Renovation Preparation, Disaster Denial
What if, just possibly, extenuating circumstances exist that could make living through a renovation comfortable? While highly doubtful, I am hopeful, and think that it is possible to save money [and our sanity] by staying put and riding out this challenge.
There are 5 major reasons that I point to when confronted by my [truly well intended] friends and family that remind me that I'm crazy.
a. This house has lots of rooms. Since we are only remodeling the main floor (at this time), we have 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms upstairs that aren't going to be touched. Currently out of those 4 rooms, one we are using one as a master, one is our kids' room [they absolutely love sharing a room and I'm going to ride this train until they throw me off], one is a play room, and the last room is LITERALLY only used when I dry my hair [we don't want to fill it with anything since we know the kids will want their own rooms soon]. So we [Steve] decided I could sacrifice my hair drying room to become our temporary living room. We [Steve and my dad] moved the largest of our two living room couches up to this room. It has also been determined [after it was a giant goat rodeo to get it up the stairs and around a tight corner] that this couch will only ever leave this room in pieces on its way to the big sofa paradise in the sky. Yay! New kitchen and new living room furniture!
b. The downstairs is completely divided by a large support wall right down the center [west to east] that completely blocks the construction zone when all the pocket doors are closed. We can come through the front door and never run into the construction zone. So basically, the only 2-3 days the room that has become our temporary kitchen will be disrupted is when the new floors are put in. Having somewhere specific to put groceries and to sit for dinner is key. On my foldout table I have a fancy panini maker that was my mom's, a crock pot [haven't figured out an easy way to wash this yet], a smoothie blender, and a coffee pot. I also have a toaster oven in the bathroom, using that on a plastic table makes me super nervous. Once the wall was opened in the kitchen, the construction team also moved our refrigerator in here. My eco-conscious husband has accepted that Chinet and Solo cups are our new regular.
c. The downstairs master is huge and basically empty. And unless we have a guest staying with us, completely empty. Thus, this has become the storage room for everything that will ever exist on our main floor. Since we aren't going to hardwood this room yet [we are going to be changing some walls when we redo the master bath and bedroom, which frankly, we just aren't ready to do since we won't be living down there for years], it is the perfect place to pile stuff in.
Example. My demo guys ran across a very intricate central-vac line in my walls that were being moved. They were in the process of taking the time to redesign where they were going to move them and how to demo around them when I came in for my afternoon walkthrough. I was quickly able to tell them that the central-vac "brains" had already been removed and that they could gut them at will. They were THRILLED to just rip them out without dealing with moving them. If they had to pass that up to the supervisor to ask me during a catch-up meeting, we could have lost some valuable time. It NEVER occurred to me to discuss the central-vac when we had design meetings. It had not crossed my mind since we moved in and thought, "Wow, look at this 1970's central vac system, that was probably cool back then. Let's toss it."
I'm going to make a BOLD prediction: I think this kitchen [and all the floors and ceilings on the main floor] will be done in 63 days. Yep, I said it. 63 days. Just had to put that out there.
Much like my perfectly planned move-in schedule that exploded like an atomic bomb, I'm probably soon be writing why living in this house this fall was the worst plan I ever put in motion. However, we have made it 5 days, I have made some killer dishes on my panini maker, and we all still like each other. Plus, Steve has already said he doesn't care what the kitchen looks like, he just wants it back! Bar set low, challenge accepted.
There are 5 major reasons that I point to when confronted by my [truly well intended] friends and family that remind me that I'm crazy.
1) The Set-up
When our house was first built in the 70's, I like to think the designer sat back and thought, "This sure is a damn solid house. In 43 years, it is still going to be standing strong and the next generation of owners are going to want to remodel, I'm going to make this easy on them."a. This house has lots of rooms. Since we are only remodeling the main floor (at this time), we have 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms upstairs that aren't going to be touched. Currently out of those 4 rooms, one we are using one as a master, one is our kids' room [they absolutely love sharing a room and I'm going to ride this train until they throw me off], one is a play room, and the last room is LITERALLY only used when I dry my hair [we don't want to fill it with anything since we know the kids will want their own rooms soon]. So we [Steve] decided I could sacrifice my hair drying room to become our temporary living room. We [Steve and my dad] moved the largest of our two living room couches up to this room. It has also been determined [after it was a giant goat rodeo to get it up the stairs and around a tight corner] that this couch will only ever leave this room in pieces on its way to the big sofa paradise in the sky. Yay! New kitchen and new living room furniture!
b. The downstairs is completely divided by a large support wall right down the center [west to east] that completely blocks the construction zone when all the pocket doors are closed. We can come through the front door and never run into the construction zone. So basically, the only 2-3 days the room that has become our temporary kitchen will be disrupted is when the new floors are put in. Having somewhere specific to put groceries and to sit for dinner is key. On my foldout table I have a fancy panini maker that was my mom's, a crock pot [haven't figured out an easy way to wash this yet], a smoothie blender, and a coffee pot. I also have a toaster oven in the bathroom, using that on a plastic table makes me super nervous. Once the wall was opened in the kitchen, the construction team also moved our refrigerator in here. My eco-conscious husband has accepted that Chinet and Solo cups are our new regular.
Our temporary kitchen photobombed by a Seuss character and our dog Rox
Our pantry in totes. Easy to grab everything and a highly effective ninja warrior course for toddlers
c. The downstairs master is huge and basically empty. And unless we have a guest staying with us, completely empty. Thus, this has become the storage room for everything that will ever exist on our main floor. Since we aren't going to hardwood this room yet [we are going to be changing some walls when we redo the master bath and bedroom, which frankly, we just aren't ready to do since we won't be living down there for years], it is the perfect place to pile stuff in.
2) Key weeks
There are only a few weeks through this process where it could be a health and safety hazard to stay in the house [drywall sanding, no floors, etc.]. Luckily, if everything goes on schedule, those weeks will fall when we are staying with family/friends, or out of town in the mountains. Plus, I can always grab the kids and go stay in Knoxville for a few days if something weird happens.3) Operations
So as some of you may know, I am currently not working. This is weird for me, and something that I don't plan to enjoy for long. However, the timing of my sabbatical couldn't be better. Being on site, fully invested in the process, and understanding the engineering behind the designs is incredibly helpful. My construction supervisor actually cares about what I want and making it happen. There are constant questions, that when I can answer fast, change the course of how things are handled with no delay.Example. My demo guys ran across a very intricate central-vac line in my walls that were being moved. They were in the process of taking the time to redesign where they were going to move them and how to demo around them when I came in for my afternoon walkthrough. I was quickly able to tell them that the central-vac "brains" had already been removed and that they could gut them at will. They were THRILLED to just rip them out without dealing with moving them. If they had to pass that up to the supervisor to ask me during a catch-up meeting, we could have lost some valuable time. It NEVER occurred to me to discuss the central-vac when we had design meetings. It had not crossed my mind since we moved in and thought, "Wow, look at this 1970's central vac system, that was probably cool back then. Let's toss it."
4) The Season
So since Middle Tennessee only has 4 seasons: tornado, blizzard, flood, and hell, there isn't really a great time to conserve energy during a renovation. Luckily, we are hitting the schedule right at the best time for Tennessee temperatures. We can still grill outside and eat on our deck, which we would be doing whether we had a kitchen or not. Plus, after school I can let the kids play outside and they don't even miss running around the house.5) My family
I was blessed with two very "roll with the punches" children. Neither of them care too much about keeping a schedule or bothered by changes. They adapt easy and as long as we keep them well fed, they are pretty happy campers. Steve works crazy hours [and can probably live off of protein shakes and trail mix], so he will take it all in stride. I would be at an Airbnb tomorrow if I was worried their happiness or health were at all in jeopardy.
My little people helping me plant my new Autumn Blaze maple this weekend
Much like my perfectly planned move-in schedule that exploded like an atomic bomb, I'm probably soon be writing why living in this house this fall was the worst plan I ever put in motion. However, we have made it 5 days, I have made some killer dishes on my panini maker, and we all still like each other. Plus, Steve has already said he doesn't care what the kitchen looks like, he just wants it back! Bar set low, challenge accepted.
Comments
Post a Comment