Week Zero Recap

It was a whirlwind week of activity before the official start of our construction project. Besides the butchering of the maple tree, we had a full plate of tasks to knock out before the builder arrived to do site preparation on Monday, August 31st. We had been thinking about this addition since we closed on this house 12 years ago, so the rate at which the pieces were falling into place was dizzying. We met with the team from Mingioni Construction to go over the construction schedule (tenative finish date is December 12th!!), meet the Project Manager and Assistant Project Manager and walk the job. We discussed any potential difficulties and special considerations. We also showed them the amazing craigslist find we acquired last weekend!

Oh Yea, craigslist. Part of our project is the conversion of half of our exisiting kitchen into a full bath. We have a tiny kitchen currently so do not envision a palatial bath. Even with the modest square footage, we were likely going to end up with a bill for fixtures, faucets, lighting and tile in the neighborhood of $2,500 - $3,500. Enter our savior, Dirk Vernehoov... Vernhernenren... Vernhevren... let's just call him Dirk. Dirk is from Germany. He and his wife, who is Japanese, were living in Ft Lee, New Jersey near Dirk's work in NYC. They owned a nice condo with nearly every room updated and remodeled, save the bathroom. Dirk was very fastidious and precise in acquiring everything he needed to remake their bath. He had a full suite of Kohler Devonshire fixtures, including faucets, robe hooks, a glass shelf and even the matching toilet paper holder. He also had purchased beautiful imported porcelain tile , recessed lighting fixtures, switches, switchplates, even the light bulbs. Then he lost his job. Deciding to move back home to the suburbs of Berlin and stuck with a complete bathroom still in boxes in his garage, Dirk put the whole lot on craigslist. Even with the cargo van rental we got all of it for $910. We didn't even have to convert it to Euros for him.

Speaking of cargo vans, did you know that Enterprise rents them? Kim found that out while we were figuring out how to get our loot the 100 or so miles from Ft. Lee to Holmes. Now, I have nothing but good things to say about the rates and service from Enterprise, and the van itself was perfectly fine; a Chevy panel van only a couple years old with about 12,000 miles on it and well worth the price. However, the trip to north Jersey and back was an adventure. The seats in the van gave you and odd feeling of leaning in towards the center of the cab. This, in and of itself, would be hardly noticeable but for two mitigating factors; there was no center console and no armrests. With the ride you would expect from a work van, the occupants were left to rely on their own balance and the seat belts to keep them from being hurled to the floor. I, as the driver, had the added benefit of holding on to the wheel, a bonus I came to appreciate. We lashed the EZ-Pass to the passenger side sun visor with one of Kim's stretchy headbands and away we went.

The week also had us ordering the wood stove. We were originally going to go with a Vermont Castings stove, but our research showed that VC stoves had taken a nose dive in quality over the last couple years. It appears that the company had been sold repetitively and gone through at least one Bankruptcy filing. Kim dug a little further and found that the best selling wood stove in the New England states was a brand from Norway, called Jotul (pronounced yotel, like yodel). We are getting the F 500 Oslo in Majolica Brown.

We also went to look at our options for the granite counters. We already know that our cabinets are going to be an cream with brown highlights (Biscotti w/a cocoa glaze for the snobs) as well as Cognac, a rich reddish brown. We have narrowed the granite down to three colors: (left to right) 1:Golden Duen 2:Carioca Gold 3: Giallo Antico We are considering using two different colors. If you'd like to weigh in, click on the "Follow" button to register and leave a comment with your granite recommendation!

The last stop on our Line Up Your Ducks Tour was another spin up the NJ Turnpike, this time to a mecca of posh civility, the ultimate name in regal locales, the quintessential ritzy neighborhood: Brooklyn! OK I am sure there are very nice sections of Brooklyn, and to be honest the neighborhood that A.J. Madison has their showroom is not bad at all, but it was nevertheless an urban adventure. With all of the online shopping, price checking and product research we do, we have a rule: never buy a big ticket item without seeing it in person first. We had found all of the appliances we wanted locally with the exception of the Electrolux ICON range. While many showrooms near us carry Electrolux appliances, none had the ICON series range on display. Luckily we were able to find A J Madison online and the initial pricing of the package of appliances we chose was very competitive. A follow up call to Jacob yeilded a further discount. So we took a spin up to NYC to check out the range and place the order. At least this time we were able to drive up in the comfort of our own vehicle. The range looked great so we pulled the triger on the order. However the absolute highlight of the trip was running across a White Castle. Of course we had to stop. Harold and Kumar were right, it was awesome.

Check back next week for more building adventures! Heck we might actually start the project!!

Sawing, Grinding and Splitting (and other tree atrocities)

Monday, August 24th started like any other day for the maple tree in our backyard. The sun rose, the birds chirped and the squirrels scurried up and down it's trunk. Little did it know that the majestic plant was living it's last day. It was early in the afternoon when the peaceful scene was torn wide open with the angry growl of chainsaws. The maple did not have a chance. Within two hours all the limbs were removed and being converted into a whitish mulch.

With the ruthless efficiency of an obsessive-compulsive bent on tree genocide, the team from Rick's Tree Service lopped large pieces of the trunk off after trussing them up with rope, a man on the ground paying out the rope to allow the severed segment to have a somewhat controlled fall to the ground. They were nice enough to cut all of the trunk and usable limbs into 18" pieces for splitting into firewood for the new woodstove.

The next day the grinding crew came in to obliterate the stump. The stump grinder sporting a huge rotating disk about the size of a manhole cover spiked with carbide nubs that pulverised the roots and stump to the depth of about 3 feet below ground.

A few days later the log splitter team came in. I enlisted my nephew, Liam (quite possibly the worlds tallest 13 year old) to stack the wood as we split it. The 60' maple yeilded nearly two full cords of firewood. Cremation ceremonies will be held nightly starting in the fall of 2010, after the wood has seasoned. And to all my tree-hugging friends, yes we plan on planting a new tree sometime next spring.

The carbon footprint grows larger and saddness fills my heart

Let's take a moment to honor the most giving being that is making the ultimate sacrifice for my indulgent needs of that perfect unobstructed omelet.....the tree.

This majestic tree has a history. This tree was just a tree when we moved into our home. It showed scars of having a clothesline attached to it which created a ripple on the lowest branch resembling that mark around your waist after wearing pantyhose all day. This tree has seen some action, in fact it is a miracle that it survived it's first year.

Five or so years ago there was a knock at our door. Peering out the door was a young woman and beyond her a stretch limo. At first visions of winning the Publisher's Clearing House Sweepstakes flooded my thoughts although the requisite bouquet of red roses and balloons were missing. Opening the door the young girl asked if it was OK for her and her Grandmother to get their pictures taken with this tree.

Exiting the limo was the first owner of this house flanked by her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren on a this is your life tour. She told in great detail the story of planting this tree and how she weathered a severe wind storm to hold the sapling straight while the rain and wind whipped them. Now here I am the night before the death of this majestic tree. A death that I have scheduled with a quick phone call to Rick's trees.

Standing roughly 60 ft. this silver maple has delighted us every fall with a glorious burst of yellow leaves and served as the winter home to squirrels and in spring the refuge for robins' nests. Tomorrow this tree which is as old as it's height will be rendered into a pile of firewood.

We will be planting another tree after construction is completed toward the back part of the yard and who knows who will be tending to it 60 years from now.

Plans are ready, contracts are signed, let the adventure begin.

After spending countless hours watching "This Old House" and every home improvement show on HGTV we now believe we are ready to embark on the renovation adventure of a lifetime.

In August, 1997 we moved into our home. From the moment we saw our tiny kitchen we thought that we would expand into the yard and build a kitchen that would not require a shoe horn in order to prep a meal.

----flash forward ----

August, 2009 (12 years later) construction is ready to begin.

For 12 long years we thought about this project, day dreamed about having a kitchen that was not like a Rubiks cube where in order to get a simple bowl for popcorn you must move 20 other things in sequence to unlock the code for retrieval. I wonder just how much brain energy has been taken to memorize the mind numbing sequence of events for what could be simple events in a functioning kitchen.

However the small kitchen has strengthened our aptitude for creativity in that we have been able to utilize every square inch of the kitchen. Take for example our 70's inspired door. Yes, many people would cringe at having this antiquated steel door as the barrier to the backyard and sunlight but we have embraced its essence taking full advantage of it's ability to attract magnets and it is now a kitchen office and paper towel dispenser. Or for example the top of the fridge which not only serves to store a plethora of trays and cooking items but also provides the ambiance of decorative lighting.

This blog will highlight our renovation adventure and will show the progression of the project and how this project will not only transform our home but also transform the functioning of our lives in the short term and more importantly in the long term.

Now off to make breakfast:

Step 1: Move the microwave cart back from the fridge so that I may freely access the eggs.
Step 2: Retrieve eggs and place on counter
Step 3: Get the mixing bowl --- 10 more steps in moving items to get to the bowl . . .
Setting aside my vision of a perfect fluffy omlet and the 30 other steps needed to gather ingredients I focus on the bread sitting on the counter. Perhaps just toast and Coffee as preparing them only takes 12 steps.