What do I do now?
It seems like progress on the house will be great for awhile and then it slows down. Sometimes I think it’s due to a need for a good break. This was especially true after finishing the media room. Right now I think we’re approaching a new hurdle. We’ve got some huge projects ahead of us and we don’t know what to do next. (laundry room, downstairs hallway, first floor renovation…) We’ve talked about creating a master plan and sketching out how long we think the projects should take. (Nick’s mom, Nancy, suggests to double the time- even if it’s for a short afternoon project, and this seems to be true.)
Anyone have any good advice on how to manage larger projects? Finishing the electrical is huge because we’ve been able to put off some projects that “couldn’t be done until the electrical is done”. In reality I think the laundry room will follow the electrical work. We desperately need to do the floors on the first floor, but we’re going to put in radiant floor heating which will require quite a bit of time and a ton of money. We also have a plan for the new kitchen, but that requires moving walls, which postpones the floors until we deal with the structural work. The big question: do we create a “temporary kitchen” in the laundry room so we can demo the first floor? Or do we rearrange things on the first floor so we can have a temporary kitchen space while we demo? For now I think the best option is just using my brother and sister-in-law’s kitchen: they live a couple of miles away, and I don’t think they’d mind our company. (Thanks Thomas and Deena!) We promise we’ll eat out a couple of times a week and we’ll be happy to cook for you as well!
So many questions and considerations come to mind with a big project. Can we get this organized so the entire first floor isn’t torn apart for a couple of years? Will we be able to get along with each other if we end up washing dishes in the bathtub? Will we be able to do all this work and will we have the money? My fear is that we start tearing apart our main floor and end up “stuck” for some reason and it will be that way for a long, long time. Maybe it’s time to call in some reinforcement.
Nick’s dad, Phil, will be visiting for a couple of weeks this summer. Maybe if we get this started we can convince him to stay for a couple of months!
Hmmm… I love the work on the house, but I have no idea how big some of these projects will be. At least we know we can’t put a garage into the side of the hill right now!
2 Comments
Jesse·January 27, 2005
I can sympathize. Just wait until you have kids and they toddle in to the bathroom to exclaim in disgust, “Mom, that’s the bathtub!” as you’re washing those dishes in it (and you will.) Other questions will follow, such as, “Is the refrigerator always going to be next to the T.V.?” then reaffirmations of their skepticism such as, “Nana has an oven that cooks stuff inside, not just on top.” (Yes, we went nearly a year without an oven, not wanting to purchase one until kitchen renovations were under way.) In any event, it can be done. My advice would be to start things in earnest on the kitchen, prior to Phil’s visit because he always seems to know just how to get a project un-stuck, and get a person back on track. God knows, he’s done so many times for us. Good luck!
Trissa·January 31, 2005
:) I enjoyed those stories, Jesse! Not only will our kids probably have comments like that, but they will hate it when they get older and they are all still posted on the internet somewhere! Their first question will probably be, “Bikes aren’t meant to be toilet paper holders!”