Siding Installation

Siding installation has begun. The house is really starting to take shape. I love watching everything happen so quickly!  Mikey and his crew have been working their tails off.

Siding Progress 6/24/14

Our Front Porch 6/24/14

Siding Progress 6/26/14

6/26/14

6/26/14

Garage Construction

Construction and framing of the garage has begun!  A few photos of Mike and Ben's work.

The house is starting to look quite a bit different from it's "before" photo!

Tearing Up Concrete

Not only did they take out our oil tank this weekend, Mike and Owen also ripped up the concrete slab of our single car garage.  They needed to take it out in order to eventually pour a new slab for a two car garage and mud room.  

Garage Slab is gone

Sergio spent a good chunk of Saturday taking out part of the front porch to make room for our mudroom.  He used a saw to cut away a portion of the porch floor (so much dust!) and then went to work with a good old fashioned sledge hammer.  

The construction of the front porch was pretty interesting.  We were surprised to see a that there was nothing but empty space below the porch.  Mike explained that the person that built the porch put plywood down, poured the concrete, and that was it.  They just let the wood rot underneath the porch.  

Dust from sawing through the concrete

Front Porch is removed to make room for mud room / garage entry.

DEMO: Garage

The garage has come down!  Our contractor, Mike Anderson, has taken down three walls of the garage. We are turning the existing one-car garage into a two-car garage.  We will extend the garage West, towards the house, creating space for a mudroom and direct entry from the garage to the house.  This also means we will need to move the front door!

Main Level Floor Plan

Here is the floor plan for the main level of the house.  

Floor Plan courtesy of Kerry Vanderzanden

Kerry Vanderzanden was our architect and did a great job on the plans.  He was easy to work with and got us plans quickly.  This was important as we were incredibly eager to see what this house could become.  We would recommend him and work with him again. 

As you can see, the garage is extended creating space for a mud room.  Grandma's bedroom, the main bath, and the living room all stay in the same location.  The other bedroom becomes the kitchen. The existing kitchen space becomes the dining room, connected to the new kitchen with a great breakfast bar.  Hopefully we will love this new, more open layout.  It should be light and bright!

Note: These plans aren't final. Some items will change.  The washer and dryer will not be located in the mudroom and the deck will be larger, allowing for sliders from the dining space.

Exterior BEFORE Photos

We feel so lucky to have the opportunity to work with this house and make it something beautiful that we cannot wait to live in.  Dom's family has owned the land the house sits on since the 1920's.  Dom's dad remembers coming here with HIS grandparents to have picnics on the grass prior to the house being built in 1952.  To say this place is special is an understatement.  There are so many memories here that it would just break our hearts if this house was sold to strangers.

Every good renovation needs a ton of "before" pictures to remind you how far you have come.  I am fully confident that these photos do the house justice.  There is so much to do, but we are incredibly excited for the process to begin.... and for the "after" shots.

Front of house facing South

We will be turning the single garage into a double, requiring us to move the front door over to the right.  This will give us some space for a mud room and create a way to get from the garage directly into the house.  Even though the garage shares a wall with the house,  there is no door leading in to the house.  You have to walk outside.  Living in rainy Oregon, it was important to us to have an attached garage with access to the house.

Check out thatsunset.

East side of house.

This recessed roof-line will be matched up with the main roof, giving us more space upstairs in what is to become the master bedroom.

Back side / Southeast side of house

We are adding a 17 foot shed dormer to the top floor, raising the roof and allowing for windows along the back wall of the second story.  This will give the master bedroom tons of light and amazing views.  

Currently, the only window in the master  is the teeny tiny one you can barely see, near the antenna in the upper right portion of this picture (East side of the house).  

Back/Southwest side of house

The arbor will be replaced by a deck.  I have a feeling that watching the sun set out here will make us very happy.