We've all done some kind of project around the house. Whether it was something as small as sanding and repainting a couple of rooms, or as large as a complete rehab you know how the motivation can began to flag after a while. I've been in my place for about two and a half years (I started working on this place a month before moving in, while I still lived a block and a half away) and I have reached a point where everything that needed to be done immediately is taken care of. The kitchen and bathroom need almost total replacement, but it's all cosmetic. The basement remains unfinished & unorganized. But the roof is sound, the leaks in the windows are plugged,the toxic carpet is gone, and the lights now respond to the appropriate switches. Sometimes people think I'm joking when I tell them I used a circular saw on my kitchen floor. I just laugh along, and then i show them the pictures. All of this is typically in the back of my mind. I was reading the In Shaw blog this morning & this post made me think about it again. I also like the site she links to called House in Progrhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifess. Apparently this site is part of a whole group of blogs by people either renovating or building their homes. Here's the link to . Of course, I also suggest that you check out my old favorite, the Brownstoner Renovation blog (They are starting 2 new reno blogs soon).
Look! There's the kitchen floor...in the dining room!
8 comments:
Great pictures - I just got rid of my very own toxic carpet myself. I have no idea how something in an otherwise habitable house could ever get so disgusting!
These are old photos. This is what me place looked like a little over two and half years ago.
Wow, a fellow traveler on the road of renovation.
Believe it or not my kitchen still isn't done...Home Depot is five months late with the countertop. But here you go:
http://www.robp.name/album/house/OrrenSt-12.htm
Did you have to deal with the permits office? After reading the posts on the hill listserve about that office, it sounds like its a wonder anyone can get anything done here.
I hired an electrician for the electrical work and that was the only work that required a permit (so they secured the permit). i didn't remove, or reloate and walls, I just did a little patching, sanding & drywall patching/replacement. I did remove some layers from the floor in the kitchen, but the original floor is still in there. I've heard that obtaining permits is a nightmare.
Half the work in the neighborhood is done without permits anyway. If you remove all of the cabinets and put in new ones, how are they going to know? If you put in a new closet, how are they going to know?
I've so far had some work done w/out permits and have been dreading getting one for any major stuff. Has anyone gone and found the official plans for their house? I'm wondering if that's necessary to add an addition.
You know the kitchen in this picture is so exactly like mine I think I'm looking at my kitchen when I look at it.
I'm from Texas and even I don't understand the cavalier attitude of the comments (but not the Blogger!) that suggest that you don't need to get permits.
The permit review process is not efficient, but in my limited experience, getting permits for minor work wasn't that bad. I had to fill out a lot of forms and spend 3-4 hours waiting to get a permit to demolish all interior non-load bearing walls in my house. The clerk I had was helpful and patient because, as he put it, he was glad to see a homeonwer actually getting permits. It would have taken less time if I had filled out all the forms--even the ones I didn't think applied to me, but that did--ahead of time.
There are very narrow exceptions to the permit requirement (available on the Building & Land Regulation website), so chances are you're required to have a permit before you do any work, even if it's just demolition.
Getting a permit could actually be a benefit--a permit clerk might identify a detail or error you've overlooked in your plans. Properly posting the permit serves to notify neighbors that they should expect some hammering, or that the people in your house are not necessarily criminals. Plus, sketchy contractors tend to get scared off when you obligate them to get a permit. A permit gives you the right to do whatever is printed on it, even if your neighbors are giving you dirty looks. At the very least, a permit is insurance against getting a stop work order and a fine for getting caught for doing construction without a permit.
For the weary, expediters will go through the permit process for you, and private reviewers can bypass the system altogether. The CityPaper had a blurb about it last week. There's very little excuse for not having a permit.
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