We are at that point of the project now…

…where we are getting pretty darn sick of the relentlessness of this renovation!

Perhaps it is no wonder, as we:

• Started planning for this project even before we began house hunting.
• Hired the first architecture firm in September 2006.
• Began bidding the project in July 2007 to builders, most of whom mocked us for having a design that—even it if was executable—would cost us more than the value we’d ever reap.
• Walked away from Jimmy and Anthony in January 2008, after their designs failed every test—from not following our instructions on paper to not being buildable in the real world.
• Had our loan cut on February 1, thanks to the credit crunch that was building momentum to become the full-blown global crisis it is today.
• Hired The Todd, another disappointing (but less expensive) architect, on February 17.
• Undertook the downstairs demolition ourselves in March.
• Learned that the problems behind the walls were worse than anticipated, and hired a structural engineer in April to help divine solutions.
• Selected Steve Wasko as our builder, along with his partner, Alessandro Schiavone, on May 31.
• Got permit approval on July 17.
• Saw structural repairs get underway on July 28.
• Freaked out when Wasko’s crew removed the deck on September 2 and rejoiced when rebuilding started right away.
• Tried to maintain a sense of humor once construction moved upstairs on October 2. In terms of geologic time, it hasn’t been an era. In terms of quality of life—from not seeing the lake view because we lack windows to wind gusting through the plastic film to nails and other shrapnel on the floor to dust everywhere—it is relentless.
• Tempered our tempers when there were visible signs of a lack of progress. On Friday, we came home to a “we missed you” sticker on the door regarding a plumbing inspection for our in-progress downstairs bathroom. Yesterday and the Saturday before, we got up early and evacuated our home so members of Alex’s crew could work. They didn’t make it either day. The lack of a roof is also impeding progress. We thought it was to be installed last week; last week, we thought it would be the week before… There is some sort of “blah-blah-blah back order” delay.

Coping mechanisms for Matt and me, in addition to laughing—a lot—include playing kissy face and huggy bear, making good use of Morris County’s lovely parks (today we had a picnic), keeping on top of all the details, making decisions in a timely fashion, watching our beloved HDTV in bed (while eating Stephen Colbert’s AmeriCone Dream™), “adult” beverages, support from family and friends and envisioning the project when it is finally complete.

Permit approval

At 8 a.m., we marched hand-in-hand up the steps of the municipal building. This was our moment to write a check for $1,856. In return, we got to take home a yellow piece of card stock, which Matt has triumphantly posted in our window.

The building department approved our permit application on July 17. We picked it up on Friday. This is an exciting moment for the Casa de Roo renovation project. So exciting, in fact, that I couldn’t sleep. Hence the photo taken today at 5:55 a.m. off our dangerous deck.

The turn-around time for the permit was to be 20 business days. When we first tried to submit the packet, the administrator rejected us for filling out a key piece of paperwork incorrectly. So I had to give the electrical form to Wasko, our builder. About a week later, on Friday, June 6, Matt gave the bulging folder to the township. The countdown began. We hoped to get approval before the Fourth of July holiday.

Nope.

The town wanted one change: add permeability to our lot. Both architects warned this may be the case. We are chagrined. Not only does it add considerable cost to the project because we have to dig up the parking area and replace the asphalt with permeable pavers, I fear that allowing water to percolate through the wall holding back the hill is going to reduce its stability and cover the front in slime.

The Todd screwed this up from the start. The architect originally put 500 square feet of pavers in front of the house—about double the amount required. And he marked the area as “impermeable” on the drawing. The town engineer called him and explained the project needed 200 square feet of permeable pavers. The Todd called Matt and informed him that he’d submit a revised drawing to the town within a couple days. And Matt believed him.

Two weeks later, Matt called the town to determine the status of the approval process. He learned The Todd had still done nothing. On July 7, Matt rushed to The Todd’s office and then raced to the municipal building and dropped off the revised drawings. On July 10, our builder started hinting he had other projects that could bump our start date—we had expected to begin in July.

So Matt called the township—repeatedly—to plead our case. It worked.

On closer inspection of the approved packet, Matt realized The Todd had miss-drawn the permeable, putting us on the hook for more than double the square feet needed. What is it with architects and following directions?

Nonetheless, we have the permit approval in-hand!

Um, what is keeping up the roof?

The home inspector missed it. Two architects missed it. And for years, we missed it, too.

Thanks to our demolition efforts, something caught my eye and led me to ask Matt, “Um, what is keeping up the roof?”

The drywall installer had done a nice job of accenting the large beam in our wall that went up to the roof ridge beam (click image to enlarge). One would expect that beam to continue bearing weight all the way to the ground. Not so. Instead, where the beam ends, there is a small single-pane glass window.

“Is this a problem,” I asked The Todd during our Friday night architecture meeting on March 28?

“Oh, I don’t like the look of that,” he replied. Like me, he wondered how he could have missed this condition. Of course, I had hoped my fears were unwarranted. Sometimes, it really sucks to be right.

This was another reason why we hired Harry (Harbhajan) Braich, President of Apex Group, Inc., to conduct a structural engineering inspection of our home. The builder we ended up hiring recommended Harry, having worked with him before.

A few of Harry’s observations on our home:

• It is some 60 years or so old, one story house with multiple level basement and crawl spaces.
• The house has undergone multiple renovations, additions and modifications over the years. Most of this work seems to have been done without proper design. Also, the work itself has been done in makeshift ways.
• However, there is no visible settlement or cracking of the foundations. Hence, the foundations do look structurally adequate.

According to Harry, the following structural aspects need attention:

• The deck is worn out and showing signs of age.
• The main center beams in the first floor framing as seen from the basement are deficient. The beam running parallel to the street has a sister beam that is under-sized and has mid-span joints. The main beam is not supported at all on the right side and barely supported on the left.
• The right wall at the basement is appreciably deficient. The wall studs are under-sized and with makeshift material. These are either broken or rotted and are spaced at too long spans. Also, most of them are not even connected at the bottom. The sheathing boards are rotting as well. The rotting is due to moisture penetration from the concrete masonry stairs running along this wall.
• The center beam at the upper level of the basement is under-sized.
• The whole of the framing and walls in the basement needs to be gone over.
• The size of the main beam in the roof framing of the living area … does not have proper supports at both ends.
• There are cracks in the sheet rock under the beam support in the middle. These cracks are the result of the under-sized support beam.
• Also, there are cracks in the master bedroom. These are the result of header fasteners being loose / of less than required adequacy.
• There is a slope in the first floor. The slope is due to modifications not having been done with proper workmanship. Also, the joists and beams being under-sized or less than required adequacy, as noted above.

Addressing these issues adds about $25,000 to the price of the project (in addition to the engineering fee). I’m anticipating we will consider the fixes “priceless” and cannot wait to get started. But wait we will. The town has now had our permit application for 10 business days; they say to expect a 20-day turn-around.

Lakefront living

When we first put an offer on this house in 1999, I described the domicile as a “roof and a deck.” The image (photo taken at 7:20 this morning; click to enlarge) shows how the lake side looks now and The Todd’s design for the renovation, which includes two decks.

There will be a screen porch off the dining area, the living area will be bumped out slightly and we’ll reduce by 18 the 20 skylights in the great room. In the master bedroom, we’ll replace the code violating, non-functioning bay window with a sliding glass door to give us access to the deck—a feature we’ve enjoyed at many a vacation spot.

The non-level concrete patio at the lower level will remain under a new, larger deck. The back door will no longer be below floor level (currently a tricky trip hazard). The hot tub will be placed nearby. “Hanging out” steps will provide a transition to the back yard and less obtrusive bracing will stabilize the upper deck.

We have rationalized the design from what it was about a year ago. It now focuses on what is important: the decks and the roof.

Full Frontal

We stepped away from our original architecture firm because they consistently failed to provide buildable, cost-effective plans (instead indulging every whacky idea I could dream up). It was a relief to end the nightmare by cutting our considerable losses and moving on. We met with the replacement architect, Todd Lendt (AKA “The Todd,” at least to me), on February 22 and hired him on March 1.

For those of you who say you like the house the way it is, you are in luck: We are no longer changing much. Especially now that I’ve embraced the ranch house vernacular—and lost some of my power to go deeply into debt thanks to the credit crisis.

The image (click to enlarge) shows our home in its current state (created via Photoshop® Photomerge™ panorama, hence the jagged edges). The hot tub waits under a blue tarp for construction to begin (kind of like my psyche). The drawing (from April 8) shows the new design for the front, which isn’t too different from the PowerPoint picture we cobbled together in September 2007 because we asked The Todd to execute our vision and to focus on practicality (even when I myself don’t, which is often).