Update on renovation project

Sorry for the lag in providing update on the house renovations. Between getting ready for the move, the kids starting school again, and last minute details on the renovation, we have been a tad busy, but in a good way.

A lot has happened since last update. We finally got all the inspections complete (phew), allowing the drywall to go up and flooring to go in. As you can see from the first photo, we have new entryway, the garage is complete, and windows installed. We still need siding, but for now, the contractor is focusing on the inside to get it ready for the move the first week of October.

That brings us to the second photo, which is shot standing in the old kitchen, looking into the new kitchen. The perspective is similar to the first two photos from the July 5th blog update. The new kitchen will be in the area where you see the refrigerator now. There will be island in the middle, with new appliances, counters, custom cabinets, etc. We are really looking forward to the open floor plan.

In between packing, moving and keeping the rental we currently live in ready for showing to prospective tenants, I hope to find time to add a few photos of the second floor later this week.

House Renovations - Exterior

Next in line of updates on the house renovations. I figured this time I would provide a view from the outside. The first picture was taken about 6 years ago. We actually used this to advertise the house as a rental when we were in K.C. You can see the single car garage on the right side.
The second picture of the outside is also taken from the front, but is from the opposite corner. You can still see the old garage that will become our new kitchen. Above the old garage, they have framed out the new Master Bedroom. The workers are putting on new roof and pouring cement for the foundation of the new garage, which you can see in the last photo.

The final shot is straight on. The new, 2 car garage is framed out, along with the new roof over the entrance and Master Bedroom. The 2x6 supporting the overhang on the garage will be replaced by columns with brick on the bottom. We will also have new columns to replace the existing ones around the entrance. The new garage does eat into the driveway a bit, but it will be nice to have space for both cars.

House renovations - 2nd Floor

Couple more pictures from the house renovation, this time on the second floor. These are before and after pictures from the second floor, which currently has master bedroom, (2) kids rooms, a study, and (2) baths. We decided to do was widen the hallway about 18", move the master bedroom out over the existing garage/new kitchen, then use the space that was the master bedroom to add new bathroom for the kids and new bedroom for Drew.

The first picture shows the old view from the master bedroom doorway, looking towards Ellie's room. You can just see the handrail for the stairs on the left. The second picture, is taken from within what will be the new master bedroom looking towards Ellie's room. You can see how much longer and wider the hallway is. The framing for the wall and door to the master bedroom is showing.

The 3rd pictures shows the old view from the opposite end of the hallway as the first - standing in Ellie's doorway and looking down the hallway towards master bedroom. Compare that to the 4th picture (ignore the mess). You can see again the wider hallway, and the framing for both Drew's room on the right and the new bathroom on the left.

Once again, I have included the architecture diagrams for the old and new 2nd floor layout. Next week, I hope to add some shots of the exterior. That should give an idea of how everything fits together.

Renovation - first floor

In case you didn't know, we are having major renovations done to our house before we move back in. When we moved back to Virginia last year, our tenants still had another year left on their lease. For the past year, we have been renting in the same neighborhood. We started the renovations about 3 weeks ago when our tenants moved out. Over the next few months, we thought it would be fun to post some pics of the work in progress.

This post focuses just on the kitchen area. We are having the wall between the garage and kitchen knocked out, and moving the new kitchen into what is the existing garage. The first picture shows the kitchen before work started. You can see the door from the "old" kitchen out to the garage on the right, and just a small bit of the door to the deck on the left. The second picture is the same view after the wall between the garage and kitchen has been remove. Pretty exciting!

The 3rd image is also a picture of the "old" kitchen, but taken from the opposite side as the first two. I was standing with my back to the garage facing the oven and sink. Do you like that faux brick backsplash? I know Melissa won't miss it. The last shot shows same view, minus the counters, cabinets, stove, etc. We are going for the minimalist look.

The last two images I have added are the blue prints of the before and after looks on the 1st floor. I apologize for the poor resolution, I had to convert them from pdfs to jpegs, so they might be a little hard to read. For the most part, we are leaving the living room & family room alone, and only making minor changes to the dinning room. The before or existing blueprint is on the left, with the new one on right.