House Remodeling Thread (long)

[redrhodie]

...or Design Within Reach...(which is not in reach for me!)

Tell me about it! I've been coveting the Risom chair for years. Now I just looked (thanks to your post) and they're on sale. I STILL can't justify it! I'm planning a trip to Spain, so it will have to wait, probably.....forever .

[sgtiger]

Tulip, I love how much light there is throughout your kitchen. The remodel really helped to open up the space. So gorgeous! So what culinary delights are you going to create for us?

[tulip]

Just a quick update.
Painted the kitchen, but still need to do the glass tile backsplash. Got rugs, which inspired the paint color. A floating shelf...And a sofa!

I've been here a year; this is still a work in progress...

[Grog]

I was looking forward to the update! It looks lovely. I love the simplicity of it all.

Congrats!

[ny biker]

Aaaauuuuuuuuuugh!!!!!!!

I just needed to scream a bit. My plans for interior renovation are on hold so I can install a new heat pump first.

But, nothing is ever simple. I'm in a 1BR condo on the second floor of a 3-floor buildling. The interior part of the system (air handler) goes in a closet on one side of the my unit (near the bedroom), and the exterior part (the actual heat pump) goes on the ground outside of the other side of my unit (outside and below the kitchen). Which means there's a refrigerant pipe that runs all the way across my home (in the ceiling) and down inside my kitchen wall and inside my downstairs neighbor's kitchen wall and then through a hole in the exterior wall to the outside. And I need to have a new, wider pipe installed to accommodate the new system.

Since it would be rather inconvenient and expensive to rip up my neighbor's wall to run the new pipe through the existing hole, I want to put a new hole in the exterior wall in my unit and run most of the pipe along the outside. But, this building (and the whole neighborhood) is on the National Register of Historic Places. Which in general I like, but right now is an obstacle because it means the condo variance committee and board of directors have to approve my plans. And there is no guarantee they will approve it.

I just came from the variance committee meeting where I pled my case. Their policy is to make requestors like me leave before they vote, so they have passed judgment on my case but I don't know the outcome!! I have to wait a few more days to receive a letter telling me what happened. Since it took more than a week for them to simply acknowledge receipt of my request, it will probably take another week to learn how they voted. In fact since next week includes a major holiday, I'll be lucky to know how they voted before Thanksgiving. And then I have to wait for the board of directors to vote on Dec. 2.

Aaaaaauuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh!!!!!!!

I just wish I knew where things stand. I want to get this done already so I can get the heat pump installed soon. And I don't know what I'll do if they vote no.

Thank you for letting me vent.

P.S. Tulip, your house looks GREAT!!!

[shootingstar]

Good luck ny biker. Guess, if they vote no, then you do nothing/stay there?

House reno looks great so far, tulip.

[tulip]

Best of luck with the request, NYB! As if renovations and repairs aren't enough hassle...and then you have to deal with third parties. Ugh.

I LOVE my little house, despite the niggling issues that persist. All that rain last week, for example, revealed a leak in my roof. The "revelation" was too late to prevent water damage to my livingroom ceiling, though. I hope I can get the roof repaired; that it doesn't need to be replaced right away.

My woodstove is installed as of Monday, and I'm really wanting to start it up. But it's too warm and the chimney won't draw right until it's colder outside. So for the first time in a long time, I'm hoping for cold weather so I won't have to use my heat pump!

I can actually see the time when there won't be any big jobs to do. I still have the roof and the fence, and the electrical upgrades in the bathroom. And I still want to knock out one wall and put in French doors. And then there's the cottage out back that I will use for my office once I get the drywall repaired and a floor installed, as well as fix the electrical. Except for the roof, it's all pretty minor. I'll do the cottage work myself, using it as a DIY laboratory to learn how to do stuff.

But overall, I've really been enjoying my house. I find myself sitting on my sofa, reading a book, and feeling very comfortable. I adore cooking in my kitchen, and have done alot more cooking than in any other house or apartment I have lived in. After Thanksgiving, I'm having some neighbors over for a little soiree...

So NYB--once it's done, it's so worth it!