Or maybe they did tell you. If you were young and naive like us, you just didn’t listen. I’m here to tell you, for the record — they were right. Renovations are hard.
Addition | Walls and Stairs
Renovating is no joke. Sorry we’re behind on posts. Bloggers’ constipation… It’s been nonstop since July around here and we’re trying to keep things moving along before it gets too cold! Let’s pick right back up in August.
Framing the Addition Walls
Getting our new space framed was incredible. We have another short time-lapse video for you! It was surreal seeing the whole thing come together so quickly — I had to walk around the block a couple times just to calm maself down. It surpasses our dreams of what the house would look like. I can say for myself, it’s wayyyy taller than I imagined, even from the blueprints. The floor joists were first to get built. Now we’re onto the walls and stairs.
Addition | Framing Floors & Walls
Finally we have some walls! And it was well-worth the wait. Once the lumber arrived, we wasted no time getting to work. Our crew put in some long hours to make this all happen.
Addition Demo | Phase 2: Roof
We’re raising the roof! Literally. But first we needed to level that roof. We made a timelapse video to capture it. And we’ve never appreciated having a roof over our heads more.
Addition Demo | Phase 1
Ready to roll, we had our building permit and blueprints in hand. But the hardest challenge, we’d learn, was finding a builder.
Pulling Permits with the City
Finalizing Blueprints
Without blueprints, there was no real way to see if this addition would fly. We needed to take the plunge and pay for an architect and then shop our plans around. But we also needed to get the city’s sign off.
Working with an Architect | Exterior
Drawing up Blueprints
We’ve been planning and dreaming up ideas for the house addition. Time to battle test them by working with a seasoned architect. We learned the value of working with a professional draftsman and learned a few key things in the process.
How We Became General Contractors
DIY’ing our Addition
We may not be licensed GCs, but we are, in a nutshell, in the thick of general contracting our own addition. We didn’t envision it this way, but I’ll try to bring you up to speed on how it happened.
Big News!
Maybe you’ve noticed we’ve been pretty quiet all year. There are a few reasons for this, but I think we’re finally ready to share some big news about a new addition to our little home.
Farmhouse Office
DIY Farmhouse Office Makeover
I’m not sure everyone could get away with such a huge transformation in the workplace, but I don’t see why not! A coworker of mine took it upon herself to make her office “cube” a more inviting and comfortable place to work, turning it into a modern farmhouse! I was blown away by the level of detail. This is a true representation of her style, as your personal space always should be, in my opinion. When we spend as much time as we do at our desks, it’s hard to believe we don’t make more of an effort to make it an enjoyable experience.