project could leave us with a disjointed end product.
All along, however, we have known that we wanted to keep the original layout intact. I like the separate dining room to the right as you walk in and the open entryway that looks straight through the house. Sean's creative work has integrated new with old. His plans update the original house without erasing the past.
In February, my brother moved to Austin!!! I am overjoyed to have him here. Now, he, Rob, and I are together working as a team and watching the progress, walking by the house each day to see what's new.
A few weeks back, in a meeting with the city and through consultations with the engineer, our 1928 house was deemed structurally unsound. The bad news: we would be taking down the entire house to rebuild. The good news: we can reclaim the clapboard out of which the walls were framed and the new structure will go up more quickly.
Last weekend was Easter weekend. Sean, Rob, and I went to Rob's family's ranch in Menard, TX to camp on Friday night and headed to his parents' lake house in Canyon Lake on Saturday and Sunday. Before we left town, we watched the work begin again. On Thursday, the roof began to come down.
When we returned, the clapboard walls were being reclaimed piece by piece.
I wonder what I'll see when I come home tomorrow!!
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